January 13: German Greens Are 25 Years Old

It was 25 years earlier on January 13th, 1980, that the Federal Green Party in what was then West Germany was founded.

Now 25 years later, a now re-united Germany took a look back over the Greens first 25 years, with a great deal of coverage in the German media, as well as some substantial analysis in in English as well.

February 11-13: Sowing
Greens Seeds in the Asia Pacific Region – Founding Meeting of the Asia Pacific Green Network

The breadth and depth of the Global Green movement was on display February 11th to 13th in Kyoto, Japan, as the Asia-Pacific Green Network was formally organized into an ongoing network of Greens, from Pakistan to the Pacific, and from Mongolia to the Tasmanian sea

Just days before the effective start date of the Kyoto Protocol Treaty
on Climate Change, more than 100 Greens gathered from 23 Asian and Pacific
nations, along with 300 more from Japan, and Green observers from Europe and
the Americas.
The historic meeting united representatives from established Green Parties, as well as Green political groups which are not yet fully fledged political parties, but are involved in electoral politics on some level, or plan to be -- and it followed upon the first Asia Pacific Green Politics Workshop, held in Brisbane, Australia (April 2000), at which the Asia Pacific Green Network was first loosely founded.

The primary aim of Kyoto in 2005 was to formalize the Asia Pacific
Greens Network, with its primary functions to

- facilitate information exchange and networking

- cooperate politically towards implementation of the Global Green Charter

- participate in the Global Greens

Twenty-seven Green parties and organizations from 23 countries were
accepted as provisional APGN members, with a formal Membership Panel
established to help determine ongoing membership later in the year.

Three Greens were also elected to serve as the APGN's representatives on the 12-member Global Greens Coordination.
- Ms. Margaret Blakers (Australia), 2001 Global Greens conference organizer and current Global Greens Coordination member
- Ms. Satoko Watanabe (Japan) Asia Pacific Greens Kyoto 2005 organizer
- Mr. Solomone Fifita (Tonga, working in Samoa), Pacific Green movement

In an unplanned but welcome occurrence, the Asia Pacific Young Greens Network was also launched during the weekend, and was recognized immediately by the APGN.

The weekend featured a series of issue-based workshops on Saturday
at Kyoto Campus Plaza, on social justice, democracy and the environment.
These were followed on Saturday night by a march in support of the Kyoto Protocol, and then a festive party.

Several resolutions were passed on Sunday morning, followed by a big group picture taken inside massive Kyoto Station. Japanese Greens then held a major meeting, with the decision taken to form a formal national Green network called Greens Japan, in order to prepare for starting a national Green Party.

The APGN meeting officially began on Friday
with an opening ceremony featured a spellbinding
musical performance by Japanese singer and environmentalist Yae, followed a series of opening comments from representatives of all nations in attendance.

February 18: Asassination Attempt at Peruvian Green Leader

The Partido Verde Alternative de Perú reported that on February 18th, an assassination attempt was made on the life of its National Secretary General, Flor de Maria Hurtado, by two unknown armed men.

For many years, Hurtado Valdez had helped lead leading a movement in the Amazon area of Peru in defense of the Amazon jungles and the indigenous and native communities. The attempt on her life came most likely as a result of her opposing illegal logging in the Amazon.

As a result, Green Party president Alex González sent out a call to Green Parties around the world , to write to the Peruvian Government and media, to demand the government’s intervention to guarantee Hurtado Valdez’s security.

This international campaign was successful in bringing notoriety to Hurtado Valdez’s security and held lead to the government ultimately stepping in on her behalf.