Wilderness Defence – Page 82

Police raid eco-protest camp

16.08.2009
POLICE bullies have invaded Camp Titnore near Worthing and intimidated the protesters, who have been peacefully occupying the threatened Durrington woodland since 2006.

Coming just a few weeks after Tesco got permission for its disgusting new abomination on neighbouring fields, it is feared this heralds an all-out attack on the camp by the usual unholy alliance of profiteering capitalist scum, corrupt local authorities and the taxpayer-funded thugs-in-blue.

Strong rumours are circulating that Worthing Borough Council planners are to meet very soon to give the final go-ahead for the 875-home housing development at Titnore Woods and that the camp will be cleared by force before work starts, possibly as soon as October.

The campers are appealing for all those who have supported them during their three-year marathon protest to make the effort to come and visit them now – before it is too late – and show the authorities that they cannot mistreat them with impunity as they enjoy public backing.

If people can go and stay at the camp for any amount of time, no matter how small, that would obviously be even better.

The latest police raid on the camp came under the the pretence of a “health and safety check”. Up to 18 tooled-up ‘officers’ intimidated the environmentalists with video cameras, as they were in-terror-gated. This included a young woman with a 4-year-old child who was visiting friends at the camp. The police then search and video’d all areas of the camp despite being told to leave the campers’ home.

Clearly even after all the criticism of the police by government ministers following their behaviour in London in April they are still out of control.

The campers now expect more harassment in order to get them to give up and leave.

Warning of a possible move to give the housing development the OK imminently, campaign group Protect Our Woodland! says: “A lot has to be done in a very short time. First please could you sign the petition at: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/TitnoreWoods/ and ask all in your address book to do the same. Next it is still very important to send an e-mail of objection to the council, please find all the details at www.protectourwoodland.co.uk then if you’ve still got the energy write to the papers.

“Yes we know there’s been very little reporting in the local papers – except for the Tesco part of the development – that’s because editors get fed up with the same old suspects writing in endlessly. So let’s see if a new hand will get results. All the details are on the website.”

Meanwhile the campaigning Durrington and Northbrook Times reports that work on the massive new Tesco Extra will start tomorrow, Monday August 17, with residents’ concerns bulldozed out of the path of the monster that they like to call progress.

It reported in a special email bulletin:

“At a public meeting in the Durrington Community centre, Robert Curtis Project Manager for builders Kier revealed that although disturbance to local residents would be kept to a minimum there would be some inconvenience.

“He admitted to a stunned audience, that one maximum weight multi-wheeled truck would have to come through the existing Tesco car park every 7 minutes as negotiations had broken down with the owner of land north of Fulbeck Ave, previously earmarked. The route to the car park indicated on the handout was through residential roads such as New Road (From the Lamb) and Romany Road.

“It was further revealed that apart from rainwater harvesting NO other sustainable features are to be incorporated. Not even one solar panel.

“So there we are then, our council has allowed this mega rich conglomerate to build a shed that will be a blot on the landscape, create a traffic nightmare, destroy local residents right to breathe clean air and enjoy peace and quiet. Thank you councillors you will be remembered at election time.

“What a shame not one reporter from either the Worthing Herald or Argus felt it necessary to be present to report on this. However you can rely on The Durrington and Northbrook Times to report what’s going on to residents.”

http://www.protectourwoodland.co.uk/tea.htm

Climate campers stroll to Ffos-y-fran opencast mine

August 15th 2009

Climate campers reclaim Ffos-y-fran

Campers at Climate Camp Cymru near Merthyr Tydfil have upped the ante and have set off to enter Ffros-y-fran open cast coal mine, just yards from the camp.

Jill Lloyd said,

August 15th 2009

Climate campers reclaim Ffos-y-fran

Campers at Climate Camp Cymru near Merthyr Tydfil have upped the ante and have set off to enter Ffros-y-fran open cast coal mine, just yards from the camp.

