A talk which opened a panel discussion at the 'Reykjavikur Akademia' with the topic 'What are the Fundamental Values of Society' 20 November 2007. Panelists included Reykjavik Chief of Police Stefán Eiríksson, historian and Left Green MP Guðfríður Lilja Grétarsdóttir and philosopher Viðar Thorsteinsson.

Erindið í íslenskri þýðingu.

For those of you who don´t already know me, my name is Miriam Rose, and I am an activist and environmental scientist from the UK. I have been asked to speak today on my experience of the basic values of Icelandic society, based on an interview I did on Kastljos in October, after I was threatened with deportation from Iceland for my part in actions against the heavy industry policy of your government. The letter of requested deportation which I received explained that I may be expelled from Iceland for a minimum of three years as my behavior constitutes a 'threat to the fundamental values of society'.

Náttúruvaktin.com
Júlí 2007

This declaration was made in consensus by dozens of people attending the first Saving Iceland conference, 'Global Consequences of Heavy Industry and Large Dams' on July 7-8, 2007. [Video report part 1 | 2]
Photo gallery of the conference.

We are gathered in Olfus, Iceland, we are people from more than fifteen different countries and five continents. We are here to share our experiences of heavy industry, dams, transnational companies and other expressions of globalisation, in Iceland, in Brazil, in South Africa, in Denmark, in Canada, in England, Germany, India, Trinidad and Tobago and many other countries.
We are not professional protestors. Unlike the well-paid corporate lobbyists and spindoctors that try to sell you heavy industry, none of us gets payed to be here. We are ordinary people, we are teachers, nurses, youth workers, students, shopworkers, fathers, mothers. We are here because we care. The Icelandic wilderness is unique. It is the largest in Europe and one of the few wild places left on this continent. It’s beauty and uniqueness and fire and ice are a heritage we must preserve and must defend. It is the heritage and responsibility and privilege of all Icelanders, and all Europeans, and all humans...

"Furðulegt háttalag Ríkissjónvarpsins þarfnast frekari skýringa svo ekki sé meira sagt."

Sindri Freyr Steinsson
Verðandi
Ág. - Sept. 2007

Flestir landsmenn hafa frétt sitthvað af aðgerðum samtakanna Saving Iceland. Í umfjöllunum um samtökin ber orðið atvinnumótmælandi oft á góma. En er það í raun svo að fólk fái borgað fyrir að mótmæla og láta handtaka sig?

Guðni Elísson
Lesbók
1. september 2007

Það er áhugavert að sjá hvernig íslenska fjölmiðlasamfélagið mótar með sér skilning á náttúruverndarsamtökunum Saving Iceland en fulltrúar þeirra aðhyllast borgaralega óhlýðni og hefur gjarnan verið lýst sem atvinnumótmælendum í samtímaumræðunni. Hér eru fyrst tvær almennar skilgreiningar á hugtakinu. Höfundar eru Ingi Geir Hreinsson og Birkir Egilsson:

Menningarblað/Lesbók
Laugardaginn 4. ágúst, 2007

Nennir þetta fólk ekki að vinna?! "Þegar umræðan um atvinnumótmælendur er skoðuð kemur fljótt í ljós þversögn því að á sama tíma og forskeytið atvinna er notað í niðrandi tón um mótmælendurna eru þeir sífellt sakaðir um að nenna ekki að leggja stund á atvinnu."

Var uppspunnin auglýsing eftir atvinnumótmælendum heimildin á bak við frétt ríkissjónvarpsins um að atvinnumótmælendur fái greitt fyrir störf sín? Einn af höfundum auglýsingarinnar spyr í eftirfarandi grein og veltir fyrir sér viðhorfum til mótmælenda.

(Á íslensku að neðanverðu)
UPDATE: RUV have responded by saying that they "stand by their story" that activists from Saving Iceland receive payments for being arrested but refuse to present evidence for their allegations. This shows that the news department of RUV, which is an official institution of the Icelandic State, are circulating unsubstantiated slander about Saving Iceland. RUV have shot themselves badly in the foot with this. The corruption that these allegations indicate is transparent, irresponsible and illegal. It is certain to backfire in RUV's face. The source for the story typically does not have the guts to step forward and state their case.

Finally, Saving Iceland comes clean on which shady eco-terrorist organizations fund us!

19 July 2007 - Some media, particularly Blaðið, insist on calling us 'professional protestors', suggesting we have jobs and get payed to do actions, to create a bias that we are foreigners who have come to tell Icelanders what and what not to do. To dispel the myth we will give insight into our individual and collective funding.

The Icelandic government and media tried to hush this story up by not reporting it for months! When an environmental activist was being interviewed on a chat programme on the State Radio about hypothetical questions of civil disobedience he seized the opportunity and read aloud the whole of Doughty's EDM. The programme presenter was seriously reprimanded by her bosses for allowing this.

British MP Sue Doughty has tabled a Parliamentary motion calling on the British Government to use its diplomatic links with Iceland to persuade the Icelandic Government to terminate the building of a series of dams in the Icelandic Highlands.