Arctic 30 Activist Speaks Out: 'Sometimes You Have to Get the Ball Rolling'

Over a month after the capture and imprisonment of the Greenpeace Arctic 30, a published letter from Swiss activist Marco Weber promises that he has no regrets: “Sometimes you have to get the ball rolling.”

Published Sunday in the German newsweekly Sonntagszeitung, Marco writes (translated) that the “situation is hard to bear,” though adding, “but the cry that went after our arrest by the world, and the knowledge to have acted on behalf of many people is incredibly invigorating.”

Responding to written questions from the newspaper asking if he regretted his action, he replied, “I have no regrets. I know I did the right thing. This in turn helps me to endure the injustice of captivity and deprivation. It is important to follow our inner values ​​and downright stand for that.

“Sometimes you have to get the ball rolling,” he continued. “I am convinced that a common, peaceful and courageous commitment of many concerned people can bring force the protection of the Arctic world. Moreover, it is also a matter of responsibility towards our planet and our posterity: This compels us also to venture [through this] initially hopeless endeavor.”

Describing his imprisonment in the cold, 4 by 5 meter cell in the prison in the northern Russian region of Murmansk, Weber says he has been held in isolation for 24 days with no contact with the outside world besides regular visits from the Swiss consul.