On Dec. 8, a group of about 20 Greenpeace activists laid out a large sign on the ground beside the enormous figure of a hummingbird, one of many Nazca Lines etched in the desert more than 1,000 years ago. It is not known why the lines were made, but scholars believe they may have had been used in religious ceremonies.
The sign promoted renewable energy and included the group’s name. But the desert ground is very delicate, and the authorities said the activists left marks that could well linger for decades or even centuries. Photographs show a visible track where they walked in and many marks near the hummingbird, as well as a mark in the shape of a “C” from the word “Greenpeace.”
Drones sent up to study the Nazca Lines in Peru show that a protest against global warming by the environment action group Greenpeace permanently damaged an area around the famed geoglyphs, the government said.
Culture Minister Diana Alvarez-Calderon said Monday that evidence gathered during an investigation by the government will be used as part of a legal suit against Greenpeace. The damage done is irreparable and the apologies offered by the environmental group aren’t enough,” she said at a news conference.
Greenpeace has apologized for laying out big yellow letters on the desert floor beside the geoglyph of a giant hummingbird. The letters read: “Time for change! The future is renewable.” The protest took place last week during a high-level United Nations sponsored meeting taking place in Lima aimed at stopping global climate warming. Peru says the activists damaged an area around the hummingbird by grinding rocks into the sandy soil. Access to the area around the lines is strictly prohibited.
President Ollanta Humala has called the Greenpeace actions a “lack of respect for our cultural patrimony and Peruvian laws. “The ministry wanted the activists to be detained before they could leave Peru, but a judge initially refused to hold any of the activists and they are believed to have left Peru. Greenpeace has promised to fully cooperate with any investigation and said it is willing to “face fair and reasonable consequences. A senior Peruvian official told The Associated Press on Tuesday evening that his government would seek criminal charges against Greenpeace activists who allegedly damaged the lines by leaving footprints in the adjacent desert.
“We fully understand that this looks bad,” Greenpeace said in a statement Wednesday. “We came across as careless and crass.” – Greenpeace
”On Monday Greenpeace’s International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo met with Peruvian officials in Lima. The Nazca Lines are a mysterious series of huge animal, imaginary human and plant symbols etched into the ground sometime between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500. The hummingbird design is one of the most famous and best preserved of the lines. Experts disagree on why the lines were made, but some say they may have had ritual astronomical functions.
Burak Dimli Kaynak Erişim Tarihi: 16.12.2014
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/12/travel/greenpeace-nazca-lines-damage/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/peru-says-greenpeace-permanently-damaged-nazca-lines-1418681478
http://news.yahoo.com/greenpeace-apologizes-peru-stunt-181406223.html
