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Rossport 5

Posted: 08 Aug 2005, 09:29
by tim
Hi there

At Bluegreenearth we have just run 2 new pieces,

Get Your Ass to Erris
by the BLUE Collective

and

Collusion in a Shell: A Personal Experience
by Sister Majella McCarron

plus a brief on the Corrib Gas Field 'pinched' from
The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain.

First paras of the BLUE piece:

Once it was Ogoniland, Nigeria, now it is Erris, Ireland. Shell's special brand of terrorism knows no limits and state and media complicity comes as part of the deal - the buy-up of natural resources, the manipulation of state legislation, the oppression of local people and the duplicity of the ruling elites.

This time, five men - Philip McGrath, Willie Corduff, Vincent McGrath, James Brendan Philbin and Miche?l ? Seighin - are in gaol for opposing Shell. Their crime, refusal to allow Shell access to their land - a right that they hold under the Irish Constitution. Shell had come to a cosy arrangement with the Irish government. It allowed them to threaten with High Court action anyone who interfered with the construction of their high pressure gas pipeline and refinery on the Erris, Co Mayo coastline. The five men did just that - ignoring the compulsory purchase order legislation that said Shell could come onto their farm land - and found themselves in gaol up in Dublin.

The state wasn't messing. According to Maura Harrington, who speaks for the local campaign, anyone "preventing or interfering with Shell carrying out works on the pipeline and the refinery, travelling to and from their construction sites, causing nuisance to the developers, 'trespassing' on a public right of way, attempting to damage the developer economically, intimidating or threatening them or conspiring to do any of the above, [does so] under pain of fine or imprisonment".

Tim

Posted: 08 Aug 2005, 14:49
by snow hope
I have just been informed last night, that Shell are pulling out of Ireland. The petrol stations will be allowed to continue to use the name Shell. I am attempting to understand who will own the brand in Ireland.

re: Rossport 5

Posted: 09 Aug 2005, 11:22
by tim
Good riddance, but Statoil also own part of the Corrib
field and they have a huge presence in Ireland.

tim