Saving Iceland

Hafnarfjordur
26 July 2007

Locals in Hafnarfjordur protested on Thursday against the Council’s attempts to betray the results of the local referendum in March about the enlargement of the ALCAN smelter which is situated in nearby Straumsvik.

In spite of a massive PR campaign paid for by ALCAN (including an illegal gathering by ALCAN of personal data about individuals in Hafnarfjordur) the majority of the inhabitants rejected the enlargement.

After the referendum both ALCAN and the Mayor of Hafnarfjordur, Ludvik Geirsson, issued a series of contradictory statements claiming that the results of the referendum were not legally binding.

Later they surfaced with the idea that the referendum only applied to a planning permission of a certain spot by the existing factory and that nothing could stop it being built on a landfill on the other side of the factory. (1)

The locals dropped two different banners. One stating that ‘NO MEANS NO – ENLARGEMENT IS CRIMINAL’ and the other saying ‘NIETSCHE KILLED GOD – LUDVIK KILLED DEMOCRACY’.

Saving Iceland wish to congratulate the inhabitants of Hafnarfjordur for their continuing opposition to the evil that has now metamorphised into Rito Tinto-ALCAN.

1.- See: ALCAN and Mayor decide: To Hell with Democracy in Hafnarfjördur!

See also: Celebration as Hafnarfjörður rejects Alcan expansion!

The Icelandic media reports today that Icelandic Alloys (Elkem) “accidentally” released a huge cloud of pollution from their plant at Grundartangi in Hvalfjordur. Apparently the accident was due to human error. The media quote Thordur Magnusson, an Elkem spokesman, saying that this human error “…recurs several times a week.”

Sigurbjorn Hjaltason, Chairman of the local Kjosarhreppur parish, confirms that Elkem usually produce the emissions during nights, when suitable, throughout the year. This is so that people will be less likely to become aware of the pollution they have to breath.

Similar nocturnal habits of ALCAN – Rio Tinto and Century – Rusal have been reported for years by the people of Hafnarfjordur and Hvalfjordur.

ALCAN – Rio Tinto, Century and Elkem seem to share the same conveniently systematic “human errors.”

Are we perhaps to expect that soon the PR departments of these three companies will be offering the population of South-West Iceland free sleeping pills to help them through their dark nights of heavy industry?

‘Iceland is bleeding’

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Athygli, the public relations company of the National Power Company (Landsvirkjun) woke up this morning to find that during the night a splash of paint had been directed at their offices. A spokesman of the company said the words ‘Iceland Bleeds’ had been written on the house and that he suspected that Saving Iceland was behind this because his company was on a certain “deathlist” on www.savingiceland.org. We can only assume that he means ‘The Nature Killers’ section on this website.

Why would Athygli be on the list of companies responsible for the murder of Icelandic nature? Read More

The farmers-labourers, fishworkers on the Satyagraha blocked the road when the district Minister Vijay Shah tried to pass the Satyagraha centre in Taloon, to protest against the callous attitude and corrupt ways of the Government of M.P. The people affected and to be affected by Sardar Sarovar were upset that the Minister did not agree to enter the Satyagraha and have a dialogue on the issue of life and death. But they also felt jubilant; realizing that the Minister was indeed scared to step on his own government land, now occupied by the people of the valley. Police misbehaving and pushing the women, cleared the way after about half-an-hour for the minister.
Before the incident, farmers, whose motor-pumps are drowned in the reservoir waters due to release of water from Omkareshwar dam, without any warning, took out a motor cycle rally and giving a memorandum to the Minister, demanded that the water levels should be brought down by 22 meters to open up the motor-pumps, or the losses should be fully compensated. The Minister could only say that he would consult the Chief Minister, ordering the MPEB officials orally that they should write off the electricity bills of those who have lost their pumps.
Read More

Finally, Saving Iceland comes clean on which shady eco-terrorist organizations fund us!

