From: John Passacantando,
executive director Greenpeace USA
Re: The Justice Department's Unprecedented Attack on
Greenpeace
In the past you have been there to support Greenpeace. Now
we need you to make your voices heard. It's important that
you know about a serious battle we are facing to continue to
do the work you support us for: taking action to stop crimes
against our environment.
Yesterday, MV Esperanza, arrived in Miami Florida.
However, rather than pulling into port, as Greenpeace ships
do throughout the world, she will remain at anchor.
The Port of Miami has refused us entry because John
Ashcroft's Justice Department is prosecuting us for a
protest action last year. The prosecution is unprecedented.
Never before in U.S. history has an entire organization been
prosecuted for a peaceful protest of its supporters.
As you know, for years we have worked to end environmental
destruction and human rights abuses in Brazil's Amazon
rainforest. Destruction of these habitats threatens clean
air and water, animal and plant species, and the people and
cultures who depend on forests for their way of life. Large
criminal enterprises, using bribery, extortion, slavery, and
murder, continue to ravage the Amazon and export their
contraband.
Last year, two Greenpeace
activists climbed aboard a ship carrying Amazon mahogany
wood. They held a banner that said "President Bush: Stop
Illegal Logging." Amazingly, instead of halting the
shipment, the government is prosecuting Greenpeace in
federal court in Miami. It has charged Greenpeace under an
obscure 19th century law never intended for this purpose. A
trial is now set for December.
Leading legal experts,
quoted in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and
publications around the world, agree that this prosecution
is disturbing and poses a threat to free speech.
From the Boston Tea Party to the civil rights movement,
public protest actions have helped bring positive change in
the U.S.
Our actions worldwide have
played a critical role in, for example, stopping atmospheric
nuclear testing, protecting Antarctica from exploitation,
and banning radioactive waste dumping at sea.
But if this prosecution
succeeds, non-violent protest may become yet another
casualty of John Ashcroft's attack on civil liberties.
Please help us to ensure
that freedom of speech isn't taken away from all of us.
Take action:
Contact President Bush and John Ashcroft and tell them to
prosecute illegal loggers, not Greenpeace:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/bin/view.fpl/10048/action_id/195.html
Contact the authorities in Miami and tell them that they
should allow the Esperanza to dock in Miami:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/bin/view.fpl/10048/action_id/196.html
For more information and to stay updated as events
unfold,
visit:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/trial
Sincerely,
John Passacantando
Executive Director
Greenpeace USA
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