star wars

Greenpeace's recently appointed Executive Director, Gerd Leipold, today criticised President George W. Bush for putting the world's future at risk with a "truly astonishing policy path that could undo so much progress in environmental protection and world peace".

Speaking at the launch of the organisation's Annual Report, Dr. Gerd Leipold said that in pursuing the Star Wars (missile defence) programme, rejecting the Kyoto climate change agreement and threatening to open the Alaskan Arctic Wildlife Reserve to oil exploitation, President Bush was failing to protect the environment to satisfy his corporate supporters.

Seventeen people, three of whom are British Citizens, known as the 'Star Wars 17' were formally charged at a court hearing in the United States on Monday 13th August. Outside the US Embassy in London on the same day, seventeen people dressed in US prison clothing and handcuffed together, confronted the US authorities holding a "Stop Star Wars not Peaceful Protest" banner.

The 'Star Wars 17' face charges that carry sentences of up to six years in prison, following a peaceful Greenpeace protest which delayed a test of President Bush's Star Wars missile system in July(1).

Fifteen Greenpeace volunteers and two freelance journalists will go on trial in Los Angeles in just over a months' time. All seventeen are facing charges of conspiracy which could lead to jail terms of up to six years, after the delay in the Star wars missile test launch at Vandenberg Air Forcer Base in California.

The charges have been levelled against the 15 volunteers as well as the 2 journalists, even though the pair were simply documenting the peaceful protest. The trial date has been set for September 25th 2001.

A Greenpeace pilot flying a power-chute (an engine powered parachute) buzzed Chequers - the British Prime Minister's official residence - at 6.00am this morning while both Tony Blair and President George W Bush slept inside.

The early morning wake-up call was intended to remind the President that until he ratifys the Kyoto Protocol and abandons his Star Wars missile defence programme he will not be welcome in Britain. The power-chute towed a banner declaring 'Outlaw Bush' because of his record for disregarding international treaties.