Page 196 – Respect existence or expect resistance!

Indians blockade main Amazon tributary – 24 April 2009

A large number of Indians have blockaded one of the Amazon’s main tributaries, the Napo River, in response to the violation of their rights by oil companies and Peru’s government.

The protesters have blockaded the Napo with canoes and a cable to stop oil company vessels getting upriver. According to sources, two boats, including one from the Anglo-French company Perenco, have managed to break through the blockade. Three shots were allegedly fired at the Indians who chased after them.

The blockade of the Napo River is just one of many protests currently taking place across the Peruvian Amazon. Coordinated by Peru’s Amazon Indian organisation, AIDESEP, the protests are in response to government policies seen by the Indians as discriminatory and threatening to their communal lands. AIDESEP is lobbying for the repeal of several laws they claim violate their rights, and for the creation of new reserves for uncontacted tribes.

The government has responded by sending police and soldiers to areas where protests are taking place. AIDESEP has criticised these measures, calling them ‘intimidation’ and saying that the protests are peaceful.

Perenco is working in a part of the Amazon inhabited by two of the world’s last uncontacted tribes. The company does not acknowledge the tribes exist.

Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘All over the world tribal peoples are being forced to resort to blockades to try and protect their remaining land. We’re seeing this in India and Malaysia as well as South America.’

www.survival-international.org

Shell security attack Willie Corduff after illegal Glengad compound dismantled

23.04.2009
Shell’s illegal Glengad compound was dismantled last night and Goldman winner, Willie Corduff was assaulted by masked Shell security during truck protest.

23.04.2009
Shell’s illegal Glengad compound was dismantled last night and Goldman winner, Willie Corduff was assaulted by masked Shell security during truck protest.
Yesterday Shell’s attempts to restart their works on the Corrib Gas project were ground to a halt after only eight hours. At 6-30 a workforce of about 20, backed up by around 50 private security guards erected fences to re-establish a compound. This compound is the would-be on-shore pipe installation base. Works were seriously hampered when local people and solidarity camp activists occupied machinery.

By 4 o clock Rossport Five member Willie Corduff was still refusing to leave the from under the truck, which he had occupied in the compound and all work had ground to a halt. Shell were unable to continue as Willie was preventing necessary equipment being used.

As the evening drew to a close Willie was resolute that he would stay and the community rallied around in support. Throughout the evening supporters gathered at the compound to show support for the campaign and Willie Corduff’s stand bringing blankets and hot water bottles.

As the crowd gathered tensions rose as Erris people saw first hand Shell’s attempt to devastate their community for a tenth year in a row. The fence beside the truck where Willie was positioned was removed and the activists made their way to Willie to ensure he was ok. Soon the entire southern exterior perimeter was dismantled. Shell’s initial works were almost undone.

At this point people returned to see Willie who was cold and still but all things considered was in good spirits. Erris activists had checked Shell’s attempts to restart work. People sat around talking and were in high spirits.

Protesters Attacked

Around 3am the vigil of supporters were gathered on the road and Willie was accompanied at the truck only by his brother- in-law. Willie had briefly gotten out from under the truck to stretch his legs. The two men were standing beside the truck when up to ten Shell security personnel in black and wearing balaclavas “appeared out of nowhere”. The men pushed Willie to the ground and started kicking him and hitting him with a heavy object that appeared to be a baton or torch. They knelt on his head and twisted his arms behind his back as they beat him. His brother-in-law attempted to aid Willie but was pushed back repeatedly and forcibly removed by the masked Shell security into an adjacent field where he was then knocked to the ground, kicked and beaten.

A Shell medic stayed with Willie for a period. Local people, who arrived on the scene shortly after the two men were assaulted, were so frightened of the Shell security personnel that they called the Gardaí who were patrolling the area. Willie was removed by an ambulance to Castlebar General Hospital, where he is being treated for nausea and severe bruising to the head and body. A Garda statement confirmed the identity of Willie and his brother-in-law’s attackers stating that “A protester [Willie] who was present on the site since yesterday was this morning removed from the compound by security staff.”

Works as we write appears to be suspended. Willie Corduff is in hospital, the area is on a knife-edge as a mixture of fear and anger brews.

People are urged to travel to Erris now to stand with Erris people to make a stand against Shell.

Lappersfort- Police out of control

Following the ambush & arrest of 3 lappersfort occupiers on the night of 21st April, the Brugge police yesterday conducted a raid on the house of a local sympathiser.

