10 February 2010 - Bangalore,
India — Following nationwide protests against
the introduction of India's first commercial
genetically engineered (GE) food crop --
the Indian government has made a giant step
towards charting a path for sustainable
agriculture and
food security.
When India's Genetic
Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) approved
the crop back in October, without proper
tests, there was national outrage among
independent scientists, consumers, farmers
and civil society groups. India's Environment
Minister has now made a very welcomed decision
to impose a moratorium on Mahyco (co-owned
by agrochemical giant Monsanto) Bt brinjal
and to protect Indian agriculture. Brinjal
is the Indian name for aubergine (or eggplant).
India is a centre of diversity for this
crop and the largest producer of aubergines
in the world - growing more than 4,000 varieties.
Just say no
In a series of seven public consultations
across the country this year - Monsanto's
attempt to commercialise their GE version
of this staple food was met with a resounding
"No!". Even the former Monsanto
India Managing Director Mr. Jagdishan expressed
his opposition to GE crop as many scientists
called for a full ban.
Although this mandate
is only related to Bt Brinjal - there is
now clear potential to stop all GE crops
in India. The BBC's Geeta Pandey, who was
at the news conference in Delhi, says Mr
Ramesh's decision has put any cultivation
of GE vegetables in India on hold indefinitely.
This also sets a good precedent for many
other countries on the brink of approving
dangerous GE crops.
When voices rise
"The decision is
responsible to science and responsive to
society"..."Public sentiment is
negative. It is my duty to adopt a cautious,
precautionary principle-based approach"
-- Environment Minister
Mr. Jairam Ramesh
Consumers, farmers,
youth and scientists in Bangalore observed
a day of fasting expressing their unwillingness
to accept Bt Brinjal. Activists, dressed
in Brinjal costumes and carrying placards,
showed up at public consultation meeting
in Hyderbad. In Kolkata, scientists, activists,
farmers and representatives of agricultural
labour unions expressed the need for a national
ban after deliberating on the potential
impacts of GE crops on the environment,
agriculture and livelihoods of farmers in
West Bengal. In Chandigarh, a majority,
which inucluded farmers, scientists, NGOs
and other groups, said ‘No To Bt Brinjal’.
In Nagpur, people poured into the public
meeting from 6am in the morning to participate
in the consultation. Everyone wanted to
express their views and be part of one of
the historic events in agriculture in the
country.
The Minister gave the
following reasons for a moratorium:
?The science behind
Monsanto's Bt Brinjal is inadequate to answer
the concerns raised.
?India is a centre of origin of Brinjal,
thereby in principle agreeing to no GM crops
in centres of Origin.
?The regulatory system is inadequate.
A long term solution
Greenpeace has been calling for a complete
halt on the commercialisation of GE crops
in India and across the world. India must
now ensure that the moratorium will not
lead to a back door entry of Bt brinjal
or the 41 other food crops which are in
different stages of trial in the country.
Stringent monitoring measures should be
immediately put in place to ensure that
GE crops are not released into the environment.
And a strong message needs to be sent out
to GE developers by making them liable for
any accidental or illegal introductions.
Genetic engineering
is a threat to food security, especially
in a changing climate. GE crops have repeatedly
failed under extreme weather conditions,
and some GE plants yield consistently less
than their natural counterparts. The best
insurance policy against climate change
and erratic weather conditions is ecological
farming that includes natural genetic diversity
of food crops.
An open letter to Yukio
Hatoyama
As two of our activists
in Japan prepare for their day in court
12 February 2010 - Tokyo, Japan — Kumi Naidoo,
Executive Director of Greenpeace International,
writes to Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama, urging his Government to live
up to its commitment to human rights and
ensure a fair trial for anti-whaling activists
Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki.
From Dr Kumi Naidoo,
Executive Director of Greenpeace International
February 12th, 2010
Dear Prime Minister
Hatoyama,
Your election has presented
Japan with a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
for change. Internationally, your support
for ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions
has challenged the world to put our climate
before corporate profits, the stance of
a true leader. At home, your election commitment
to build a strong economy and end corruption
within the government has given you much
support with the people of Japan, but also
presents a hard road ahead.
Both of us came to our
new roles around the same time last year
and I believe we have much common ground
on which to build a new relationship between
government and non-government organisations
in Japan.
