HUFFINGTON  (CONT)

around Attorney General John Ashcroft, have also spoken out strongly against certain NGOs that they consider to be working against the administration's policies.

The Justice Department had insisted that the Greenpeace prosecution was not politically motivated but was undertaken only to prevent people from illegally attempting to board ships near the Port or threaten Port security. The Port of Miami denied berthing space for Greenpeace boats after the indictment was filed.

But NGO supporters of Greenpeace doubted that explanation.

"I'm not naive enough to think the government will cease its efforts to suppress dissent," said the ACLU's Simon, while Mitch Bernard, litigation director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, that "the government is full of cards it can play if it wants to continue to stifle dissent. Unfortunately, I don't see any reason for believing this is the end. Nonprofit groups and advocates need to be on their guard for this sort of thing."
As to the original purpose of the protest, a Brazilian parliamentarian who has worked to stop illegal logging and export of mahogany, Hamilton Cesar, was on hand in Miami to serve as a defense witness. He told the Miami Herald that the acquittal "will help us fight in Brazil against illegal activities."

Similarly, Passacantando told reporters that his group was still waiting for Bush to fulfill his pledge to stop imports of the illegally cut wood.

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