Jill Lloyd said,

“We have been talking to local people at the camp, in the town and on the housing estates. The story is the same everywhere — people feel abandoned and used. Their hillside is being ripped apart, a massive incinerator is proposed and a third phase of this monstrous coal mine is now on the horizon, with plans to destroy the peaceful wooded hillside opposite.

“This action wasn’t planned at the start of the camp, but we feel it is important to show our opposition to the mine with a ‘climate stroll’ to symbolically reclaim the land for the community

“We have been hearing about people with respiratory conditions such as asthma which have started or worsened since the mine opened, people unable to put their washing out because it gets black, vegetables coated in filthy dust.”

Wales could soon be self-sufficient in clean energy but is still generating fossil fuels for England. The coal from Ffos y Fran will generate the same amount of CO2 per year as Mozambique. We have to stop climate change, not make it worse. Coal is nearly all carbon and must be left in the ground.

Angharad Jones said:

“Reclaiming the land is a symbolic act. Coming here has been a real lesson for us, and we feel privileged to be part of the resistance to this mine. We have had talks from scientists and ecologists, but the most memorable lessons came from the local residents.

History has shown that changes can be made by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The suffragettes and the civil rights movement took action that was often illegal but very necessary. As our politicians fail us, we need deeds and not words.”

Between now and the Copenhagen climate summit in December, activists will take decentralised or collective action in Wales against the root causes of climate change.

Contact

* 07780914369 or 07875 868232 for Welsh language interviews
* 07789898374 for English language interviews
* 07973298359 for video footage

Notes for editors

Climate Camp Cymru is being held in a green field near Merthyr Tydfil between 13 – 16 August. For maps and site information, go to www.climatecampcymru.org

Access for journalists is restricted to the hours of 11am – 1pm on Saturday, but there is an edge of site media area where filming can take place at any time.

—–

Stroll photo essay

EF! summer gathering – exact location, travel info & updated workshop programme announced; coal-blighted communities visit

Earth First! Summer Gathering, 18th-24th August 2009, Cumbria

Never has halting the destruction of our planet been so important… Learn how to make them stop!

The gathering this year will be held at Seathwaite in the beautiful Borrowdale. The site is right in the heart of the Lake District and surrounded by mountains, streams and tarns. The nearest train station is Penrith. More detailed directions, public transport, walks & cycle rides to the site

Workshop programme in a variety of formats

Earth First! Summer Gathering, 18th-24th August 2009, Cumbria

Never has halting the destruction of our planet been so important… Learn how to make them stop!

Workshop programme in a variety of formats

WHO
Earth First! is a network of people and campaigns who fight ecological destruction and the forces driving it. We believe in doing it ourselves rather than relying on governments or industry. Direct action is at the heart of what we do, whether we’re standing in front of a bulldozer, shutting down an opencast mine or ripping up a field of GM crops.

Join us for 5 days of workshops, networking and planning actions at a low impact eco-living camp organised non-hierarchically

WHAT
Planning actions and campaigns, meeting and sharing skills with others who care. Over 80 training workshops plus games and evening fun:
• Learn skills for direct action. Tree Climbing, Orienteering, Security for activists, Legal briefing, Escaping public order situations, street medics – first aid, self defence, Boat blockading using kayaks, radio procedures and rock abseiling.
• Network your campaign against ecological destruction. opencast mining, genetic engineering, agrofuels, dam-building, hunt-sabbing, climate actions, oil pipeline resistance, road stopping, anti-whaling, squatting, rainforest protection.
• Learn about ecology, ecocentric ethics and alternatives to the corporate world of exploitation.
• Practical skills for ecological restoration and sustainable living, field trips and hands-on work.

YOU
We are all crew! This is your gathering come prepared to help run the camp and contribute to the programme. Contact us in advance with ideas for workshops, help with organising the gathering, come early to help setup the site or stay on for a couple of days for takedown.
If you can help get in touch!

