Greenpeace is facing legal action after its activists disturbed the Nazca lines constructed in Peru’s desert roughly 1,500 years ago.
A giant banner was recently placed next to a desert drawing of a hummingbird that read, “Time for Change! The Future is Renewable.”
Peruvian authorities say that the event, which was intended to strike the attention of delegates of United Nations climate talks in Lima, irreparably damaged the site with footprints.
“It’s a true slap in the face at everything Peruvians consider sacred,” said Luis Jaime Castillo, the deputy culture minister, BBC reported Wednesday. He added that the footprints left behind on the site’s fragile rocks are “going to last hundreds or thousands of years. … The line that they have destroyed is the most visible and most recognized of all.”
A lawyer for the seven individuals involved said they would be willing to plead guilty to charges of criminal trespassing, The Guardian reported.
“Peru has nothing against the message of Greenpeace. We are all concerned about climate change,” Mr. Castillo said. “But the means doesn’t justify the ends.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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