Workers Solidarity Movement

On Monday we provided the first report & video of the secret Shell convoy that had left Dublin port with a massive police escourt late Sunday night. This turned out to be the start of a week of frantic activity as the Convoy was tracked across the country and then subject to repeated blockades as it neared Erris.  Whether because of this pressure or not on near its final destination the convoy missed a key turn with the main truck and its load of 160 tons jacknifing on a tight turn and starting to slide into the roadside bog.  With a massive mobilisation of Garda and private security Shell finally dragged out the truck Friday. The report that follows gives an account of the final day, you will find moment by moment reports of the rest of the resistance during the week on the WSM Facebook page and WSM Twitter.

For the last twelve hours Shell and the Gardai have been attempting to move some sections of a 500 ton tunnel boring machine to the remote site of Aghoos in Erris. Despite this, the effort has proven to be farcical, with protestors pulling off three road blockades under the noses of hundreds of Gardai. In the latest twist, the lorry, which has been on the road for twelve hours so far, failed to make a crucial turn on the last leg of its journey at the Aghoos / Bellinaboy Road due to its size, despite being in a specialist vehicle.

A huge secretive Garda security operation last night swung into operation in Dublin Port as Shell's Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) left the port as part of a huge convoy of Garda vehicles.  News of the operation had leaked at the last minute meaning that with only an hours notice a handful of Shell to Sea campaigners managed to get down to the port entrance despite the pouring rain.  Most of us were pulled over and questioned by Garda at least once and the Garda helicopter stayed overhead as various Garda vehicles including a van load of riot cops with the door open drove past us repeatedly.

In a new twist to the decade long struggle against Shell Rossport Solidarity Camp has revealed that Mayo County Council (MCC) has issued an eviction notice to the landowner of the field where the Rossport Solidarity Camp is located. Mayo farmer Gerry Burke has been threatened with fines of over €12,000 and two years in prison.  Despite these theats the annual June Bank Holiday solidarity gathering will go ahead in a couple of weeks.

In this personal account Jerrie Ann reveals the exraordinary pressure she was put under by GSOC after Garda in Corrib accidentally recorded themselves discussing threatening to rape a women she had been arrested with during a protest against Shell's experiemntal raw gas pipeline construction in Erris. "The GSOC ‘Public Interest Investigation’ has to date served only to mislead the media and the public about the facts of the case, which are actually straightforward"  This piece was written as an appendix to the Shell to Sea report on the GSOC interim report.

Despite heavy sentencing in Belmullet district court two weeks ago, people continue blocking roads in Mayo. At 7.30am on Thursday 8th March, a group of people from the Rossport Solidarity Camp blocked Shell's haulage route between Ballinaboy refinery and Shell's tunneling compound in Aughoose. They set up a concrete lock-on which two people inserted their arms into, making it very difficult for gardaí to remove them.

The end of February saw 19 Shell to Sea campaigners, including a WSM member, being prosecuted on 80 charges for civil disobediance against Shell's decade long attempt to impose an experimental high pressure raw gas pipeline on the communities of Erris.  Over 8,000 euro in fines were handed down by this special sitting of the Belmullet court and Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway was given two 3-month prison sentences under section 8 of the Public Order Act for blocking the road on two seperate occasions, a 'crime' that anyone following the struggle will be aware Shell's private security company committs three times a day with the co-operation of the Gardai.

(Image: Community show support in advance of the court cases, J Bender, RSC)

Shocking video has emerged of a Garda attack on a local resident, John Monagahan, at a roadblock the police were operating on behalf of Shell. The video shows the car being stopped at the roadblock and then you can hear the Garda smashing in the drivers window of his car with a baton before threatening to pepper spray him.  John had just left his home some 500m away.

In Belmullet district court on Monday 20th February, 6 campaigners were convicted of a total of 13 charges between them with fines totaling 3,035  euros. While this went on, local residents blocked Shell's haulage route  between Bellanaboy refinery and the compound in Glengad.

On Monday February 20th the Belmullet courthouse in Co. Mayo will be full of campaigners opposing the Corrib Gas Project. Nineteen people are facing 80 charges between them for civil disobedience, and this week has been set aside as a special sitting for the campaigners.