BRING
Bring tent and sleeping bag. You can either cook food for yourself or for £4 per day chip in with collective cooking of delicious vegan organic food. There’ll be quiet sleeping areas, toilets and running water, a children’s space and spaces for workshops and info stalls.
Veggies will provide vegan cake and snacks. Children and young adults welcome with subsidized meals.

Arrive Tues pm. Workshops from Wed am until Sun pm.

Loads of campaigns are taking to the water in defence of the planet, like at Rossport where Shell are trying to lay onshore pipelines and the Great Rebel Raft Regatta at last summers climate camp. This summer’s EF! gathering will be building on these tactics with training in water based actions.

An excursion to visit communities in the North East threatened by an expansion of coal mining on Monday 24th August. Visit beautiful valleys and strong spirited communities and make links for ongoing resistance.

We aim to make the site as accessible as we can please contact us in advance if you have special needs, questions or concerns.

WHERE
The site is near in the Lake District, Cumbria. The nearest train station is Penrith and there is a bus service to the site, there are car and living vehicle spaces outside the camp.

Dogs: We are fortunate this year to be able to accommodate well behaved owners with dogs on leads but think about whether your dog will feel comfortable in workshops. Please call beforehand so we know numbers.

Cost: £20 – £30 according to what you can afford. We are not for profit all extra cash goes to help fund next year. Under 14’s free.

For more info contact us at :
summergathering@earthfirst.org.uk
www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk

Tens of Thousands Protest for Democracy in the Forests, India

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa witness chakka jams, rasta rokos, dharnas, morchas and other protests.

Today in State capitals and district headquarters across the country, many tens of thousands of people joined morchas, dharnas and rasta rokos with the following demands:

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa witness chakka jams, rasta rokos, dharnas, morchas and other protests.

Today in State capitals and district headquarters across the country, many tens of thousands of people joined morchas, dharnas and rasta rokos with the following demands:

* Halt Forest Department interference, exclusion of rights holders, and violation of people’s rights under under the Forest Rights Act;
* Recognise our right and power to protect and control our forests and resources;
* Stop illegally destroying forests and robbing us of our resources through diversion for private companies and large projects.

In a tragedy, four protesters were killed and two seriously injured in Devala, Udaipur District, when a lorry hit the protesters as their rasta roko was ending. The organisation is pursuing the case to ensure that the driver and other concerned persons are arrested and brought to justice. Those who lost their lives in the struggle will be honoured as martyrs.

Protests took place in the following States:

Rajasthan: Chakka jams took place in Banswada, Dungarpur, Udaipur, Pratapgarh Districts, in total in 12 locations. More than 6,000 people participated. The rasta rokos included a blockade on the National Highway at Chindwara More.

Orissa: More than 5,000 people participated in a chakka jam in Bhubaneshwar, shutting down the main crossroads in the city for more than two hours. People joined the demonstration from across the state. Protests also took place in major district headquarters.

Maharashtra: Rasta rokos took place throughout the State, in several locations in Thane District (on the Ahmedabad – Mumbai national highway), in two places in Raigad district, in 4 places in Nandurbar district (rasta rokos will continue over the next three days in other locations in the district).

Madhya Pradesh: Approximately 4,000 people from 20 districts joined a chakka jam in Bhopal for several hours. More than 3,000 people courted arrest and were arrested.

Gujarat: Mass rallies took place in Rajpipla (10,000 people), Dharampur (4,000 people), Sabarkantha District (dharnas at three locations). Protests will take place in Chota Udaipur, Vyara and Bhilwada are expected in the coming days, in which several thousand people are expected to participate.

Chhattisgarh: A mass dharna took place in Raipur in which approximately 1,000 people participated.

Jharkhand: People from Kunti, Hazaribagh and Ranchi district joined a mass demonstration in Ranchi. Rallies took place at the sub-divisional level in East Singhbhum and at the block level in Latehar, Palamau, West Singhbhum Districts.