Following the ambush & arrest of 3 lappersfort occupiers on the night of 21st April, the Brugge police yesterday conducted a raid on the house of a local sympathiser. Atleast 6 pigs entered the home after showing a warrant, and took with them many personal items from the occupiers, including passports, other forms of ID and even personal letters and journals. The police are taking every opportunity to weaken local support through the media circus and also to gather identification of the occupiers. The belief is that they are gathering the id’s in order to be able to charge people with the costs of the eviction (after eviction in 2002, 13 occupier who had given their names were threatened with having to pay the eviction costs of 50,000euros if they are caught again in the forest) . We aren’t sure if this means the eviction is coming any sooner now, but the camp is under constant eviction threat. There is some speculation as to whether or not the police raid yesterday was done legally or not, and also whether or not they will take the next step of raiding the camp….

Meanwhile 3 of our friends are still sitting in prison in brugge and will face the judge tomorrow. They are accused of scraping some words in wet concrete, which the pigs have decided deserves the official charge of “destroying the road”. We are obviously hoping they will all be released tomorrow, but the courthouse here in Brugge has a reputation for locking up lappersforters for anything they possibly can. One local paper also reported that the security and dogs who ambushed and arrested the 3 on Tuesday night were requested by the mayor himself.

Life in the forest is getting sometimes difficult, and the pigs are obviously using their tactics of intimidation, fear and repression to demoralise the camp and cause division between the occupiers and the local community. But the camp and the campaign goes on, spring is happening, and more humans are always wished for and welcome….we wont let the piggies stop us, or even slow us down…

The Beechwood Hotel/Squat 201 Bristol Road Edgbaston Birmingham B5 7UB

A day of permaculture workshops, followed by a BBQ and party. Then stay and help us resist the bailiffs.

Permaculture Day at the Social Justice centre, 201 Bristol Road, B5 7UB.

The Social Justice centre at Bristol Road is hosting a permaculture day on Saturday 25th April.
The event is scheduled for 11am till late . There will also be a barbecue and music for your pleasure.

A day of permaculture workshops, followed by a BBQ and party. Then stay and help us resist the bailiffs.

Permaculture Day at the Social Justice centre, 201 Bristol Road, B5 7UB.

The Social Justice centre at Bristol Road is hosting a permaculture day on Saturday 25th April.
The event is scheduled for 11am till late . There will also be a barbecue and music for your pleasure.

The Centre is a squatted former hotel and conservation area, which has been run down by the owner and former managers. The occupiers are keen to turn this situation around and restore the grounds to proper ecological management, and are working with local stakeholders to this end. In the meantime, practical steps taken include the planting of a vegetable plot.

The day on Saturday will involve volunteers from the neighbouring Metamorphosis at the Martineau Gardens. We will be sharing environmental conservation skills while doing practical work to restore the conservation area to proper environmental management to the best of our collective abilities on the day. We will be continuing to lay pathways too.

Calling all permaculture activists and eco-warriors: come along and share your skills and experience, and of course naturally please bring any tools or seeds you want to use for a naturally natural experience.

The Beechwood Hotel/Squat
201 Bristol Road
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B5 7UB

For more information call Lee 07874 180014

Shell return to Glengad in force

Protestors beaten by Gardai

22nd April 2009 UPDATE UPDATE
Today’s fencing (and gates?) in Glengad is right now being removed by the community.

Shell returned in force today to Glengad, arriving about 6.45, by about 7 protesters from the community and camp had started to gather.

Protestors beaten by Gardai

22nd April 2009 UPDATE UPDATE
Today’s fencing (and gates?) in Glengad is right now being removed by the community.

Shell returned in force today to Glengad, arriving about 6.45, by about 7 protesters from the community and camp had started to gather.

Willie Corduff, Goldman Environmental Award Winner and 2 others climbed under a truck carrying palisade fencing on the SAC. A camper climbed onto a telescopic loader, later changing to a 20t excavator/digger used for lifting the fencing panels.

Maura Harrington partially blocked the front entrance of the compound with her car, and throughout the day many folk jumped the fence and tried to stop the destruction of this pristine habitat.

Shell had dozens of security and dozens of workers, but were severely hampered in their activities by stiff local resistance. The occupation of truck and digger meant that they had only limited resources for their work, but in the late afternoon they had another digger and another truck load of fencing dropped to site.

The Gardai tried to talk the digger jumper and Wille & co out but to no avail, they simply kept stating that they wanted to see Shell’s permissions to be carrying out the work. When this failed they took a more direct approach with the men under the lorry. They managed to pull Willie’s boots off and stared twisting his toes, they threw stones at them and beat Willie on the ankle with a rock, while another lorry protestor had his had repeatedly banged off the ground by a thug masquerading as a Inspector. Willie was also scratched and stuck in the privates by Gardai.

