Saving Iceland

An official inquiry has been called for by the Left-green Party into the conduct of the Icelandic authorities and police during the protests in the summer and autumn of 2005.

In the summer and autumn of 2005 the Icelandic authorities performed numerous illegal arrests, violated the rights of people in custody, entered illegally the dwellings of protestors, violated severely the peace and right of privacy of individuals with thuggish surveillance, threats and intimidating behaviour.

The Directorate of Immigration finally ruled that it had no right to deport any of the foreign people who demonstrated summer 2005 against the heavy industry policy of the Icelandic government.

The threats of deportations were in fact nothing but illegal persecution of people who were exercising their democratic rights to protest against the crimes of a highly autocratic and corrupt government. This is exactly what was pointed out in the article ‘Surprise, surprise!‘ as early as September 2005.

No actual deportations of anti-dam protestors took place. Had they taken place they would have been illegal!

People who were on the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration list for possible deportation are all perfectly free to travel back to Iceland.

The conference was organized by the Economist magazine but sponsored by Alcoa and other companies. In the publicity material for the conference, the Economist (in its guise as the ’Economist Intelligence Unit’!) promoted the conference as discussing amongst other things how Iceland can supply all of Europe’s energy needs with clean energy.

In the build up to the conference, outraged Icelanders contacted the Economist and pointed out that even if every drop of energy was squeezed from the land without any other considerations, it would still only produce 1% of Europe’s requirements. Also the energy that will be produced is actually very far from clean energy. In fact its filthy dirty.

The Economist replied that what was in the publicity material was, “marketing-speak geared to creating interest for the event.” They continued, “The journalistic approach from The Economist itself would certainly carry a different, more balanced and researched perspective.”
The unwitting honesty of this reply speaks volumes. Nuff said.

More wriggling and squirming followed about the role of the sponsoring companies, (Just supporting the conference financially, otherwise neutral.) Then they tried to suggest that the conference represented a balance of the opinions on the issues under discussion. Only problem with that being that the, ‘critical’ voice was that of a conservative opposition MP, who had actually supported the dam project wholeheartedly! Read More

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Do you know about good last-minute deals to Iceland?

Want to request or offer a lift to the ferry-port? (any of them)

Want to get together with other people to get a group discount?
(Smyril-line offers especially good group deals)

Have a question about how to get there?

Can you offer accommodation in Iceland or anywhere where people might be travelling through on their way to Iceland? Read More

Please post announcements about your events in this thread.

Cheers,
Saving Iceland

Hello!
We would like to invite you for a three course delicious* meal* at Matilda Social Centre for *Saving Iceland. *It is on the* 2nd of June*, there will be a *film* about the campaign and donation bar from 6.30pm, and meal served at 8pm. If the weather is nice it will be *on the roof!* After the meal we will have DJs, playing fun funky beats. Read More

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Trinidad has its own Alcoa Powered Energy Master Plan:

The area around the town of Vessigny, also known as Union Village will get a Aluminum Smelter plus a handful of other gas based industries. The mega acre site is currently totally cleared of all vegetation, people in the surrounding area are asked to move and the contract for delivery of one cash and carry Chinese smelter plant has been signed. An “agreement in principle” has also been signed with Aloca for the Chatham smelter.

The area between (and including) the village of Chatham and Cap de Ville is earmarked for an Alcoa Aluminum Smelter producing 340,000 tons of Aluminum per year. By the way, that is US$10 billion dollars worth of Aluminum which exceeds the entire annual budget of the country by 4 billion. Read More

Hola,
The workshop tour is now in Madrid where yesterday a warm reception was given to us at the ‘Centro Social’ Cal Seco No 39. We witnessed the effervescent and amazing skills of the local Samba band, enjoyed great food with the 40 people who attended the workshop and then after films about the Saving Iceland campaign we had a lively discussion sharing in the experiences and ideas of the people who attended. There was interest from people in travelling to Iceland for this summers protest camp; there was also much support for solidarity actions here in Spain.

Yesterdays workshop was an example of the reception that the tour has had thus far. From Dublin to Bilbao, from Porto to Lisboa and now Madrid, the interest and the hospitality has been wonderful and inspiring. A big thanks to all our hosts so far, thanks for the messages of support and we look forward to working with you all again soon.
We are again in Madrid today, the 27th March and will be visiting Traficantes de Suenos.
Tommorrow we head to Valencia inspired and encouraged by the solidarity and effort in the struggle against the climatic and environmental destructive effects of heavy industry.

Hasta luego

On Tuesday 14th March 2006 in solidarity of the ‘Day of action against dams’, the ‘Pure Iceland’ exhibition at the Science Museum in London was the focus of activists highlighting the heavy industrialisation and destruction of Iceland’s natural resources. Saving Iceland stickers were plastered around the exhibition of “pure” lies, especially focussing on Landsvirkjun the Icelandic National Power Company’s sponsorship plaques at the exhibition. Information boards and leaflets were subverted with a few “pure” truths about the Icelandic government’s sell out to the international aluminium industry. A Saving Iceland poster also managed to find its way up onto the huge billboard sized map of Iceland in the centre of the exhibition, marking the place where the Behemoth and environmental catastrophe, Karahnjukar dams is being constructed. Saving Iceland leaflets were handed out and many people were interested in discussing the issues of Icelandic Government’s and corporations lies and corruption.

Many people shoved support for the action and some expressed interest in coming to this years’ summer camp.

The Saving Iceland European popular education and workshop tour continues into Spain today. After an amazing welcome in Ireland at the Anarchist Bookfair in Dublin and then with such an inspiring and successful visit to the Shell to Sea campaign at Rossport in the North West of Ireland the tour hopes to continue in the same vein, discussing the issues around heavy industry, climate change and the industrialisation and corporate sell off of our environment. We have already seen many links between the Saving Iceland campaign and other campaigns so far and hope to report more on similar struggles and the links and friends we make along the way as the weeks unfold. Read More