Action Reports – Page 266

Bradford Total Garage Blockade/London HQ in solidarity with Burmese protesters/Oxford demo/callout: London 5th & Cardiff 6th Oct

27th October 2007
Around 30 activists blockaded a Total petrol station in Bradford to protest against the company’s heavy involvement with the military junta in Burma which is responsible for the deaths of several protesters in just the last few days.

Total is in a joint venture with the Burmese dictatorship in the Yadana gas project, which earns the regime hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Aung Sun Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of the Burmese government under house arrest, says: “Total has become the main supporter of the military regime”.

A mix of students and locals stood, sat or drummed across both entrances to the forecourt for an hour and a half. Holding a banner reading “Totalitarian Oil-Fuelling Oppression in Burma” they leafleted and spoke to passers-by and motorists.

Staff at the petrol station threatened protesters with sticks, car and lorry drivers attempted to run over protesters, but despite this things remained peaceful. The station was closed almost completely for over an hour whilst protesters played drums, gave out fliers, held placards and banners, and sat in the entrances to the forecourt.

A few drivers were not so supportive, including one truck driver who carried on driving into the protesters in the entrance way even as they banged frantically on the windscreen. Even a local cop (who had previously tried to shove protesters off the road) decided to tell the driver to back off. Most drivers however were supportive and chose not to try and cross the blockade. Although many people were aware of the situation on Burma they had not heard of Total’s involvement.

Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSrPVltBMkA

http://www.bradfordcampaigners.co.nr

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Also solidarity demo at embassies in London

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Total Oil’s London offices targeted this morning, 2nd October

Total Oil’s London offices were targeted this morning in order to highlight the company’s involvement with Burma’s regime. Total’s investments have been earning the regime millions of dollars and have been marked by human rights abuses such as the use of forced labour. Activists staged a die-in and handed out leaflets from the Burma Campaign UK to inform office workers going into the building on what Total, Europe’s greatest financial backer of the Burmese junta, is really up to.

As the streets of Burmese cities are patrolled by soldiers and thousands of monks and protesters are still missing after having been killed, beaten up or arrested during last week’s demonstrations, support for the Burmese people’s struggle is vital. With thousands taking to the streets on Sunday, it is also important to expose those who make the military dictatorship possible – corporations such as Total Oil. Aung San Suu Kyi, the most respected figure of Burma’s democracy movement, has identified Total as “the biggest supporter of the military regime in Burma”, earning the junta hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Total’s joint venture with Burma’s rulers in the Yadan gas project in the south of the country provides crucial revenues to the regime and has had its own horrific record of human rights abuses such as the use of forced labour and widespread torture and rape against those who oppose the project.

On top of all this, Total Oil has been successfully lobbying the French government to veto European Union sanctions against Burma in order to protect its investments, yet another example of corporations showing where the real power really lies in world affairs.

Activists decided to take this matter to Total’s London offices, showing up early this morning to talk to office workers as they made their way into work, and to inform others working in the building what their neighbours are really up to. A banner reading ‘TOTALitarianOil Out of Burma Now’ was unfurled, leaflets from the Burma Campaign handed out, while three activists staged a die-in in the lobby of the building. Police forces showed up within 20 minutes, demanding to speak to the ‘leaders of the demonstration’, and eventually forcefully removing those inside the building. The protesters were not deterred, continuing the die-in outside the doors. It was decided by all to end the demonstration at 11am, after all leaflets were handed out and traffic into the building slowed down.

As the Burmese military continues its repression of dissent, we must keep up the struggle and continue to target those who financially back the regime, exposing them for what they really are: capitalists who care about nothing but profit.

Press release:

Holding a banner reading ‘TOTALITARIAN OIL: OUT OF BURMA NOW’, they are demanding that the company immediately halts its operations in Burma, including the multi-million dollar Yadana gas project [1], and announces a full divestment from the country until human rights abuses end and a democratic regime is in place.

Tom Shapiro, one of those at the protest, said:

“As reports filter out that thousands of people may have lost their lives in Burma this week standing up for their democratic rights, we are here to say that TOTAL, which funds the regime, has blood on its hands – and these workers have blood on their desks. TOTAL’s financial partnership with the Burmese junta enables the oppression of 48 million people. They claim this is an ‘ethical’ approach that other investors would not replicate – rather, it’s an affront to humanity. We urge everyone who supports the monks in their protest to target TOTAL in every way possible until they leave Burma.”

The demonstration lends strength to the growing calls for consumer action against TOTAL over its role in Burma, after calls by Dutch political parties, Anglican church groups and French trade unions this week for the company to be targeted [2]. It is also indicates the increasingly grassroots nature of the solidarity protests that have spread across the world, with ordinary people targeting the companies and embassies with most leverage during the current crisis, rather than relying on more conventional channels.

