Action Reports – Page 134

Brazilian tribal opposition to Belo Monte dam

A Kayapó Indian leader has appealed for support for his tribe, which is campaigning against the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu river in the Brazilian Amazon. He said, ‘I have always prevented my people from fighting, but I am very worried now. It is time that we take back what belongs to us’. He added that ‘3,000 warriors’ are ready to take up arms.

If constructed, the dam would be the third largest in the world and it would flood a large area of land, dry up certain parts of the Xingu river, cause huge devastation to the rainforest and reduce fish stocks upon which Indians in the area depend for their survival.

The influx of immigrants to the region during the construction of the dam threatens to introduce violence to the area and bring diseases to these Indians, putting their lives at risk.

The Indians have organized many protests against the dam. Most recently, they have blockaded a ferry which crosses the Xingu river and are planning to form a ‘multi-ethnic community’ which will occupy the area where the dam is due to be built, in the ‘Big Bend’ of the Xingu river.

Raoni and other Indian leaders stated, ‘We do not accept the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam because we understand that it will bring more destruction to our region… more corporations, more ranches, more land invasions, more conflicts, and even more dams. If the white man continues to carry on like this, everything will be destroyed very quickly… We already warned the government that if Belo Monte were built, they would have war on their hands’.

Kayapó leader Megaron Txucarramãe, in a letter to the international press, said, ‘We want the plans to build the Belo Monte dam to be canceled… Lula has shown himself to be the Indians’ number one enemy…We Indians are being seriously abandoned, since we Indians, the first inhabitants of this country, are being neglected by Lula’s government which wants to destroy us’.

Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office is calling for the license for the dam to be canceled, stating that the environmental impact studies were incomplete, and that the Indians and other people who will be affected were not properly consulted.

Indians and activists marched against Amazon mega-dam in April

UK arrests & raids, possibly climate action related

At lunchtime on Wednesday 26th May two addresses in Belper, Derbyshire, were raided by the North Yorkshire Counter Terrorist Unit.

One woman from The Sailboat Project was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit criminal damage. She has since been released without charge, but bailed to return to the police station in two months (no bail conditions). Large quantities of property was confiscated, including IT equipment and mobile phones belonging to the arrestee and to other residents & visitors in the house at the time. Another woman who was away, today handed herself in to North Yorkshire police in Sussex and has been questioned and released.

One address in Sholebroke Avenue, Leeds was visited by police looking for specific people identified as having taken part in kayak training run by the Sailboat Project in North Yorkshire in April. The training was publicly advertised and well attended. The police questioned one individual. Questions included:
– what other groups are they part of
– why were they on the training
– who else was on the training
– were they planning to take action against power stations

The previous day (Tuesday 25th), police searched the premises of a different organisation not involved in boats, but with links to various gatherings. Nothing was taken. The warrant was under the Terrorism Act and is possibly related.

We are not aware of any other contact by the police, but plenty of other people were on the training…

Kew Bridge Eco Village was EVICTED this morning at 8am

27.05.2010
Hello!!

I am sorry to tell you all that the bailiffs came and evicted us from Kew Bridge Eco Village this morning at 8am! It was fairly peaceful and we managed to resist for a good 3 hours whilst Sev sat on top of one of the structures and refused to come down! Check youtube for videos soon!

27.05.2010
Hello!!

But don’t worry! We will have a few weeks break and then we shall open up a new, bigger and better site! In the meantime get down the Hounslow Communiy Garden and support Democracy Village on parliament square!

I’d just like to say a big thankyou to all of those who have supported us in this last year, to all the local community, the artists, photographers, and film makers who have seen us, those who have stayed over or just passed through – we would not have been as great without all of you!

We will continue to send you news about our movements, but check out growyourownvillage.blogspot.com for the latest info.

If you want to get involved in staring a new village then get in touch!

Peace and Love, See you soon

Your eco village family!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Manchester Plane Stupid Breach Airside Security in Airport Protest

Update: Ten people from the Tripod part of the action were arrested on Monday morning around 11am – having been there since 6.30am.

