15 teenage activists stormed the Icelandic Ministry of Industry today (9 January) and staged a sitdown and noise demo inside the ministry for well over an hour. This was to demonstrate against numerous hydro dam projects that are to power the international aluminium invasion in to pristine Iceland.
The message was tainted more than little by irony: "We want more pollution, more smelters, more destruction of nature, only jobs in smelters, more Alzheimer, fuck nature, fuck the future" Suddenly they produced tubs of 'skyr'(in symbolic support of activists who drenched delegates at an international aluminium conference with the jogurt like substance at Hotel Nordica in Reykjavik last summer) and procceded to "eat their own words". The staff of the ministry called the cops, who were well and truly ignored by the vigorous youngsters, and gave up sowing their usual brand of disorder.
This was a very cheerful protest and a total success. Most of the press and all TV stations turned up for the edifying spectacle. It coincided most conveniently with a news release from the Ministry of Industry about four spanking new aluminium smelters that are to be built or extended (ALCAN and Century) in the southwest and north (ALCOA) of Iceland, promising amongst other horrors, according to scientists to make the bay of Faxafloi the most heavily polluted area in Northern Europe. Arms manufacturers ALCOA are deliberating a smelter in Husavik in the north on top of the monster 360.000 tons smelter they are already building at Reydarfjordur in the East of Iceland, which Europe's last great untouched wilderness (Karahnjukar, north of Vatnajokull glacier) is to be sacrificed to generate bogus "green" electricity for.
Two of the activists who took part in the Hotel Nordica 'skyr' action at the International Aluminium Conference last summer, have recently been sentenced in municipal court to two months in prison suspended and a £6000 "cleaning up bill", fines and expences. According to the owners of Hotel Nordica it cost over £5000 to hire a carpet cleaner for two hours! The original claim of Hotel Nordica was £50.000.
Boycot Hotel Nordica and their owners, Icelandair!
This was a very cheerful protest and a total success. Most of the press and all TV stations turned up for the edifying spectacle. It coincided most conveniently with a news release from the Ministry of Industry about four spanking new aluminium smelters that are to be built or extended (ALCAN and Century) in the southwest and north (ALCOA) of Iceland, promising amongst other horrors, according to scientists to make the bay of Faxafloi the most heavily polluted area in Northern Europe. Arms manufacturers ALCOA are deliberating a smelter in Husavik in the north on top of the monster 360.000 tons smelter they are already building at Reydarfjordur in the East of Iceland, which Europe's last great untouched wilderness (Karahnjukar, north of Vatnajokull glacier) is to be sacrificed to generate bogus "green" electricity for.
Two of the activists who took part in the Hotel Nordica 'skyr' action at the International Aluminium Conference last summer, have recently been sentenced in municipal court to two months in prison suspended and a £6000 "cleaning up bill", fines and expences. According to the owners of Hotel Nordica it cost over £5000 to hire a carpet cleaner for two hours! The original claim of Hotel Nordica was £50.000.
Boycot Hotel Nordica and their owners, Icelandair!
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Saving Iceland Gathering Poster
13.01.2006 17:42
Matilda
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http://www.savingiceland.org/