[imc-presse] [cja-presse-d] Bilanz der „Reclaim-Power!“-Aktion - Dokumentation der Pressemitteilung des Netzwerks Climate Justice Now!, Ko-Organisatorin der Proteste vom 16. Dez.

Wed Dec 16 19:45:47 CET 2009

Climate Justice Action (deutschsprachiges Team)
Kopenhagen, 16. Dez. 2009

* Bilanz der „Reclaim-Power!“-Aktion
* Dokumentation der Pressemitteilung des Netzwerks Climate Justice Now!,
Ko-Organisatorin der Proteste am 16. Dez.

[Anmerkung: Die in der PM zitierte Sprecherin von Climate Justice Action
ist heute während der Kundgebung verhaftet worden. Was ihr vorgeworfen
wird ist noch nicht bekannt.]

------------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE
Climate Justice Now!
12/16/2009

* Mass Nonviolent Protest by North-South Climate Justice Alliances at
COP 15 Marks Defining Moment for Emerging Global Climate Justice Movement

* Despite Police Violence Civil Society Groups Inside and Outside Unite
in "People's Assembly" to Demand Real Solutions to the Climate Crisis

* Protests Expose Deep Flaws in the COP Process and Denounce Efforts to
Silence Critics by Excluding Civil Society

Copenhagen, Denmark-As the COP 15 climate talks enter their final days
and world leaders converge on Copenhagen, thousands demonstrated in the
streets of Copenhagen as part of the "Reclaim Power" protest for climate
justice called by Climate Justice Action. About 300 COP 15 delegates who
are part of the Climate Justice Now! Network marched out of the Bella
Center and attempted to join the protests outside, led by members of the
Bolivian delegation and the Indigenous Peoples Caucus. These delegates
were met with police truncheons; some were badly bruised. Hundreds more
UNFCCC accredited Civil Society observers were denied access to the
Bella Center all together, including the entire Friends of the Earth
International delegation, who staged a sit-in in the lobby at the Bella
Center- and the Indigenous Peoples Caucus, which is scheduled to meet
with Bolivian President Evo Morales and is being denied entry at the
time of writing.

"In the wake of the mass exclusions of critical civil society voices
from the COP 15 process, and with the future of our planet literally
hanging in the balance, we joined the mass nonviolent movement in
Copenhagen to protest the unjust agenda of the rich countries who are
trying to strong arm the rest of the world into accepting their agenda
of allowing global warming by 2 degrees -- which will literally wipe
entire nations off the map," said Anne Peterman of Global Justice
Ecology Project and Climate Justice Now! who joined the march out of the
Bella Center today.

"I participated in this protest because climate change is already
killing people in Africa. This is an emergency and we need climate
justice now! We must acknowledge that we from the south are the real
creditors and the governments of the North are the real debtors. They
owe the world economic debt, ecological debt and climate debt and they
must pay now!" said Wahu Kaara of the Kenya Debt Relief Network.

As broad frustration grows with the content and direction of the climate
negotiations, two international networks of people's movements, civil
society groups, Indigenous Peoples Organizations and grassroots
activists united to stage mass non-violent civil disobedience to expose
the failure of the COP process. Representatives of these networks,
Climate Justice Action and Climate Justice Now!, declared that, given
the urgency of the climate crisis, it is time for dramatic action to
expose the COP process as undemocratic, unjust and inadequate to deal
with the scale of the problem. The "Reclaim Power" action on Wednesday
December 16th involved thousands of activists simultaneously approaching
the Conference centre from different starting points, and a mass of
people walking out of the climate talks, to hold a 'People's Assembly' a
participatory platform for marginalized voices and real solutions to
climate change. Despite significant violence from the police against
non-violent protesters the groups did manage to meet and hold the
assembly before marching triumphantly back to the city center to
continue the work of building a broad based global climate justice movement.

"The solidarity we experienced today, in the face of police intimidation
and repression, shows that people across the world are standing together
to expose the failure of the COP to address the real causes of the
climate crisis, and our determination to work together to bring about
the changes needed to tackle climate change. The people feel strong
together and we will go back home to build the movement for climate
justice and for real solutions, " said Kingkorn Narintarakul of the Thai
Working Group for Climate Justice who, together with a delegation of
Thai community activists, marched in today's protest.

Unfortunately after today's actions and the people assemble the Bella
centre continues to be closed to all Non-Governmental Organizations and
members of civil society. Among those locked out were leaders from the
Indigenous Peoples caucus, young children and observers from across the
globe aiming to support their governments. As Tom Goldtooth, director of
the Indigenous Environmental Network who was also among those locked out
of the building said "this is in direct contravention of our Human
Rights under the United Nations Charter

"We have no more time to waste. If governments won't solve the problem
then its time for our diverse people's movements to unite and reclaim
the power to shape our future. We are beginning this process with the
people's assembly. We will join together all the voices that have been
excluded-both within the process and outside of it. said Stine Gry,
Climate Justice Action.

The Reclaim Power action brought together climate activists,
representatives of climate-impacted communities and Indigenous peoples
from around the world for a peoples assembly that took place outside the
Bella Center. The range of actions included not only participants in the
COP process walking out of the talks but also thousands of people who
have been excluded from the talks making their way into the grounds of
the Bella Center to call for Climate Justice.

Contacts:
Climate Justice Now!: 0045 2497 7863
www.climate-justice-now.org

--------------------------------------------------------------

Für Nachfragen bei Climate Justice Action:
* Alexis Passadakis,0045-41682808
* Philip Pauls, 0045-50112038

_______________________________________________
Cja-media-germany mailing list
Cja-media-germany at lists.aktivix.org
https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/cja-media-germany