Saving Iceland

On Friday 12th August a fund-raising dinner was held by people involved with the Saving Iceland Protest Camp at Kárahnjúkar in Snarrot Information Centre.

A slideshow showed images of areas of wilderness that are going to be destroyed because of the Kárahnjúkar and other dam projects. Video footage of our direct actions at Kárahnjúkar and the Alcoa factory was shown to re-inspire Reykjavikian resistance.

Iceland Review
08/18/2005

In its Tuesday daily bulletin, KB-bank says that the benefit that Iceland derives from aluminium smelters is small. The bank supports this view by claiming that the electricity is sold at close to cost and the rate of return for hydroelectric dams is low. It also says that the economical impact is overstated in the local discourse.

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Saving Iceland

Reykjavík

We who have been protesting against heavy industry and the devastating destruction of Iceland’s natural environment at Kárahnjúkar in the Eastern highlands of Iceland and in other parts of the country in recent months would like to take the opportunity to make the following statement:

During our protests we have used methods which may not have a long tradition in Iceland but which do not constitute a breach of the law. We are a broad-based group of Icelanders and people of many other nationalities united by our respect for the natural environment and our intolerance of repression, the misuse of power and the violation of human rights. Read More

Second blockade at Kárahnjúkar :
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1540970,00.html

Second blockade at Kárahnjúkar :
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=28304&ew_0_a_id=146456

First blockade at Kárahnjúkar :
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=28304&ew_0_a_id=145277

Gudmundur Gunnarsson, leader of the Icelandic Electrician’s Union and Björk`s dad, attacks state over reaction to protests and lack of action on workers rights:

Iceland Review
8/03/2005

 

Father of Iceland’s most famous citizen criticized the government’s lack of initiative when worker’s rights are violated at Kárahnjúkar, the controversial hydro-electric development in East Iceland.

Impregilo, the Italian construction group building dams and tunnels at Kárahnúkar, has been allowed to break laws, for months at a time, says pop star Björk Gudmundsdóttir’s father, Gudmundur Gunnarsson, leader of the Icelandic Electrician’s Union. He believes that neither the police nor the government act when worker’s rights are violated but resources are always on hand during protests against the government-backed hydro-electric dam.

Gudmundur says that employees at the Kárahnúkar power plant have at times operated equipment without valid licenses, including driving without drivers licenses. Employees have been put in life threatening situations and violated in various ways. Impreglio has gotten away with repeatedly breaking the law which the government has chosen to ignore. Read More

We have relocated to Reykjavik and the camp in the East of Iceland has been dissolved. We have accomplished what we set out to do in the East and are extending our campaign to the capital in spite of heavy state repression, police surveillance and harassment.

SAVE LANGISJÓR AND THJÓRSÁRVER 

Many events are scheduled; the upcoming events are as follows: Read More

The latest action to take place was a total success; a few protesters climbed the huge cranes at the building site of the Alcoa aluminium smelter in Reydarfjordur. Work was stopped for five hours on the whole of the site and the protesters managed to stretch a big banner saying: ALCOA PROFITS, ICELAND BLEEDS – ALCOA GRÆÐIR, ÍSLANDI BLÆÐIR. Of course the police went out of line again and showed unnecessary physical brutality against the protesters.

Click here for the First Crack Video!

6 August 2005

7 protesters managed to get into the construction site of the dam despite the fact the authorities had 22 police in 9 cars monitoring the area plus all the security personnel of Impregilo and Landsvirkjun. The protesters put up a banner on the dam wall displaying a massive crack. The first crack of many to come. The Kárahnjúkar dams are being built right on top of a cluster of active geological fissures.

Of course the police got very upset about this and arrested people from the protest camp and kept them at the police station for 12 hours. Yet they didn’t manage to catch anyone during the action, so they couldn’t charge them for anything.

Statement regarding the action at ALCOA’s illegal building site.

Today a group of activists invaded the Alcoa construction site at Reydarfjördur and climbed cranes on the site. The aim of this action was to stop the work on the site. Alcoa have been targeted because of their involvement in the Kárahnjúkar dam project and the other proposed dam projects and aluminium smelters in the Icelandic highlands as well as environmental destruction worldwide. The Icelandic high court has judged that the building of the Alcoa factory in Reydarfjördur is illegal; we demand that the construction of this factory is immediately halted in observance of this court ruling.

This action was only one of many that shall be taken against Alcoa and their like in Iceland and across the world. The last clean wilderness in Western Europe, heavy industry must not be allowed to despoil Icelandic nature. This is a call out to the people of Iceland and all in peoples of the earth to stand up and fight against the destruction of our environment and culture.

Enough is enough! No more destruction!

Heavy industry out of Iceland!