19 July 2007 – Some media, particularly Blaðið, insist on calling us ‘professional protestors’, suggesting we have jobs and get payed to do actions, to create a bias that we are foreigners who have come to tell Icelanders what and what not to do. To dispel the myth we will give insight into our individual and collective funding.

“We are not professional protestors. Unlike the well-paid corporate lobbyists and spindoctors that try to sell you heavy industry, none of us gets payed to be here. We are ordinary people, we are teachers, nurses, youth workers, students, shopworkers, fathers, mothers. We are here because we care. The Icelandic wilderness is unique. It is the largest in Europe and one of the few wild places left on this continent. It’s beauty and uniqueness and fire and ice are a heritage we must preserve and must defend. It is the heritage and responsibility and privilege of all Icelanders, and all Europeans, and all humans.
(From our conference declaration)

Individuals come here at their own cost, paying their own ferry or plane ticket. So instead of being payed, Saving Iceland protestors put in sizeable amounts of their own savings to come here. They do this because they feel that protecting the wilderness is a fundamental necessity in creating a livable future on earth.

For the Saving Iceland conference, we did not have any paid speakers attend the conference. We have only payed the flights of guests that we invited to speak.

Now we will summarize how we pay for such things as our camp kitchen, materials, our newspaper ‘Voice of the Wilderness’, speaker’s flights and the conference hotel.

The main bulk of our income comes from a Swiss foundation called Terre Humaine. They fund actions for conservation of nature.

Our kitchen is sponsored by the Dutch mobile kitchen Rampenplan. They have helped setup kitchens in England and Belgium before as well, who are now self sustaining (from donations).

We receive large amounts of donations from Icelandic visitors to the camp, both in money, food and materials.

The remainder is made up of private individual donations from people involved in or sympathetic with the campaign. These are often people who work and can not attend the protests but want to support them anyway.

See also: ‘Bréf til Blaðsins frá Saving Iceland aktífista

July 15th Saving Iceland held a public meeting with inhabitants of Thorlakshöfn, accompanied by Lerato Maregele from EarthLife South Africa, struggling against ALCAN, and Attilah Springer from Rights Action, Trinidad, struggling against ALCOA. They talked about similarities in the way these companies operate in their respective countries and Iceland. Concern was expressed about pollution, climate, and the way the aluminium industry abandons towns to waste when they will close smelters in a few decades. Thorlakshöfn is named as a new smelter location by Rio Tinto ALCAN, Norsk Hydro, Arctus/Altech and Down Corning. The mayor of Thorlakshöfn has suggested his town as a location for two new smelters.

Read More

Police Brutality Brings Chaos to Street Party Against Heavy Industry

Does dancing in the street really merit this kind of treatment?

Video report of the streetparty on July 14th, 2007 – now on our own server because YouTube took it off, after more then 3000 views…

When the crowd descended Snorrabraut on it’s way to Laugavegur, the main shopping street, police blockaded the road and there was a standoff for an hour and a half. When the driver of the sound system tried to exit the vehicle, police attempted to arrest him, violently attacking bystanders. A number of people got injured and four arrested. Police went for people’s throats, knocked people face down on the ground, leg-cuffed people and smashed a car window. Activists stayed non-violent.

The crowd moved on to the police station down the road, and sympathizers welcomed us with a surprise second sound system. The police station was stormed by the international rebel clown army that has set up shop at Saving Iceland’s camp in Mossfelsheidi. A number of people climbed the roof and hung down anti-heavy industry banners.
Police did a sortie, apparently with the sole purpose of a surprise arrest of a photographer.

Police have announced that the five people arrested will not be released tonight. It is currently uncertain on what charges they are being held, or what their medical condition is, since some were injured in their arrest. One of them has a broken rib.

Various individuals are considering sueing the police. Please send in any footage or photos you might have of police violence.

On a brighter note, the Dutch RTL4 evening news showed an interview with Iceland’s environmental minister, Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, who stated that she opposes new aluminium smelters in the country. The program also showed images from Saving Iceland’s conference in Olfus last weekend.

