Stop Shell Hell St. Patrick's Day Shenanagins in London

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Tuesday March 14, 2006 15:42 by shramrock - stop shell hell london

On Sunday, activists from the samba band Rhythms of Resistance and London
Rising Tide headed down to the St Patrick's Day celebrations in Trafalgar
Square, on a mission to help raise awareness of the struggles in County Mayo
against the giant Shell-led consortium and its lackey, the Irish governmen

On Sunday, activists from the samba band Rhythms of Resistance and London
Rising Tide headed down to the St Patrick's Day celebrations in Trafalgar
Square, on a mission to help raise awareness of the struggles in County Mayo
against the giant Shell-led consortium and its lackey, the Irish government.

Armed with 3,000 leaflets and noisy drums, the band quickly drew large crowds
of people dressed in green, white and orange and getting in the spirit of the
day, which contrasted sharply with the seriously heavy presence of scowling
security and police forces. Leaflets were given out hilighting the struggles
and calling for people to come to the solidarity camp in Glengad that has
recently been set up again, this time on the landfall section of the proposed
pipeline route. (For details about the camp go to: www.struggle.ws/rsc/)

Despite being constantly harrassed by security forces and cops, who even
threatened to shut down the entire event at one point if the band didn't stop
playing, the activists successfully handed out 3,000 leaflets and mostly
received positive feedback from the crowd. One woman with a sister living in
Mayo, outraged by the treatment of the band by the cops, helped to leaflet
the crowd, while other revellers showed their support by demanding that
security and police forces leave the band and leafletters alone. There were
no arrests.

Charges of criminal damage against the 3 people arrested at the London
solidarity action on Feb 18 have been dropped. A banner, hung from the Shell
petrol station in North London is still in police custody. Its suspected that
the police refused to release it in case it was used on St. Patrick's day!
(http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/02/334421.html)

After five years running roughshod over local communities on the north west
coast of Ireland, a giant Shell consortium is poised to transform a remote
conservation area of outstanding natural beauty into an environmental
disaster zone with serious public health and safety implications. After a
lengthy and dubious planning process, Shell has been granted approval to
build a high pressure raw gas pipeline and huge gas refinery on unstable bog
land, that will poison the area and endanger residents who live just metres
away. Shell plan to pump toxic waste into Broadhaven Bay, an internationally
important bird, whale and dolphin habitat. The Irish State changed the law to
allow Compulsory Acquisition Orders to be used on Shell's behalf giving them
access to local people's lands, the first time ever they've been used to
benefit a private company and a measure of the utter contempt held for the
rights of ordinary people. For background and updates, go to the following:
www.corribsos.com
www.indymedia.ie
www.londonrisingtide.org.uk

The battle in Ireland is just one of many struggles against Shell's
environmental and human rights abuses around the world. In Nigeria Shell
still devastates the environment in the Niger Delta and in 1995 stood by as
Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni colleagues were hung by the Nigerian state for
campaigning against Shell. (www.shellfacts.com) In Russia, another troubled
Shell-led project on Sakhalin Island is endangering the world's last 100
western pacific grey whales. (www.sakhalin.environment.ru/)