From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 20 2000 - 11:57:45 MDT
[This is the official greepeace press release. -- GB]
28 GREENPEACE VOLUNTEERS ACQUITTED IN GM TRIAL
GREENPEACE CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO END GM FARM EXPERIMENTS
London, 20th September, 2000 -- Twenty-eight Greenpeace volunteers were
acquitted today of criminal damage
at Norwich Crown Court in Eastern England when a second jury failed to reach
a verdict. The volunteers had
originally been put on trial in April when a jury had acquitted them of
theft and failed to reach a verdict on
criminal damage.
The volunteers had gone on trial on September 4th on charges relating to a
Greenpeace action at Lyng,
Norfolk, in the UK, on 26th July, 1999, where part of an experimental crop
of genetically modified (GM) maize
was cut down and sealed in bags as part of a campaign to prevent genetic
contamination of the environment.
The failure of the prosecution to secure a conviction means that the
volunteers cannot be put on trial again
and are formally acquitted.
Speaking immediately after the verdict, Peter Melchett, Executive Director
of Greenpeace UK, said:
"This acquittal totally vindicates our campaign to prevent genetic pollution
of the environment. The
Government clearly cannot find a jury prepared to convict us for protecting
property and the environment from
genetic pollution. We now call on Government to end the GM farm scale trials
before any further genetic
pollution of the environment occurs."
The previous trial in April this year resulted in all of the volunteers
being acquitted of theft while the jury could
not reach a verdict over the charge of criminal damage.
"Greenpeace wanted to remove the GM maize in Norfolk because we believe that
GM crops will inevitably
contaminate the environment. The UK Government's own commissioned advisors -
the John Innes Centre
- told them that contamination was inevitable but they chose to ignore that
advice. Since July 1999, crops of
cotton in Greece have been found to have been contaminated by GM cotton and
have had to be destroyed, the
same has happened to oil seed rape and soya crops in France, and hundreds of
fields
of oil seed rape were contaminated in the UK and had to be destroyed",
Melchett continued.
The UK Government is currently reviewing separation distances imposed
between GM crops and other similar
crops. Greenpeace has been consistently saying that the separation distances
are completely inadequate and
that GM crops should not be released into the environment to contaminate the
food chain.
The GM maize at Lyng was designed to be fed to animals, in the production of
beef, milk and other dairy
products like butter and cream. GM material is still being used to feed farm
animals in Europe although
a growing number of retailers - such as Iceland in the UK, Delhaize le Lion
in Belgium, Migros in Switzerland,
Carrefour in France and Coop in Italy - are already committed to selling
animal products from animals not fed
on GM crops. Greenpeace expects other European retailers to follow suit over
the next four weeks.
For more information: Greenpeace UK contact in Norwich, Tel: +44-7801 212969
(mobile) or +44-1399 787 076
(pager); +44-7946 358 454 (mobile);
Greenpeace UK Press Office, Tel: 44-207 865 8285 +44 207 8255 or +44 207
8257
Teresa Merilainen, Greenpeace International Press Office, Tel: +31 20
5236637
end
James Williams
Greenpeace International (Press Office)
176 Keizersgracht
1016 DW Amsterdam
Netherlands.
Phone: ++ 31 (20) 5249 515
Fax: ++ 31 20 523 6212
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