News / National
Cameroon police detain four environmental activists
17 Nov 2012 at 15:27hrs | Views
Douala - Greenpeace International says security officers detained four environmental activists opposed to the establishment of an oil palm plantation in Cameroon by a US-based company.
The group said late on Friday that Nasako Besingi and three of his co-workers with the environmental group the Struggle to Economise Future Environment were taken from their office in the southwest town of Mundemba on Wednesday.
It said they have been held since without charge.
Greenpeace International says the arrests are in violation of Cameroonian law and are linked to their opposition to the oil palm plantation planned by the US-based Herakles Farms.
Herakles Farms, represented by a local affiliate Sithe Global Sustainable Oils Cameroon PLC, began operations in 2010 after signing a contract in 2009 that granted the New York-based firm a 99-year lease on rainforest property.
Palm oil is widely used across Africa.
The group said late on Friday that Nasako Besingi and three of his co-workers with the environmental group the Struggle to Economise Future Environment were taken from their office in the southwest town of Mundemba on Wednesday.
It said they have been held since without charge.
Herakles Farms, represented by a local affiliate Sithe Global Sustainable Oils Cameroon PLC, began operations in 2010 after signing a contract in 2009 that granted the New York-based firm a 99-year lease on rainforest property.
Palm oil is widely used across Africa.
Source - AP