As the hours ticked by the Gardai had Maura’s car towed by plant hire owner Carey. After 9hrs on the digger the camper was grabbed by security and forcibly pulled off, severely bruising his legs and arm. The other 2 people under the lorry spent approx 8hrs under it.

The weather turned nasty with gale force winds and driving rain, which made life difficult for protesters and workers alike.

This evening Willie remains under the lorry and the Gardai have left. Another man managed to get under the lorry with Willie this evening. There is a large security force still in Glengad, with a crowd forming of solemn protesters standing near Willie in the dark but the situation still seems potentially volatile. Rumour is that several fire brigade units are on their way to lift the lorry and remove him.

The local radio station, Midwest Radio, have been openly calling in their news for Shell to produce documentation to the effect that they have the necessary permissions to work in Glengad which they don’t seem to have.

Around noon or so the portaloos that Shell had dropped on the SAC blew over and all their chemicals poured out onto the SAC, no attempt was made to clean up the chemical spill and the portaloos were only stood up again about 7pm.

Today Shell eventually managed to put up large front gates and create the top compound section with a 2nd set of gates leading down into the SAC.

Despite telling 1 or 2 people they were arrested no arrests were made.

People are frustrated & angry but determined, they need all the help they can get, so now is the time to get to Erris if you can, for whatever support you can give.

Scarborough Climate Action Network opens community resource centre.

After being inspired into action by the fight against global climate chaos, the Scarborough Climate Action group have opened “Green Planet”, a community resource centre for education, information and participation on the east coast of Yorkshire.

They aim to provide a central point for people in the local area to

They aim to provide a central point for people in the local area to find out how they can make positive changes to their environment, as well as providing an autonomous space for people to use the internet, meet like-minded people and get directly involved with the newly burgeoning Scarborough activist networks.

The Scarborough Climate Action Network, formerly Scarborough Against Climate Change was set up in the aftermath of last years Kingsnorth Climate Camp. A group of local activists who attended the camp were inspired to consider ways in which they could make more of an impact in their local area at a grassroots level. In a model of how small, local groups can make a difference in their communities through collective organisation and cooperation, the Green Planet resource centre is now open to the community.

Having organised campaigns in the town centre of Scarborough against the use of coal and to promote the urgent need to cut carbon emissions, it seemed clear from the positive yet misinformed response of the community that a focal point was needed to raise awareness of the issues amongst the people of the east coast area. The need for an autonomous social space in the town was identified as the best way to get this message across and so the group set about making this happen.

The collectives newsletter, being published and distributed widely in the local area, clearly sets out their core aims:

To raise awareness locally, of the serious threat of human induced climate change, which is already affecting people worldwide.
To encourage local people to make environmentally friendly lifestyle changes
To encourage local and national government to take more effective action to combat climate change

With the proceeds of fundraising and a £3500 grant from Artists Project Earth (APE), they managed to obtain a property in Hanover Road, behind the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the town centre. A team of volunteers began the task of turning the venue into an inclusive, open space in which to achieve their objectives.

Paint, wood and other materials were collected from skips and bins in the local area and put to reuse as desks, shelves and displays for campaign literature and calls to action. A computer that was donated by a member of the collective is being liberated by open source software and connected to the internet for anyone in the community to use. A small kitchen has also been set up to provide drinks for visitors, in the hope that people will stop by regularly to get information and ideas for action.

The literature available in the centre covers a wide range of issues, from climate activism to NO2ID. The collective is also preparing a list of books which promote positive environmental change to order at the local library so as to be accessible to the whole community. The main hope is that the people of Scarborough will turn to the space as inspiration to make positive changes to their lives, be it using alternative technology, reducing their power consumption, changing their diet or any combination of the many alternatives that are needed to halt the current slide towards climate catastrophe.

The centre will also function as a place where people from the local area can get involved in the Leeds/Bradford IMC and will be hosting a skillshare soon on media activism and electronic security. A range of other skillshares, film nights, action-based events and talks will also take place, both at the centre and at the local University. These will be advertised locally and in the events section of LBIMC.

Anyone is welcome to join the group and a call has been made for people to help with the day to day operation of the centre, with volunteers needed to provide good environmental advice to the community on a rota basis in order to make the resource reliably available.

Anyone in the area with an interest is encouraged to get in touch by email at scarboroughccc@hotmail.co.uk or simply drop by the centre for a friendly chat.

