Greenpeace Stalls US Military Shipment to the Gulf
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - On Thursday, February 20, police used water
cannons Thursday against a Greenpeace blockade of a cargo ship loaded with
U.S. military equipment bound for Iraq, and arrested 19 demonstrators, the
environmental group said.
Greenpeace activists swam in front of the NDS Progress and other members
fastened themselves to the transport ship to prevent it from setting sail
for the Gulf.
Several dinghies and the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior II, were anchored
in the transport ship's path or were alongside it.
At least 10 demonstrators had been released by the time the Progress made
it out of the port, around eight hours behind schedule.
"We want to send a signal to the U.S. and British governments, but also to
the Dutch government, which is going along too easily with preparations for
military conflict instead of looking for a peaceful solution," said
Greenpeace spokeswoman Maartje van Boekel.
Dutch harbor police arrived with speedboats and cut ropes the protesters
were trying to attach to the side of the Progress, while U.S. military
police fired water cannons at them from above, Schellekens said. Greenpeace
said one protester, an Australian, was arrested after he tried to climb up
the side of the ship.
A police tugboat removed the Greenpeace ship with difficulty, since it had
dropped its anchor, Greenpeace said.
The U.S. military began moving men and material from bases in Germany
through the Netherlands earlier this week, sidestepping confrontations with
Germany and France which oppose any immediate steps toward launching an
attack against Iraq.
The conservative Dutch government, which is serving as a caretaker
administration while postelection coalition negotiations continue, has
pledged support for the U.S. position on Iraq. That policy has become an
area of contention in talks with the center-left Labor Party on forming a
new government.
Defense Minister Henk Kamp said last weekend the Dutch anticipated the
United States would use its rail network, waterways and air space to
transport equipment and troops to the Gulf.
The Dutch also have dispatched three of its four Patriot anti-missile
batteries to Turkey, the only NATO (news - web sites) country bordering
Iraq. It also sent 370 men to operate the missile intercepters.
On Wednesday night, dozens of members of the Socialist Party, which has led
the anti-war movement in the Netherlands, protested at the Rotterdam harbor
where hundreds of U.S. military trucks have arrived from Germany en route
to the Middle East.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030220/ap_wo_en_po/eu_gen_netherlands_anti_war_5
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/02/20/9172402
