Israeli police arrest Greenpeace
Sep 9th, 2008 by admin
Israeli police arrest Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior Captain on Quit Coal
protest:
Ashkelon, Israel - 8 September 2008
The Israeli police, guided by the navy, have arrested the captain of the
Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior, Daniel Rizzotti, following a
peaceful direct in which two activists painted “Quit Coal”, in English
and Hebrew, on the hull of a ship unloading coal to the Ashkelon power
plant. The activists along with another 12 crew and passengers,
including a photographer and camera man were arrested earlier today.
Marking the launch of a four month “quit coal” ship tour, the Rainbow
Warrior, will tour the Mediterranean and Europe. Today, Greenpeace
called on the Israeli government to abandon its plan to build a new coal
power plant in Ashkelon.(1)
“This overreaction to a peaceful protest makes you wonder where the
government’s priorities really are” said Nili Grossman, Greenpeace
Mediterranean campaigner. “The real threat is the new coal power plant
they want to build at Ashkelon. Climate change is the greatest threat
the world has ever faced and coal is by far the worst offender. It has
no place here.”
This autumn, the Greenpeace ships the Rainbow Warrior and the Arctic
Sunrise, are bringing the “Quit Coal” message to the Mediterranean and
Europe. The tour from Israel to Poland is happening in the run-up to
crucial UN climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland this December.
Quitting coal is an essential step in a meaningful deal to save the
Climate. European governments have a real chance to show leadership by
phasing-out coal in their own countries.
Greenpeace’s Energy [R]evolution scenario shows how renewable energy,
combined with greater energy efficiency, can cut global CO2 emissions by
50%, and deliver half the world’s energy needs by 2050 (2).
