Category: Action Reports

Eviction of treehouse village on Hambacher Forst protest site

Ker­pen, 28.​03.​2014. Shortly after 20:00 on last wednesday the 28th of march the last of seven activists was evicted from a tree.

Ker­pen, 28.​03.​2014. Shortly after 20:00 on last wednesday the 28th of march the last of seven activists was evicted from a tree. The treehouses were completely destroyed and lots of tree were cut down during the 16-hour large scale operation. While the police is still praising themselfes, the activists already plan the reoccupation of the forest.

According to a press release of the police the claim of the eviction was made by the town of Kerpen. The spokesperson of the town declared building regulations and the "dangerous" conditions of the houses as reason for the police operation. "The interests of energy companies are constantly presented in the name of different committees or as public interest. At federal level this mean subventions for the most climate-damaging form of energy; at regional level it means the local authorities and the police make up reasons to clear the way for RWE. We do not experience this for the first time." says An­ni­ka Schle­reth after the eviction.

Already while the evection was still running people from Bonn and Vienna declared their soliadrity through different actions. Also today manifestations for solidarity will take place in Münster, Essen and Frankfurt/Main. "Repression can make people withdraw or weaken a movement. But if we stand united then it will strenghen us and our resistance. Following the eviction in november 2012 a lot of people declared their solidarity and took action over month for the forest and against RWE. The criminalization of our legitimate protest will not stop our fight." continues Annika Schlereth.

For this reason we call for a reoccuption of the Hambach Forest on 26.​04.​2014 By then various groups and individuals will be prepared to permanently reoccupy the forest and to send a strong signal to RWE. "We will not stand by and watch how forests, farmland and villages will be destroyed for the sake of mining. We will not sit back and do nothing while the climate is killed by the burning of coal. We will organize, resist and be solidly united with all the people worldwide that fight against destruction of their space!"

Hunt Sabs prepare for second year of badger culling

Badger-4751-300x204 27 March 2014 from HSA

 

Badger-4751-300x204 27 March 2014 from HSA

 

At our AGM in June 2012 a spokesperson from the campaign group “Stop the Cull” addressed those of us present on their belief that the cull could only be successfully sabotaged with a lot of help from hunt sab groups. We were told that we'd have to do thousands of hours of preparatory sett surveying, that we'd get no sleep for weeks when it started, we'd lose all our holiday time from work and to top it all we didn't even know if we'd be even slightly successful in finding marksmen with silencers at potentially any location inside 100's of square miles. “Looking for a needle in a haystack” actually sounded easier.

We were also told that there was a lot of press interest in the badger culls and that it might be good for hunt sabs' public profile. Considering that for decades we have been portrayed in the main stream press as “thugs” no one was particularly enamoured with the idea of a media make over.

As it turned out the press didn't praise or recognise us for our behaviour or endeavours, but what did happen is that tens of thousands of people came into contact with us. Whether that was via speeches on demo's, from reports on Facebook or in the flesh in the cull zone. People learnt about us and they liked what they saw – groups of compassionate people who work hard in the field to protect wild animals from being hunted.

It is this very fact that we have “gone viral”, not just on social media, but in the real world, where it counts, that makes us an unstoppable force. Whether that's new sab groups forming across the country or small sab groups being overwhelmed with new people. The HSA membership has more than doubled in size in under a year and donations have increased dramatically.

 

When we got to the cull zones in 2013, it quickly became clear that we were making a massive difference. Right from the start groups, working closely with badger patrollers, engaged, and repelled, the badger killers. The HSA supported the sabs on the ground by giving grants totalling many thousands of pounds to help with transport, and crucially, the very expensive Gen2+ night vision equipment that enabled sabs to spot shooters from huge distances.

 

Many people will be unaware of the literally thousands of miles walked by sabs in the run up to the culls, as they mapped out all the setts over hundreds of square miles so they could defend them against shooters. The reason that the culls were sabotaged so spectacularly is due largely to that work.

That surveying work in Dorset this year won't rely on a few sab groups supported by a dozen or so locals. This year it's totally different. The British public has engaged with us en masse & we are confident that with their help, we will have every sett mapped in that zone easily by June 1st.

In 2012 we were told to expect a roll out to ten cull zones and then a further forty in following years. Here we are in 2014 with a cull policy in tatters and a roll out to one more cull zone a small possibility. We are prepared to take Dorset by storm and destroy any attempts to kill badgers

We will help “Stop the Cull”

 

That's what we do.

 

Join us.

Eviction of Hambach Forest right now

The hambach forest is under eviction right now. Hundrets of police are trying to get the people down from the trees, but it can need some time. Media is talking about lock-ons in the trees. Right now there are several lifting ramps working at several treehouses at the same time. The Police is blocking roads and the motorway in a big range.

The hambach forest is under eviction right now. Hundrets of police are trying to get the people down from the trees, but it can need some time. Media is talking about lock-ons in the trees. Right now there are several lifting ramps working at several treehouses at the same time. The Police is blocking roads and the motorway in a big range.

