On the first of August 2005 a group of activists dropped a banner at the Karahnjukar Dam Site in Protest abainst all planned Heavey Industry in Iceland..
A painted crack indicated the dangers of such collosal construction on a substructure already weakened by geothermal pressuresIn 2003 Landsvirkinjun’s chief, fridrik Sophusson, was asked what would happen if there was an Earthquake under the Dam. “It would burst. A catasprophic wall of water would annihilate everyone in this ….and all the neighbouring farms wold be swept away.” Though he said “this won’t happen”, several days of continous Earthquakes in 2004 suggest otherwise protesters commented. The crack is also a symbol of solidarity with other Dam Campaigners globally. In 1980 the ecological resistance group ‘Earth first’ dropped a 100 metres banner from Glen Canyon Dam on Colorado River (U.S.A.).
Twenty years later a strong movement is successfully challenging development and has achived reversal of some plans. It is hoped the same will happen here.
In 2001 The national planning agency (NPA) rejected plans for Karahnjukar because of the”substantial, Irreversible, negative environmental impact” – yet it is still going ahead.If these projects continue, iceland will and itself destroyed, polluted, enslaved to foreign companies and living with a timebomb. This action is to highlight the dangers of heavy Industry, the successes of resistance in other countries and to call out to the icelandic people to join in and defend their country and culture.
The group of activists were detained for 9 hours in Egilsstadir without beeing formally arrested. The cases are beeing dealt with currently.
Video –http://www.indymedia.org.uk/media/2005/08/320242.mov
e-mail: saveingiceland@riseupnet.is
Homepage: http://www.savingiceland.org