They were held for roughly 10 hours in custody. They have been charged with obstruction of the highway and bailed to appear at Trafford Magistrates court at 9.45am on Thursday 3rd June.

The six people who went airside were arrested for criminal damage, conspiracy to commit criminal damage and entering a restricted airfield. They were held for around 13 hours in custody and had their houses searched. They have not yet been charged, but bailed to return to Altrincham police station on 20th August.
—
24.05.2010
Activists from the group Manchester Plane Stupid have breached airside security at Manchester Airport today in a protest against the expansion of the airport. The protest involves two groups. The first group of 6 people cut through the perimeter fence and created a human circle around a stationary plane using arm tube lock-ons.

A second group have used tripods to blockade the road entrance to the World Freight Terminal preventing airfreighted goods from being taken in or out. They have unfurled a banner reading: “More air freight = more climate change. Stop all airport expansion now.”

The group are protesting against the recent decision to expand the World Freight Terminal which will involve the demolition of historic homes on Hasty Lane.

Lisa Jameson from Manchester Plane Stupid said, “This isn’t just about airport expansion or rising carbon emissions. This is about challenging an economic system based on the absurdity of infinite growth on a planet of finite resources, a system which prioritises bail-outs for the banks and then makes us pay for it in public service cuts. Capitalism is the cause of the problem, climate change is just a symptom.”

Following the recent decision to stop expansion at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead airports, the aviation industry is likely to look to regional airports such as Manchester to increase profits.

“The third runway at Heathrow was stopped because ordinary people stood up to the government at the time and the aviation industry using a broad range of tactics. Direct action has historically played an important role in creating social change and will continue to do so.”

The aviation industry consistently overstate their importance in creating jobs and their contribution to the economy.

The lack of tax on aviation fuel is costing the UK economy £9 billion per year. There is also a tourism deficit in the North West region of £2.2 billion.[1] That is the difference between what Britons flying abroad spend in foreign countries and what foreign visitors spend in the North West.

Each round of airport expansion is justified on the promise of more and more jobs. In the 1990s Manchester Airport promised to create 50,000 jobs with the second runway – but the actual number was far lower. We need to begin a just transition to a low carbon economy by creating jobs in sustainable industries such as rail and renewables”

Annie McLaughlin said, “Recently, we’ve seen attempts by British Airways to use the courts to overturn workers’ right to strike. We support the rights of all workers to fight for good conditions. It is essential that the changes needed to prevent climate change are not used as an excuse to restrict workers rights.”

The airport, which is owned by local councils, has kept local residents in the dark about the proposed expansion plans, failing to adequately inform them that their homes face demolition.

McLaughlin continued, “The proposed expansion of the freight terminal makes no sense, economically or environmentally. The existing capacity is not fully utilized and an expansion would simply be a stepping stone to expansion of the airport as a whole, which would be an environmental disaster.”

“ With the planet on the verge of climate breakdown it is essential that the real cost of aviation expansion is taken seriously – currently emissions from aviation are not included in Manchester City Council’s Climate Change Action Plan.”

The protesters say they are locked on to halt emissions and are prepared to stay for as long as it takes to get their message across.

Notes to Editors

[1] Brendan Sewill, ‘Airport Jobs: False Hopes, Cruel Hoax’
http://www.aef.org.uk/uploads/Airport_jobs___false_hopes_cruel_hoax.pdf

Plane Stupid / Manchester Climate Action
info@planestupid.com
http://www.planestupid.com

Brazil: Kayapo blockade heads into second month

May 23, 2010

It’s been exactly one month to the day since a group of Kayapo set up a ferry blockade across the Xingu River in an ongoing protest against the controversial Belo Monte hydro dam.

May 23, 2010

It’s been exactly one month to the day since a group of Kayapo set up a ferry blockade across the Xingu River in an ongoing protest against the controversial Belo Monte hydro dam.

The Kayapo were dispatched to the site on April 22, the same day Brazil’s government granted out rights to build the dam

Sadly, the effort has received little media coverage since then, even with a constant reference to celebrity activists Sting and James Cameron.