The hambach forest is occupied against the coal-pit from RWE close to Cologne (it's the biggest coal-area in Europe and its biggest climate killer!) The whole forest will get cut for the coal-mine if we don't defend it. The forest was 5.500 ha once, and now there is less than 1000 left.

The activists call for a big re-occupiation at the 26. of april. More information as they came.

 

More information: http://hambachforest.blogsport.de/

Animal rights activist convicted as repression of activists in the UK intensifies

An animal rights activist has been convicted of conspiracy to blackmail after 5 weeks on trial at Winchester Crown Court.

An animal rights activist has been convicted of conspiracy to blackmail after 5 weeks on trial at Winchester Crown Court. Debbie Vincent of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign was accused of blackmail on the basis that SHAC pressured companies to end their business relationships with Huntingdon Life Sciences, Europe's largest animal testing laboratory. The case is the latest development in the use of blackmail laws against animal rights activists. In 2010 seven SHAC campaigners were handed sentences of up to 16 years in prison for 'conspiring' to blackmail companies not to do business with HLS. Debbie was accused of being part of the same ten year 'conspiracy' as the previous defendants, from 2001-11, despite the fact that there was only evidence that she had been involved in the campaign from 2005. Police had bugged a house used by SHAC campaigners for an eight month period in 2005 and put those going in and out under surveillance. Much of the case against Debbie was on the grounds of guilt by association with the defendants convicted in 2010 and with unnamed people. The twisting of blackmail laws in this way has broad ramifications for the right to express dissent in the UK. The law is being used to intimidate people who are attempting to resist against corporate power. The logical extension of the use of the law in this way is that any campaigner who pressures a company to end its practices could be targeted. The prosecution argued that SHAC had posted details of companies on their website and encouraged people to protest against them. The CPS claimed that this amounted to blackmail, despite the fact that the SHAC campaign stipulated on its website that protests should be lawful. In the second week of the trial, after the defence demanded that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) give full disclosure of the papers at their disposal to the defence, it was revealed that an undercover police officer, using the alias 'James Adams' had masqueraded as an executive for Novartis and met with Debbie and another activist from the SHAC campaign to discuss Novartis' dealings with HLS. It seems that the police and Novartis were trying, unsuccessfully, to link the two activists to illegal direct action. Several officers from the National Domestic Extremism Unit gave evidence at the trial. The NDEU is a specialist police unit which aims to target activists involved in direct action campaigning. For more information on the UK's political police units click here.

Debbie is due in court for sentencing on April 17th. The CPS have indicated they intend to apply for an Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) to come into effect on her release which will restrict her movements. In 2010 indefinite ASBOs were granted against four convicted activists banning them from ever protesting against animal experimentation. The case is part of an ongoing campaign of police repression against the SHAC campaign. Seven SHAC activists have been charged with 'conspiracy to interfere with the contractual relations so as to harm an animal research organisation' under Section 144 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (2005). The charges relate to demonstrations against companies with business relationships with HLS. They are due to appear in court later this year A Stop UK Repression campaign has been set up to support animal rights activists bearing the brunt of this latest state crackdown on anti-corporate dissent. The campaign's website reads “In an atmosphere of increasing repression against activists and the criminalisation of effective campaigns, it is important that we show our solidarity for those involved and form a strong network to support the UK animal rights movement." More details at: www.shac.net
www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2014/03/515954.html
www.stopukrepression.org/?page_id=75#

Resisting Together event, Edinburgh, March 29th

Resisting Together is an event of many ideas focussed on a single aim – the dissolution of Industrial Civilization through acts of resistance.

Resisting Together is an event of many ideas focussed on a single aim – the dissolution of Industrial Civilization through acts of resistance. There are many activists – community, political, radical individuals, groups and movements – operating both in the open and underground; we don’t agree on everything, but at our core we all seek to free humanity from the yoke of the industrial machine, the horror-play that the civilized world acts out every day, degrading the natural world and enslaving people in the pursuit of material wealth and power.

Date: Saturday 29th March, 2014

Time: 1pm-7pm

Cost: by donation at the event

Venue: The Canons’ Gait, 232 Canongait (Royal Mile), Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ

A mixture of talks and discussions, the launch of the book, "Underminers" and probably a bit of music too, Resisting Together will be a chance to share, exhort, emote and learn from others how we can move towards a world where we are in control of our destiny, unfettered by the shackles of the industrial machine. This unique event seeks to bridge gaps and find commonality between the various strands of radical thought and action that are seeking to protect the future from ecocide. The range of topics, groups and ideas represented is deliberately broad, and there will be ample opportunity for you to add your own thoughts to the mix. We need it all.

If you wish to come, please REGISTER via the website: www.underminers.org/resisting-together

Fight the Frack

Fight the Frack rally this Sunday March 16 near Chester, fitting a new rig at Farndon – coaches from different towns available – more info and here.

 

 

 

Fight the Frack rally this Sunday March 16 near Chester, fitting a new rig at Farndon – coaches from different towns available – more info and here.

