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Destruction of Calais migrant camps planned next week

18-07-2009 22:39

Following the announcement of a £15million plan to 'strengthen their borders', the British and French governments are planning to destroy the Calais 'Jungle' in northern France and mass-deport hundreds of refugees stranded there. Reports from Calais say the French authorities are preparing for the destruction of the make-shift camps next Tuesday, 21st July, with a mass deportation flight to Afghanistan planned on Friday, 24th July.

Calais refugees and their supporters are calling upon activists, independent journalists and legal observers to go down to Calais and help prevent this tragedy. A protest outside the French embassy in London has been called by No Borders on Monday [more action ideas]. A group calling itself 'Calais Witnesses' has prepared a statement and is asking groups and individuals to sign it. Two UK Green MEPs have also issued a joint statement condemning the 'inhumane' plan.

Links: Calais Migrant Solidarity | Calais No Border | No Borders UK

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Israeli Navy seizes humanitarian aid ship in International Waters.

08-07-2009 11:12

Activists from Free Gaza.org and the International Solidarity Movement, determined to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza, gathered in Cyprus and set sail for Gaza on the ‘Spirit of Humanity’ on June 29th. The following morning, over 20 miles off the coast of Gaza, the boat was surrounded by Israeli Naval vessels who threatened to fire on the boat unless it turned around. The boat continued towards Gaza, and was then boarded by Israeli soldiers, who took control of the boat, and took all 20 passengers and the captain hostage, along with aid including building materials, medical supplies and childrens art supplies. By attacking the vessel in International Waters, and by preventing it from sailing into Gaza, Israel once again showed that it has scant regard for International Law, and confirmed that it is the de facto occupier of Gaza.

The majority of the prisoners were taken first to Ashdod, and then to Ramle Prison, accused of trying to enter Israel illegally. In fact the boat at no point entered Israeli Territorial waters, and nor did it intend to do so. Whilst in prison, the passengers were able to give a number of interviews, but the mainstream reporting of the incident has been patchy. Several of them have commented on the plight of the asylum seekers trapped in Israel’s immigration detention centres, some with no way apparent way out. The majority of the passengers have now been deported, and the charge that they attempted to enter Israel illegally has been dropped.[Interview with deportee] The boat remains in the hands of the Israelis. The Free Gaza movement is already fundraising in order to be able to undertake another journey as soon as possible.

Two activists who entered Gaza on a previous successful Free Gaza voyage, have been stranded at the Rafah Crossing since June 10th, despite having permission to exit from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the other side of the border, 100 US activists with $1m of medical supplies are trying to get in.

Links:
Previous Free Gaza Journeys: Free Gaza boats arrive in Gaza | Dignity sets sail for Gaza | Israel FIRES on Free Gaza Ship | International Witnesses speak from Gaza

Detention protests met with brutal assaults

18-06-2009 16:08

Update: More than 40 women in Yarl's Wood continue their hunger strike for the 5th day [more].

A mass hunger strike by families detained at Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire has been met with violent assaults on men, women and children by Serco security guards who mange the prison on behalf on the UK Border Agency. The detainees started the hunger strike on Monday and staged a sit-in in the corridor over their inhumane conditions.

Meanwhile in Brook House, the newly opened detention centre at Gatwick airport, a 'disturbance' broke out on 12th June and a fire was set by rioting detainees in the exercise area causing some damage.

A solidarity protest outside Serco's offices in London (22 Hand Court, Holborn, WC1V 6JF) has been called by No Borders London in support of the Yarl's Wood hunger strikers on Friday, 19th June, from 12noon. Activists from the Tyneside Community Action for Refugees (TCAR) gathered outside government offices in Newcastle on Wednesday to protest against racism and all immigration prisons.

Links and sources: No Borders UK | NCADC | TCAR

Welcome to former users of IMC York

23-05-2009 10:18

Indymedia York has merged with Indymedia Leeds/Bradford. The York site will remain as an archive for a short time but will not accept any news postings. If you want to publish or read news from York and its surroundings, you are in the right place.

Largest Shareholder Barclays and Top Investors Dump HLS

17-05-2009 23:12

This week it was announced Barclays and four other large investors dropped all shares in Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), Europe's largest and most exposed vivisection laboratory. LSR stock owned by institutional shareholders has now fallen to 12%, placing HLS $4 million below the NYSE minimum listing standard for market value (the only stock exchange listing the company, a major target in the campaign to close HLS).