The passage of the Forest Rights Act in December 2006 was a historic step forward for the struggle against the autocratic, brutal and repressive rule of colonial laws and the Forest Department in India’s forests. But the mere passage of a law is not enough to overturn a century of oppression. Today, the fight continues for a new order in the forests – one built around democracy instead of bureaucracy, around the people rather than the officials, and around the forests and their citizens rather than the corporates and capital.

Mapuche communities mobilize to reclaim land

Several Mapuche communities have begun to reclaim traditional lands in Araucania, central Chile.

The reclamation began on July 23, about 2 weeks after the government of Michelle Bachelet refused to sit down with a group of Mapuche activists and talk about their concerns as Indigenous People.

Several Mapuche communities have begun to reclaim traditional lands in Araucania, central Chile.

The reclamation began on July 23, about 2 weeks after the government of Michelle Bachelet refused to sit down with a group of Mapuche activists and talk about their concerns as Indigenous People.

The activists had traveled 680 km to meet with Bachelet, having already waited for weeks to hear from from Araucania’s governor about establishing a dialogue .

Before heading home, the group left Bachelet a letter, stating they would take action unless the govenrment addressed their concerns.

On July 23, the Mapuche began to occupy properties they identify as part of their traditional lands, including one held by a logging company. Roadblocks have also been set up in at least 5 different areas in Araucania.

The so-called leftist government finally decided to respond—with violence. The police were sent in to protect the logging company and evict the Mapuche – a “violent occupying force” as far as the government is concerned. “Both Mapuche and police were injured in the clashes” that followed, says IPS News.

Several other attacks against the Mapuche have also been reported.

Last week, the paramilitary group “Hernan Trizano Commando” also came forward and publicly threatened to blow up and “disappear from the world” several Mapuche leaders involved in the reclamation, starting August 3.

“In response, Senator Alejandro Navarro, the presidential candidate of a new political party, the Movimiento Amplio Social (MAS – Broad Social Movement) announced… that he would file a lawsuit invoking the anti-terrorism law against the paramilitary group,” IPS continues.

The government itself does not appear to be taking any formal action against this immediate threat. Instead, they are emboldening the vigilante group by claiming the Mapuche effort is nothing more than “violent actions” led by a small minority: seven of Chile’s 2,800 indigenous communities.

Juan Carlos Curinao, a Mapuche “Lonco” or Chief, responded to the claims in a recent interview with IPS.Curinao said that the mobilization is in fact led by 40 Loncos, who together represent every Mapuche subgroup.

He also said that the reclamation is non-violent. “We don’t carry weapons to go around hurting non-indigenous settlers, we are fighting for our culture. It is the state that has attacked us, shooting at us.”

“If I occupy property, it’s not violence; I am reclaiming my territory,” he added.

While “there is no solution in sight”—-in large part because the government refuses to abide by international law and sit down with the Mapuche—there’s a small chance that things will turn for the better this week. The Senate has announced that it will hold a special session on Wednesday, Aug. 5 to discuss “the security situation that is affecting the region of Araucanía.”

Updates in English:www.mapuche.nl. Updates in Spanish: www.observatorio.cl

Titnore Woods threat – Tescos every little Hurts!!!

1.8.2009
Tescos & Worthing Borough Council agree to development of Titnore Woods!

Worthing Borough Council and Tescos HAVE agreed to destroy the ancient Titnore Woods,it was passed yesterday.

Words fail me but Tescos REALLY are living in the age of stupid!

Please bring canned food and rope to the protest camp and yourselves please.

1.8.2009
Tescos & Worthing Borough Council agree to development of Titnore Woods!

Worthing Borough Council and Tescos HAVE agreed to destroy the ancient Titnore Woods,it was passed yesterday.

Words fail me but Tescos REALLY are living in the age of stupid!

Please bring canned food and rope to the protest camp and yourselves please.

More Including directions to camp can be found at www.protectourwoodland.co.uk

Worthing Borough Council please hang your heads in shame those that voted this insane application through!

