In Dublin on Saturday 21st of January Rossport Solidarity Camp is holding the first of what is intended to be a series of organising meetings in different parts of the country.
These meetings are for people who want to get involved in the camp,
either as participants in the camp itself, or with logistics,
publicity, and fundraising support from outside Mayo.
Add your imagination, dedication, and skills to the cause.
The meeting happens in St.Nicholas of Myra hall, on Francis Street in
the Liberties, on Saturday 21st of January at 2 p.m. This meeting is
for people in the east, other meetings will happen elsewhere on the
island, and is dedicated to camp issues.
In 2005 Shell, Statoil and the Irish State's project to build an
unprecedented raw gas pipeline and refinery in northwest Mayo was
defeated by a variety of mass non-violent direct action methods,
including sustained picketing, a planned blockade of the world biggest
pipelaying ship by fishing boats, and a protest camp on the pipeline
route.
At the moment in the depths of winter, geological and climatic
conditions mean they cannot carry out major construction work,
nonetheless there was a picket/party at the Ballinaboy refinery site
on Christmas day and on News Years Day.
Shell are being allowed into the site under Shell to Sea supervision
to do environmental maintenance work, and pickets are constantly
maintained to prevent them from doing anything else.
However we expect that with the new "construction season" in the
spring of 2006 they will yet again attempt to carry out construction.
We need your help to get ready for this.
The camp was originally made in an ad-hoc and spontaneous fashion,
this time we aim to be more planned and prepared.
This will require both people on the camp, and people willing to come
at short notice for emergencies, as well as people nowhere near Mayo
helping with publicity, logistics, and finance.
We are currently printing up tens of thousands of leaflets and
stickers, have a list of things needed that we are garnering from
around the country, and many benefit gigs are planned for January, but
there is room for much much more.
This is a major opportunity to defeat an environmentally hazardous
development, and the struggle thus far has already been an inspiration
to many people around the country, victory will have a significant
radicalising effect not just on a remote corner of Mayo but across the
island.
Bear in mind also we are still looking to speak at public meetings
around the country.
So if you can organise one that would be very good.
Contact Details for Camp:
E-mail rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com
Phone: 097 20944 or 086 3201612
Camp Website:
http://www.struggle.ws/rsc/
Building for the re-opening of Rossport Solidarity Camp:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=73547
Report on Rossport Solidarity Camp Speaking Tour of England:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=73164
Report on skills share weekend at Rossport Solidarity House:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72855