Following a legal challenge against the CEO's proposal to purchase all of the outstanding LSR stock, an intense global campaign and recent repression against SHAC in Birmingham, a total of 797,284 shares have now been sold. Barclays Global Investors, Barclays Plc, Hartford Investment Management Company, Rice Hall James and Associates LLC, Bank of New York Mellon and Wells Fargo sold all their shares, of which over 400,000 were held by previously largest shareholder Barclays.

Barclays campaign: Global (Videos) | London | Direct action | SHAC topic page

Mersey May Day Solidarity Raises £300 For Sacked Visteon Workers

06-05-2009 01:42

£300 was raised on Merseyside this May Day weekend, in solidarity with sacked Visteon car parts makers who have now been blockading three UK sites for more than a month.

Norwegian Whaling Ship Scuttled

28-04-2009 21:07

"We came to Henningsvaer. We saw the Skarbakk. We sank the bastard" - Agenda 21

On the evening of April 23rd, the Norwegian whaling ship The Skarbakk was scuttled by environmentalists in the Lofoten islands, Norway, using the name of a 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment. The conference detailed action proposed for a sustainable 21st century, with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society promising Norway that if they did not comply with international conservation law, then they would sink their whaling ships.

This was not an empty threat, with Captain Paul Watson supervising the sinking of two ships; the Nybraena in 1992 and the Senet in 1994. The anonymous and covert goup Agenda 21 then took over with the scuttling of the Elin-Toril in 1996. In a communique last week, the activists reported they flooded the engine room of The Skarbakk by using an adjustable spanner to open the salt-water intake valve; "to delay the killing season and to protest the continued illegal export of whale meat to Japan."

Links: United Nations Agenda 21 | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society | Ocean Defence topic page

Scarborough Climate Action Network opens community resource centre.

22-04-2009 16:21

After being inspired into action by the fight against global climate chaos, the Scarborough Climate Action group have opened "Green Planet", a community resource centre for education, information and participation on the east coast of Yorkshire.

They aim to provide a central point for people in the local area to find out how they can make positive changes to their environment, as well as providing an autonomous space for people to use the internet, meet like-minded people and get directly involved with the newly burgeoning Scarborough activist networks.

A Conspiracy too far?

17-04-2009 15:51

In one of the best reports on the incident so far, Daithai asks some pertinent questions about the police raid involving more than 200 officers from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and British Transport Police which saw 114 people arrested for conspiracy at the Iona School in Sneinton Nottingham shortly after midnight on Monday.

Veggie Pride UK

11-04-2009 13:28

Veggie Pride UK 2009 Veggie Pride UK will be a fantastic fun-filled festival and carnival procession, celebrating and promoting compassionate, healthy, eco-friendly vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. Taking place in Birmingham City Centre on Saturday 16 May 2009. It`s the first event of it`s kind in the UK!

Transport is being arranged from the Leeds/Bradford area as well as from other locations from around the country.There`s only 5 weeks to go, so get your coach seats booked soon! See also their Urgent Appeal for Funds.

Abolish All Immigration Prisons

17-03-2009 21:17

Last Friday evening, two dozen activists entered the offices of Minister for Immigration and Borders Phil Woolas in Oldham, ‘detaining’ him for about 30 minutes. The campaigners included members of No Borders Manchester, No One Is Illegal and the Anarchist Federation . The action intended to mirror the government’s practice of detaining migrants in ‘immigration removal centres’ without trial or sentencing, for indefinite periods of time. This was the second time since his appointment last year that the immigration minister has become the target of an action by No Borders, after a member of the group pushed a custard pie in his face last October .

On Tuesday morning, 20 anti-deportation campaigners blocked access to the Tinsley House immigration detention centre near Gatwick airport. Activists used d-locks and superglue to blockade the entrance gate for several hours. The action aimed to prevent the forced deportation on a charter flight of approximately 50 Iraqi refugees from the UK.

Groups affiliated to the UK No Borders network are now calling for demonstrations against immigration detention on Saturday 21st March. A protest march will lead from Bedford to the Yarl’s Wood detention centre, which was half destroyed by fire in 2002, following an uprising ignited by the ill-treatment of a sick woman by guards. Transport is available from London. Solidarity demonstrations are planned in Manchester and Edinburgh. The demonstration in Manchester will be going to the newly-expanded ‘Pennine House’ detention facility at the airport. The campaign to close this prison has achieved a high profile recently after the invasion of Phil Woolas’s offices and an intervention during a speech by Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese. In Edinburgh, campaigners will picket the private security company G4S. G4S profits from running immigration prisons in the UK, including Brook House, Dungavel near Glasgow and Pennine House.

