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'A Victory for Free Speech' |
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By Haider Rizvi*
Greenpeace
celebrated a ruling by U.S. courts to absolve the international
environmental watchdog of charges involving its protest activities.
Nancy Hwa, spokeswoman for the group, dialogued with Tierramérica
about the case.
NEW YORK - "It's a victory for free speech
and the right to peaceful protest," Greenpeace International's spokeswoman
Nancy Hwa told Tierramérica after courts here announced last week
acquitted the environmental group of charges related to its protest
activities.
In an unprecedented move, the administration of George W. Bush charged
Greenpeace for its activists' April 2002 boarding of a cargo ship
carrying 70 tons of mahogany from Brazil. The incident took place
off the coast of the U.S. city of Miami Florida.
The government invoked a criminal law dating to 1872 that had only
been used twice in its long history on the books. The Bush administration
has come under fire for using the measure to silence Greenpeace,
one of the best-known organizations in global environmental activism.
On May 19, after three days in court in Miami, Judge Adalberto Jordan
ruled there was insufficient evidence.
In dialogue with Tierramérica, Hwa said the Bush administration
has failed to do anything substantive on the issue of illegal logging
but that her group "will continue to speak out."
TIERRAMERICA: What do you say about this legal victory that Greenpeace
has scored against the Bush administration in the Miami courts?
HWA: It's a victory for free speech and the right to peaceful protest.
We are not going to be complacent. I think this case shows that
the Bush administration would go to quite great length to stifle
the people who oppose their opinions. But we will continue to speak
out. We will continue to protest and we will continue to work to
make our environment healthy and peaceful.
- How big is the problem of illegal logging in the Amazon?
- It's a serious problem throughout the Amazon, and not just for
the environmental impact, but also, for the very human impact it
has on the indigenous people and the folks who depend on the forest
for their livelihood.
In addition to working on Brazilian mahogany specifically, Greenpeace
is also working on the issue of slavery being used to cut down other
kinds of wood, coercion, violence and intimidation and all kinds
of human right violations that are going on in the region that make
the timber industry a criminal enterprise.
- Has the Greenpeace launched any campaign within the United States
to discourage people from buying mahogany-based products?
- We have supported for a long time obligatory certification standards,
which, basically, is a hallmark or a seal of approval for wood products
showing that the wood come from a sustainable source and was harvested
in an environmental way and that there was no human right violation
associated with the wood and its production. We are doing a lot
of public awareness. We are trying to get a law passed in the Congress.
- Do you see any connection between the Bush administration and
the companies involved in illegal logging and the import of mahogany
and other wood?
- Yes, we see the influence of the timber industry, not just on
illegal wood imports, but even on forest policy here in the United
States. President Bush is basically opening up large tracts of national
forest lands. These are areas that, technically, belong to the U.S.
people. But he is opening them up to more logging and giving them
away as a gift to the timber industry here. There are several fronts
in which this administration could be working on the timber issue.
One is strengthening our import laws, giving Customs more authority
to inspect foreign ships.
- Could you name some of the companies involved in illegal logging?
- We issued a report earlier this year that identified some of the
people who purchase wood from criminal logging enterprises in the
Amazon. There is a particular company in the Amazon called Madenorte
that has engaged in corruption and slavery and other illegal practices.
They export a lot of wood to the United States. We identified the
importers and sent them copies of the report and a letter, alerting
them. We actually received some responses from these companies,
saying 'we didn't realize this before and that we certainly take
a look at it.' We'll be following up to ensure that concrete action
is taken.
* Haider Rizvi is a Tierramérica contributor.
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