Greenpeace storms Romanian minister’s office

Greenpeace activists stormed the Romanian environment minister’s office Tuesday, with two chaining themselves to the radiator, to protest a controversial gold mine in Transylvania.Minister Laszlo Borbely said about 30 protesters entered the building in the morning demanding answers about the mine planned by Canada’s Rosia Montana Gold Corp., which environmentalists oppose.He said the Romanian and foreign protesters, who stayed almost five hours in the ministry before leaving peacefully, declined his offer of coffee and mineral water. Borbely told reporters he will not approve the project unless it is environmentally safe. Critics claim the project is dangerous because it uses cyanide. The project’s supporters say it will bring hundreds of much-needed jobs, and vital foreign investment.In neighboring Hungary, in a protest against the same gold mine, Greenpeace activists placed a coffin stuffed with dead fish outside the gates of the Romanian embassy in Budapest.The gesture was to commemorate the 12th anniversary of a cyanide spill in a gold mine in the Romanian city of Baia Mare, which killed huge amounts of fish and wildlife in Hungarian rivers.The activists called on the Romanian government to reject permits for the Rosia Montana gold mine and ban the use of cyanide in gold mining.