road protests (current)   |   movement links


From: "Jo Makepeace" (webmaster@schnews.org.uk)
Subject: SchNEWS 593, Friday 22nd June 2007
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:14:15 +0100

evictions begin at the Trebanos Brecon camp

STILL ON THE PIPE

Evictions have begun in force at the Trebanos/Brecon camp where campaigners have been stopping work on the National Grid's 200 mile gas pipeline project since February (see SchNEWS 569). Activists have locked themselves to trees and inside tunnels as they hold out against the bailiffs in a last ditch attempt to prevent work at the site.

As of Tuesday evening, six protesters had been arrested before police and bailiffs packed up for the night, leaving three hardcore tree defenders still locked on for the duration. In their usual low-profile style the cops and bailiffs blocked the road all day and barred journalists and supporters from the site. One defiant protestor told SchNEWS, "We are willing to risk arrest as the consequences of this pipeline will be far more devastating than spending a night in a police cell. National Grid, as a private company, are putting shareholder profit before people's safety, both locally and more globally. We are putting ourselves in the way to say this is completely unacceptable."

The eviction looks set to continue, as the protesters show no intention of leaving soon - although the National Grid have wasted no time in getting down to business and started stripping the land as soon as the eviction began. This £6 billion scheme to transport gas in from Qatar - as the National Grid themselves admitted - is a quick fix for Britain's declining energy reserves and expanding energy demands. It will be the largest gas pipe anywhere in Europe and North America. The 48-inch, high pressure pipe is a type normally used in third world countries where life and litigation is cheap. It's considered so dangerous that it is banned in the US - not a country famous for its health and safety laws. When a similar pipeline exploded in Kalakama, Nigeria, it devastated an area 20 miles square and killed 11 people.

Even though it looks like the Brecon site's days (hours) are numbered, locals and give-a-monkey's types will continue their fight against the destruction of Brecon's (& the Earth's) ecosystems. So come on people, get yerself down to Wales for round two...

For eviction updates call 0778 6151033 or see http://www.fightthepipe.co.uk


road protests (current)   |   movement links