Press Release -- Tara Foundation

For immediate release: 17th October 2006.

The official response to protests against Shell’s plan to build a high-pressure raw gas pipeline to an onshore processing facility in Rossport, Co. Mayo, Ireland, has suggested a worrying level of interference in the institutions of the State, its media, and the constitutional rights of its citizens by a multinational corporation.

For the last six years, the inhabitants of Rossport, the indigenous Irish-speaking people of the North Mayo Gaeltacht, have been under siege from Shell operatives and the forces of the State.

In an act unprecedented in the history of the State, Shell was granted Compulsory Access Orders and Compulsory Purchase Orders, and power to have them enforced against the community. In refusing access to their lands by Shell personnel, five local men were sent to jail at the behest of Shell. These men, popularly known as the Rossport Five, were released after 94 days when Shell lifted the injunction.

The campaign against the project is based on the following:

The extremely generous terms given to energy companies, under which all oil and gas found in Irish waters are the property of those companies, the State is obliged to pay for the oil and gas at the market price, and the taxpayer is forced to fund the costs of these companies.
The involvement of politicians, who have since been exposed as corrupt, in removing benefits to the Irish State from energy exploration in Irish waters.
The overturning of the Irish planning board’s initial refusal of planning permission for the terminal, despite the Inspector’s emphatic recommendation that the site chosen should under no circumstances be considered. The devastating environmental consequences of gas flaring and waste dumped into Broadhaven Bay were ignored by the board.
The unprecedented nature of the high-pressure raw gas pipeline, which is not only exempt from planning law, but exempt from Irish Health and Safety regulations.

The media line has changed since Tuesday 3rd October 2006, when Gardai were sent in force to break the blockade. Previously, Shell, and the media likewise, acknowledged “genuine concerns”, and gave undertakings to address them, though it did nothing of the kind and insisted the project would proceed as planned. Now, the protestors are being criminalized, referred to as a “security risk” by Gardai who, backed by riot police and armed detectives, have used imtimidation and violence to discourage protests.

The Gardaí, habitually well-regarded by the people as an unarmed community police force, have engaged in several documented acts of violence against protesters, and have been goaded into doing so by their superiors with the aim of provoking a response from people engaged in peaceful protests. This process has been facilitated by the media, who have censored incidents of Garda violence, or, in the one case which was reported, have rationalised and justified it.

Newspapers such as the Sunday Independent and the Sunday World, well-known RTE broadcasters, and private radio station Newstalk 106, have all stated that unnamed protestors have engaged in intimidation against unnamed local supporters of the project, and have been engaged in aggression against Gardai during their blockade of Shell’s terminal site at Ballinaboy. One RTE presenter in particular cited a poll (conducted by Shell) which claimed majority support for the project, yet failed to mention a September 2006 poll, carried out by his own station, which stated the exact opposite. Fianna Fáil member Paddy Cosgrove, an ex-counciller, was cited as a source by the Sunday World for their “intimidation” story. Politicians have claimed that the protestors have an "agenda", a line echoed by the Sunday World, which has made allegations of terrorist involvement. No evidence has been presented by any of the above in support of their claims.
Their statements are simply a repetition of Shell PR, and indicate that, just as Shell dictated the terms under which they would exploit the Corrib gas field, and dictated the planning conditions for the terminal and the pipeline, they are now directing the media, State and Garda campaign against the residents of Rossport, whose lives are being put at risk by this project.

This situation represents unprecedented co-operation between all institutions of the state and a multinational oil company, against citizens of the Irish Republic in violation of their constitutional rights. It calls into question the integrity and sovereignty of the Irish State.

International Observers are urgently required as the Gardai are seeking a confrontation with the protestors and on one occasion were armed.

For more information contact Rossport Solidarity Camp: Bob 086 3201612
Email: rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com
Visit The Shell to Sea Campaign Website:
http://corribsos.com

Released by The Tara Foundation, in solidarity with the people of Rossport
http://www.tara-foundation.org
Please Watch this Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLpDmh4BU8w

Ends

Back to Press Releases