Links: Tinsley House blockade | Photos 1 | Phil Woolas Detention | Custard Pie

New Coal Digs In

02-03-2009 12:46

Climate Rush tackled more climate criminals last week when the UK coal industry got together for their annual 'coal awards'. In a protest timed to coincide with the UK Coal hosted awards, around 15 climate activists paid a visit to their Doncaster headquarters, dressed in Edwardian style complete with red sashes with the words 'No New Coal' written across them. A banner reading 'Leave it in the Ground' was suspended across the entrance.

In London, the dirty coal pushers shied away from confrontation with the modern day climate suffregette movement, abandoning their booking at the plush Landmark Hotel and scuttling off to Lords cricket grounds instead. At the hotel, around a hundred activists rushed inside through a fire exit and began an alternative awards ceremony to highlight the ecological damage that the coal industry is inflicting on the environment. After being ejected from the hotel, a couple more attempts were made to gain entry and one arrest was made before the alternate awards continued outside. The Landmark hotel management were less than happy about the righteous fury brought down on them by the climate criminals promised not to accept bookings from such damaging industries again.

Coal represent 50% of the electricity production in the UK and its greatest contribution to CO2 emissions so the coal industry has seen increasing attention from activists in the UK (and beyond). Last month activists and local resident disrupted work at the Rosewell open-cast coal mine in Midlothian, operated by Scottish Coal , and another protest stopped work at UK Coal owned Shipley open cast coal mine in Derbyshire. In the US capitol on Monday, 2,500 protesters blockaded the gates of a coal fired power plant for almost five hours.

What Does The Economic Crisis Mean For The Climate Change Movement?

19-02-2009 00:51

We are in the middle of two crises, the climate crisis and the economic crisis. Although we we seem to treat them as separate, it can be argued that they are completely entangled. Tackling one without tackling the other is impossible and fruitless, but the connections are complex and shifting. To intervene effectively, we need to look carefully at how we think about time and change, and how we relate to markets and the state. But first, let's look at how the economic crisis arose and draw some link between this history and the problematics of climate politics.

Other aspects of economic crisis: Leeds | Liverpool | Public services cuts | Evictions | Factory Occupations

Victory for wildcat strikers

12-02-2009 18:12

Thousands of workers in the construction industry who walked out in solidarity with workers at the Lindsey oil refinery run by Total in Killingholme, Lincolnshire, have won a significant victory. Strikers at Lindsey voted to accept a deal drawn up by union officials and the companies involved in the dispute and end their unofficial industrial action on Thursday 5th February.

The government and media have been keen to present this as a nationalist or even "racist" dispute and the ever-opportunistic BNP made efforts to capitalise on the struggle. Certainly there have been reactionary elements within the strike and the "British jobs for British workers" slogan, which echoes Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is unerringly reminiscent of the far-right. Nevertheless, the politics of the strike were complicated and at Langage Power Station near Plymouth, Polish workers joined strikers.

Regional Feature: Workers walk out at Staythorpe

Newswire: Strikes in oil refineries and power stations | British jobs for British workers - Green jobs for Green workers? | Oil and Power strikes: News, Resouces and analysis | Wildcat strikes in Newark | Today's wildcat strikes in the UK oil and now nuke business | Wildcat strikes - an open letter to the anarchist/anti-authoritarian movement | A 'Racist' Strike? | BNP activists agitating at wildcat strikes

Links: ConstructionWorkerUk | Unite the Union | Indymedia UK Workers Movements topic page

Over a dozen university occupations for Palestine

22-01-2009 13:00

Students across the country are holding occupations and sit ins in solidarity with Gaza. SOAS shut down a MOD exhibition on their campus whilst students at LSE declared victory after seven days when the university agreed to all of their demands.

