Greenpeace
and the Spanish navy have issued conflicting accounts of two collisions between
dinghies in the Atlantic Ocean. A Greenpeace activist, protesting Repsol oil
exploration there, was hospitalized as a result.
Environmental
organization Greenpeace on Saturday said that four of its activists were
injured, one of them seriously, when Spain's navy rammed into their dinghy
during a protest off the Canary Islands. Greenpeace released video footage of
the scenes, showing two collisions between its vessels and ones belonging to
the Spanish authorities.
Boats rammed during peaceful protest against oil drilling, 1 activist hospitalised http://t.co/BcnbkKSiLT
— Greenpeace (@Greenpeace) November 15, 2014
The
Greenpeace boats were approaching a large oil drilling ship with a platform,
belonging to energy company Repsol.
After the
second collision, a woman can be heard crying for help from the water, before a
diver on a naval vessel fetches her. Greenpeace identified the woman as a
23-year-old Italian activist, saying she suffered cuts and a broken leg.
Update: Activist knocked into water, leg broken, is safely evacuated and being treated http://t.co/TIObsK5a34
— Arctic Sunrise (@gp_sunrise) November 15, 2014
Calling the
incident "another reminder of the lengths governments will go to protect
the oil industry from peaceful protesters," Greenpeace said in its
statement on the incident that the navy reacted violently, "deliberately
ramming the boats and putting the lives of peaceful activists at risk."
However,
the navy instead said that it dispatched two boats from one of its ships to
prevent Greenpeace from boarding a large oil drilling ship. The authorities
said that the activist fell from her dinghy and suffered her injuries when she
was hit by its propellers.
Contentious
drilling off Canaries
Diego Lopez
Garrido of Spain's main opposition Socialist party said that he would call
Defense Minister Pedro Morenes to parliament to explain the navy's actions.
Spanish oil
giant Repsol is exploring the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands, notably
Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, for new drilling sites. It's not an entirely
popular endeavor. Last month, at the government's request, the Constitutional
Court blocked a proposal from the Canary Islands regional government calling
for a referendum on oil exploration off the popular tourist archipelago.
Residents have voiced concern that oil exploration, or possibly spills, could
hurt the region's thriving tourism and fishing industries.
Repsol has
promised to take steps to protect the environment, saying the project will
create jobs on an archipelago with 30 percent unemployment, just over the
Spanish national average.
The
Greenpeace crew protesting the development is aboard the Arctic Sunrise
icebreaker, the same ship that was seized last year and held for months by
Russian authorities. It returned to the Netherlands for repairs in August,
almost a year after a similar alleged attempt to board a Russian oil rig.
msh/av (AFP, AP, dpa)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.