Saving Iceland

Updated 29/7 2006

The Friends of Iceland/Saving Iceland protest camp has been erected at Snaefell close to the dams at Karahnjukar.

 

On Saturday at least 150 people went on a protest hike into the area to be drowned. The hike ended with a silent protest vigil at the site of the central dam. Anger and sorrow was the predominant feeling.

The atmosphere at the camp is amazing and there is much dynamism in the air and feverish activity. Almost two hundred people are in the camp now. About half the people are Icelandic, the other half English, Scottish, French, Dutch, Belgian, Spanish, Italian, German etc.

Ghostigital played a bistering set in the blazing evening sun with waterfalls and mountain ridges in the background. Dean Ferrell played a very inspiring set in the daytime yesterday and Palindrome played in the evening.

Both Björk and Sigur Rós are expected to appear soon at the camp.

Thankyou to everyone who has already sent in a design for a Saving Iceland tshirt, they have all been of such a high quality, we are amazed. Read More

Are you a good designer? Read More

Usally organisers of demonstations in Iceland are very pleased if 2000 people attend demos. But over 3000! This goes to show the rising tide against the heavy industy policy and corporate invasion of Iceland. Bravo!

Read More

An official inquiry has been called for by the Left-green Party into the conduct of the Icelandic authorities and police during the protests in the summer and autumn of 2005.

In the summer and autumn of 2005 the Icelandic authorities performed numerous illegal arrests, violated the rights of people in custody, entered illegally the dwellings of protestors, violated severely the peace and right of privacy of individuals with thuggish surveillance, threats and intimidating behaviour.

The Directorate of Immigration finally ruled that it had no right to deport any of the foreign people who demonstrated summer 2005 against the heavy industry policy of the Icelandic government.

The threats of deportations were in fact nothing but illegal persecution of people who were exercising their democratic rights to protest against the crimes of a highly autocratic and corrupt government. This is exactly what was pointed out in the article ‘Surprise, surprise!‘ as early as September 2005.

No actual deportations of anti-dam protestors took place. Had they taken place they would have been illegal!

People who were on the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration list for possible deportation are all perfectly free to travel back to Iceland.

The conference was organized by the Economist magazine but sponsored by Alcoa and other companies. In the publicity material for the conference, the Economist (in its guise as the ’Economist Intelligence Unit’!) promoted the conference as discussing amongst other things how Iceland can supply all of Europe’s energy needs with clean energy.

In the build up to the conference, outraged Icelanders contacted the Economist and pointed out that even if every drop of energy was squeezed from the land without any other considerations, it would still only produce 1% of Europe’s requirements. Also the energy that will be produced is actually very far from clean energy. In fact its filthy dirty.

The Economist replied that what was in the publicity material was, “marketing-speak geared to creating interest for the event.” They continued, “The journalistic approach from The Economist itself would certainly carry a different, more balanced and researched perspective.”
The unwitting honesty of this reply speaks volumes. Nuff said.

More wriggling and squirming followed about the role of the sponsoring companies, (Just supporting the conference financially, otherwise neutral.) Then they tried to suggest that the conference represented a balance of the opinions on the issues under discussion. Only problem with that being that the, ‘critical’ voice was that of a conservative opposition MP, who had actually supported the dam project wholeheartedly! Read More

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Do you know about good last-minute deals to Iceland?

Want to request or offer a lift to the ferry-port? (any of them)

Want to get together with other people to get a group discount?
(Smyril-line offers especially good group deals)

Have a question about how to get there?

Can you offer accommodation in Iceland or anywhere where people might be travelling through on their way to Iceland? Read More

Please post announcements about your events in this thread.

Cheers,
Saving Iceland

Hello!
We would like to invite you for a three course delicious* meal* at Matilda Social Centre for *Saving Iceland. *It is on the* 2nd of June*, there will be a *film* about the campaign and donation bar from 6.30pm, and meal served at 8pm. If the weather is nice it will be *on the roof!* After the meal we will have DJs, playing fun funky beats. Read More

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