“We will not be silenced,” said Greenpeace campaigner Marcelo
Marquesini. “Death threats will not stop us from exposing evidence
that clearly shows the Amazon is being destroyed by those who will
stop at nothing, until there is nothing left to destroy.”
The activists painted the message “Amazon Crime” on stockpiles
of timber that were being loaded onto the ocean freighter Illapel,
destined for Portugal, Spain and The Netherlands. Another
Greenpeace team painted the same message on the side of the
Illapel, and two activists climbed the anchor chain of the ship
unfurling a banner that also read “Amazon Crime.”
The protest marked the release of a Greenpeace report: “The
Santarem Five and Illegal logging: A Case Study,” with data on five
logging companies responsible for 72 percent of Santarem timber
exports in 2000. Research by the international environmental
organization concluded that these companies purchased timber of
illegal origin. Greenpeace requested that the Brazilian Government
carry out a complete investigation into the companies exposed in
the report, and demanded the cancellation of Forest Management
Plans (FMP) of logging companies that are known to be involved in
illegal activities.
“U.S. companies buy from several of the companies implicated in
this report,” said Greenpeace Ancient Forest Campaigner Scott Paul.
“Customers have the right to know whether or not they are buying
products from illegal and destructive sources.”
Most of the timber produced in Santarem is exported, primarily
to Europe and the U.S. One of the major international traders is
the Danish company DLH/ Nordisk, which sells to Belgium, Denmark,
China, United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain
and the United States. In some cases Forest Management Plans have
been cancelled by IBAMA, (the Brazilian Government Environmental
Agency) due to illegalities, but companies ignored the
cancellations and continued to log illegally.
