Peru plans to seek criminal charges against Greenpeace activists who damaged the world-renowned Nazca lines by leaving footprints in the adjacent desert during a publicity stunt, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
“It’s a true slap in the face at everything Peruvians consider sacred,’’ Peruvian Deputy Minister of Culture Luis Jaime Castillo said of Monday’s action by the environmental group at the famed drawings etched into a coastal desert.
He said the government was seeking to prevent those responsible from leaving the country while it asks prosecutors to file charges of “attacking archaeological monuments,” a crime punishable by up to six years in prison.
The activists entered a “strictly prohibited” area beside the famed figure of a hummingbird, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement. 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.
Castillo said no one, not even presidents and Cabinet ministers, is allowed without authorization where the activists trod, and those who do have permission must wear special shoes.
The Nazca lines are huge figures depicting living creatures, stylized plants and imaginary figures scratched into the surface of the ground between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. They are believed to have had ritual astronomical functions.
Greenpeace spokeswoman Tina Loeffelbein said that the activists were “absolutely careful to protect the Nazca lines” and that the group is taking the case seriously and investigating.
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