Diary of actions in Reykjavik in August 2005
Friday 12th A fundraising dinner was held by people involved with the protest camp, at Snarrot Information Centre. A slideshow showed images of areas of wilderness that are going to be destroyed because of the Karahnjukar and other dam projects. Video footage of our direct actions at Karahnjukar and the Alcoa factory was shown to re-inspire Reykjavikian resistance.
Saturday 13th A fun peacefull picnic was held in parliament square. There was street theatre including clowns and a giant evil octopus with blue hands to symbolize the web of corruption in Iceland. We shared cake and played games with Icelandic people. Our fun was disrupted when the forces of evil came and snatched an Icelandic street performer wearing a police jacket. They also tried to take someone wearing a home-made Alcoa jacket but he was succesfully de-arrested.
Later on that night two people were aggresively snatched from the street by undercover cops. One was illegaly detained for a few hours and the other held overnight. He was accused of resisting arrest, interfering with the police and also disobeying them. He was given deportation papers.
Monday 15th An information marquee was put up in the centre of Reykjavik. It´s purpose; to inform people directly about the dam projects.
Tuesday 16th Police illegaly entered the marquee and served two people with deportation papers.
Police illegally entered the building that was the camp´s base in Reykjavik. They searched the building with torches, looking for people on the deportation list. They threatened one person who was in the toilet; saying that they would knock down the door if he didn´t come out. They had him against a wall, telling him he had no rights and that they would turn him upside down and shake him if he did not empty his pockets. They didn´t manage to issue any deportation papers.
Wednesday 17th Police illegaly entered the camp´s base again, searched the building, and didn´t find any deportees.
Undercover police stopped two people on the street, took them down an alleyway and issed them with deportation papers.
At night there was a meeting in Snarrot Information Centre to organise a demonstration against the police repression and the deportations. We met with people from Amnesty International and people from other pressure groups in Iceland. Hopefully this will be happening in Reykjavik in the near future. Look out for more information!
Saturday 20th Carnival of dissent! At 13:00 there was a banner dropped from the main church in protest against the dam projects. There were many different characters, including clowns, trolls, reindeer, flowers, pink-footed geese, an arctic fox and the Highland Lady being chased by Uncle Sam with a giant aluminium penis. There was also a Death character to symbolize the invasion of the Icelandic land. The carnival went to the marquee to gather more friends; music was played, free food was distributed and information spread at all times. Later on at night the carnival continued and made a performance outside Snarrot.
Morgunbladid reports that Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geir H. Haarde, is meeting the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, today. Haarde will meet Shadow Foreign Secretary and former leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague, tomorrow. While in London, Haarde is also scheduled to hold a speech at the British – Icelandic trade council and open “Pure Iceland” an exhibition at the British Science Museum.
Anyone live in London who’d like to subvert this impression or engage in a “constructive dialogue” with Geir?