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Greenpeace activists attacked by Manila power plant officials

by: Renata Sancken

German activist Jens Loewe, 36, being looked after by Filipino Pam Palma and New Zealander Debra Gay Pristor after being beaten by personnel of Masinloc coal power plant in the Philippines. The beating occurred during a peaceful protest against coal power plant that is fuelling global warming..
PHOTO: © Greenpeace / Jose Enrique Soriano , photo.library@int.greenpeace.org

Manila, Philippines: On 10 November, international Greenpeace activists peacefully protesting outside the Masinloc coal power plant near the Philippine capital Manila had stones thrown at them, and two, Jens Loewe and Tomas Leonor were badly beaten by plant officials. Loewe and three other activists (Janine Mercado, Pam Palma, and Debra Gay Pristor) were hospitalised. Later in the day, Mercado, Palma, and Pristor were released from the hospital, bruised but not seriously injured. Loewe and Leonor remained under observation.

In a press release, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Energy Campaigner Red Constantino said, "Greenpeace condemns this violent attack to a peaceful protest. It is disproportionate to the nature of the protest which is peaceful, non violent protest. We're disappointed that the Filipino plant personnel prefers to protect the interests of a power plant that brings more harm than good to people. Coal is the culprit here, not peaceful protest.”

The Philippine government has made no official statement on the event. Although the Masinloc plant did not want the activists to be charged, the police subsequently arrested twelve Greenpeace activists and charged them with trespassing at the power plant. The twelve were then released without any bail required. “We will contest the legality of this charge,” said Greenpeace International’s Energy Campaigner Athena Ronquillo. “It is outrageous that the Masinloc plant decided not to press charges yet the police have taken it on themselves to do so.”

The activists were at the plant in order to call attention to the impact it has on global warming, as well as Australia and Japan’s encouragement of Philippine coal-burning plants. Greenpeace’s Constantino noted, “Masinloc’s environmental impact has never been publicly scrutinised and yet funds from organisations like the Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) are being earmarked for a 50% expansion of the plant’s power capacity at a time when there is considerable controversy surrounding the financing of its privatisation sale. Worse still, it is primarily coal from Australia that will feed the planned expansion.”

For further information, activist Pam Palma is keeping a blog with hourly updates: http://www.asiacleanenergy.org/blogs/index.php?blog=2">http://www.asiacleanenergy.org/blogs/index.php?blog=2 .

Source: Greenpeace