Michelle Doyle, another of those at the protest, said:

“The Foreign Secretary, David Milliband, has been on television promising tough EU sanctions, but while bureaucrats talk, people are being killed in the streets. We couldn’t bear just to watch it happening on TV and trust the government to make a difference. We are here to use people power to target the corporations which are keeping the Burmese junta in business – British timber companies, tourism providers, and above all TOTAL, the fourth biggest oil company in the world. It is these companies that are paying the wages of the soldiers who are shooting monks. We must make sure that not one more dollar of our money goes towards keeping the regime in power.”

The demonstrators describe themselves as supporters of but not acting for Burma Campaign UK. They met on Sunday’s demonstration in central London and via social networking site Facebook, and intend to take part in the International Day of Action on Saturday [3].

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. TOTAL Oil has had a joint business venture with the Burmese government since 1992. Its major project is the Yadana gas project in southern Burma, which earns the military regime hundreds of millions of dollars every year. See http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.html

2. Four Dutch political parties, including the Dutch Labour Party, part of the governing coalition, last week called for a boycott of Total: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/28/europe/EU-GEN-Netherlands-Myanmar.php.

The French CGT union called for Total to halt all gas extraction and freeze all transfers: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3010197.ece

Meanwhile, there have been demonstrations and calls to boycott in Bradford, Bristol, and Nottingham in the UK in the last week:
Bradford: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/382211.html
Anglicans call for boycott:
http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=11254
Nottingham: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/382268.html
Bristol: http://www.bristol.indymedia.org/newswire.php?story_id=26882

3. This Saturday, 6 October, will be A Day of International Action for a Free Burma – Free Aung San Suu Kyi & Support the Monks in Burma. Over 1,000 people have already confirmed via Facebook that they will be attending. See: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=4973307490

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Activists staged a protest at Total petrol station on Oxford Road in Oxford on Saturday 29th. They tried to block the access to the station but were low on numbers and unfortunately the immediate police presence meant that they were moved to one side. Still, the large banner sent out a clear message about Total Oil’s support of the Burmese junta to lots of motorists on the busy Saturday afternoon. Many indicated to turn in before changing their minds. Those who chose to refill their tanks were handed leaflets and given a lecture on the situation in Burma and Total’s decision to exploit it.

I’ve also noticed some anti-Total graffiti about.

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Protest Total Oil this Friday in London

CALL TO ACTION: ‘Die-in’ and demo at London TOTAL Oil HQ over Burma links
FRIDAY 5 OCTOBER
8:30 – 10:30 am
33 Cavendish Square, London, WC1

Show your solidarity with the protestors in Burma – join the action!

A mass action has been called to take place at the headquarters of TOTAL OIL in London on Friday October 5th from 8:30 – 10:30 am. A demonstration and a mass die-in will take place outside of the central London office to express our outrage at Total’s involvement with the military junta in Burma.

All are welcome to attend – bring placards, instruments, noise and props if you can. A symbolic ‘die-in’ will be happening. A similar action happened on Tuesday, October 2nd at the same location with 20 activists (see above).

Across France and in other parts of the UK pressure has been mounting against Total in a number of solidarity actions.
It is important to continue pressure on this company to demand Total’s withdrawal from Burma.

TOTAL Oil’s business partnership with the Burmese government is providing vital funding that enables the brutal military dictatorship in to oppress 48 million people.

An uprising against the junta in Burma, led by monks, has been met with violent repression. Security forces and armed military troops have launched a violent crackdown on demonstrators, most of which is not being reported due to a state-imposed media freeze. Some estimates suggest that thousands could be dead and many more imprisoned.

We demand that the company immediately halts its operations in Burma and announces a full divestment from the country until human rights abuses end and a democratic regime is in place.

This action is called by people who met at a Burma solidarity march and decided that we needed to do more by targetting the companies that have blood on their hands.

Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
Map:
http://tinyurl.com/2oardl
For more information see:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.html

Further information on actions against Total Oil:

TOTAL Oil has had a joint business venture with the Burmese government since 1992. Its major project is the Yadana gas project in southern Burma, which earns the military regime hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

Four Dutch political parties, including the Dutch Labour Party, part of the governing coalition, last week called for a boycott of Total:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/28/europe/EU-GEN-Netherlands-Myanmar.php.

The French CGT union called for Total to halt all gas extraction and
freeze all transfers:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3010197.ece

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Cardiff Burma/Total Protest Saturday 6th October

DO SOMETHING ABOUT BURMA IN CARDIFF – SPREAD THE WORD!

French oil company Total is one of the biggest foreign investors in Burma. It has been propping up the violent and oppressive regime there for years. It has even used army-imposed forced labour to construct a gas pipeline accross the country.

People in Britain have been protesting outside Total garages and offices all week with demos in places like Bradford, Oxford, and London – now it’s our turn!

Protest at the Total Garage, Cathedral Road, Cardiff, 11am Saturday 6th October.
Assemble: 10.30am outside Glamorgan Staff Club, Westgate Street to march on the garage.

As the media’s attention span wanes, and a spectacle-weary public grows tired of seeing South East Asians getting battered and shot on primetime TV, a full-scale state and military backlash against Burma’s people is underway. Demonstrators are being routinely rounded up, put in prison, and quite probably tortured, and more monks are being murdered and beaten every day.

