Greenpeace Damages Nazca Lines in Peru

Boris Djuric December 10, 2014

Peru seeks criminal charges, up
to six years in prison for
Greenpeace activists who
damaged the world-renowned
Nazca lines.
(Newswire.net -- December 10,
2014) Lima, Peru -- A group of
Greenpeace activists left footprints in
the adjacent desert during a publicity stunt, a senior government official said of Monday's action by the environmental
group at the famed drawings etched into Peru's coastal desert, a U.N. World Heritage site.
The Nazca Lines were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

"It's a true slap in the face at everything Peruvians consider sacred," Deputy Culture Minister Luis Jaime Castillo said.
According to AP, Castillo said the government asks prosecutors to file charges of "attacking archaeological
monuments," a crime punishable by up to six years in prison. Meanwhile, the Peruvian government seeks a way to
prevent responsible ones from leaving the country
The activists entered a strictly prohibited area, the Culture Ministry said in a statement. Beside the famed figure of a
hummingbird, they laid big yellow cloth letters reading: "Time for Change; The Future is Renewable."
The message was intended for delegates from 190 countries at the UN climate talks being held in nearby Lima.
No one is allowed, not even presidents and Cabinet ministers, without authorization, and those who do have
permission must wear special shoes Castillo said. Greenpeace activists snuck in and left their footprints all over the
site, he said.
The scholar believes the lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD. The designs are shallow
lines made in the ground by removing the reddish pebbles and uncovering the whitish/grayish ground beneath. The
Nazca Lines were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
"They are absolutely fragile. They are black rocks on a white background. You walk there and the footprint is going to
last hundreds or thousands of years," Castillo said. "And the line that they have destroyed is the most visible and most
recognized of all."
Greenpeace representative Tina Loeffelbein said the group is taking the case seriously and investigating. She said,
however, that the activists were "absolutely careful to protect the Nazca lines."
Source: http://newswire.net/newsroom/news/00086469-greenpeace-damages-nazca-lines-in-peru.html