Nevertheless, as the front line effort heads into its second month, the Kayapo warn that they have no intention of backing down unless the government cancels the project.

The Kayapo Continue Blockades in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam

by International Rivers and Amazon Watch

For Immediate Release
May 21, 2010

The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam
Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or “Die Fighting for our Rights”

Piaraçu, Xingu National Park, Brazil – A group of Kayapo indigenous people led by Chief Megaron Txukarramãe have been blockading the Xingu River crossing of the BR-80 – a major Amazon highway in Mato Grosso State – since April 23 in protest of the government’s plans to build the massive Belo Monte Dam. Dozens of Kayapo warriors have been blocking the ferry crossing over the Xingu River for four weeks and are determined to remain there. Their actions have disrupted a major transportation artery for commercial goods in the region.

In a statement issued from the blockade, Chief Megaron referred to President Lula as “enemy number one” to Brazil’s indigenous peoples, and vowed to maintain the blockade until Belo Monte is canceled or “die fighting for our rights.”

Chief Megaron has been joined in these protests by Kayapo Chief Raoni Metuktire, an emblematic leader for over 20 years of indigenous resistance to the Brazilian government’s plans to dam the Xingu River. In a May 1st interview with the French channel TF1, Chief Raoni said “I have asked my warriors to prepare for war and I have spoken of this with other tribes from the Upper Xingu. We will not let them [build this dam].”

Leaders of the Arara, Xipaia and Juruna indigenous peoples of the Lower Xingu echo the vociferous opposition of the Kayapo to the Belo Monte Dam, and have also vowed to lay down their lives to stop the project, which would destroy their communities and livelihoods. “We are firm in this struggle, and continue more strong and determined than ever to stop Belo Monte,” said the leader Sheyla Juruna. Attempts to stop the Belo Monte Dam became known around the world last month when filmmaker James Cameron and members of the cast of Avatar joined protests in Brasilia and visited villages on the Xingu River and its tributaries to hear about the plight of the region’s indigenous people.

Slated to be the 3rd largest hydroelectric project in the world, Belo Monte would divert over 80 percent of the Xingu River’s flow through artificial canals, flooding over 500 sq km of rainforest while drying out a 100 km stretch of the river known as the “Big Bend,” which is home to hundreds of indigenous and riverine families. Though sold to the public as “clean energy,” Belo Monte would generate an enormous amount of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Despite legal injunctions against the project’s auction, the Brazilian government announced that the auction’s winning consortium, “Norte Energia,” would proceed with plans to dam the Xingu River. President Lula’s insistence that the project move forward at all costs – in spite of serious social, environmental and financial concerns, as well as a massive local and international outcry – continues to be met with fierce denouncements from indigenous people of the Xingu Basin.

“The destruction that would be caused by the massive Belo Monte Dam in the globally essential Amazon Basin would have worldwide ramifications that can’t yet be fully comprehended. Indigenous people are determined to disrupt the ‘business as usual’ model of destructive development projects that ruin the environment and their traditional ways of life,” said Atossa Soltani of Amazon Watch. “Indigenous groups from the Xingu Basin have sent the Brazilian government a clear and resounding message that they will not allow the Belo Monte Dam to move forward. A Brazilian and international coalition of organizations and social movements stands in solidarity with these groups, and is mobilizing further social and legal actions.”

International bike ride links communities in resistance: Merthyr to Mayo cyclist

22.5.2010
Today, a 50-strong international bike ride begins the 400 mile journey from a community resisting Britain’s largest open cast coal mine in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales to County Mayo, Ireland, where local people have spent the last ten years fighting a Shell-led gas development. We aim to offer direct support to these two local campaigns resisting the fossil fuel industry.

30 cyclists from the UK will join the “Madrid to Mayo” cycle ride in Cork, and many others from Ireland are expected to join on route. We will spend ten days traveling up the west coast of Ireland, distributing a specially produced newspaper, “Changing Times”. Events are being held along the way, each night we’re being hosted by different community organisations, and we’ll arrive in Mayo for the Rossport Solidarity Camp June Bank Holiday Weekend Gathering at Glengad.

