Atlanta, GA (Jan. 23, 2023)–In response to the police killing of Atlanta forest defender Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán, Ebony Twilley Martin, Greenpeace USA co-Executive Director, said: “We join the cries of solidarity with Tortuguita and others who have been killed while standing up to climate destruction and police violence. Defending our environmental rights should never end with getting killed by the police. Over the past few years, we’ve seen the astronomical rise of brutality against environmental activists around the world – a horrible symptom of a wider assault on our constitutional rights and democracy. An environmental activist has been killed every other day for the past decade. This must end.
“Using the term “terrorists” to label activists and protectors of the forest continues to suppress the protest movement and creates hateful rhetoric that is used to further divide us. Defending and protecting against the destruction of forests needed for clean and breathable air should not be labeled as an act of terrorism. No one should face police violence for dissent against environmental destruction and police militarization.”
###
Contact: Rocio Estrada, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, Executive Support, [email protected], +1 (301) 592-7700
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
