| Banning Paris Climate Marches Bans Public Voice | 27 November 15 |
Major marches planned for COP21 international climate talks in Paris will not be authorised for security reasons, the French government said. Environmental activists - who expected attract hundreds of thousands people on 29 November and 12 December - said that they accepted the decision with regret, but were now considering "new and imaginative" ways of making their voices heard. Civil society organizations and world citizens wished to march in solidarity with Parisians, for peace, and for climate action. The French government's decision reflects very limited values and priorities regarding who and what will get full security protection. Yes to world leaders industry heads and bankers, football matches and Christmas markets; no to climate marches and protests. No matter that the climate negotiations affect billions of lives based on current levels of emission and impacts from climate change. Climate change is a moral crisis of the highest order. Every time governments of wealthy nations fail to act, they say that we, the rich developed nations, are putting our immediate comfort and economic security ahead of the poorest and most vulnerable people on Earth. To ban public protests in the most important and visible spaces where the voices of those affected by climate change would be heard is a dramatic expression of this ethic abuse of power. Silencing the voices of those whose voices matter most including those impacted the most by climate change - is in itself a display of violence. It is a form of cultural violence used by the rich and powerful to maintain the security of the rich and powerful. It keeps the decision makers isolated and out of touch from the reality faced by the billions who are directly affected by climate change.
View November 20, 2015 The Guardian article |
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