Westside Action
a motley crew of anarchists and activists from Bristol, Bath and South WalesArchive for Shell to Sea
Merthyr to Mayo Solidarity Bike Ride
Across the planet, in the places where fossil fuels are sourced, people are resisting new energy developments.
Communities are standing together to defend their homes, health, land and water, and our shared planet… This is localised resistance with huge global significance….
From the tar sands of Alberta, Canada to the woods of Mainshill, Scotland….
from the rivers and plains of the Niger Delta to the Amazon jungles of Peru….
and from the valleys of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales to the Northwest coast of Mayo, Ireland…The ride has basically started, if you want to find us, and if the technology works, you should be able to see where we are with the map on this page.
Latest Post:
his morning we opened our tent zips to the sight of the beautiful mountains surrounding Killarney.
The dinner group set off early to prepare a meal for fifty people with no kitchen or stove to work with. So, instead they arrived in Trelee, after some leg-boggling uphills and awesome down hills, to ride along a nature trail and set-up the people’s kitchen in a local park. After some relaxed mega-chopping a buffet of delicious salads was served as the sun came down, and some riders did yoga to stretch out post-cycle cramps.
As the dinner crew set off in the morning the rest of the group headed into Killarney for a critical mass. As the good weather continued; music was pumped through the town’s streets by Peddles the bicycle sound system and the cyclists filled the roads handing out newspapers as they moved round the town. On leaving Killarney the mass cycled round a Topaz petrol station and let people know that Topaz is a Shell re-branding. After ten minutes spirits were high and the drivers seemed amused and enjoyed the show.
Tonight we’re staying in a Taekwon-Do hall with a squidgy floor to sleep on. No sleeping mats tonight. Up tomorrow for an early ride, goodnight!
Shell compound breached in Glengad during Rossport Solidarity Camp gathering
31.05.2009 19:03
At least five people who scaled the fence into the compound were held by security guards and later arrested.
Later in the afternoon, as the crowd were leaving, a further arrest was made when the Gardai targeted a prominent campaigner and forcibly detained him for speaking out against the actions of the Gardai.
Today’s action comes the day after Maura Harrington was released after 13 days in Mount Joy prison, Dublin for non-payment of fines, including a one thousand euro contribution to the Garda Benevolent Fund.
Around 200 people are attending the RSC summer gathering. It’s a beautifully sunny weekend and preperations are now well under way for another summer of action against Shell in Mayo, on land and sea. Come and be part of it!
gordon
United Community of Erris, Co Mayo, Remove Shell Nets.
“There is no land that can rightfully be called ‘Shell’s land’. This land is our land”. – Local Resident
What is now crystal clear in the minds of the Erris community following lies copied and pasted from statements issued by Garda Supt. Michael Larkin and Chief Superintendent Tony McNamara into national media in the last few days, is the collusion between the State, An Garda Síochána, and Shell in the escalation of violent force executed and planned indefinitely against a local community engaged in a fight for its life.
Integrated Risk Management Services (IRMS), Shell’s security at Glengad, headed up by ex-Irish Army Ranger, Jim Farrell, in collusion with An Garda Síochána, are to blame for the vicious attack by up to 10 trained thugs, all dressed in black from head to toe, who beat Willie Corduff into submission, for fear of his life, when he refused to come out from under the wheels of a Shell truck this week. “I thought they were trying to kill me,” Corduff said. “They beat me until I stopped moving and I heard one of them say, ‘Stop now lads, he’s nearly finished.’ “
A Community Meeting on Friday 24th last, called in response to the attack, galvanised the local community who are resolved that they will not allow their community be taken over by trained thugs and killers who want to control this area for Shell, into the foreseeable future. “These boys are here to stay”, said one local resident, “Eamon Ryan is responsible for the importation of these scum into our community. Someone is going to get killed if this goes on and Ryan will be to blame”.
A joint press statement calling for an independent international investigation of recent events was put out from community activist groups Shell to Sea, Pobal Le Cheile, Pobal Chill Chomain and the Rossport Solidarity Camp, this weekend.
The community came together again today to remove the Shell netting at the cliff and on the Shell site at Glengad to demonstrate to Shell and the Government that this community will not be beaten back by the violent force which the State is willing to use against its citizens, for Shell.
“The State has been subverted by Shell, it’s down to the people to protect themselves,” said another local resident. And all community groups are agreed.
More news at 
http://www.indymedia.ie/mayo
All Welcome at the Upcoming Rossport Solidarity Camp June Gathering 2009 see here: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/92076
But any time is the right time to come now that Shell have returned to Glengad.
New issue of Gagged! out now
Issue 24 of Gagged! is out now, featuring articles by No Borders South Wales, South Wales Anarchists and us, Westside Climate Action! In future all Westside acticles will appear on here before Gagged! is printed. You can download a .pdf of the newsletter to print out, photocopy and distribute, or get in contact if you want a bundle of paper copies. Here’s the two articles we contributed:
UK Coal Authority AGM Disrupted
The UK Coal Authority’s AGM was brought to a halt in Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel last month by protestors demonstrating against the monster Ffos-y-Fran opencast mine in Merthyr Tydfil. 3 activists climbed the roof of the Hilton entrance and unfurled a banner reading “Coal = Climate Disaster”, while Merthyr residents occupied the conference. Local people have long been campaigning against the mine which is situated in one of the poorest areas in Wales. Masquerading as a “land reclamation” scheme, plans are in place for coal mining to continue on the site for the next 17 years, extracting 11 million tonnes of coal, which will in turn produce 29.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide. The nearest houses are a mere 37 metres from the site, and residents are forced to endure noise & pollution for 16 hours daily, with climate chaos forced on the rest of the planet – all for the benefit of big business. The mine is owned by Miller Argent, a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Pensions Group.
Rossport Solidarity in Cardiff
12 Westside Climate Camp activists occupied the Irish Consulate in Cardiff in September in solidarity with the Shell to Sea campaign against Shell’s pipeline in Rossport. The consulate was occupied for two hours while the consul refused to meet demonstrators, and messages were left protesting against the Irish state’s complicity in the environmental destruction that the Shell pipeline will bring.
Westside Action 