Links to local news coverage of the group:
Climate Group Heading to Camp | We must burn less coal | Setting the right climate

Related Indymedia coverage:
Climate Camp 08 | Swindon Climate Action Network | Mass action at Drax

The two occupied social centres operating under the Justice Not Crisis banner discovered on Monday that they were both to be evicted on the same day – Tuesday 21 April. This was not to be, thanks to a spirited resistance from the squatters and supporters. To successfully defend one squat can be considered fortunate; to defend two in one morning begins to seem miraculous. It just goes to show that the powers that be are far from infallible, and that solid peaceful direct action can bring major benefits for the community. The squats however remain on high eviction alert, and request all supporters to mobilise. Come down, even if for an hour, and help keep these facilities open for workers, for the environment and for the community.
Notice of a Tuesday eviction for the Social Justice Centre at 318 Pershore Road was given some days in advance. This was however thrown into doubt after the legal owners, Warwickshire Cricket Club, suddenly found themselves without a promised loan of £20 million from Birmingham’s council leaders [see: http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2009/04/17/council-s-20m-funding-offer-for-edgbaston-cricket-ground-blocked-65233-23404529] and speculation was rife that they may wish to open negotiations with the squatters to rent the building after losing such major finance. The Centre houses several homeless people, many were rough sleepers, and successfully managed, with others, by a person who was formerly sleeping rough on Brummie streets. It also houses part of the Birmingham People’s Library, a long running initiative given new life by the squat, as well as providing a venue for various social and cultural activities including advice for benefit claimants.
The squatted former Beechwood Hotel and conservation area at 201 Bristol Road, meanwhile, lost its legal defence against a possession order by the private owners, Manor Coast Ltd (Proprietor: Mr Kang) in the High Court on April 17th. This squat, as well as providing a similar facility to the Social Justice Centre, also has a conscious ecological focus. This is because the extensive grounds form part of a nature conservation area, which seems irrelevant to the owners and former managers. Mr Kang himself was convicted of illegally removing trees within it; there has also been dumping and burning of toxic waste on site. Suspicion is rife that Mr Kang is using a strategy familiar to landowners who find themselves saddled with inconvenient regulations in the public good – deliberate running down of the land so that it will lose its protected status. The owners will then be free to ‘develop’ the site in the interests of Capital and big business while destroying these important facilities. The occupiers are keen to turn this situation around and restore the grounds to proper ecological management, and are working with local stakeholders to this end. In the meantime, practical steps taken include the planting of a vegetable plot. There is a permaculture day planned for this Saturday 25th April during which further practical steps are to be taken as well as sharing skills in these areas, and all are welcome.
On Monday notice was received that both squats were to be evicted the following morning. The decision made to defend these buildings, supporters were mobilised and defences put in place. Bailiffs turned up first at 318 Pershore Road, at 9am and, after an hour or so of faff, moved people away from the front door and proceeded to break down the door and barricade, ignoring the lone squatter on the roof. Police in attendance confirmed that he was not causing a breach of the peace, even preventing him from coming down from the roof on health and safety grounds. It soon became apparent that without removing him, the Cricket Club had not legally taken possession of the building and after leaving the building was reoccupied by the squatters.
At Bristol Road, the same bailiffs attended at 11am with Mr Kang and a locksmith, and police. Here they were faced with up to eight people on the roof, and more inside the building. After 90 minutes of more faff, police left followed swiftly by bailiffs. Last to leave was the locksmith who had not even got out of his vehicle throughout.
After this somewhat unexpected double victory, the occupiers while jubilant remain on high eviction alert and request all supporters to come down to help defend the building from further attacks. It is a beautiful building and grounds and well worth keeping open. Meanwhile, the occupiers continue their request to negotiate some civil arrangement with the legal owners so that the work can continue.
Justice Not Crisis commented:
“This is a major victory for homeless people, residents and land conservation and we are obviously delighted with the result. We are also concerned that despite our requests we have had no communication with either WCCC or Mr Kang regarding our wish to rent the property and manage them properly paying rent to the respective owners. We will continue to attempt negotiations and hope to resolve the matter without causing the owners any more costs in instructing bailiffs.”

See indymedia for forthcoming video of this event.

Indians blockade main Amazon tributary – 24 April 2009

Shell security attack Willie Corduff after illegal Glengad compound dismantled

Lappersfort- Police out of control

The Beechwood Hotel/Squat 201 Bristol Road Edgbaston Birmingham B5 7UB

Shell return to Glengad in force

Scarborough Climate Action Network opens community resource centre.

Another 3 people from the Lappersfort Forest arrested

JNC Squats Resist Double Eviction

Calais No Border Camp 23-29 June

Skyr Thrown in the Heavy Industry Parties’ Election Offices