They are followed by others at King's College,Essex, Warwick, Sussex , Birmingham and over 80 Oxford University students have occupied the historic Bodleian building to demand that the university releases a statement condemning the attack on Gaza and cancel the lecture series at Balliol College inaugurated by Israeli war criminal Shimon Peres. There are also early reports of occupations at Manchester Met, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge [Pics], Bradford, Queen Mary, Sheffield Hallam, Nottingham, Strathclyde and Manchester universities. Update Wed 28th: The occupations have started to bring in results as both Sussex and Bradfod students have declared "victory" [See Sussex and Bradford declarations] On the other hand, the Cambridge University occupation is under threat of eviction [more] Update Sun 1st Feb: Nottingham occupation violently evicted [more | video] Update 11th Feb: Golsmiths University and the University of East Anglia are occupied.

In Yorkshire, students have occupied a building at Leeds University whilst the Bradford AGM voted to give the university the weekend to comply with demands to support the Palestinians, or expect action on Monday. On Tuesday morning, around 80 students occupied the university boardroom. The students say they "are enraged and horrified by the unspeakable atrocities that have been committed by the Israeli military on the people of Palestine, and ... will not tolerate the complicity of ... institutions of education in this violence."

Regional features: Cambridge | Nottingham | Sheffield

Northern Climate Rush

13-01-2009 13:59

On Monday 12th Jan 2009 between 1830 and 2100, free expression occurred
at terminal three of Manchester International Airport. A protest was held by Climate Rush in a designated zone away from all passengers and prying eyes with a cordon for the press and some police horses.

Approximately one hundred protesters descended decorously to make their
views on airport expansion known. Edwardian dress was the order of the day,and we didn't disappoint. Top hats and tails, corsets, shawls and a street urchin all made an appearance.

Resistance escalates with Airport 'Green' Light

12-01-2009 13:13

Both Heathrow and Manchester airports were targeted Monday with the domestic departure lounges of both airports simultaneously occupied by protesters. In London over 500 people defied airport bylaws by staging a sit-down dinner forcing airport operator BAA to close 18 check-in desks. In Manchester police used powers under Section 14 of the Public Order Act to contain up to 100 protesters on the ground floor of Terminal 3 and there was one arrest.

The Climate Rush actions were timed to coincide with MPs return to the house of commons with the government expected to announce the decision on the Heathrows airport expansion during week. Meanwhile, Greenpeace revealed that a plot of land within the proposed expansion site had been purchased in an attempt to delay the construction.

Despite media speculation that the announcement would be delayed, by Wednesday nght the media were reporting that the expanision plans have been given the green light. After the official announcement on Thursday, 'climate suffragettes' smashed the windows of the Department of Transport and on Saturday 500 flash mobbed at Heathrows terminal 5.

Actions to end grouse shooting

01-09-2008 10:49

On Friday, 15 activists held a visual and noisy demo outside the Bradford Council Head Office at Jacobs Well, because of their plans to return grouse shooting to Ilkley Moor.

Banners were tied up and held, and information given to all the members of staff and visitors going in through the main entrance. Members of public were very supportive and many made comments about the council not caring about the people of their town, never mind the animals to be killed if bloodsports return to the moor. The constant noise from the megaphone and chanting made sure that nobody could be unaware of why we were there.

The demo then moved onto the City Hall where campaigners went inside the office and put the West Yorkshire Sabs website on every computer screen. Outside the main entrance, activists climbed up the gates and tied a banner across, much to the annoyance of the security guards who begun shaking the gate whilst someone was still up it!

Other campaigners dropped banners off a nearby flyover to inform everybody coming into Bradford about council involvement in animal cruelty and bloodsports.

Then on Sunday, West & South Yorkshire Hunt Sabs joined forces to stop grouse shoots in the Holme Valley, near Holmfirth.

At the first shoot, over 25 sabs got between the beaters and the guns and then blocked the shooting butts resulting in most of the bloodsport enthusiasts cracking their guns and abandoning the first drive. Obviously angry at their 'sport' being stopped, members of the shoot assaulted one sab to try and get their video camera, rammed the sab van and the owner of the shoot decided it would be a good idea to put one of the front windows through on the vehicle. As per usual, the police couldn't care less and were more interested in getting rid of the sabs with laws they didn't even know themselves.

The next group of shooters, a bit further down the road, packed up straight away when they saw the sabs arriving; however poor communication meant that they couldn't tell the beaters who carried on driving the grouse towards guns that weren't there. Realising they had been made fools of, one of the head beaters began shouting at the police to enforce laws that didn't exist, to which they just told him the truth.

The days sabbing was a great success, with countless lives being saved and two shoots stopped from killing.