It’s gonna be a good laugh, but hopefully more than that – the line we are drawing from Merthyr to Mayo is a reminder that none of us can afford to see these places in isolation.

The ride begins today with an event in Merthyr Tydfil where local residents and the solidarity cyclists are sharing stories, ideas, music and food.

“Our communities’ stories are repeated across the globe in the places where fossil fuels are sourced. Large corporations move into areas regardless of the wishes of the affected population; resources are extracted and, whilst the corporations reap vast profits, the local people have to suffer the health and environmental consequences. And, as the fossil fuels are burnt they contribute to climate change, affecting everyone.” – Merthyr resident, Alyson Austin.

Both communities have a long history of resistance, and their efforts have resulted in amazing successes. In Erris, Mayo, the campaign won a sizeable victory in November last year, when Shell’s application for their onshore gas pipeline was effectively refused by the planning authorities; it is unclear when (or if) permission will be granted in the future. In Merthyr Tydfil, campaigners are currently taking out a Group Private Nuisance case against the mining company, Miller Argent. Significant numbers of local people are participating in the legal action which aims to limit the mine’s impact on residents. Climate activists recently did a solidarity action by blockading coal trains headed from the mine to Aberthaw Power Station. In recent months, Mayo has seen string of actions locally, nationally and internationally in solidarity with political prisoners Pat O’Donnell and Niall Harnett (more information on the prisoners and how to write to them, and the campaign in general, on the shell to sea website.)

Please join us on the ride, for the gathering, and in continued resistance against patriarchal white-supremacist capitalist imperialism, and the fight for social and ecological justice!

http://www.merthyrtomayo.org.uk

Cellphone Antenna Sabotaged with Fire, Bristol

FOR SELF-ORGANISATION & ANTI-CAPITALIST RESISTANCE

May 21, 2010, approx 2.30am.

FOR SELF-ORGANISATION & ANTI-CAPITALIST RESISTANCE

May 21, 2010, approx 2.30am.

A ‘T-mobile’ repeater was destroyed by fire. All effort was made not to endanger any life and the mast was chosen due to its distance from residential buildings and activity. The fence was cut with bolt-croppers and placed at the base of the antenna, wrapped around the electrical cables powering the mast, was a cut tyre filled with rags soaked in paraffin. Soaked rags were also tied to the cables and tucked into the tyre. Firelighters were used to ignite the lot. The antenna was situated near the central Temple Meads railway station close to a new ‘urban development’ area.

Destructive acts against the telecommunications infrastructure of capitalist economy are simple and reproducible, as are attacks against other facets of industrial society. The system relies on a network of cables, antennas and power units to enforce and sustain its exploitation. Far from being a faceless abstract enemy, the conduits of commodity production remain attackable at many points, vulnerable to our courage, rage and joy.

We dedicate this action to the arrested anarchists Constantino, Luca and Silvia in Switzerland, accused of conspiring against a nano-tech facility; to all the prisoners of the social struggle in Greece and to all those who have begun to fight, in a myriad of places, of different tongues, races and names.

FOR INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL & ECOLOGICAL STRUGGLE AGAINST STATE & CAPITAL

Cells of Fire: Storm of Butterflies

Giant Elephant attacks Manchester Council meeting

……well sort of. New councillors were reminded yesterday that Manchester Airport is still the ‘elephant in the room’ when it comes to the local Climate Change Action Plan – since the Council have refused to include the flight emissions from the Airport in their carbon reduction targets. The 9ft inflatable elephant highlighted that the Council’s much-lauded plans are totally undermined by the omission of the Airport– especially considering that Manchester City Council own 55% of Manchester Airports Group.