Latest EF! Action Update bursts forth

Car tyres deflate in the night, diggers halted in their tracks, buildings and MPs covered in slime…airports plagued by crazy golf, picnics, city gents and hostage-taking…eco-villages and other autonomous spaces sprout, as others are under threat…tree-sits, banks evicted, fake phone-masts and whaling ships sunk….it must be time for another Earth First! Action Update, bringing you a concentrated quarterly blast of inspiration and contacts to get out there and take direct action against the bastards threatening this planet and its inhabitants.

News from the front-lines – permanent protest camps old and new, and temporary gatherings in a field near you, all the dates and info you need for a summer of blistering action and torrential outpourings!

Successes here, across the pond and round the very other side of the world.

Successes here, across the pond and round the very other side of the world.

A report back from the Coal Caravan, plus info about the communities along its route.

Court news – what happened after protesters planned to shut a coal-fired power plant, and climbed atop a train, plus handy Security Tips for Going on Actions.

Leaving it All in the Ground – news of global fights against the mining of gold, copper, bauxite and aluminium – blockading, torching and night-time pixieing.

A View from the Trees – a story from our eco-centric cousins. And indigenous Peruvians fight on against the wholesale onslaught on our world.

And a round-up of your favourite public order situations – G20, SmashEDO and Athenian rubbish dumps!

Read, download and print it here, subscribe so you get it direct to your door, or look out for it at a climate camp near you.

If you want to be listed or get a bunch of them to distribute, please get in touch.

Share your inspirational news at EF! Action Reports, and it’ll find it’s way into your very own printed EF!AU, in good old black and white print.

Borneo tribe mounts new blockades against rainforest destruction

30 July 2009
Dozens of Penan tribespeople armed with blowpipes and spears have erected blockades across the roads cut by logging companies deep into their forest in Borneo. The blockaders are calling for an end to logging on their land.

Survival International is calling for recognition of the hunter-gatherer Penan tribe’s land rights and a halt to all development on their land without their consent.

Malaysian police are at the blockades, but no arrests have been reported.

One Penan man told Survival, ‘This piece of forest is the only place left for us to hunt and find food. But there’s only a little bit left. Last night I went hunting and came back with nothing. If we can’t save this bit of forest, we will have nothing to eat.’

The Penan live in Sarawak, in the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo. They have been struggling for more than twenty years to stop the companies clearing their forests. Some have been successful, but many have seen their forests devastated, their rivers polluted and the animals and plants they rely on for food disappear.

Now, where the valuable trees have all been taken, the companies are starting to clear the land completely for oil palm plantations. Palm oil is used in many foods and cosmetics, and increasingly for biofuels.

Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The logging and oil palm companies are robbing the Penan not just of their forests but of their food and water. It is essential that the Malaysian government recognizes the Penan’s rights to their land and stops allowing the companies to take everything in sight.’

The notorious Malaysian company Samling is logging in the Long Daloh area, and a subsidiary of the company KTS is logging in the Ba Marong area.

Survival researcher Miriam Ross visited the Penan earlier this year, and is available for interview.

Visit Survival’s webpage about the Penan

For more information and images please contact Miriam Ross:
T (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504543367
E mr@survival-international.org

A Number of Small Actions in Reykjavík

During the last days, a number of small actions have taken place in Reykavík; banner drop in the center of Reykjavík, graffiti and stinky liquid at Jarðboranir and a nighttime shut-down of Útlendingastofnun.

This morning, July 30th, a huge banner was dropped in the center of Reykjavík, bringing attention to the connection and co-operation between the aluminium industry and the weapon industry. The banner said: “30% of all aluminium goes to the weapon industry – Stop the aluminium industry!” From the beginning of our campaign we have not only focused on the destructive environmental impact of aluminium production and big dams, but also the social and humane impacts. Alcoa in Iceland has steadily refused the connection, but with only a little look at the website of n.b. Alcoa Defense, one sees with own eyes that Alcoa does not only produce aluminium for weapon manufacturing, but proudly takes a huge part in the design of military equipment of all types.