Let’s target the companies that prop up Burma’s murderous military dictatorship and let them know that they can’t get away with supporting despots with impunity.

Bring banners, placards, and whatever else you expect to find – wear saffron or dark red if you want to.

This demonstration is called by the South Wales Anarchists – all are welcome, and please spread the word to your networks!

Get good and reliable news about Burma at:
http://www.burmanet.org/news/

hundreds descend on faslane for the big blockade

100 arrests so far as 600 actvists block entrances to faslane nuclear weapons base.

100 arrests so far as 600 actvists block entrances to faslane nuclear weapons base.
600 Shut Down Faslane Nuclear Weapons Base to Mark Year of Protest
Alex Salmond sends protestors message of support
October 1, 2007

600 protestors from across the UK and Europe shut down road access to the Faslane nuclear weapons base on the Clyde this morning.

At 7am protestors non violently blockaded the Northern gate to the base with their bodies. Some have locked and superglued themselves together to make it more difficult for them to be removed. At around 8.30am other protestors successfully blockaded the South Gate. With both gates blockaded there is now no road access to the weapons base, which is home to the UK ’s nuclear weapons-carrying Trident submarines.

By 10.30 am Strathclyde police had arrested an estimated 100 protesters, but as fast as they are removed more are taking their place.

More protestors are expected and blockades are planned to continue throughout the day. Drummers, clowns and singers, including acclaimed folk singer Roy Bailey, are entertaining the protesters, creating a carnival spirit to the protest.

Politicians from across the country will join the demonstrators later this morning, including six SNP MSP’s (Members of the Scottish Parliament), an MEP, two Green Party MSPs and at least one Labour MSP (1).

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has issued a statement backing to the event. He sent his “best wishes” to the protestors and said he “shares” Faslane 365’s “objective of removing nuclear weapons from Scotland’s soil” (2).

Other messages of support have come in from clerics including the Head of the Scottish Catholic Church and Bishop of Reading Stephen Cotterell who said, ‘Our nation is demeaned and compromised by the presence of these weapons of mass destruction on our shores. The Church of England and most of the Christian churches in these islands stand united in calling upon our government to re-think its reliance on nuclear weapons for our security’. (3)

Today’s Big Blockade celebrates the last day of the Faslane 365 year of peaceful blockading. Since Faslane 365’s campaign started on October 1, 2006, thousands of people have blockaded the base and more than 950 have been arrested. High profile participants have included former UN Assistant Secretary-General Prof. Sir Richard Jolly, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, Adrian Mitchell, A.L.Kennedy, actor Roger Lloyd Pack and singer-songwriter Billy Bragg.

Over the year of the blockade the nuclear issue has been high on the political agenda. In February 2007 the Westminster Parliament voted for producing another nuclear weapons system to replace Trident and tie the UK into holding nuclear weapons for the next fifty years. The vote inspired the largest backbench revolt since that over the decision to invade Iraq. However in a twist to the story in May 2007 the Scottish National Party was elected on a platform that included ‘kicking Trident out of Scotland ’. Later this month the SNP are holding a summit with civil society groups to discuss how to get rid of the UK ’s nuclear weapons. Westminster is vulnerable to the strong Scottish opposition to nuclear weapons (4) as Faslane is the only UK base suitable for the massive nuclear weapons carrying Trident submarines.

NOTES:

For further information on Faslane 365, the Trident deployments and the Big Blockade, including background and political context on the year long blockade, see the full Press Briefing Pack on the website. www.faslane365.org/1oct/press

(1) Politicians attending the Big Blockade will include: Bill Kidd MSP (SNP), Gil Paterson MSP (SNP), Bob Doris MSP (SNP), Bashir Ahmad MSP (SNP), Jamie Hepburn MSP (SNP) and Sandra White MSP (SNP), Marlyn Glen MSP (Labour), Robin Harper MSP (Green) and Patrick Harvie (Green), as well as Jill Evans MEP (Plaid Cymru). For supportive quotes by these politicians visit the website www.faslane365.org/1oct/press

(2) Full Alex Salmond statement: Alex Salmond’s office sent a letter on behalf of the First Minister to the Faslane 365 organizers conveying “his best wishes for a successful event” and affirming his full support for “responsible and peaceful protest against the replacement of Trident”. The letter further stated that Mr. Salmond “shares” Faslane 365’s “objective of removing nuclear weapons from Scotland’s soil” and affirmed that “He is committed to doing whatever he can to persuade the UK government to alter its position on nuclear weapons.”

(3) Statements by church leaders:
Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading (Anglican): ‘I send greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, the friend of the poor and the lover of peace. On the night before he died he said these words to his friends: Peace I give you, my own peace I leave with you, not as the world gives peace do I give to you. These words continue to challenge the powers and authorities of the world where there is still such misplaced confidence in a so called peace that can be secured by a so called deterrence. But these expensive and devastatingly destructive weapons cannot bring peace. They only encourage others to depend on force. They add to the instability of the world. They leech finances away from so many other things that could do so much good. Our nation is demeaned and compromised by the presence of these weapons of mass destruction on our shores. The Church of England and most of the Christian churches in these islands stand united in calling upon our government to re-think its reliance on nuclear weapons for our security. This is the peace the world gives and it is not working. Let us turn instead to the peace of Christ who bids us turn our swords into ploughshares and our trident submarines into hospitals and schools. And it is my pleasure to send greetings and prayers to those of you who are gathering at Faslane today as you lament the madness of the world and bravely bear witness to the way of lasting peace’.

