Saving Iceland

Did the Icelandic authorities think that their terrorizing of legitimate international protesters would stamp out all resistance against their criminal destruction of the last great European wilderness?! If so, they were wrong!

Saving Iceland are delighted to report that at noon on Friday 26. August three courageous Icelandic demonstrators climbed the roof of the head offices of the Icelandic Government and tore down the cloven flag of the Icelandic state, replacing it with a banner saying in Icelandic “NO DAMNED ALUMINIUM FACTORIES”. They then proceeded to have coffee and cakes on the roof. The demonstrators are not linked with the protests in the East and in Reykjavík this summer. Read More

Diary of actions in Reykjavik in August 2005

 

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Click for video: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/media/2005/08/321384.mov

A small specimen of the repression that legitimate international protesters have had to endure from the Icelandic authorities this summer.

Neither of the two civilian cop thugs ever produced any credentials or reason for the arrests. The girl was detained for several hours. The boy for 25 hours. Both arrests turned out to be completely illegal!

That same night the Icelandic cop thugs knocked unconscious a 74 year old professor of medicine who wanted to make enquires about those who had been arrested. The man was unconscious for about half an hour. The cops refused to call an ambulance for their victim.

The professor is pressing charges against the police.

Marked and unmarked police vehicles followed people hitching along the south route for days and vehicles driving the north route were followed in to the middle of nowhere overnight. The national news has shown film of an undercover (not anymore!) car tailing people in Reykjavik round and round a roundabout!

The authorities are obviously scared of these new direct action tactics spreading in Iceland and are throwing all their (limited) resources at us. The police were made to look ridiculous as we outsmarted them at every move in the highlands, now they look even worse for over reacting.

Deportation papers have been issued for 21 people involved in the blockade at the Karahnjukar dam construction site on the 19th July and an action at the Alcoa alluminium smelter plant in the Reyðarfjörður on the 4th August.

 

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On Saturday 13th August a fun and peaceful 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 the 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 successfully de-arrested.

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.

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

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