Hundreds of Cook Islanders and tourists Wednesday joined a peaceful protest against seabed mining, calling for a moratorium on deep-sea activities.
The rally held at the Avarua Harbour was organised by Cook Islands environmental conservation organisation, Ocean Ancestors, a collective of individuals, NGOs, and businesses.
Protestors and observers began to arrive at the Trader Jack’s car park, where a tent offering a free garment printing service was set up, at 3pm.
Jackie Tuara, founder of Korero O Te Orau and Te Manava Ora o te Ivi Maori, kickstarted the official programme, making a heartfelt appeal to the Pacific community to unite in support of their cause.
Some of the protestors boarded Vaka Marumaru Atua for the sail out rally while others including some participants from the 52nd Underwater Minerals Conference held at the National Auditorium observed from Trader Jack’s.
Traditional singing and dancing, including Pe’e, were performed on the Vaka, surrounded by numerous people in their own small boats and canoes. A large banner reading “Protect Our Ocean #ThinkDeeply” was displayed on the water.
“Today was a very emotional and spiritual day, having everyone here full of love and passion for our ocean and heritage,” Tuara said.
“If we realise that we aren’t looking after what God has given us, if we aren’t guardians of the sea, of our land, of our water, then what will future generations have?”
Prime Minister Mark Brown, who is also the Minister for Seabed Minerals, on Tuesday welcomed the rally, noting that their concerns have been acknowledged from the beginning.
“We’re pleased that they are supporting the Cook Islands people priorities in terms of the protection of our ocean. That’s always been our number one priority, and furthermore, we’re glad that they support also our call for research and more exploration so that we can have science-based and evidence-based decision-making rather than ideological-based decision-making so we are very happy with that,” Brown said. However, the Prime Minister said they do not support the public’s call for a moratorium, as it would halt and prevent much of the research currently taking place.