Flood Victims blockade Government Office in Leeds

03-03-2008 10:02

Residents from flood stricken areas of Yorkshire and Humberside blockaded the Government Office in Leeds on Friday to protest at its continued promotion of airport expansion. Inspired by last year’s camp for climate action at Heathrow, the protesters from Hull, South Yorkshire and the Calder Valley used pop-up tents to set up camp outside the main entrance.

The timing of the protest coincided with the final stages in the adoption of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) – the area’s fifteen year development plan which is currently on the desk of government minister Baroness Andrews, awaiting final approval. The plan allows for a threefold expansion of passenger flights from Yorkshire and Humberside.

Solidarity Calls For Activists Held Hostage By Japanese Whalers

15-01-2008 20:20

During the early hours of this morning, two crew members of the Sea Shepherd vessel, 'Steve Irwin', have been taken hostage by the Japanese harpoon vessel 'Yushin Maru No. 2'. Benjamin Potts 28, an Australian citizen and Giles Lane, 35, a British citizen, are being held onboard the whaling vessel which is currently on the run. Both men boarded the vessel to deliver a letter to the Japanese captain stating that the whalers were in violation of international conservation law by targeting endangered species in an established whale sanctuary and in violation of a global moratorium on commercial whaling. They also notified the captain that Australia had just passed a court ruling barring Japanese whalers from the Australian Antarctic Economic Exclusion Zone. Once they boarded the vessel they were assaulted and tied to the railings of the whaler. They were then moved and tied to a radar mast. The Japanese vessel has not responded to messages in English or Japanese from the Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson to release the hostages.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship 'Steve Irwin' has been in full pursuit of five vessels of the Japanese whaling fleet including the Japanese supply vessel 'Oriental Bluebird' since this morning. The Japanese factory ship 'Nisshin Maru' has fled over 700 miles to the northwest and is heading towards South Africa accompanied by the Greenpeace ship Esperanza. The entire whaling fleet is on the run. According to the Sea Shepherd no whales have been able to be slaughtered for the last four days and it does not look as if the whaling operations are going to begin again for another week at least, and not at all if the vessels are prevented from regrouping. Crew members from the Sea Shepherd ship 'Steve Irwin' point out they have a "good supply of fuel and can remain in the area for some time and will continue to police the illegal whaling operations by the Japanese fleet".

Contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: msu.publicin@fco.gov.uk

Contact the Japanese Embassy: info@jpembassy.org.uk

Phone: London 020-70081500 / Edinburgh 0131-225-4777 / Dublin 01-202-8300 | Web: List of Japanese Embassies

Solidarity Protest Reports: DC Protest For Sea Shepherd Hostages Video | Sea Shepherd Solidarity Protest at Japanese Embassy, Berlin | Sea Shepherd demo, Barcelona | NYC Protest for Sea Shepherd Hostages | Hostage Release Demonstration, London

Recent Updates: Sea Shepherd Hostages Return Back to Steve Irwin | Whalers Hands Activists Over To Australia's Ship | Whalers threaten to take activists to Japan | Sea Shepherd Crew Remain Hostages On The Japanese Whaling Ship | Whalers Make Demands Over Hostages | Sea Shepherd considering rescue mission

Previous feature: Japanese Whaling Ship rams Greenpeace vessel

On the newswire: Video of Sea Shepherd Activists Taken Hostage | Sea Shepherd volunteers 'detained' by Japanese whalers | URGENT - protestors held hostage by Japanese wailing ship | British Sea Shepherd activist held hostage on Japanese whaler | Japanese whalers take Sea Shepherds hostage | Call out for solidarity demonstration

Links: Sea Shepherd Convervation Society | Greenpeace campaign against whaling | Wikipedia on Japanese Whaling

Burma Solidarity Actions

03-10-2007 15:04

Around 30 activists blockaded a Total petrol station to protest against the company's heavy involvement with the military junta in Burma which is responsible for the deaths of several protesters in just the last few days.

Total is in a joint venture with the Burmese dictatorship in the Yadana gas project, which earns the regime hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Aung Sun Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of the Burmese government under house arrest, says: “Total has become the main supporter of the military regime”.

A mix of students and locals stood, sat or drummed across both entrances to the forecourt for an hour and a half. Holding a banner reading "Totalitarian Oil-Fuelling Oppression in Burma" they leafleted and spoke to passers-by and motorists. Staff at the petrol station threatened protesters with sticks, car and lorry drivers attempted to run over protesters, but despite this things remained peaceful.

