30th September, An ongoing standoff continues to escalate between anti-fracking activists and police in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada.
From Halifax Media Coop:
CMP have currently closed off automobile access to the Irving-owned compound that houses five of SWN Resource Canada’s seismic testing trucks, or ‘thumpers’. The police have closed off both north and south exits to highway 134 off the highway 11, as well as the 134 itself in both directions. Walk-in access to the compound is currently the only way in and out.
Seismic testing is the precursor to hydraulic fracturing [fracking].
Police aggression has already resulted in frivolous arrests and even injuries to the protesters who have converged on the site. The protesters have responded by setting up their own blockade:
Members of the Mi’gmaw Warriors Society, an independently-run group that self-describe themselves as a ‘Homeland Security’ force, have felled several pine trees and are in the process of lighting fires along the highway. One van and numerous pine trees now also block access to the Irving-owned, gated compound that currently houses five of SWN Resources Canada’s seismic testing trucks, or ‘thumpers’. The thumpers are perceived by the activists to be a key piece of SWN’s equipment, without which the Texas-based gas giant will be unable to continue seismic testing in New Brunswick.
Read the full articles here:
Breaking: More Arrests at Ongoing New Brunswick Anti-Fracking Stand-Off