As Councillors met altogether for the first time since the election, a trailer bike soundsystem played a set of aircraft noises as a reminder of what life under the flight path can be like for communities in Stockport and Knutsford.
Aircraft Noise – audio/x-ms-wma 4.4M

In November 2009, Manchester City Council released ‘Manchester: a Certain Future’ which laid out plans to reduce the city’s CO2 emissions by 41% by 2020. These calculations did not include the full impact of the airport. The next day the Council Planning Committee approved proposals to bulldoze residents homes at Hasty Lane, to expand the World Freight Centre at Manchester Airport. [1]

A report by the Committee on Climate Change (December 2009) has predicted that Manchester Airport could become as busy as Heathrow with the number of flights doubling by 2050, leading to a flight taking off or landing every 70 seconds.[2]

Recently, the new coalition Liberal Conservative government in London have blocked expansion plans at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. It seems the aviation industry will be looking to expand regional airports like Manchester to increase their profits.

Alex Fountain from the Stop Expansion at Manchester Airport coalition said, “The new councillors need to take a fresh approach to airport expansion. The council cannot continue to ignore its effects on local communities – such as rising carbon pollution and noise impacts.”

He continued, “There is a tourism defecit in the Northwest of England amounting to £2.2 billion. [2] That’s £2.2 billion more being taken out of the region than being brought in by airports. The argument that airport expansion is good for jobs and the economy is unfounded. We need an update assessment of the airport’s role in the region.”

Manchester Airport plan to become carbon neutral by 2015 – but this will not include emissions from flights.

A rendition of ‘Nellie the Elephant’ by the Toy Dolls was also heard playing out the soundsystem.
TUNE: Nellie the Elephant by the Toy Dolls – mp3 3.1M

Notes
————————–

[1] Council Approve Expansion Plans – Manchester Evening News – 21st November 2009 http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1183425_fury_over_airports_move_to_demolish_family_homes

[2] Manchester Airport to be as busy as Heathrow – Manchester Evening News – Monday 8th March 2010
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1194908_manchester_airport_to_be_as_busy_as_heathrow

[3] Brendan Sewill’s ‘Airport Jobs: Cruel Hoax, False Hopes’ – page 21.
Available here:
http://www.aef.org.uk/uploads/Airport_jobs___false_hopes_cruel_hoax.pdf

http://www.stopmanchesterairport.org.uk

The new Action Update – full of of action news and analysis

In the new summer edition of the EF! Action Update, read about coal trains blockaded, peat bogs defended, and gas terminals shut down. Find out about the dangers of nanotech, current state of nuclear GM trials in the UK, Tesco uprisings, golf course trashing, tar sands action and much more.

Be inspired by our protest camp feature and the recent Titnore victory. And from across the seas, read about our brothers and sisters struggling against whaling ship sabotage, coal port pirates, riots in Zagreb, mining firm occupations in Bolivia, dam resistance in Brazil and much more.

“We are going to inherit the earth . There is not the slightest doubt about that. We Are not afraid of ruins. We carry a new world, here in our hearts. That world is growing this minute.” – Durruti

To download the latest EF!AU for printing, go to http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_summer10print.pdf

To read the latest EF!AU online, go to http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_summer10.pdf

Eviction Threat to Kew Bridge Eco Village

Kew Bridge Eco Village faces an eviction threat, starting from this Friday, 21st of May, 2010. It is likely that they will evict on the friday, or the monday after or at some other date that suits their purposes.

The eco village is primarily a place for beings of different perspectives, experiences, ideals and aims to come together to create sustainable communities, wherever they might exist. The site is set to be turned into a monstrous development of expensive flats and more pubs and shops, in an area with two nearby shopping centers, and with 3 pubs in the immediate area, and copious amounts of disused properties standing empty as the numbers of homeless continue to rise. Kew Bridge Eco Village stands in the way of this rediculous development and against all unsustainable practices everywhere.

So if you want to protect the eco village, whether you consider yourself to be classwar, eco, feminist, hippy, hardcore, non-violent, survivalist, whatever: come on down and support the village! There are plenty of sleeping spaces, and you even have the option of setting up a tent.

See you at the barricades!!!!

See a map?

Note: clicking the map link will load data from Openstreetmap’s external server.

The Kayapo Continue Blockades in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam

The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or “Die Fighting for our Rights”

The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam
Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or “Die Fighting for our Rights”