The online Ria Novosti news service has a report on the 30 activists who Russian officials have locked up for allegedly trespassing and attempting to storm onto a platform facility in the Arctic last month.
According to the latest report from Ria Novosti, the Russians are now “hinting at drug charges against the Greenpeace activists” and that they are considering pressing charges that could lead to life sentences for some of them. The Russians aren’t fooling around and they are playing major league hardball. Obviously some people out in the ‘open and tolerant’ west are having a hard time understanding the situation.
Hat tip: John from Quebec.
Perhaps the threats of life in prison are in response to the combative tones coming from Greenpeace bosses lately. For example Greenpeace’s international executive director, Kumi Naidoo, declared that the world needs people who are “prepared to go to prison, put their lives on the line if necessary, in the struggle for climate justice and addressing the reality of runaway catastrophic climate change.”
Well, if activists are willing to put their lives on the line for Greenpeace causes and are incapable of reasonable dialogue, then perhaps it is indeed best to keep them locked up.
Strangely, Greenpeace seems to be convinced that it can use protests to “out-bully” Russia. Good luck with that.
According to Ria Novosti, investigators on Wednesday said that substances presumed to be poppy straw and morphine “have been found on board a Greenpeace ship seized last month“. This, Ria Novosti writes, raises “the threat of new charges against a group of activists and journalists awaiting trial on suspicion of piracy.”
Moreover, “investigators were trying to determine which of the detainees had ‘intentionally rammed’ border guards’ boats – an act that could constitute an assault on the ‘life and health’ of officials. Under Russian law, the punishment for this crime could range from 12 years to life in prison.”
Ramming into ships? Gee, like this is something Greenpeace would never ever do. Actually, the Russians caught Greenpeace red-handed doing just that. Reader Observer found the following video of a Greenpeace boat ramming the smaller of the Russian coast guard boats:
Moreover all the shows of moral indignation by European officials, haughtily implying that Russia is a sort of a despotic state, likely made things worse.
My advice to Greenpeace and Greenpeace-huggers is that they should tone down their belligerent and condescending rhetoric quite a few levels, and begin to consider that perhaps the activists were acting illegally after all. Humility sometimes is not a bad thing. It can be learned – the easy way, or the hard way.
Yes, we know that admitting you’ve erred is something that is totally foreign to the infallible Greenpeace – but now it’s something they need to learn how to do very quickly.
Life in prison – that sure would send a clear message to those with comprehension disabilities.
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UPDATE: Here’s a letter Naidoo has sent to Putin, asking if he could be meet face-to-face on the world stage with Putin. Talk about being publicity-hungry. From the letter, he definitely has toned it down. But it doesn’t look like he’s aware of the boat ramming escapade his “peaceful” activists have indulged in – see video below.
As I pointed out in the comments to your previous post on the peacefulness of the Greenpeace tactics, here’s a a video of the recent episode, where the Greenpeace boat rams the smaller boat of the Russian coast guard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bSMKbZ4YOkY
As I said then, the activists are in truly in trouble since it seems clear that the Greenpeace boat attacked a coast guard vessel. Even worse, the Russians will quite likely claim that all of the actions were coordinated and organized which will make the situation more serious for all of the activists, not justs those who were actually ramming the boat.
That’s damning evidence. Like I said in my last post, the authorities looked at all the film footage, and are now throwing the book at GP. They have gotten away with it for years all over the world – now it’s catching up.
Greenpeace is so used to being treated “more equal” than others that this seems to be a shock to them.
BTW, there is a current scandal in Finland concerning an episode of such “more equal” treatment of Greenpeace protesters with a Minister of the Greens lurking behind the curtains. A state-owned company was told to withdraw a criminal complaint against the Greenpeace activists by the authorities responsible for the state-ownership steering:
http://yle.fi/uutiset/mps_accuse_hautala_of_double_standards/6873177
http://yle.fi/uutiset/hautala_i_approved_intervention_in_arctia_shipping/6872939
The gloves are off! Send…
…Sea Shepherd!
These Russians are funny. I get to like them more and more.
Who would have thought it would be the Russians that maintained some clear thinking and moral values. Not me, but I am glad about it.
It really is depressing when the putin led russian government is morally superior and rational than the all of the western govts. put together…syria , climate change…Being a child of the cold war it’s amazing to behold.
Here’s more from a different vantage point. Some of the Greenpeace boats are nicely labeled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_t6CW-0P1s
Oh – Now I know why EcoWatch (link in UPDATE) calls the activists “peaceful”.
Couple of days ago there was an interview in Finnish MTV3 with someone official/authority figure who was wondering, why GP did not protest ENI, which is drilling in Goliat field in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. I did not see this interview but read it later. He also said whether GP had also an other task or mission, for he couldn´t understand at all why GP went protesting to Russia.
Conspiracy or not, but it seems GP has made miscalculation here – big time.
They are, like the other Green NGO’s, and the Antifa Black Bloc, street thugs for the EU commission and get financed by them.
The EU commission hates European dependency on Putin’s gas.
Who can forget the immortal words of Greenpi$$ Communications Director Gene Hashmi:
“We know who you are. We know where you live. We know where you work. And we be many, but you be few”.
Doubtless he knows where our kids go to school, too.
High time these arrogant bullies got a dose of reality, I’m surprised they are sufficiently hubristic to get into a barney with the Bear, though, especially as a quick inspection of Youtube will reveal that the Russians have some rather basic techniques for dealing with pirates.
I love it, I love it. Put them away and their bosses if they ever travel to russia. Put them away for life. Brilliant.
All of a sudden, protesting is not so much fun anymore.
As ever, it is the troops and not the leaders that pay the price.
The more things change…. you know the rest.
At last! Some value for my ROC payments.
ROTFLMAO every quarterly bill from now on.
O/T Red-Green Northrhine Westphalia climate seers say Cologne will have twice as many hot days per year in 2050 as now. Children and elderly hardest hit. Also, more rain and flooding!
http://www.ksta.de/koeln/klimawandel-bis-2050-doppelt-so-viele-hitzetage-in-koeln,15187530,24581072.html
The voters in NRW get what they voted for.
After having prevented the US from starting another regional war in Syria, Putin has now solved the piracy problem in the Arctic. This should qualify him for a Nobel Peace price.
Hmmm… If this continues badly for GP I’m afraid the “pirates” will be turned into martyrs of the green taliban, that’s the way GP will play it. I will be following this play of chess with interest. My guess is that they will be penalized heavily but will be released after not too long.
Letting them out now would only embolden them more. They’d come out all cocky – off the hook again!
I suspect Russia will keep them locked up long enough to make them really regret it. Minimum one year – they can forget next summer. Russia’s hand is too good…the GP boat-ramming activists were not “innocently and peacefully protesting”. They were posing a real danger.
Recall there are 2 journos among the activists. I’m sure the Russians got a gold mine of evidence just in their photos and clips alone.
[…] NoTricksZone has given us an update to the Greenpeace piracy […]
I reckon maybe the Russians have had enough of pauperizing ideological zelots with Lysenko? Anyone know if there is a site to place a wger on for sentencing – put me for $20 on 5 years. :0)
the ”activists” should be sent north in a gulag; where they can avoid any warming, where they will wish that planet gets warmer