Anti-Lynas youths to stage hunger strike

Alyaa Azhar | December 20, 2012
They will fast for 100 hours at Dataran Merdeka in support of Himpunan Hijau’s Green Drive convoy.
PETALING JAYA: A group of young Malaysians will go on a 100-hour hunger strike next Thursday as a prelude to Himpunan Hijau’s “Green Drive” from Kuala Lumpur to Gebeng against the Lynas rare earth plant.
The hunger strikers, calling themselves Malaysian Youth Against Public Hazards, will camp at Dataran Merdeka during their fast. Currently, there are 20 of them, but a spokesman said he expected the number to swell by Dec 27. They are mostly teenagers, the youngest being 14 year-old.
The Himpunan Hijau programme will start at Taman Melewar at 8am on Dec 31. The group’s leader, Wong Tack, told a press conference today that he expected about 10,000 cars to take part, at least by the time the convoy reaches Gebeng.
The two groups are seeking a withdrawal of the temporary operating licence that the government has issued to Lynas. They are also demanding public access to the detailed environment impact assessment of the Gebeng plant.
“We are carrying out a campaign for 100 days to bring down Lynas and to bring down the dark forces behind the corrupt regime,” Wong told reporters.
He alleged that Lynas’ operations would soon extend beyond the processing of rare earths to the processing of radioactive wastes.
He criticised the authorities for allowing these “violations of law and procedures” and lamented that “the regulators have turned into violators themselves”.
He said Himpunan Hijau’s objective was to send the “clearest message to the nation and the world that foreign corporate coloniser must be immediately evicted from this country and the dark forces behind them must be exposed and removed from position and power”.
The Green Drive will retrace the route of last month’s Green Walk from Kuantan. The participants will rest at Bentong and hear speeches by representatives of civic groups as well as politicians.
The convoy is expected to arrive in Gebeng by 5pm.
In the evening, more activities will take place at the Anti-Lynas Blockade Base Camp in Balok.
“We will do everything we can within these 100 days to bring down Lynas and prevent the corrupt regime from returning to Putrajaya,” Wong said.

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