Keith Patrick Cardinal O’Brien, President, the Bishops Conference of Scotland (Catholic): ‘My dear friends gathered at Faslane, I wish to assure you that the position of the Roman Catholic Church with regard to weapons of mass destruction is perfectly clear and has been emphasised by myself in recent years. The Roman Catholic Church is opposed to weapons of mass destruction and has regularly spoken out against the possibility of the renewal of the Trident Nuclear Weapons system. I personally am happy to think that in the new political situation in the new Scottish Parliament, where a majority is opposed to Trident, further positive steps may be taken in Scotland to ensure that the Trident Nuclear Weapons System is not renewed. With my kindest regards and union of prayer

(4) An opinion poll carried out by ICM for Scottish CND on 26-29 January 2007 found that 73 % of those polled were opposed to the government spending £50 billion on a replacement for Trident. http://www.banthebomb.org/newbombs/poll.htm.

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arrests mount at faslane…coulport also blockaded

at 11.30 another 43 people were arrested at the faslane base for nonviolently blockading the gates – briging the total arrests to around 150. about 450 protestors remain blockading the base.

Protestors have also successfully bloackaded the roads into The Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) at Coulport, Loch Long – where Trident nuclear missiles are stored

Camp Hope – 20/21st October vs Gloucestershire Airport expansion

Camp For Hope At Staverton Airport, Gloucestershire 20/21st October. Inspired by the Camp for Climate Action 2007 activists and local residents are organising a camp to protest the expansion of Gloucestershire Airport at Staverton. “Camp Hope” will take place at a secret location near the airport on the 20/21 October.

Location is near the airport and to be announced on our website on the evening of 19th October.

Staverton Airport want to extend their runway and increase services. The extra noise and fumes will damage the local environment and the huge amounts of CO2 will add to global warming.

We need to put our children’s future and the environment before the profits of an airport.

Saturday 20th Oct:

Learn about global warming, what it means to you and your children. Learn what you can do about it.

Workshops and discussions start at 13:00pm

Lead speaker David Drew MP

Sunday 21st Oct:

Peaceful protest against the airport’s impacts on noise, the environment, and the area’s image

The airport claims “only a small minority are opposed to the development,” Come and show them that you are not part of a small minority by making your voice heard

You can come and camp for the weekend, or just come for the Saturday or Sunday.

For public transport to the airport, take the 94 bus to Staverton Bridge. Also, parking is available. Stewards will direct you from the airport entrance

Take a look at http://campforhopeatstaverton.blogspot.com or www.myspace.com/campofhope and http://kevsclimatecolumn.blogspot.com For more information email CampForTheFuture@btinternet.com

If anyone has access to any of the following it could be very useful :

* Marquees, yurts, caravans, temporary structures, tents
* Wood for building (especially 2×2, 3×2, 18mm ply)
* Nails, woodscrews etc.
* Wood for burning
* Food (vegan, locally produced, organic)
* Water containers
* Water piping
* Water
* Hay/Straw
* Vans and trailers
* Beer
* Scraps of material (the bigger the better)
* Banners/Banner making equipment
* People to give workshops/speeches
* Entertainment
* Cable ties
* Tarpaulains
* Carabinas
* Solar electricity (PV) panels
* 12v Batteries
* Wheelie bins
* Buckets
* Rope
* Gaffa tape (what every site is built on)

We also need people to help to organise and publicise the event. If you have any time which you can use to help out it would be greatly appreciated.

Demo – in Solidarity with Miriam Rose and Persecuted Saving Iceland Activists

1PM Tuesday 2nd October, Icelandic Embassy meet at Sloane Square
Come and show Solidarity with Miriam Rose, a Saving Iceland activist from the UK facing deportation from Iceland where she lives for being: “a threat to public order and security and fundamental societal values” also to show solidarity with Olafur Pall Siggurdson an Icelandic activist being framed for “Obstructing a Police Vehicle” following an attempt to run him over by a senior policeman.

Full article about Miriam’s Deportation: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/382239.html

Deportation Alert! Icelandic State Cracks Down on Saving Iceland Activists

The Icelandic State has hounded and harassed Saving Iceland activists since the network was formed in 2004. In the latest episode of this sordid saga; Miriam Rose, an activist from the UK who lives in Iceland is threatened with deportation for being: “a threat to ‘public order and security’ and ‘fundamental societal values’. She has only ever been convicted of ‘Disobeying Police Orders’ contrary to the draconian ‘Police Acts’ for which she has served a short prison sentence; in solitary confinement in a men’s prison.

