November 9th 2007
Not in our name !
Today, to commemorate Shell’s judicial murder of the Ogoni 9 and a look back in anger at the Garda baton-fest a year ago, some 400 activists journeyed from all reaches of Ireland to voice our outrage outside and inside Shell’s Bellanaboy site, I was with the section of protestors that first manned the front line at Bellanaboy bridge at 6AM at the request of S2S when it was rightly surmised that Shell and the Guards would attempt to steal a march by bringing the workers in early — for a while, before Garda weight of numbers prevailed, we were effective in blockading and preventing them from earning their 30 pieces of Mammon silver inside.
After being prevented from joining the main group by a two deep line of Guards, we successfully scaled the gates of the refinery to be greeted inside with wanton violence and rough handling by Shell’s thugs dressed in security uniforms.
What stimulated the title was an encounter with a German from Riegen and a couple from the UK Midlands who had spent the previous 48 hours travelling overland from mainland Europe and England just to attend today’s protest, what commitment?, even so, the people of Erris match it and, further afield, activists, who with a granite sense of conscience turn up again and again in Bellanaboy to bear witness against a rogue corporation and their shoe shine boys in government who pave and grease their way?
Updates received via Text Message from Protestors
6.47: Gate 2 blocked since 6am
7.10: Situation tense for a group from Cork hemmed in near Gate 2 (gate nearest the bridge). On the road but the guards have half of it.
7.35: The refinery site has been occupied. One group of 30 people have entered and are now occupying the site compound. Meanwhile on the road between the bridge and Gate 2, a group of 90 protesters prevented a truck from from entering the site for about 20 minutes. The truck drove over one person’s foot and an ambulance is on its way. One of the blockaders was arrested around the same time.
8:08: The same truck that drove over the protester’s foot is still being blockaded from entering the quarry (around 40 minutes at this stage).
8:35: There are currently two different groups on the building site and another two groups of blockaders at Gate 1 and Gate 2.
The protester whose foot was driven over has been taken to hospital. Guards were reported as being very rough while removing people from the road at Gate 2 — standing on people’s arms and chests and pulling them off the road by their necks. Local, John Monaghan had his camera pulled off him and thrown into the ditch by gardai.
8:57: The truck has since got past the blockade of Gate 2 (leaving it blocked for just over an hour). 30/40 local people were actively involved in the blockade. Guards reported as violently dragging people away — punching people in back and stomach. Many guards reported as not wearing their identification numbers.
The blockaders have now joined the group at the main gate to the site and there is a line of gardai (now including the public order unit) between them and the compound gate. Two other arrests have been confirmed aside from the protester blockading Gate 2. Further details on these two arrests to be confirmed.
9:05: One group of about 20 protesters on the site attempted to get past the inner gate (with spikes on top) to the site but suffered minor injuries (cut hands) as well as ripped and torn clothing as the site security prevented them from getting across by pushing them back against the spikes at the top of the gate. Two of the people who succeeded in getting to the inner site were ejected from the site by site security needed first aid but are now on their way up to join the group on the road by the main gate.
10:26: Six people have been escorted out of the compound after breaching it via a back entrance. The group managed to breach the inner perimeter and stop work temporarily. There were minor scuffles but security were ‘generally nice’.
14:56: 16 people are currently on site. There are security present but no gardai as of yet. The group is a mix of locals and supporters.
15:01: “Security guards assaulting protesters, grabbing cameras, work continuing”