Several articles have been written about the issue as well as many press releases following Saving Iceland’s actions:
Lygar og Útúrsnúningar (in Icelandic only)
Agya, What Do You Mean With Development?
Saving Iceland Blockades Rio Tinto-Alcan’s Smelter in Hafnarfjörður
Saving Iceland Disrupts International Aluminium Conference in Germany

Drill your own heads!
Yesterday night Saving Iceland received an anonymous letter titled Solidarity Action, which though did not include any photos:

“The workers of Jarðboranir received a disgusting surprise this afternoon. The company’s fancy entrance was covered in rotten and smelly liquid. Rotten like their hearts, smelly like the money they earn by drilling the Earth. The message we wrote to the workers was: DRILL YOUR OWN HEADS – BASTARDS!”

Jarðboranir (Earth Drilling ) owns the drills that are used to search for geothermal energy. Jarðboranir have recently signed contracts with several energy companies; Landsvirkjun, Reykjavík Energy and Þeistareykir ehf. about drilling for energy, which is meant to run already constructing and upcoming aluminium smelters.

The lack of public knowledge about test drilling is one of the main reasons for the myth about geothermal energy being ‘green’ and sustainable. For each test drill, a piece of land in the size of a football field has to evened out, e.g. for road construction. The test drilling’s efficiency is very limited; only very few of the holes end up providing energy. By then the area is already destroyed and the destruction won’t be taken back.

Companies like Jarðboranir have not been very visible in the critique and resistance against the destruction of Iceland’s wilderness, but is as important as the aluminium and energy companies. Without every single part of the chain, the chain does not work.

Útlendingastofnun

Poke in a belly!
And a little off-topic but still concerning the Icelandic government…

On Wednesday morning, Útlendingastofnun (The Directorate of Immigration) was targeted by no-border activists. The anarchist website Aftaka published this press release:

“This morning, when the workers of The Directorate of Immigration showed up to work, they faced closed and locked doors. Therefore they could not start their everyday job: To look for ways how to deport refugees to deportation camps in Greece or to the open death in their own home countries.

After long-lasting and ineffective protests, article writing and meetings with the authorities, a small group to the issues in its own hands, glued the locks of the office’s doors, threw red paint on the walls and wrote S.S. on windows.

The group realizes that the action is very small-scale, only a tiny little poke in the belly of a gigantic institution, but hopes that it will become a figurehead and an inspiration for other groups who are tired of protesting against fascism and will rather break it down with their own force.

The action group Poke in a Belly!”

This happened only one day after Saving Iceland glued and closed the offices of six institutions and companies that are involved in the heavy industrialization of Iceland.

Saving Iceland Closes Nature Killer’s Offices

July 28 2009
Last night Saving Iceland closed the offices of companies and institutions that are heavily responsible for extreme destruction of nature. Super-glue was put in to the locks and signs put up saying: “Closed because of destruction of nature!” Locksmiths had to be called to open the doors when workers showed up in the morning.

The companies and institutions that were targeted have all shown their determined criminal will against Icelandic nature and don’t stop at anything in their search for an easy financial growth and favorable contracts, even with companies who have scandalous history. These companies should have been closed long time ago to prevent more destruction to take place.

The following companies and institutions were targeted: the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Environment, who have cleared the way for heavy industry here in Iceland; ÍSTAK (construction company), which takes care of most of the earth destruction that has to take place before test drills and the construction of heavy industry related buildings; Jarðboranir (Earth Drilling), which owns the drills that are used for geothermal drilling all over the country; and HRV (engineering company), which does most of the Environmental Impact Assessments for heavy industry projects as well as taking a big part in designing the infrastructures connected to heavy industry.

Saving Iceland also closed an office shed on one of ÍAV’s (construction company) construction areas in Reykjavík, but the company is now busy with building Century’s aluminium smelter in Helguvík.