Later in the day, students at the University of Bradford passed an emergency motion to mandate the Student Union to support the Burmese monks and investigate alternative suppliers since they currently use Total for fuelling their minibuses.

See also the original newswire posts, photos and video.

Bridgepoint Capital (owners of Leeds airport) Offices in London Disrupted

23-08-2007 18:12

A group of 18 climate change campaigners from the Camp for Climate Action briefly occupied the offices of Bridgepoint Capital in Warwick Street in London on Monday morning. Bridgepoint Capital, a private equity firm, bought Leeds Bradford Airport in April and is pressing for further expansion.

A banner reading "Yorkshire's Flooding You Daft Pudding!" was unfurled and Yorkshire puddings handed out to management. A statement was also read out to management and the offices covered in stickers. The brief occupation lasted for 30 minutes before the campaigners left. There were no arrests and indeed there were no police in attendance at the action.

See also photos and the text of the declaration.

Two arrested at the annual 'Independence From America' protest

07-07-2007 17:35

The Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases' (CAAB) annual Independence From America demonstration at NSA Menwith Hill was the first where protestors were not allowed to circumnavigate the base due to a Section 12 order. There were two arrests, one for wearing a shirt with the word "fuck" on it and the second for arguing against the arrest. The rally at the start was addressed by Alan Bennett and Mark Steel and the marchers from Footprints for Peace [ 1 | 2 ]. A Declaration of Independence was read out, "we... do solemnly demand the return of the land, once within the boundaries of the ancient townships of Birstwith, Felliscliffe, Norwood and Menwith, now occupied by the United States National Security Agency and their military forces.". There was a heavy police presence, food was provided by Veggies and Yorkshire CND had a stall.

Report | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 2006 Feature

Anti-GM Victory : One down, One to Go!

25-06-2007 17:18

It seems there are not often victories to celebrate so it's strange when they occur seemingly unnoticed. That's exactly what's happened regarding the news that the chemicals giant, BASF have abandoned plans for a GM potato trial in Yorkshire this year, despite government consent.

Back in April there was an action in Hedon near Hull [1 | 2 ] to demonstrate public opposition to the first GM trials in the UK proposed in three years. Taking action before the trial began, the protesters planted their own organic spuds in what they thought was the field earmarked for the GM variety [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6]. The aim was to invalidate the experiment before it was even started and while it turned out that they had picked the wrong field they did successful demonstrate that public opposition to GM crops is as strong and militant as ever [audio | video].

The planting of the other trial, located in Cambridge [1 | 2], went ahead despite local opposition and protests but campaigners say that it's not too late to drive home the message that "there is still no future for GM in the UK".

There is a national call out for a 'potato picnic' announced for Sunday 1st July near the site of the Cambridge trial. [flyer | directions]

Background : GM back on agenda | sabotage promised | detailed talk report | audio interview re victory and protest 1st july

Campaign links : Mutatoes | Hedon Against GM | Cambridge GM Concern

Ready to remove a blight on our landscape?

16-04-2007 09:01

UPDATED

This month a controversial experimental genetically modified potato crop is due to be planted in the UK by the German chemical giant BASF (offshoot of the infamous AG Farben). DEFRA initially gave approval in December for BASF to undertake trials at two sites, one in Cambridgeshire (at the National Institute of Agriculture and Botany) and the other initially in Derbyshire - until the farmer pulled out.

The trials are the first GM crops to enter British soil in nearly 3 years, after public opposition forced a u-turn in government and corporate plans for patented crops. Although presented as an R&D trial into the effectiveness of an anti blight gene, they are widely considered to be trial of public opinion.

On 14th April in Cambridge a protest walk took place [photos 1, 2]. This was followed on the 21st by a rally in Hull. This event ended with the proposed trial being effectively sabotaged even before it had began when over a hundred people entered the site and planted several varieties of seed potatoes in the field making it impossible for a scientifically valid trial to take place there.

LINKS:
Cambridge 1 | 2 | 3 | grid reference
Hull 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | pics

Background GM - Back on the agenda? | Sabotage promised | New GM crop trials | London info night (Tues 17th)

Campaign sites mutatoes.org | hedonagainstgm.org.uk | Cambridge GM concern | myspace.com/gmfreepotatoes

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