Welcome to Shell Exploitation and Production Ireland
Visitors Book, they didn't ask us to sign it.
In the Lobby
Getting on the Roof
Cops Cutting Their Way In
Plod Arrive
What the man on the security desk is reading
Their rooms, Mayo room, and other targets - Kerry, Galway, Clare?
At 8 a.m. Wednesday morning in Mayo sit down protestors blocked the transport of workers to Shell’s construction site in Ballinaboy, before being moved on by police.
The state thugs, whose official title is “guardians of the peace”, threw one young woman to the ground and trampled on her, she was subsequently hospitalised.
A clear pattern is emerging of police trying to provoke violence, a number of people have been attacked by them in a seemingly random manner. They have yet to make any arrests on public order or traffic charges - despite those laws being flouted, so it seems they would prefer to have more pr friendly assault charges to bring.
Cork:
Simultaneously, six or seven hours drive away, 20 Shell to Sea activists held a sit down blockade of the Shell terminal at Cork international airport. The cops did their ‘move along now or we arrest you’ thing, were ignored, and - having clearly got orders from H.Q. not to make arrests, desisted from interfering with the protest.
Dublin:
At 12.30 p.m. 15 activists arrived at the Headquarters of Shell Exploitation and Production Ireland, six entered the lobby while another six climbed onto the roof. A couple more stayed on the pavement outside to chain some of the doors to the building and to speak to the media. A publically advertised protest was scheduled at this office for 1 p.m. so soon the advance party was joined by 40 to 50 more people. The cops arrived and were quite dozy not really knowing what to do. They took the names of the people in lobby but not the people on the roof. They attempted to access the roof via a window and ended up breaking it.
The demonstrators ceased their occupation at 2 p.m. as they had previously agreed among themselves.
Reflecting the broad left nature of Dublin Shell to Sea the occupation action involved non-aligned individuals, and members of Grassroots Dissent, Anarchist Youth, Labour Youth and Sinn Fein.
There was a lot of media attention, but whereas the private TV3 and the Irish language TG4 featured both the actions in Mayo and in Dublin they main state broadcaster RTE ignored both.
These photos are from the lobby as that is where I was, there are lots more photos on www.indymedia.ie
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