Your current location:HOME >politics >Discharge is against right to clean environment, activist says 正文
TIME:2024-05-08 03:21:41 Source: Internet compilationEdit:politics
Workers prepare for an auction at Numanouchi fish port in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan, on Thursday. KENT
Workers prepare for an auction at Numanouchi fish port in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan, on Thursday. KENTARO TAKAHASHI/GETTY IMAGES
Philippine environmentalists, consumer and fishery groups have condemned the Japanese government's decision to dump over 1 million metric tons of nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean, saying that this violates human rights and will harm human health and environment in the long term.
At a hybrid forum organized and moderated by Wilson Lee Flores, a Filipino business leader and newspaper columnist on Thursday, participants have called on the Philippine government to take a stand on Japan's move and have expressed solidarity with other countries, including China, South Korea and Pacific Island countries, which will also suffer from a contaminated ocean that everyone shares.
Ronnel Arambulo, national spokesperson for the Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines, said his group will be protesting at the Japanese embassy on Saturday to pressure the government to stop the water discharge. The discharge will poison the ocean, destroy marine resources and take away the livelihoods of thousands of small-scale fisherfolk, he added.
On Thursday, Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the crippled Fukushima plant, started discharging the first batch of nuclear-contaminated water, despite concerns from Japanese fishermen and the international community.
Cecilia Guidote Alvarez, executive director of Earthsavers, said protesting against TEPCO's move is a matter of human rights.
Discharging toxic water into the ocean is against one's right to a clean, healthy, sustainable and peaceful environment. "Water is life," she said.
She called for continuous "diversified action" against the move, adding that this toxic discharge will pollute the ocean over a long time and endanger future generations.
Emily Fajardo, council member of the Nuclear-Free Bataan Movement, said the group is "concerned with (the Philippine) government's continuing silence and indifference on this critical issue".
She also urged the global community to continue to resist the Japanese government's outright disregard of the rights of people in the Pacific Ocean to be protected from potential harm and dangers by pushing through with the toxic water dumping.
"How long will it take to contaminate the other bodies of water connected to the Pacific Ocean by this (water) dumping? Do they have a plan to mitigate that, in case the contamination spreads out?" Fajardo said.
Raymond Palatino, secretary-general of the New Patriotic Alliance, said Japan is guilty of "nuclear colonialism".
He also questioned why Japan resorted to dumping contaminated water instead of exhausting other alternatives.
"If the wastewater is really safe, why are they releasing it to the ocean?" Palatino said. "Why can't they recycle it?"
Paris Hilton's brother2024-05-08 03:21
Movie Review: ‘Food, Inc. 2’ revisits food system, sees reason for frustration and (a little) hope2024-05-08 03:11
Duck! Flying squirrels take to the air in Nebraska city2024-05-08 03:03
Odysseus moon lander sends new images in its last hours2024-05-08 02:43
Trump hush money trial: Prosecutors move deeper into ex2024-05-08 02:42
Tips for college students and parents ahead of tax deadline2024-05-08 02:40
The O.J. Simpson case forced domestic violence into the spotlight, boosting a movement2024-05-08 02:17
Joel Embiid returns from injury scare, scores 32 as 76ers beat Magic 1252024-05-08 02:17
Travis Kelce parties at star2024-05-08 02:01
China sanctions 2 US defense companies and says they support arms sales to Taiwan2024-05-08 00:44
Minnesota legislators consider constitutional amendment to protect abortion and LGBTQ rights2024-05-08 03:02
Stock market today: Asia stocks are mostly lower after Wall St rebound led by Big Tech2024-05-08 02:47
Artist Natalia Rak not told her Dunedin mural would be painted over2024-05-08 02:46
SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to the ISS for a 62024-05-08 02:24
This is the surprising risk of Ozempic NO ONE talks about2024-05-08 01:38
Project to shore up Pompeii yields stunning black banquet hall, with frescoes of Trojan War figures2024-05-08 01:32
Why don't humans have tails? A genetic mutation offers clues2024-05-08 01:11
Moon landing: Odysseus marks first US landing in over 50 years2024-05-08 01:06
Can yogurt reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes?2024-05-08 01:03
Blind people can hear and feel April's total solar eclipse with new technology2024-05-08 00:50