🚀 go-pugleaf

Greenpeace Action in Bucarest ended: Violence against activists and journalists


Images can be seen at: http://campanii.ngo.ro/rosiamontana

Greenpeace, November 16th, 2004, 9.56 a.m.
Press Information after the Greenpeace action in Bucarest:

25 Greenpeace activists were taken by the police after two minutes. The 25  were taken in custody in a subway station. Also Anamaria Bogdan, the Romanian Press officer of Greenpeace, Anamaria Bogdan, was taken in
custody as well. The police acted violent not only against the activists but also against the present journalists. As far as Greenpeace knows for this moment, nobody got hurt.

For questions please call Herwig Schuster at the location,
0043-664-4319214.




Greenpeace blocks one of the entrances of Victoria Palace

                                    Act, not just talk: Save Rosia Montana!

Bucharest/16th  of  November  2004

Today,  25 Greenpeace activists from  Romania,  Austria, Germany and Hungary protested against the planned mining activities  in Rosia Montana. The activists blocked one of the entrances at Victoria  Palace, the office of the Romanian prime-minister Adrian Nastase. Additionally they put up two banners saying "Act, not
just talk: Save Rosia  Montana!" in English and Romanian and a box with petitions signed by people  and asking the prime minister to stop the project. 

"350.000 people voted to save  Rosia  Montana"  was  written  on the box, representing the number of  petitions  collected  by Greenpeace and Formula As in the last year.

"These  petitions  show  how  big the resistance of the public against this project is.  This is the voice of the people and the prime minister and authorities should  listen  to  it.  This  is why we are here today, to make this voice heard  and  get  a clear commitment to ask the Ministry Council to withdraw the  exploitation  license",  said  Anamaria Bogdan  Greenpeace programme campaigner.

Gabriel  Resources,  the main shareholder of Rosia Montana Gold Corporation  (RMGC)  intends to realizes Europe's largest open-cast mining operations in  the  locality  of Rosia Montana in the Apuseni Mountains. The activities of the company imply the relocation of more than 2000 people from the area, as well  as  the  destruction of unique national and international natural and archeological  sites.  "Also  this  mining  project  will represent a major  obstacle  in  the  way of Romania's accession to the European Union in 2007
 because  it does not fit the sustainability criteria, which is an
important request from EU", says Anamaria Bogdan. "Quite contrary, it
endangers entry  because of its size, costs and human and natural consequences." The project  was  heavily criticized by many Romanian and international NGOs, scientific bodies  and  groups.  Politicians  have  expressed their opposition to this initiative  several  times,  Adrian  Nastase being one of them. But nothing concrete  was  done  to  stop  the project. After 25.000 signatures sent to Nastase during the summer and one open letter addressed to him a month ago, both asking him to stop the project, Greenpeace thinks it is important that Adrian  Nastase  makes  something  concrete  to  stop  once and for all the activities of the company.

"We know that we chose a provocative way to draw the attention of the prime  minister  on  this issue, but all other approaches, coming both from us and other  NGOs, did not give any result. Because of all the problems that this project  poses,  it  should  not  be  realized  and we are asking the prime minister  to  act  according  to  the  wish  of  the people  which  he  is representing  and  whose  interests  he  is 
supposed  to defend", declared  Anamaria Bogdan from Greenpeace.


For further information you can contact:
Anamaria Bogdan, Greenpeace press officer, 00 40 721 632396
Andrei Bogdan Bindea, Greenpeace project responsible, 00 40 745 820816
 Herwig Schuster, Greenpeace programme campaigner, 00 43 664419214



MMag. Franko Petri
Press Officer Greenpeace in Central & Eastern Europe
Vienna Office
Siebenbrunnengasse 44
1050 Vienna/Austria
tel: ++43-(0)1-5454580-29
mob: ++43-(0)676-5147246
fax: ++43-(0)1-5454580-98
email: franko.petri@greenpeace.at
email int.: frankopetri@hotmail.com