Saving Iceland

On Tuesday night or yesterday morning, a serious sabotage was done on a GMO testing field in Iceland. The field is owned by ORF Líftækni, a company that was experimenting with growing genetically modified barley for use in medical researches, the skin product industry and medicine development. According to the company’s CEO, Björn Lárus Örvar, all the barley was trashed, which means that the company will not get any harvest this coming fall. The financial loss runs on millions of Icelandic Krónur (ISK).

A group named Illgresi (Weeds) sent out a press release this morning, claiming responsibility for the action, saying:

On the 22nd of June 2009the bio-medical company ORF got permission for experimental planting of GMO medicinal barley in Gunnarsholt, Rángárvallarsýslu. These experiment´s would have paved the way for general planting of genetically modified plants in Iceland. All voices of criticism, both institutions and individuals are made suspect and the little media coverage has been homogeneous and in favour of ORF. Today this permission was revoked. The reasons are amongst others:

• Lack of Democratic discussion on the issue

• Corruption in research and authorization

• The danger these experiments bring to the environment and animals

Our supervisors laid waste to ORF´s fields in Gunnarsholt. From now on genetic modifications will not take place in Iceland without our interference.

Live Iceland!

Regards,
Illgresi (Weeds)

Doubts about the time of the action – and even the action itself
An independent photographer, Helgi J. Hauksson has shown photos from the field, which he took August 11th and show how “badly treated” the field was. Helgi brings out the question if no one from the company has actually been there since the seeds were laid early this spring. He decided to come later to see if this was actually the case, so he came back on August 16th and took photos that show the field completely trashed.

So it seems like the sabotage did not take place yesterday morning but at least 3 or 4 days ago, if not earlier. The company seems not to have realized it until the press release was sent out, then gone to the field and seen what had happened.

In an internet discussion on the anarchist website Aftaka and other sites, some people have brought up the idea that the sabotage was not done by people opposed to the project, but instead the company itself. People have asked if the company might have had some insurance problems, become broke and needed some victimization in the media. Hopefully not!

Helgi’s photos can be seen by clicking here.