NEW DELHI: Licypriya Kangujam, a 12-year-old climate activist from Manipur, made a dramatic entrance onto the stage at the United Nations Climate Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai. She sprinted onto the stage, carrying a sign above her head with the message, โEnd fossil fuels. Save our planet and our future.โ
After hastily taking the stage, the teenager delivered a brief speech in protest of the use of fossil fuels, earning a round of applause from the audience before being escorted away by the guard at the conference.
Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, the Director-General of COP28, expressed his admiration for the young girlโs enthusiasm and encouraged the audience at the event to give her another round of applause.
The activist from Manipur shared the video of the incident on the microblogging site X, previously known as twitter, stating, โI was detained for over 30 minutes following this protest. My only โcrimeโ was advocating for the phasing out of fossil fuels, the primary cause of todayโs climate crisis. Now, Iโve been expelled from COP28.โ
View tweet below:
Here is the full video of my protest today disrupting the UN High Level Plenary Session of #COP28UAE. They detained me for over 30 minutes after this protest. My only crime- Asking to Phase Out Fossil Fuels, the top cause of climate crisis today. Now they kicked me out of COP28. pic.twitter.com/ToPIJ3K9zM
โ Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) December 11, 2023
Kangujam later tweeted that her badges for the conference were taken away and called on for support to help protest with her at the registration desk of the conference to get her badges back.
View tweet below:
Dear Climate Activist friends, Climate Scientists & Other Govt representatives of vulnerable countries,
I will be COP28 today at 11.30 am at the Registration Desk. Please join me to demand to release my badges of #COP28UAE .The voice I raised yesterday was not for myself,โฆ
โ Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) December 12, 2023
When initially Kangujamโs act of activism came into the news, she called out multiple news agencies for reporting her as a โprotesterโ. She replied to them on X, saying, โDear @Reuters, her name is not a protester. She has a name. Her name is โLicypriya Kangujamโ, 12 years old Indian Climate Activist. Hope you will correct it. Thank you.โ
Dear @Reuters,
Her name is not protestor. She has a name. Her name is โLicypriya Kangujamโ, 12 years old Indian Climate Activist. Hope you will correct it. Thank you. ๐ https://t.co/GfFiM2KIz7โ Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) December 11, 2023
For the unversed, Kangujamโs father had previously faced legal troubles, resulting in his arrest by the Delhi Police Special Cell in collaboration with the Manipur Police for his involvement in a fraud case. Kanarjit was accused of exploiting both national and international students, falsely representing himself as a member of the International Youth Committee (IYC). Under the guise of aiding families affected by earthquakes, he defrauded people of significant sums of money.