On Friday 21st September, Saving Iceland activist Miriam Rose was presented with a letter from the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration threatening her with possible expulsion from Iceland. The letter claims that due to her participation in two actions at smelter sites she may be considered a threat to ‘public order and security’ and ‘fundamental societal values’. The letter also claims that Saving Iceland pays activists for being arrested, a claim repeatedly denied and proven to be false.

Saving Iceland is an international grass roots network that uses direct action to confront the Icelandic government’s Heavy Industry Policy. The government are intent on building aluminium smelters to exploit the country’s geothermal and hydro-electric potential, an ecological and environmental catastrophe sold as ‘green energy’. Saving Iceland also promotes and practices solidarity with struggles against the aluminium industry worldwide, such as in Trinidad, South Africa and India.

Miriam has already served 8 days in prison for protesting against the destruction of Icelandic wilderness, for which the UK Green Party Principal Speaker Dr Derek Wall accused the Icelandic government of political harassment and demanded her immediate release. In Radio 1 Icelandic news program Spegillinn yesterday, the police admitted that this was to be the first of many attempted deportations of activists.

Miriam is now waiting for a decision by the Directorate of Immigration, having submitted her objection to deportation. ‘I am very shocked that the Icelandic government continue to punish me, after already paying so heavily for my actions and ideals. This seems to be an attempt to scare people from protesting here, and I find such treatment surprising in a supposedly developed democracy like Iceland. I am a peaceful and educated person and have never posed a threat to the police or any other person during my time here. I was intending to settle in Iceland, and have been making moves to learn Icelandic and contribute to this society.’

In 2005 the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration attempted to deport 21 Saving Iceland activists. Activists were snatched off the streets of Reykjavik by plain clothes police, held overnight with no food, water or even pretense of a legal process. An elderly academic with no connection to Saving Iceland was hospitalised with serious head injuries after he witnessed activists being bundled into an unmarked car. Plain clothes police also broke into buildings in an attempt to get to activists on the ‘blacklist’. The Directorate of Immigration, denied that there was such a list in an interview with tabloid paper DV, fortunately Saving Iceland was able to supply them with a copy complete with the Directorate’s seal and Hildur Dungal’s (the Director’s) signature. Eventually the Directorate of Immigration admitted it had no legal right to deport anyone on the list.

In 2006 14 activists were tried and convicted for ‘Disobeying Police Orders’ and received prison sentences of up to 18 days a small group was also convicted of ‘Repression of Liberty’ and sentenced to 2 months suspended for 3 years on the false witness of a manager at engineering firm Honnen where they had attempted to occupy offices, the same manager punched and kicked protesters and slammed a door on someone’s head.

Earlier this year after Reykjavik’s first Reclaim the Streets the Icelandic police began to confiscate passport of foreign activists, something they have no legal authority to do. The Icelandic State have also had a long history of harassing Icelandic activists, in one case they have allegedly made false reports to Interpol accusing a Saving Iceland activist of traveling on a forged passport and attempted to strip the activists Icelandic Citizenship.

If the Icelandic Police and Immigration Directorate can get away with deporting Miriam, then they will use deportations more frequently to silence dissent and undermine solidarity with Icelandic environmentalists. They must be stopped!

The website of the Directorate of Immigration is http://www.utl.is/english

The director’s name is Hildur Dungal: hildur@utl.is

See also:
Report on Miriam’s deportation and statement from Saving Iceland:
http://www.savingiceland.org/node/983

Report on Miriam’s Incarceration in Solitary Confinement in a Men’s Prison:
http://www.savingiceland.org/node/892

Statement of Support from UK Green Party:
http://www.savingiceland.org/node/985 and @ http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/3171

Report on Saving Iceland’s funding:
http://www.savingiceland.org/node/846

Report of Previous attempts to Deport Saving Iceland activists:
http://www.savingiceland.org/node/144

Report on how the Icelandic Immigration Directorate can behave quite differently if you are pals with a Government Minister:
http://www.savingiceland.org/node/759

Report from Anti London Olympics/regeneration march and meeting plus comment

Sunday the 23rd September was a sad day in the history of gardening. It was the day the Manor Gardens Allotments were closed by the Olympic Delivery Authority.

It was also the day former allotment holders and many other people decided to march and demonstrate their concern over the way in which development and so called regeneration is soaking up much needed green space. Martin Slavin an Olympic researcher was on the march and comments “ … so called regeneration projects like the Olympics are more about the careers of those involved in the Olympic industry, and the profits of developers and construction companies than they are about improving the lives of ordinary people”.

The Manor Gardens Allotments, were a little piece of the countryside in London, and were given to the gardeners of East London by Mayor Villiers, an old fashioned philanthropist, he was dedicated to improving the life of working class Eastenders by a transfer of resources from him (rich) to the people of East London (poor). As well as the allotments, the Olympic project has swallowed up a huge chunk of land in East London, most of it compulsorily purchased. The acquisition of the Olympic Park land is virtually a mirror image of what Major Villiers did all those years ago.