 

 

 

 

New anti-fracking camp near Nottingham, at Retford.

 

See twitter.com/frackfreenotts

For more info on fracking see http://frack-off.org.uk

lock-on-tastic continues/eviction court case news & more at Barton Moss (4-12 March 2014)

11.3.14

 

11.3.14

 

4th March – another lock-on delayed trucks significantly – 4 hours! 

The Manchester Evening News – sensationalist parroter of police and fracking PR – conducted a survey that found that 73% of Mancunians opposed fracking.

 

6th March – two hour lock-on and book shields deployed to protect against TAU (riot police) aggression. 

9th March – 1,200 march against fracking in Manchester city centre. 

10th March – eviction court case brought by Peel Holdings: judge considered two days of evidence over the weekend, and decided against the camp.  He'd previously said Peel couldn't evict part of the camp from a strip of agricultural land that Peel lease out to a tenant farmer.  On Monday he decided it wasn't agricultural enough!  Camp taking appeal to High Court. 

11th March – another lock-on!

BREAKING THE FRAME

A GATHERING ON THE POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGY

2nd – 5th May 2014

Unstone Grange, Derbyshire

YOU NEED TO BOOK -SEE BELOW

Organised by Luddites 200, Corporate Watch, and Scientists for Global Responsibility

A GATHERING ON THE POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGY

2nd – 5th May 2014

Unstone Grange, Derbyshire

YOU NEED TO BOOK -SEE BELOW

Organised by Luddites 200, Corporate Watch, and Scientists for Global Responsibility

Technology can bring some benefits for ordinary people, but its development is almost entirely conmtrolled by corporate, military and technocratic elites, so it usually serves their interests and reinforces their power.

The politics of food, energy, work, gender, peace, economics, health, etc are all shaped by choices about technology made by those elites. The whole way our society develops is massively influenced by technology, yet ordinary people never have a proper say in it.  We're always left reacting to the technocrats' latest plan, whether it's drones, internet surveillance, GM food, fracking, designer babies or nuclear power.

We think all these issues are linked. So it's time for a more joined up and more proactive approach, one which addresses the root causes of problems and is not limited by the dogma that technology equals progress.

  • We want to create a new politics of technology based on bringing together the insights of different movements and learning from each other.
  • We want a human-scale technology that serves real human needs, not corporate bottom lines.
  • We want democratic control of technology.

An world facing environmental meltdown and massive inequality -both caused byb 200 years ofn industrial capitalism- needs better solutions than more dangerous techno-fixes such as climate engineering.

Whether you're a technology politics campaigner, trade unionist, environmentalist. altech developer, artist or just plain concerned, BREAKING THE FRAME IS NOT TO BE MISSED.

YOU NEED TO BOOK

www.breakingtheframe.org.uk      

email: luddites200@yahoo.co.uk

(020) 7426 0005

Accommodation is either in the conference centre OR camping (which is cheaper).  The concessionary rate for camping is £36, which includes all meals for 4 days (it's a bank holiday weekend).

BUT if £36 is more than you can manage, we're committed to making sure nobody is left out for lack of money.  So get in touch now.  Rich people can make extra donations, of course!

lock-ons at Barton Moss

Lock-ons have been increasing – there's been one today (2 people, 2 hour delay), Monday 3rd March; there was another last Friday (2 people in tubes, 1.5 hours), and last Tuesday – 2 people locked-on into a barrel full of concrete, barbed wire and glass, to slow the police removal team down.

Lock-ons have been increasing – there's been one today (2 people, 2 hour delay), Monday 3rd March; there was another last Friday (2 people in tubes, 1.5 hours), and last Tuesday – 2 people locked-on into a barrel full of concrete, barbed wire and glass, to slow the police removal team down.

Apart from these days, there's been continued police violence, a reduction in time allowed for the slow lorry escorts, and the threat of eviction delayed till later this month. 

See http://northerngasgala.org.uk/ or frack-off.org.uk/ for more info

DART ENERGY has started work for CBM exploration in Sutton Cum Lound

DART ENERGY have begun work preparing the site at Sutton Cum Lound, the road is dug up and fences are to be erected any day now. The local community is working really hard to oppose the plans and need all the help they can get. There is a campaign info point nearby for anyone that wants to visit or help out there.

DART ENERGY have begun work preparing the site at Sutton Cum Lound, the road is dug up and fences are to be erected any day now. The local community is working really hard to oppose the plans and need all the help they can get. There is a campaign info point nearby for anyone that wants to visit or help out there. Volunteers are needed for researching, contacting councils and local groups, farmers and businesses and for flyering in Retford this Sat 29th Feb. There is a public meeting in Retford on March 19th at the Well 7pm. DART is also looking to exploit South Yorkshire and has already caused alot of damage in Scotland and many other parts of the earth. http://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/news/local/sutton-cum-lound-protestors-unite-against-energy-firm-s-drilling-plans-1-6460799