Day 115; Mayo day of support at Bellanaboy.

by m Fri Jan 26, 2007 15:05

Thanks for the report eve,
glad to hear that the protest remained peaceful despite the large police presence.
hope to see everyone there for next months day of solidarity.
meanwhile take care....

by Supporter Fri Jan 26, 2007 15:27

Thanks for very clear report and photogtaphs. There are 82 conditions attached to the EPA approval for the refinery - one would think Shell could make an almost flawless application or does it see it as a matter of arrogant form.

by Caobhin Fri Jan 26, 2007 15:29

Thanks for report - glad to see that the cops remained peaceful despite the large turnout of citizens

by dublin - shell to sea Fri Jan 26, 2007 18:41 12345678

i was punched and kicked by gardas and seen male garda no. RG 33 punch a 70 year old women for shell.

by anonamista Fri Jan 26, 2007 20:45

If the people of Rossport actually want to see the end of Shells plans in Mayo then they will have to start taking themselves seriously very soon & step off the grass verge and into the streets.

by slug Fri Jan 26, 2007 20:59

there were a few incidents where pigs were very aggresive, incl dragginbg one man into a ditch (as seen on the news even) and wrestling with an elderly lady. I got a very noticable smell of drink off one group of pigs who were part of the line-up. Also, RTE in usual form, only turned up hours after most people had left, and did the usual padding around the actual footage when it came to showing it on the telly.
Dont forget gig tommorow, castlebar..

by Tadhg Sat Jan 27, 2007 00:10

I was punched in the face this morning at 7.45AM by Garda RG 240 when I was on the left side of the road to the refinery. The Guard refused to give me his name and when I asked one of the other cops to identify him they pushed me away. My cheek is still sore and swollen.

Later in the morning, at about 9.40AM, a small group of protesters from Dublin were walking away from the refinery site as one of the trucks was entering through the gate. Some of us went as if to walk in front of the truck, more as a joke than a serious effort to blockade it. Before anyone got near the lorry a large group of police ran over and kicked, punched, and violently grabbed the protesters. One female activist has bruises on her torso from being pushed hard, and another was punched full in the face. I was picked up by three cops one of whom was shouting "Into the ditch! Into the ditch!" . However they dropped me, hard, on the roadway before we reached the side of the road.

We later heard that a local man had been walking to join the protest early in the morning and had been set upon by a number of cops who, finding him alone, took the opportunity to beat him to the ground and kick him.

I guess it's a sign of how bad things are in Erris that such scenes of violence and out of control Gardaí are seen by regulars at the refinery site as normal now. The fact is that the this police operation lacks any coherence. If the protesters are breaking the law then we should be arrested and charged. Instead the police are using fists and boots in an attempt to break the campaign through terrorising those people who dare to challenge Shell's rule in Mayo.

by Tadhg Sat Jan 27, 2007 00:15

Shell have constructed a large corrugated steel barrier around the edge of the gate area. This is similiar to "peaceline" barriers in Belfast, but not nearly as high. This is the view over it.

by cool j Sat Jan 27, 2007 02:35

I lay the blame for the ongoing garda thuggery at the feet of Superindendent Gannon who is based at belmullet. Despite supposidly being in charge of Shell's cops at bellanaboy he has failed to control and indeed often encouraged their more Rambo tendancies. I wonder has he ever heard of the concept of community policing! - He probably wouldn't have much time for it anyway as he appears to have no problem with his officers regulary assualting unarmed members of the local community.

by Jim Sun Jan 28, 2007 13:08

Of course its going to pass of without violence if nobody hinders the convoy...
and to the person who got hit whilst standing in front of the truck...good enough for him... I mean what did he expect?? He knows the Gardai are there to stop protestors blocking the road! Jeez ..come on, if you are joking around you should'nt be there, this is serious...

by Pm - Mos Sun Jan 28, 2007 16:02

Tadhg

The barriers are corrugated steel barriers which can seen in various construction sites through out ireland.
Both on large and small projects.
Nothing like the peace lines in belfast , Pal

by T Sun Jan 28, 2007 21:19

There are a number of large construction projects near my house.
All of them are fenced in by wire or plastic which can be seen through, or more rarely now, wooden hoardings.

None of them are surrounded by metal walls of the type that is in front of the refinery. Several people have remarked that reminds them of a "peaceline", though it's obviously not as tall.

Until recently, the refinery site in Mayo was also fenced with wire.