The compulsory purchase of the Olympic Parkland has been funded by public money, and as such it can be argued that it should stay in public ownership, post Olympics, however, exactly what will happen to the land remains undecided, but both Ken Livingstone and Ruth Kelly have publicly stated that they plan to bank role the Olympic project by selling off land within the park to developers when the Games are over. Major Villiers would no doubt turn in his grave, as his beautiful allotments along with virtually the whole STATE AREA site is bulldozed for a project which will most likely result in a transfer of land from public to private ownership. As the Olympic project runs further and further into financial difficulty the pressure will be on to claw back as much money as possible. This will inevitably mean getting into bed with property developers who, along with the construction companies, will be the main beneficiaries of a project that has been flawed from the very beginning.

An added tragedy to this story is that much what will form Olympic Park was previously available for use, on a non-income dependent basis, a cycle circuit, allotments, social housing, football pitches, little nooks and crannies, were all sorts of marginal business and artists had found a foothold. There was also a rave scene at Hackney Wick, with tired and dazed ravers leaving parties on Sunday mornings whilst the well dressed congregations of the many African Churches filed by. It was an area that had grown organically over more thaan a century and though it has some rough edges the area had an authenticity rarely found in 21st century London. This has been lost to what will more than likely be an Olympic legacy of expensive flats within gated communities, a sterile, privately owned area similar to the docklands.

It would be impossible to sell the Olympics to the nation for 3 weeks of sport, it is simply too expensive, so those making their living out of this project have marketed it on the supposed benefits of a legacy which remains unplanned. One of the problems is that New labour has control of the project, it has central government backing and with New Labour also controlling all 4 of the boroughs in which the Olympic Park is situated, and with the Olympic Delivery Authority awarding planning permission to itself the Olympic project can be pushed through virtually unchecked.

Sunday’s march from Hackney Town Hall to the new security gates of the Olympic construction site was a sign of the public’s misgivings over this deeply flawed project. After the march there was a meeting where discussions were held relating to development and regeneration. One interesting point covered in this discussion was the way these large projects evolve. First plans are made, then a so-called consultation takes place and then the work begins. However the meeting agreed that the consultations were generally a public relations exercise and that they made little difference to the outcome of projects, which are usually forced through despite any public misgivings. The Olympics appears to be a case in point.

Tara frontline Action -avin it

On Monday September 24th, thirty brave cultural conservationists donned face paints and headed off on a route walk from the Rath Lugh direct action camp. Film director and actor Stuart Townsend, fresh from the highly successful aerial photograph on the hill attended by an estimated 3,000 people on Sunday, arrived with four massive bags of shopping for Tara’s soldiers before everyone set off. Stuart’s continuing support is massively appreciated!

Once on route activists erected barricades along the paths of the diggers and bulldozers to slow destruction work. Activists proceeded to Baronstown where seven to eight diggers were occupied, climbed and danced upon. The walk continued as our merry band arrived at Collierstown, an ancient Fianna graveyard. The two diggers working when we arrived were quickly halted with people climbing into buckets of diggers, onto roofs and onto their tracks. Songs were sung and people danced. Work was halted for half an hour before scouts indicated that machinery was working up ahead at Trevet. We headed there and on the way occupied another digger. The driver of this digger refused to turn off his engine despite the fact that activists occupied his machine, a clear violation of health and safety laws and a sackable offense.

Our next stop was Trevet, where one bulldozer was prevented from working by activists. It was then that the Gardai made their appearance. Taking some of our group aside, names were taken and no further action occurred. As our walk was slightly behind schedule, when Garda officers approached we decided to pick up the pace, keeping twenty to forty feet between ourselves and the law. Officers continued to follow us for another 100 metres before heading back the way they came. Having stopped work for hours it was near dinner time so we headed back to base camp. Throughout the day as we passed the sacred sites in the path of the proposed motorway short talks were given about the historical and archaeological significance of each site. No one was arrested and a great day was had by all. The campaign to protect Tara from the money mad mile continues picking up pace after the phenomenal success of the international Harpists for Tara event and John Quigley’s stunning aerial photography. Every Monday route walks will continue.

Completion of the M3 through the Tara Valley is years away and there is everything to play for! Be at the Tara Solidarity Vigil camp on the hill by 9.30 am or at Rath Lugh by 10.00am. Please come, please support and network!

www.tarapixie.net
www.savetara.com
www.tarawatch.org
www.indymedia.ie

Critical Mass and Carfree day in Brussels

What a weekend for cyclists. Friday evening and the regular Brussels Critical mass was held one week early to coincide with mobility week. Around 80 cyclists sprouted up at the Porte de Namur and reclaimed the streets of Brussels for an hour or two. This month there was a practical theme to create a DIY cycle lane. Recently the Major of the city decided that the cycle lane along the main boulevard through central Brussels was a menace to traffic and even encouraged cyclist to get in the way of honest car driving citizens. What to do when that Major takes away the cycle path. A simple question, you get together with your friends and paint it back again. Getting rid of the cycle hating Major will probably be the next step but that’s another action.