RUV shows some police violence, but more interesting is Siggi Superstar and the clown army being interviewed by the RUV journalist, in matching colours…

List of proposed new smelters and enlargements:

The new ALCOA smelter in Reydarfjordur.
The new ALCOA smelter in Husavik.
The Rio Tinto ALCAN enlargement of the existing smelter in Straumsvik.
The new Rio Tinto ALCAN smelter in Keilisnes or Thorlakshofn.
The recent Century Aluminum/Nordural smelter enlargement in Hvalfjordur.
The new Century Aluminum smelter in Helguvik.
The new Altech smelter in Thorlakshofn.
The new Norsk Hydro smelter in Thorlakshofn.
The enlargement of the Icelandic Alloys/ELKEM in Grundartangi.
The new R & D Carbon anode rod factory at Katanes in Hvalfjordur.

The party begins on the ring road

…In a very relaxed fashion…

…Until police blockade Snorrabraut and attack protestors

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PARTY AGAINST HEAVY INDUSTRY

Saving Iceland invites you to a street party, saturday 16.00 hrs at the hot spring by Perlan, Oskjuhlid, Reykjavik. DJ EYVI, DJ KIDDI GHOZT and DJ ARNAR [HUGARÁSTAND].

Saving Iceland Streetparty Against Heavy Industry July 14th

REYKJAVIK – The international direct action network Saving Iceland will organize a street party in opposition to heavy industry and large dams in Iceland and around the globe. A number of well-known Icelandic DJ’s will attend, including DJ Eyvi, DJ Kiddy Ghozt and DJ Arnar (Hugarástand).

The ‘Rave against the Machine’ will take place on Saturday July 14th and starts at 16.00h at the hot spring by Perlan, Oskjuhlid.

Read More

10 July 2007 – The International Summer of Dissent begins!

Kringlan Shopping Mall protest, Laugavegur march, Parlaiment lawn speeches and Iceland’s Prime Minister has his office dammed! All in one day!

Kringlan Shopping Mall
Over 50 people from 5 different continents started the day at Kringlan Shopping Mall, Reykjavik, to protest against the consumer culture that demands new aluminium factories. Reverend Billy, from the Church of Stop Shopping, and his new deciple Reverend Snorri, lead a flock of devoted and extreemly noisy earth lovers (also known as Saving Iceland activists) through the consumerist hell that is a the shopping mall.

“The foreign corporations who want to dam Icelands great rivers, and put polluting smelters on our shores – they want us to keep shopping.

“The Aluminium industry makes most of its money from warplanes, tanks and missiles (30%, actually.) They propose the complete damming of Icelands wilderness rivers, this isnald’s famouse beauty buried under industrial reservoirs. Let us stop the war machine and the ruin of Iceland’s wilderness. The same corporations that keep us shopping, mnake war around the world. Isn’t a shopping mall like a ‘human’ dam? We re stopped, hypnotized, put in debt. Our energy is taken from us. Save the country and save ourselves…”

Laugavegur
Next, activists held a spontaneous demonstration through Laugavegur, Iceland’s mai n shopping street.

Alþingi
On the lawn outside the Alþingi, the Icelandic Parlaiment, people gathered together to speak out against the aluminium industry. People from Trinidad, who are winning a fight against Alcoa, from South Africa, who are fighting a nuclear powered Alcan plant, from the East of Iceland, who have been devastated by the recent Alcoa Reydarfjordur factory and Karahnjukar dams, from Brasil, who is fighting the damming of the Amazon for aluminium factory energy, and many more gave inspiring speeches and lead energy filled songs against the aluminium industry.

Prime Minister’s Office
Street theatre activists then set up an aluminium smelter, installed some tomb stones and handed out dirty Icelandic water (Iceland prides itself on its pure water, yet it is polluting and destroying its water for the sake of heavy industry dams).

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