Reclaim the Beach: Solidarity Gathering: June Bank Holiday Weekend

mayo | environment | feature

Tuesday April 12, 2005 14:00

by Terry - NUIG Ecology Society (personal capacity)

info at shelltosea dot com

Plans For Solidarity Gathering From 4th - 6th June In Erris Revealed

From: A group of concerned individuals in Mayo and Galway:

Take a stand against Shell’s destruction in North West Mayo.

The aim of the planned gathering is to show solidarity with the local people who are opposing Shell.

There has been, and is, a long saga ongoing in the courts and planning appeal process.

On Good Friday there was a 200 strong march of local residents, that day being the 10th anniversary of the first action of Ogoni Solidarity Ireland, which supports communities in Nigeria in their battle against Shell.

During the gathering there will be live music, workshops about the issues and the area, a protest rally, and ongoing discussion about what to do next.

Bring your tent, be ready to rough it, and be as self sufficient and self organized as possible. Volunteers will be needed for food preparation, clean up and such like. Volunteers will be needed beforehand too. If you can help please ontact info@shelltosea.com

We will be running buses from Castlebar to the venue site on Saturday the 4th of June. Help us plan for this by telling us in advance if you are coming, by e-mailing info@shelltosea.com

Castlebar is well served by public transport from elsewhere in the country and there will be an information stall about the issues in Castlebar throughout the weekend.

For more information see: SHELL TO SEA (which is a work in progress and which will be updated shortly with PDFs of leaflets and a map of the area)

PREVIOUS INDYMEDIA IRELAND FEATURES:
" . . Ridden Roughshod Over By The Might Of Shell, The Irish State . . "
Shell Versus Mayo Farmers
Shell: The New Aristocracy in Mayo

Follow The 'Feature Continued' Link Below For International Links On Shell And For A Background Summary Of The Issues In Mayo

SHELL INTERNATIONAL
Leaky pipelines Shell in South Africa
Shell International’s Legacy of Pollution and Damage
Nigeria
Shell Shocked
Revealed: How Shell's desperate thirst for oil is devastating Nigeria
Sabbing Shell: Office Occupation A-Go-Go!
Shell passes the buck in Nigeria
Shell under fire from international activists
Unloveable Shell, the Goddess of Oil
Crude oil: A campaigner's battle for survival
1995: Nigeria hangs human rights activists
Ken Saro Wiwa
Shell Suit
Shell Scum
Big Trouble for Big Oil
Corporate Watch Profile of Shell
Carbon Web Library (Tons of Resources on Oil and Gas Industry)
Greenpeace on Ken Saro Wiwa
The Criminal Element

QUICK READ BACKGROUND

In Mayo Shell are planning to:

Take land from local residents and build a high pressure gas pipeline that will go past their houses:

The pressure inside the pipeline will be up to four times greater than that of the biggest Bord Gais pipelines. The pipeline will be going through boggy land with a history of landslides.

Construct a gas refinery on unstable bog:

This construction will be using previously untried methods to stabilise the bog surface and involve a massive amount of traffic. Emissions from the refinery will affect the nearby Carrowmore Lake, source of the regional water supply.

Pump toxic waste into Broadhaven Bay:

A U.C.C. research team found that Broadhaven Bay was an important breading and rearing area for dolphins and whales. They recorded over 220 sightings of seven whale and dolphin species, plus sightings of two seal species, in Broadhaven Bay and north-west Mayo waters.

The government is giving them our gas for practically nothing and then we will have to buy it back:

From 1975 for oil and gas companies there was a tax rate of 50%, an automatic 50% state stake in any commercial well, and royalties of 6 %– 7%.

In 1987, after lobbying by the companies, Ray Burke got rid of the 50% state stake and removed royalties.

In 1992 after further lobbying Bobby Molloy reduced the tax rate to 25% and 100% tax write offs were introduced, meaning that the companies can subtract their costs from their tax bill.

In other places in Europe the state take can be 55% or even 79% of a field.

Shell have been given permission by the High Court to start work on the on land parts of the pipeline in about a months time, construction is due to start on the landfall, where the off-shore pipeline hits the beach, on May 31st.

Help the local people to stop Shell!

Who Pays the Piper?

On a side note this issue totally demonstrates the importance of the independence of Indymedia.

Tony O’Reilly, owner of the Belfast Telegraph, the London and Dublin Independents, the Sunday Independent (Ireland), the Independent on Sunday (England), the Sunday World, The Star, The Evening Herald, some of the Sunday Tribune, various local weeklies including The Kerryman and the Drogheda Independent, as well as other media internationally, also owns Providence Resources.

Providence Resources are an oil and gas exploration company with interests in potential fields off the south and west coasts of Ireland.

There is the possibility that what is happening in Erris, Mayo, will only be the first instance of corporations cutting corners at the expense of the environment and local communities as they exploit the potential oil and gas reserves off the coast, particularly the west coast, of Ireland.

It goes without saying which side the “Independent Group of Newspapers” will be on in all that.