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Day of action against Shell- Bellanaboy, Ireland- 9.11.07

jon jones | 13.11.2007 19:31 | Rossport Solidarity

Brief account of the day's events

Around 400 people turned out for another day of action at Shell's proposed refinery site at Bellanaboy, County Mayo, Ireland. It was a a long day with actions starting from 6am. Workers entering the site were blockaded for some time at around 6.30am. By 7am a crew of 30 people had occupied the site- briefly- they were evicted shortly after. One woman protester had a trouser leg ripped off by a male security guard as she was scaling a fence. Later around 100 people took part in a sit down blockade to prevent a lorry from the quarry company working on the site from passing. The blocklade lasted around half an hour and saw violent scenes as the garda attempted to move the crowd. The garda repeatedly ordered the driver of the lorry to drive throught the crowd. As a consequence, one protester had his foot run over and had to receive hospital treatment. Other injuries sustained by protesters at the hands of both garda and Shell security include dislocated thumbs and multiple cuts and bruises. The crowd maintained a presense outside the refinery site well into the afternoon. At around 3pm about 20 people from the community and some supporters occupied the site again. The response from security on site was violent. Several people were hurt including one 70 year old woman who had a fence pushed on her, knocking her down and causing a nasty leg injury. Eventually garda arrived and escorted the protesters of site. In general the day has been viewed as a success. The community led campaign still enjoys much national support and the message to Shell and the Irish state is clear- resistance will not stop until the project is halted.

jon jones