Since it is quite easy to post photographs on this site, maybe you could stick up a few of these comparable barriers which are so plentiful around the country, if you think it's important.

by T Sun Jan 28, 2007 21:25

"to the person who got hit whilst standing in front of the truck...good enough for him... I mean what did he expect"

We should expect that if we are breaking the law we should be dealt with through the courts. The days when the big men in uniform can hand out summary justice to whoever they want are over.

You'd have to ask yourself why they are not using the law to uphold the law.

by Katie Mon Jan 29, 2007 08:45

Its very important we focus on this dividing wall. Its like a whole community divided and the wall represents like the divide in the community and also the divide between shell and the community and bewteen the govt and the community and also between shell and the police.

We should also raise the profile of indi media to where huge decisions of national importance should be allowed to be debated here between us people, to give our permmission to these type of jobs. I mean god forbid if the EPA knew what the hell they are talking about.

And thats pretty much all i have to sayabout that.

by Milly Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:32

"The standard American DOT 3AL 3000 aluminum scuba tank manufactured by the Luxfer and Catalina companies, represents an amazing piece of metallurgical technology. The single piece seamless construction manufacturing technique, plus subsequent heat treatment results in a structure containing 20 times more strength than the original aluminium billet from which it was made. Rough handling, miss-use, corrosion and many other factors can critically effect the strength and integrity its construction. The end result is an explosion, that usually occurs during refilling, killing the compressor operator and destroying the dive shop.

Further opportunity for death and destruction occurs during scuba tank inspection, when untrained technicians try to remove the pillar valve without testing that the tank is truly un-pressurized. In 2003, a dive instructor working at Koh Tao, Thailand suffered critical injury when a scuba tank pillar valve plus the removal clamp was jettisoned through his leg during a servicing action; the aluminium tank went through a few concrete walls off into the jungle. A well-trained-medic saved the dive instructors life."

http://www.scubaengineer.com/

And a scuba tank is a lot smaller than the pipeline that will never be.

by Tadhg Mon Jan 29, 2007 16:59

Dear PM/Mos/ anonymous poster,

I fear you think this is more important than it is, but since you obviously have an interest in discussing walls, I'll go along with you.

So, is there any chance you could put up a picture of a structure of the type which you say you find all over the country, actually in situ somewhere in the country, and not a picture out of a catalogue.

Not 'something similiar"- the same.

In fact, to make your point (whatever it is) you should really post four or five examples.

If they are all over the place, it should be easy.

by Tadhg Mon Jan 29, 2007 18:20

Dear wall obsessive,

I think it is similiar to the peaceline in Belfast, although not as tall.

You may disgree that it is, but I think it is similiar. You haven't made any argument to dissuade me.

I think anyone would have to agree that the wall is certainly more like what you find in a conflict zone than what I've seen around normal building sites.

You may think I'm wrong, and you are entitled to your opinion.

But since you believe it is worth proving me wrong I think you should be able to provide some photographic evidence to back up your claim that these barriers are common around the country.

When you can do this, perhaps you should post a reply.

If you can't, don't worry. I'm not too bothered to be honest.

by John - Cork s2s Mon Jan 29, 2007 19:48

Funny thing, it wasn't the construction site wall in Mayo that first reminded me of Belfast but it could have been any of the ones surrounding construction sites in this country, I'm glad other people have noticed. My own feeling, is that many of the construction projects currently and previously underway in this country are ecologically and socially damaging. What's different about the Bellinaboy refinery is that it is so extreme that it has sparked off unprecedented levels of opposition, what's similar is that it comes from a mindset that puts profit, power and prestige over people, communities and the environment. For example many of the housing developments in the country, are already causing us major problems as they are built without thought for peoples' need for beauty, healthy social contact, energy efficiency, car free transport or food and water security, similarly disregarded is the effect that their construction has on the surrounding landscape. These problems are not going to get any better without a major shift in the underlying assumptions and beliefs that created them. There is no point in looking at shell in Mayo as an abberration (if anyone is), it is simply the latest, most serious manifestation of the insanity within our culture.
I like Katie's comment, the walls in Belfast and Palestine are a symptom of the wars that have divided those communities, perhaps the walls round Bellinaboy and other construction sites are a symptom of the war that we are waging against nature and ourselves. What are they there for anyway? To protect/divide people from each other or themselves? To prevent those outside from seeing what is going on within? To stop those inside from getting out? What about the walls in our own minds that prevent us from seeing what's in front of our eyes? Maybe they are the ones we have to start with first.