12.09.2007 – Today, people in South Africa, Iceland, Trinidad, Denmark and America are protesting against heavy industrialisation. This is the first coordinated event of a new and growing global movement that began at the 2007 Saving Iceland protest camp in Ölfus, Iceland. The common target of these protests against heavy industry is the aluminium industry, in particular the corporations Alcan/Rio-Tinto and Alcoa.
South Africa, around 250 people have marched on Alcan’s headquaters in Johanasburg to protest against Alcan’s preferential energy treatment, ahead of a population of which 30% have no access to electricity. Alcan is to be provided with coal and nuclear powered energy for a new smelter in the Eastern Cape that will consume as much electricity as half of Cape Town, at some of the lowest tarriffs in the world. Today the entrance to the Alcan HQ was blocked for one and a half hours with no one comming in or out.
The organisation Earthlife Africa Jhb, whose member Lerato Maregele attended the Saving Iceland 2007 Conference and protest camp, are taking part in the demonstration and have the following demands: First, Alcan and Eskom, the national power company, fully disclose all the details of their deal, including the actual price of electricity sold. Second, that Eskom allocate a basic lifeline of 100kwh per month to every South African.
Iceland, despite terrible winds and rain today, there have been protests outside the government offices in Reykjavik and a gathering along the islands next proposed dam route, along the river Thjorsa (Þjórsá) at 3pm GMT. Also, the Icelandic Minister for the Environment, Thórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, was visited at her home this morning to have a friendly chat with activists and receive a letter asking her to clear up her seemingly contradictory green opinions.
The Icelandic government is trying to rush through the construction of numerous new and expanded aluminium smelters to bring the islands total aluminium output up to three million tonnes per year. These hydro and geothermal powered heavy industry projects have been condemned by environmental scientists and lobbying groups. Three dam reservoirs are to be created along the Thjorsa river, where protesters have gathered, to power a new Alcoa smelter near the northern town of Husavik, or an expansion of the Alcan plant in Hafnarfjordur which was vetoed in a local referendum.
“Unemployment in Iceland is 0.9%. So this destruction is only based on the greed of Landsvirkjun [the national power company] and has no economical logic. We are here to show support with the local farmers who are fighting against Landsvirkjun to defend their land and our land.”
– Saving Iceland activist Siggi Hardarson.
Trinidad, activists are remembering the first anniversary of an action in which people confronted plans for an Alcoa smelter in the rural town of Chatam; whilst lawyers are regrouping ahead of a legal battle against the Environmental Management Authority, representing heavy industry, that will be pivotal in the islands development.
“September 12 2006 was the day that activists confronted tractors and police on Foodcrop Road and this day will forever live in the hearts and minds of activists in
Trinidad and Tobago as a crucial moment of our fight for environmental and
social justice.”
– Attillah Springer, Rights Action Group
Pressure from grassroots actions such as this persuaded Prime Minister Patrick Manning to drop plans to build the Alcoa smelter in Chatam. Confronted by four cases against themselves, the EMA, whose two main stakeholders are NEC and the aluminium corporation Alutrint, were significantly turned down by the Judge in their plea that three NGO’s – RAG, PURE and Smelta Karavan should not be able to bring action against them. This important ruling recognises that the issue of heavy industrialisation is to Trinidad national, not merely local. The people Vs EMA continues on Thursday 13th September.
Denmark, at 6pm CEST (4pm GMT) this evening a crowd will march to the Icelandic embassy and the Greenland’s Representation Office with a banner that reads “Global Struggle Against Heavy Industry”. Talks will be given on the global fight against heavy industry and the movement of resistance. Alcoa is in the planning stage of a smelter project in Greenland whilst the prime minister Hans Enoksen is presently in New York to seek loans to finance the hydropower project.
In Australia, residents in the West have acquired the support of US Attorney Erin Brockovitch in a legal battle against Alcoa. The corporation intends to double the output of its operations in the region whilst residents of the nearby town Yarloop are demanding that Alcoa relocate them. They claim that they are “living in a toxic bubble” and that their health has dramatically suffered due to Alcoa’s work.
Further actions may be taking place, we shall send updates out as soon as we get them.
savingiceland [at] riseup.net
http://www.savingiceland.org