Brussels is a city of contradictions and for Saturday lunch time the city invited cyclists for a sumptuous nosh up. Anyone who was a cyclist was welcome to help themselves. A wonderful feast for non vegetarian wine lovers and the deserts were out of this world. Not so good on the cycle lanes but the free food almost makes up for it.

Sunday was the carfree day and it really was carfree in the whole city, not just one or two streets. It’s hard to describe the difference banishing the cars can make to a city. Brussels, if only for one day became a place for people. Swarms of cyclists filled the streets people on foot could and did move about without risk of being run over by impatient drivers. The sun was shining the air was clean for once and the angry honking of car horns beautifully absent. If only every day could be like this. The street is a place for people, city children need to play and a cup of coffee on a pavement café somehow tastes better when there isn’t traffic roaring by a few feet away. This might just be my opinion but the people of Brussels did seem to agree with me, well at least the ones who still remember how to move about without a car.

Also for mobility week the Brussels based environmental group, Auto-nomie presented an environmentally friendly car, truly an environmentally friendly car. Zero emissions is a thing of the past, this car has negative emissions. If you care about the planet but still want a car that turns heads this is the model for you and the conversion is cheap and easy. Take out the engine replace is with a few wheelbarrows full of good quality soil and plant your favorite fruits and vegetables. Cruising through the streets of Brussels in a customized car like no other is the way to go. When your friends get tired of pushing what better way of revitalizing them than a tasty car grown strawberry. The car was on display in central Brussels all last week.

Join Big Blockade of Faslane Nuclear Base 1st October

Hundreds of peace activists will risk arrest on October 1st when over a thousand people are expected to join in a “Big Blockade” of Faslane Naval Base. This will be the culmination of the Faslane 365 year of actions against Trident, Britain’s weapon of mass destruction. People and groups from all over Britain (and abroad) will use diverse nonviolent methods to block the entrances to the nuclear base and disrupt the ongoing deployment of Trident.

As they have done over the past twelve months, the groups and individuals, who will include Members of the Scottish and European Parliaments and well-known singers and artists, will highlight the illegality, insecurity and waste of resources inherent in the deployment and renewal of Trident. Throughout the day there will be colourful, creative and dramatic actions at the gates, including many different kinds of lock-ons and sit-downs.

“This Big Blockade will be a carnival of resistance to celebrate Faslane 365’s achievements in highlighting and disrupting the illegal nuclear deployments over the year,” said Dr Rebecca Johnson from the Faslane 365 Steering Group. “We will join together to mark the end of this year’s campaigning, and to make clear our determination to keep up pressure on the Scottish and UK governments to get rid of Trident and to take the lead in moving the world towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, in accordance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the wishes of the majority.”

As diverse groups of activists blockade the gates, folk legends Leon Rosselson and Seize the Day will be providing music, and the renowned Roy Bailey and David Ferrard will perform songs from a forthcoming album about the Iraq War. A twelve-member choir will sing the oratorio Trident – A British War Crime, by Camilla Cancantata, first performed at the Edinburgh High Court in 2005. The Rev. Kathy Galloway, leader of the Iona Community, will celebrate a communion service at 10am at the North Gate with Clergy Action and Christian CND. Several Members of the Scottish Parliament, including Marlyn Glen (Labour), Robin Harper (Green) and Patrick Harvie (Green), as well as Jill Evans MEP (Plaid Cymru) have confirmed their participation and will be available for interviews.

Since Faslane 365 started on October 1, 2006, thousands have participated and more than 950 people have been arrested. Participants have included elected representatives from Scottish, UK and European Parliaments and local councils, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Buddhists, Christians, ‘Unity!’ union of asylum seekers, artists, writers, academics, students from the UK, Europe and Japan, atomic bomb survivors from Nagasaki, teachers, lawyers, health professionals and pensioners. Specific groups have come from many regions of Scotland, England and Wales and from eleven other European countries, as well as Japan and the United States. Prominent participants included the Bishop of Reading Stephen Cotterell, former UN Assistant Secretary-General Prof Sir Richard Jolly, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, Adrian Mitchell, A.L.Kennedy, actor Roger Lloyd Pack and singer-songwriter Billy Bragg.

NVDA trainings and accomodation will be Sunday afternoon and evening in Glasgow. Coaches leave from Edinburgh at 4:30 am and Glasgow at 5:30am
Monday. For details and to book see www.faslane365.org/1Oct

For further background information on Trident, a summary of the political context of the campaign, and a selection of photos from the yearlong blockade see the full Press Briefing Pack on the website. www.faslane365.org/1oct/press

Contacts: 0845 45 88 365 / 07733 360955 / 07768 312 676
info@www.faslane365.org
http://www.faslane365.org

Playing with Fire: The Story of Daniel McGowan, “eco-terrorism” and the Green Scare

Growing up in New York City, Daniel McGowan saw first-hand how pollution fogged the air and fouled the beaches in some of the city’s poorest communities, setting him on a lifelong path of environmental and social justice. But how he ended up drenched in gasoline and setting fire to Oregon’s Jefferson Poplar Farms in 2001 and was later targeted as a “domestic terrorist” is the story of someone who cared too much and didn’t know what else to do.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens’ Rockaway Beach, Daniel McGowan grew up sandwiched between asphalt and the sky, in a forest of buildings and buzzing streets. Until Dec. 7, 2005, the 33-year-old with a round face and a chipmunk smile was mostly known in local circles for his involvement in a variety of activist projects. Today, after a nearly two-year legal battle that saw him labeled an “eco-terrorist” by the U.S. government, McGowan is serving a seven-year sentence at a federal prison in Minnesota on 15 counts of arson, attempted arson and conspiracy to commit arson against two private companies in Oregon in 2001.

