Daily Protests in Mayo, Numbers Building

mayo | environment | news report

Friday August 26, 2011 20:12

by j debender - Rossport Solidarity Camp

Aughoose, Pollatomish, Mayo

0851141170

Actions are constant, sometimes 3 or 4 in a day

Between lock-ons, mass trespasses, lorry climbing and a breach of security at Shell's refinery, this week brought a lot of people out protesting. Locals who haven't been out on the roads in years have come out this week, and momentum is building.

morning tresspass

Here are some photos from Wednesday 24th August that haven't been posted. Tuesday and Thursday were so full of events that these photos didn't make it up. But things are happening every day, keep looking at the shelltosea.com website, twitter, and indymedia to stay posted.

Wednesday's events began with a 6am trespass onto Shell's compound in Aughoose. Soon after a few people went to join the locals who are at the refinery gates every morning, and 6 people sat down in the road wrapping arms and legs around each other to stop a tractor. Gardai dragged people out of the road for the tractor to pass. After this one person managed to climb on top of a truck delivering bogmats outside the refinery. The person stayed up for about 10 minutes but when a garda climbed onto the lorry and wrestled her D-lock away, preventing her from locking on, she came down and was not arrested.

Later that day Shell illegally extended their Aughoose compound into the public road, using harris fencing to reduce the road to one lane. Shell's private security then stood in the public road, and workers yet again stopped traffic whenever a delivery was being made to the compound (which happens 3-4 times an hour and can mean 5-30 minutes of road closure). When people from the Rossport Solidarity Camp saw them putting up fencing in the road people went down to take advantage of the narrow road for the next tractor delivery. However once again Gardai and IRMS worked together to push people into ditches, contain people, and clear the road.

Honest to god direct quote from MY 31 Sergeant Richard Mahony, explaining why people must clear the road, "For your own health and safety, or we'll throw you in the ditch."

Apologies for the belatedly posted photos, it is not easy keeping up with media stuff when actions are happening constantly! There is plenty to do that doesn't involve protesting as well, including tending to the three gardens, cooking the communal meals, maintaining the wind turbines, and everything else it takes to maintain the camp!

The camp is located in a field overlooking the Shell compound in Aughoose, between Bellanaboy and Pullathomas. Come for a visit anytime! Contact the camp at rossportsolidaritycamp[at]gmail[dot]com or 085 114 1170

on top of the truck