Victory To Rossport

national | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis Sunday October 08, 2006 18:36 by Dirk Diggler - Anarchist Youth anarchistyouth at riseup dot net 0879184604

The attempted construction of a high-pressure gas pipeline and onshore refinery in Rossport by the consortium of Shell, Statoil and Marathon has been resisted since 2001. Through the constant vigilance of the locals and activists in the solidarity camp, any attempts to access the site to work have been blockaded. If you've been living under a rock for the last while here's a rundown of the situation, the safety of the Rossport community will be at risk from contamination of their drinking water, environmental pollution, articulated vehicles on tiny bog roads and last, but not least, the potentially explosive pipe less than 80m from some of their houses!

Ray Burke who was Energy Minister in 1988 changed the laws governing oil exploitation in Ireland. As an 'incentive' to companies he abolished all royalties and production related levies ad lowered the oil tax to 25% (the lowest in the world, Norway has 78% tax). Oh and he was judged by Justice Feargus Flood in the Planning Tribunal to be completely "corrupt" but that was about a property development. How strange.

If you think this doesn’t affect you, think again! The powers that the consortium of Shell, Statoil, and Marathon wield are representative of the class society we live in. In 2005 Shell made a net profit of $26.261 billion! Their single largest shareholder is a holding company operated by the Dutch Royal family. They have the power, the privilege and the money to control us with. They are part of the ruling class. Politicians are their willing pawns and journalists their obliging tools.

Isn't it strange to think that the Dutch Royal Family is involved in oppressing a small rural community in Mayo? But this juxtaposition is mirrored in the resistance to Shell. Opposite the Bellanaboy refinery stand nine white crosses dedicated to the memory of murdered anti-Shell activists in Nigeria. Ken Saro-Wiwa was President of MOSOP (Movement for Survival of the Ogoni People) an ethnic minority group who demanded reparations from Shell for the environmental damage Shell caused to their lands. He and eight others were sentenced to death by hanging in 1995 following a rigged trial.

The realisation of the anti-Shell locals that their struggle is not an isolated case of resistance, but part of a continuous struggle with the ruling classes has given them fresh hope and a network of support. Their use of non-violent tactics are praise-worthy as this is appropriate to the immediate context, but they should not listen to the tools of the political parties who will always advocate non-violence, which could very well spell their defeat.

As of writing, things are heating up at Ballinaboy, where Shell and their contractors have forced their way through the local picket with the help of 170 gardai brought in from across the country. The struggle is only just beginning and the Solidarity camp encourages people to go down and get involved and the locals are very welcoming. Get down there!