FW: Ashcroft vs. Greenpeace

[Mike Friedman <mikedf@xxxxxxxx>]

From: John Passacantando, executive director Greenpeace USA

Re: The Justice Department's Unprecedented Attack on Greenpeace

In the past you have been there to support Greenpeace.  Now we need you to
make your voices heard. It's important that you know about a serious battle
we are facing to continue to do the work you support us for: taking action
to stop crimes against our environment.

Yesterday, MV Esperanza, arrived in Miami Florida.  However, rather than
pulling into port, as Greenpeace ships do throughout the world, she will
remain at anchor.

The Port of Miami has refused us entry because John Ashcroft's Justice
Department is prosecuting us for a protest action last year.  The
prosecution is unprecedented.  Never before in U.S. history has an entire
organization been prosecuted for a peaceful protest of its supporters.

As you know, for years we have worked to end environmental destruction and
human rights abuses in Brazil's Amazon rainforest.  Destruction of these
habitats threatens clean air and water, animal and plant species, and the
people and cultures who depend on forests for their way of life.  Large
criminal enterprises, using bribery, extortion, slavery, and murder,
continue to ravage the Amazon and export their contraband.

Last year, two Greenpeace activists climbed aboard a ship carrying Amazon
mahogany wood. They held a banner that said "President Bush: Stop Illegal
Logging."

Amazingly, instead of halting the shipment, the government is prosecuting
Greenpeace in federal court in Miami.  It has charged Greenpeace under an
obscure 19th century law never intended for this purpose. A trial is now set
for December.

Leading legal experts, quoted in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times,
and publications around the world, agree that this prosecution is disturbing
and poses a threat to free speech.

 From the Boston Tea Party to the civil rights movement, public protest
actions have helped bring positive change in the U.S.

Our actions worldwide have played a critical role in, for example, stopping
atmospheric nuclear testing, protecting Antarctica from exploitation, and
banning radioactive waste dumping at sea.

But if this prosecution succeeds, non-violent protest may become yet another
casualty of John Ashcroft's attack on civil liberties.

Please help us to ensure that freedom of speech isn't taken away from all of
us.

-- Take action:

Contact President Bush and John Ashcroft and tell them to prosecute illegal
loggers, not Greenpeace:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/bin/view.fpl/10048/action_id/195.html

Contact the authorities in Miami and tell them that they should allow the
Esperanza to dock in Miami:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/bin/view.fpl/10048/action_id/196.html

For more information and to stay updated as events unfold, visit:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/trial

Sincerely,
John Passacantando
Executive Director
Greenpeace USA

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