Greenpeace mulls actions in Bali
Greenpeace mulls actions in Bali
The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
The arrival of the ship Arctic Sunrise in Bali on Monday signals that its owners, Greenpeace, are ready for action if need be to remind the meeting on sustainable development in Bali that actions and not words are what it takes, said a senior Greenpeace activist on Monday.
Greenpeace political advisor Remi Parmentier said Arctic Sunrise was the organization's platform to launch various activities for which Greenpeace had earned its infamous reputation among governments world wide.
"It (the ship) has arrived, the platform is here. We'll announce our activities as they unfold," said Parmentier who has been with Greenpeace for 25 years.
Thousands of delegates from around the world have begun preliminary talks at the last of a series of meetings ahead of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa in late August to September.
Aiming to stop the over exploitation of the world's natural resources, the talks in Bali are expected to produce an action plan on sustainable development that world leaders will sign at the Johannesburg summit.
But Parmentier warned that what was happening in Bali threatened to erode governments' commitments made during the 1992 world Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He said the business interests of developed countries had dominated the talks, while developing countries were plagued with weak leadership.
"For every issue under discussion, the WSSD must agree on targets and timeframes, means of implementation and financial resources, institutional requirements and monitoring and reporting," a Greenpeace booklet on sustainable development says.
The Arctic Sunrise is a means to get this message across to the delegates in Bali. "The ship symbolizes the voice of the people. This is the most effective campaign tool," said Athena Ronquillo-Ballesteros, Greenpeace's Southeast Asia campaign manager.
"It will be the communication center for Greenpeace delegates and our constituencies around the globe so that whatever happens in Bali gets broadcast to the rest of the world."
She said Greenpeace's mission here was to pressure the government to stick with the agenda of sustainable development.
"The real question for the Bali conference is whether governments are trustworthy, can stick to their words," Parmentier said.
The global environment continues to degrade at an alarming rate, whereas it should be the government's duty to reverse that trend, he said.
"It is our (Greenpeace) duty as a networking organization to express this, the best we can; and we will and they're not going to get away with this."