Rossport Five : Free !. Free !. Free at last. Dancing in the streets of Galway !. (photo essay).

by Tommy Donnellan - Shell to Sea Fri Sep 30, 2005 21:46

more !.

Jubilation !

Kieran 'n Tom

Another three sweet young 'uns !

by K Keating - Columbian Solidarity Network Fri Sep 30, 2005 23:25 CO/ Latin American Solidarity Center, 2 merrion row Dublin

To The Rossport Five:

On behalf of the energy and mining Trade Unions gathered together in the federation FUNTRAMINERGETICA we wish to express our solidarity with your struggle in Ireland against the multinational Shell.

In Colombia the oil and mining multinationals have murdered trade unionists and forced off their land farmers who resisted the exploitation of oil and gold on their land or as in your case resisted the building of an oil or gas pipeline on their land.

We salute your struggle and hope that your release from prison is just the first victory in your campaign against a multinational whose only concern is their own profit, leaving nothing behind for the communities. In Colombia Shell has acted as it pleased. In an act of supreme corruption they illegally sold the oil fields of Caño Limon to Occidental Petroleum without paying a single cent of the taxes and royalties due to the State and then withdrew from the country taking the wealth that belongs to Colombia with it.. In Ireland it pays no money to the State either and nor will it.

Here the multinationals impose their will through violence and corruption in Ireland they do it through corruption and the use of the courts, courts which like the Colombian courts are indulgent with the rich and implacable in their application of “laws” against workers and small farmers; laws which are drawn up by their friends in the parliament.

We wish you every success in your struggle.
Victory to the Rossport Five!

Signed


Francisco Ramirez
General Secretary
Funtraminergetica (USO, Simtramienergetica, Sintraminercol, Sintracarbòn, Funtrametal, Sintrametal)

by Tommy Donnellan - Shell to Sea Sat Oct 01, 2005 01:19

A small step backwards today for Shell and their filthy fellow-travellers - mindful that these buggers strategically retreat an inch to try to gain a mile, nevertheless, it's a hugely empowering tonic to people power (jaysus, we danced in the street ) and the obdurate principles of the jailed men that were never for the turning and, hopefully, a severe dose of jalop into the black gut of Shell - the shit pot will tell the tale?.

One of the things next in mind for the Galway section of the Shell to Sea campaign is to organise a Global Day of Protest against Shell on the November, tenth anniversary of the judicial murder of the nine Ogoni activists in Nigeria that, hopefully, ye will play a significant part?, no hard plans, as yet, as all our energy has been soaked up with street activism, but when we concretise them, they'll be posted on Indymedia and the Shell to Sea website.

Alright K. Keating and Francisco, to be brutal about it, what the Rossport Five and their families had to endure was small potatoes in comparison to what Coca-Cola, Shell and the global corpo's of their ilk have visited on Columbia, Nigeria and other, mainly Third World countries - I'm sure the Five would not demur that the murdered and dispossessed have earned the ultimate salute, ? as such, I salute you.

by Tommy Donnellan - Shell to Sea Sun Oct 02, 2005 19:09 tommyjoe at eircom dot net

phone (091 587354) or else email me?. Thanks.