Occupations Archive - Page 11 of 18

Blockade of the Hambach Railroad by Hambach Forest Activists

Post published:07/11/2017
Post category:Actions Occupations Solidarity
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Blockade of the Hambach Railroad by Forest Activists

Solidarity greetings to Hamburg. While the government representatives of the G20 summit are protected by at least 20000 cops (because the ruling ones are so afraid of those they supposedly represent), we blocked the Hambach railroad by means of a tripod. Today, we have opted for the path of non-violent resistance – this does not mean that we want to reflect on attempts to divide peaceful protest from militant resistance or that we basically condemn militant counter-raids from below.

It has often been made clear why it is necessary to resist climate change and environmental destruction. Let us not enumerate the arguments here, but formulate some messages:

Leith Hill, England: Forest Occupied

Post published:03/03/2017
Post category:Deforestation Network Occupations
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The Fort

A coalition of environmental activists and local residents has occupied a forest in Surrey South of London to block Europa Oil from cutting a hectare of protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that is also part of the local Green Belt. They have built a massive fort-like structure on the planned location of the drilling site, surrounded by tree houses and platforms and are also maintaining a roadside camp. The support of many locals has been exceptional, with meals cooked by a different local family each evening being brought to the protest site. The camp occupation is run by a small group of mostly older activists, with the fort being a closed to the outsiders high security installation. More direct-action and eco-defense activists are welcomed to exchange their skills and keep the struggle against fossil fuels going at this beautiful and still natural location.

Links:
saveleithhill.com
voiceforleithhill.co.uk
www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/features/magazine-39117535/39117535 (Video)

Report-back from Bure Antinuclear Mobilization

Post published:02/27/2017
Post category:Actions Deforestation Occupations
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From February 14 to 18, a large anti-nuclear mobilization took place in Bure (France) resisting the French State Company Andra’s plans to build an underground nuclear storage site in the occupied Lujec Forest. Over couple of days several night marches took place from the “Maison de Résistance” (House of Resistance) to the temporary nuclear storage site and progressively fences surrounding the storage site were brought down.

On Feb. 8th, the mobilization culminated with over 1000 supporters taking part in the march to the occupied forest with its many barricades/guard-houses, living structures through-out the forest and a growing number of tree-houses. The visitors shared a collective dinner with the occupiers and then marched to the Andra’s storage site where they had to cope with riot police shooting tear gas projectiles, concussion grenades and blocking the road with a mobile tank with attached fence-barricade that was bolted to the road as the crowd approached. The protesters responded by setting up their own barricades and lighting their creative floats on shopping cards, with one appropriately named Fénix, on fire and engaging the police in a four hour battle. During that time the remaining fences were taken down, used as additional barricades and as shields from the police projectiles. Only two people were arrested and later released and several sustained injuries from the “FlashBang”concussion grenades. Regardless of the repression and the state imposed violence the atmosphere remained festive and full of solidarity.

An ongoing call has been issued out for support of the forest occupation due to the ongoing risk of police actions to dislodge the forest defenders. This anti-nuclear struggle is located in Bure, department of Lorraine, approx. 3 hour drive south from the borders with Belgium and Germany.

Video from February 18th – Mobilization and Action: <a : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u23hqajNbBo
Video of Previous Fire-lit march to the waste-site: https://vimeo.com/204436168

Photos from the Occupation and Actions: https://www.flickr.com/photos/127928013@N04/

CALL FOR ANTI-REPRESSION RESPONSE

Post published:02/09/2017
Post category:Actions Deforestation General Mobilization Network Occupations Press Repression Solidarity
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Such cases will only repeat themselves with greater regularity and intensity as RWE and other corporate barons carve out the Planet and local jurisdictions into their private domains and as the effect of their actions on the global climate and ecology is distracted by more and more militarized and violent police actions. Here an analogy of the struggle of Zapatistas comes to mind: In the 90s the Mexican State response to the Zapatistas Uprising was massacres of whole indigenous villages. In the Rhineland the forests are massacred outright, the people are moved away but the villages themselves are also destroyed by the bulldozers and wrecking balls. The carnage however of these actions is not just felt by local biodiversity but also already felt by millions affected by climate chaos world-wide and will take a heavy toll on future generations in the global north as well, presently shielded by their privilege.