Before joining Greenpeace
I worked for many years to end corruption
in my home country of South Africa, to end
poverty worldwide and to ensure that all
human rights are respected. When our voices
were in the minority, change was hard won.
I can imagine that you must have felt the
same, fighting to change the political landscape
of a generation. It is an incredible achievement
to have turned the tide.
I accepted the role
of International Executive Director at Greenpeace,
because I believe that ensuring a green
and peaceful planet is also a basic human
right. For both of us, it is not enough
to say we want change, we must ensure it
happens and now we are both in a position
to do so. Turning the tide is not enough,
a new course must also be set.
Greenpeace has operated
in Japan for twenty years. In that time
our actions stopped the dumping of radioactive
waste in the Sea of Japan; we have worked
with local communities to stop the expansion
of US airbases that risked the habitat of
the threatened dugong; developed long term
working relationships with the technology
industry in Japan to remove dangerous substances
from products such as mobile phones and
computers. We have contributed to government
debates to ensure that corporations promoting
genetically engineered food do not gain
a foothold in Japan and we have not only
raised concerns and debate about the nuclear
threat in Japan, but assisted in monitoring
for radiation following the 2007 fire at
the Kashiwazaki nuclear reactor, after a
major earthquake.
We have a long, positive,
peaceful history in your country. However,
as a new member of Greenpeace, I can say
that I suspect all we are recognised for
is our opposition to whaling. Greenpeace
in Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party
have been at loggerheads on this one issue
for twenty years.
On February 15th in
Aomori, the trial begins of Greenpeace Japan’s
senior executive Junichi Sato and his colleague
Toru Suzuki, following their exposure of
large scale corruption within the government
whaling programme.
The case has garnered
a large amount of international attention
and condemnation. More than a quarter of
a million people sent emails requesting
that the government investigate the allegations
of corruption and not prosecute the activists.
Nobel Peace Prize winners Archbishop Emeritus
Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams have also
signed on to a letter calling on Japan to
adhere to strict international standards
on human rights. Many international organisations
including Transparency International and
Amnesty International registered their concern
about the manner of detention and prosecution.
Most significantly,
just last week, Greenpeace received notification
that the United Nations Human Rights Council’s
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled
that, in pursuing the detention and prosecution
of Junichi and Toru, the previous Administration
in Japan had breached numerous articles
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights.
These are decisions
made not on your watch. The many years of
claim and counter claim were with another
party. The United Nations ruling was against
the decisions of the previous Administration.
You were swept to power on a wave of hope
because the people of Japan were tired of
corruption. I believe in the same way that
you have shown strength in challenging other
governments to reach further in the climate
negotiations, that you will also take the
lead in showing other governments that the
civil and political rights of its citizens
are paramount.
The world is watching
this trial, I urge you to show that it will
both be fair and conducted in full accordance
with you international obligations to protecting
human rights.
These are rights that
I have held in my heart since I was a child
growing up in South Africa under Apartheid,
and ones that I will always strive for,
but in my new life at Greenpeace there is
an equally compelling need to act to stop
climate change and I believe we can also
work together to achieve this.
Climate change is the
biggest threat our planet and people face
and demands immediate, dramatic action.
I know that Japan can go even further if
other nations will make similarly strong
commitments and I welcome the chance to
discuss how we can face this challenge together,
and in particular exchange opinion on how
Japan can continue to take a leadership
role regarding climate finance. I also know
that nuclear is not the answer – we have
only to look at the dangers of the technology,
the needless expense and most tangibly,
the radiation leaks at Kashiwazaki after
the earthquake to know this.
But there are solutions.
Greenpeace has already mapped out and had
accepted by scientists a plan for an Energy
[R]evolution which outlines a global plan
for a sustainable renewable economic future.
It shows us how we can get from where we
are now, to where we need to be to avoid
a climate change disaster. It was developed
with specialists from the Institute of Technical
Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Centre
and more than 30 scientists and engineers
from universities, institutes and the renewable
energy industry around the world.
I hope that together
we can forge a new relationship in Japan.
That you will ensure human rights are respected
and the environment protected and it is
my strongest hope that the opportunities
presented to both of us will be realised.
Respectfully,
Kumi Naidoo
