From the Greenpeace Philippines blogYesterday, the Rainbow Warrior has set its course towards the Philippines after wrapping up our the first leg of its Turn the Tide Tour of Southeast Asia early October. The tour, which aims to call on governments to Turn the Tide of dirty development to pave the way for a green and peaceful future, kicked off in Bangkok on September 17.
In Thailand, the Warrior called on the Thai Government to prioritize and support investments which will help put Thailand on a green development pathway, by technological leapfrogging with bold policy innovations and a new solidarity across social classes and generations. While in Thailand the ship travelled from Nakhon Si Thamarrat, Surathani, Koh Samui, Chumphon and Prachuab Kirikhan to promote a common vision of green development as well as to stand in solidarity with the grassroots and the people’s movement that are working in Thailand for the cause of environmental preservation.
While Indonesia is a different story, which started with high hopes that our peaceful campaigning ship would be able to support the Indonesian president's stated aims of ending deforestation in Indonesia. It ended with the Rainbow Warrior being denied vital supplies and being ordered – and escorted – out of Indonesian waters and well into international waters by two navy vessels, in breach of international maritime law.
We can only say that it seems very possible that there are some things that short-sighted political and economic interests did not want us – or you – to see, and that Indonesia's government capitulated to these vested interests.
After stopping for maintenance and supplies in Singapore the Rainbow Warrior is heading North-East towards the Philippines where it will join the clamour for an Energy [R]evolution, in the Philippines a country that has been labelled as among the most vulnerable and least prepared countries when it comes to coping with the impacts of climate change, there we hope to turn the tide by getting President Noynoy Aquino; to live up to the people’s aspirations of change by taking action against the greatest threat that mankind faces today ---climate change.
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