McGowan, whose arrest shocked his family and friends, and his case was lumped together with nine others as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Operation Backfire, which produced 65 indictments for actions at 17 targets, including private companies, universities and government facilities across five states from 1996-2001, in what the FBI called a “campaign of domestic terrorism.” The actions were all claimed by the Environmental Liberation Front (ELF) or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), an underground, decentralized movement of radical environmentalists, which McGowan participated in between 1999 and 2001 while living in Eugene, Oregon.

“At a certain point, I got involved in the ELF,” McGowan told The Indypendent at his Brooklyn home in June, a few weeks before reporting to prison. “At the time it seemed like a natural progression, but it also coincided with my increasing grief and rage I was feeling about the environmental destruction I saw. I went to Oregon and I couldn’t believe how okay people were with what was going on. We’d drive to the edge of town and you saw the logging mills, or you went into the forest and stumbled upon a clear cut. It just blew me away. I had to find a way to channel that grief and rage.” The dilemma McGowan faced has troubled activists for generations. When you try every form of “acceptable” advocacy to make change with little success, what do you do?

“A Campaign of Domestic Terrorism” In the middle of the night on May 21, 2001, McGowan found himself in the vehicle shop of Jefferson Poplar Farms in of Clatskanie, a small town in northwest Oregon on the Columbia River. He had just finished laying out soaked gasoline sheets and towels connected to a homemade incendiary device, designed to set fire to a fleet of SUVs and the company office. The privately owned facility had been selected as an ELF target because McGowan and his accomplices believed it was involved in genetic research by growing a hybrid variety of poplar-cottonwood trees that would help timber companies replace the region’s old-growth forests with commercial tree farms.

“We torched Jefferson Poplar because hybrid poplars are an ecological nightmare threatening native biodiversity in the ecosystem,” the saboteurs wrote in a communique that was released after the action. “Our forests are being liquidated and replaced with mono-cultured tree farms so greedy, earth-raping corporations can make more money.”

“At some level, I thought it [ELF actions] was effective,” McGowan said. “If I would have written a statement that I think genetic-engineered trees are bad and oldgrowth logging is bad and sent it to every media outlet in the country, it wouldn’t have been paid attention to,” he explained. “There is something really strange about when you attach a statement to an arson it suddenly becomes newsworthy … it is like propaganda with teeth.”

For McGowan, the actions were part of his search for the right mix of tactics to make positive change.

“For me, the actions were not grotesque or not about destroying things. I had a hard time getting into the mind set to destroy other people’s stuff or even living [genetically modified] organisms,” he said. “I would get sick before actions, get nervous — it was really difficult. But I did it because I felt that the other things weren’t working, and that while there was a preponderance of other tactics being tried, these tactics weren’t being tried and I thought that maybe there is something we can do to help the issue.”

Between 1996 and 2001, an underground cell of activists based in Eugene, Oregon, called “the Family” in government documents, targeted federal and university research facilities, meat and lumber companies, a car dealership, wild horse corrals and other “earth rapers,” as described by communiques released at the time.

According to the FBI, the string of high profile actions that hit 17 targets in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1990s caused nearly $80 million in property damage. These actions are only a few of the more than 600 incidents claimed by the ELF and ALF nationwide since 1996. “I think that’s really what all these actions are about — is really getting public attention to some of these issues,” said Jim Flynn, a Eugene-based environmentalist in a July 2007 USA Today article. “If we were able to affect policy change through more legal means, then certainly that’s the way these people would go. Nobody enjoys being underground, and that lifestyle.”

TO CONTINUE READING ARTICLE, VISIT: http://www.indypendent.org/2007/09/15/enemy-of-the-state/

SIDEBAR ARTICLES:

Why Green Makes the Right See Red
http://www.indypendent.org/2007/09/15/why-green-makes-the-right-see-red/

The Birth of a Buzzword: “Eco-terrorism”
http://www.indypendent.org/2007/09/15/the-birth-of-a-buzz-word-eco-terrorism/
NOTE: See Ron Arnold’s response)

The Net Widens: Free Speech on Trial
http://www.indypendent.org/2007/09/15/the-net-widens/

Underground Eco-defenders
http://www.indypendent.org/2007/09/15/underground-eco-defenders/

Please leave comments on the articles if you want!

THE INDYPENDENT is the newspaper of the NEW YORK INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER – www.indypendent.org

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For his address to write to, other eco-prisoners, tips for writing etc, go to http://www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk