08.11.2022
Greta Tunberg won’t go to COP27 in Egypt over human rights abuses in the country
“I will not go to COP27 for many reasons, but this year the opportunities for civil society are particularly limited,” she said on Sunday during the launch of her book The Climate Book at London’s Southbank Centre. — It is important to leave room for those who need to be there. It will be difficult for activists to make their voices heard.
Tunberg’s statements came against a backdrop of severe restrictions on peaceful assembly and freedom of speech in Egypt. Residents in and around Sharm el-Sheikh reported that the area had become a kind of “war zone” with draconian security measures allegedly aimed at protecting COP27 participants.
According to Tunberg, “[Police conferences] are mainly used by leaders and people in positions of power as an opportunity to draw attention to themselves through many different types of money laundering, lies and fraud”.
Earlier on Sunday, Greta Tunberg attended a sit-in outside the UK Foreign and International Development Office (FCDO) in London in solidarity with Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian writer imprisoned in Egypt. Tunberg held up a plaque with the words “#FreeAlaa before #COP27”.
Alaa Abd El Fattah is a blogger, programmer and activist who has called for peaceful assemblies and freedom of speech. He became a symbol of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Because of his activities, he has spent the last eight years in prison on various charges.
Last week, Tunberg joined more than 200 organisations and individuals in calling on the Egyptian authorities to release journalists and political prisoners ahead of the conference. She was also among those who last week signed a human rights coalition petition calling on Egyptian authorities to open up civilian space and release political prisoners.
At least 60,000 political prisoners are estimated to have been arrested and imprisoned since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi overthrew Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president, and came to power in 2013.
Tunberg’s recently published book focuses on climate and activism in the world. Thunberg said she wants the book to be educational, “which is a bit ironic as I love school strikes”, referring to her protests in front of the Swedish parliament, which began in 2018. At the book launch, Thunberg again urged people to get involved in climate activism, saying it was time for a “radical change” in the status quo. “To make a difference, we need everyone — we need billions of activists,” she said.
Cover photo: Zuma Exclusive / TASS
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