19 arrests at eviction of occupied forest near airport in Belgium!
Chinook | 10.08.2006 14:43
The occupation aims at physically preventing the cutting of the trees for as long as possible. The company hired to do the cutting, originally planned to make their preparations on the 1st of August and to start with their destroying work on the 2nd of August, however they now started on Wednesday the 9th.
At 8am, Wednesday 9th of August, the eviction of the action camp in Borsbeek (near Antwerp in Belgium) started. GroenFront! fears of a violent eviction were correct. The police have refused to accept a security coordinator from the activists, despite the offer of an experienced activist who had offered to be present to prevent the situation from escalating dangerously. Police have also tortured the people out of their lock-ons using pain holds on pressure points.
At the eviction, 13 people got arrested on the ground and 6 persons in treehuts. Among the arrestants some local politicians and a former member of parliament from the green party, supporting the occupation, got arrested. Until now only a small part of the action camp is sealed off and 3 huts got evicted.
During the night of Monday the 31st of July to 1st August, about 20 activists occupied the forest on Fortress III near Antwerp. They did this to protest against the clearcutting of a valuable, bij european law recognised nature reserve with the excuse of the "safety" (read: possible development plans) of the local airport. This airstrip already costs taxpayers more than 3 million euros a year and is mostly used for private business jets.
GroenFront! (EarthFirst!) doesn't agree that the biotope of endangered species such as the Natterer's bat must disappear for an economically not profitable airport hardly 35 kms from Zaventem, which is the main Belgian airport. For this reason they have decided to defend the forest by means of an occupation.
In less than a week's time the activists have built a whole tree-hut village with 13 huts and one tower. At the beginning, most huts were built during night, but since Friday people have been working day and night. It's the first time that such a big action camp has been built on elevated tree-platforms in such a short time span.
At the eviction, 13 people got arrested on the ground and 6 persons in treehuts. Among the arrestants some local politicians and a former member of parliament from the green party, supporting the occupation, got arrested. Until now only a small part of the action camp is sealed off and 3 huts got evicted.
During the night of Monday the 31st of July to 1st August, about 20 activists occupied the forest on Fortress III near Antwerp. They did this to protest against the clearcutting of a valuable, bij european law recognised nature reserve with the excuse of the "safety" (read: possible development plans) of the local airport. This airstrip already costs taxpayers more than 3 million euros a year and is mostly used for private business jets.
GroenFront! (EarthFirst!) doesn't agree that the biotope of endangered species such as the Natterer's bat must disappear for an economically not profitable airport hardly 35 kms from Zaventem, which is the main Belgian airport. For this reason they have decided to defend the forest by means of an occupation.
In less than a week's time the activists have built a whole tree-hut village with 13 huts and one tower. At the beginning, most huts were built during night, but since Friday people have been working day and night. It's the first time that such a big action camp has been built on elevated tree-platforms in such a short time span.
Chinook