1.Activists Destroy GM Crops In The Netherlands
2.ANTI-GM PROTESTS SUPPRESSED WORLD-WIDE
COMMENT
Note the final sentence of the first article below which links people who pull up GM plants in the Netherlands with Islamic fundamentalists and neo-Nazis.
To put that into context: neo-Nazi skinheads in the Netherlands stand accused of brutal assaults and even murder, while the killing of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh lead to headlines such as:
"'Islamic fundamentalist' held over killing of filmmaker"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1342698,00.html
If the Dutch government really is making that link, then it appears to be part of a growing pattern typified by the Danish government's prosecution of Greenpeace under anti-terrorism laws introduced after 9/11. Their crime? Placing an anti-GM flag in a corporate office - an entirely non-violent act.
A spokesman for Nordic Greenpeace commented, "We were trying to bring attention to a hidden fact - that Danish pigs are fed genetically engineered soy - which is information 98% of the Danish population says it wants. Most major changes against unjust and unpopular laws in the last century have been achieved by these methods of civil disobedience. They are the mark of a free society."
http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/Something_Rotten_in_Denmark.html
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1.Activists Destroy GM Crops In The Netherlands
Associated Press, August 25, 2005
http://www.agbios.com/main.php?action=ShowNewsItem&id=6782
Activists in the Netherlands have destroyed a field of genetically modified potatoes, a biotechnology company said; the latest in a string of such attacks.
Avenue LLC spokesman Harry Jasken said the crop in a northern Dutch province was poisoned with a chemical weed killer in late July, and police have no suspects.
Direct financial damage amounted to several thousands of euros (dollars), he said, but the company could lose millions if its experiment is derailed. Avenue's project is one of four in the Netherlands that have been granted permits by the Agriculture Ministry.
Another of eight fields in the Avenue experiment was destroyed last year.
A message posted Monday on the Indymedia Web site reported the attack in a message signed by the "Jackrabbit Support Group."
"Not a single experiment has taken place in Belgium or Britain this year due to many such attacks," the message said. "That's possible here too! The attacks will continue!"
When an Avebe field was destroyed in July 2004, an unnamed group published a message in local media claiming that "by the last full moon we sabotaged a thousand genetically manipulated seed potatoes."
"They're dead and no longer form a danger for humans and the environment. We hope that this makes clear Avebe's attempts to play God are pointless. Stop the gen-tech madness!"
In November, an unknown group killed 400 genetically modified apple trees belonging to the country's agricultural University of Wageningen.
Wednesday's message on Indymedia claimed that more trees in Wageningen had been destroyed and others were "gnawed by jackrabbits."
Jasken said the potatoes in its experiment use only potato genes, and the potatoes are destined for use in textiles and paper, not for food or animal feed.
"It used to be that environmentalists were people you could talk to," he said. "The people who did this are more radical, they just do what they want."
The Dutch Agriculture Ministry has tight guidelines governing experiments with genetically modified organisms, and the public approval process takes years. The ministry has threatened to grant future permits in secret if attacks continue.
The Dutch government said in a policy statement earlier this week that small, hard-core groups of Dutch Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis and environmental activists bear similarities, and that it plans new measures to undermine their societal support.
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2.ANTI-GM PROTESTS SUPPRESSED WORLD-WIDE
GM Watch 17 May 2005
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5248
It's not exactly hard to spot the pattern.
Students at the University of Lancaster in the UK peacefully protest against a "corporate venturing" conference on campus involving, amongst others, Lord Sainsbury, GM firm Dupont, arms manufacturer BAE Systems and Shell, the oil giant responsible for environmental devastation in the Niger delta. 5 months later the protesters suddenly find themselves facing charges of aggravated trespass carrying a possible jail sentence.
In Denmark Greenpeace protesters go into a company building to hang up a banner protesting against GM crops and eight months later find the organisation is to be prosecuted under anti-terrorism laws.
Last year protesters in St Louis, who had come to demonstrate at the Monsanto-backed World Agricultural Forum (WAF) taking place in the city, found themselves arrested and held for hours before they even had the chance to protest. They're now bringing a legal case against the mayor and police chief for conspiring to stifle their protests.
In Thailand, GM protesters find themselves facing 5 years of prison for exposing an environmental crime involving illegal contamination of innocent farmers' papaya crops.
For more information on the Lancaster 6 and how to protest: http://www.free-webspace.biz/GeorgeFox/index.html
To protest what's happening in Thailand: http://act.greenpeace.org/1114629368/index_html
For articles/links to articles on all the above incidents: http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5248