Three Greenpeace senior staff members joining the International Executive Director, Kumi Naidoo, were denied entry into South Korea in early April, 2012. The organization has requested a meeting with the appropriate authorities regarding these actions.
One of the three, Greenpeace East Asia Executive Director Mario Damato, planned to accompany Naidoo to a meeting with the mayors of Seoul Park and Incheon, as well as local politicians and media to discuss the upcoming launch of Greenpeace’s Energy [R]evolution and no-nuclear campaign.
This is not the first move that the South Korean authorities have made against nuclear opposition: In August 2011, following the announcement that Greenpeace would open an office in Seoul, the government stated that it would spend an additional 10 billion won (about US $9.3 million) in an effort to promote nuclear energy.
Naidoo commented “… Democracy and nuclear power don’t mix. The nuclear industry cannot stand public scrutiny… What conversation could my colleagues from Greenpeace start that is so challenging that they deserve to be banned from the country?”
Naidoo also said that “Greenpeace urges the Korean government to listen to the lessons of Fukushima, and to invest in a truly clean, safe, and sustainable energy scenario as laid out in Greenpeace’s Energy Revolution.”
Title: Greenpeace staff blocked from entering South Korea as Government cracks down on nuclear opposition
Author: Greg McNevin
Publication: Greenpeace International
Date of Publication: 2 April 2012
URL: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/Greenpeace-staff-blocked-from-entering-South-Korea-as-Government-cracks-down-on-nuclear-opposition/
Title: Nuclear Power and Democracy Don’t Mix
Author: Kumi Naidoo
Publication: Huffington Post
Date of Publication: 3 April 2012
URL:Â http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kumi-naidoo/greenpeace-korea-nuclear-power_b_1399336.html
Student Researcher from Santa Rosa Junior College
Faculty Evaluator: Susan Rahman, Santa Rosa Junior College