Six Campaigners convicted as community members block Shell's haulage in Mayo
mayo |
environment |
news report 
Tuesday February 21, 2012 11:20
by j debender - Rossport Solidarity Camp
Aughoose, Pullathomas, Mayo
085.114.1170
In Belmullet district court on Monday 20th February, 6 campaigners were
convicted of a total of 13 charges between them with fines totaling 3,035
euros. While this went on, local residents blocked Shell's haulage route
between Bellanaboy refinery and the compound in Glengad.
Monday was the beginning of a week-long special sitting for anyone arrested in the last year for protesting against Shell's Corrib Gas project. Yesterday 6 out of 19 people's cases were heard, and all 6 were convicted of every charge they faced. A bench warrent was issued for one person who was unable to attend court. So 12 people are left to be heard, some of them with 4 or 5 cases each.
Around 1pm a group of local residents decided to block the haulage route to Glengad, and were thrown off the road by Gardaí. The usual camera person Terence Conway was up in court in Belmullet, so the Gardaí took advantage of the lack of cameras and were fairly rough with people.
The last special sitting dealing with campaigners against Corrib resulted in 24 of 27 people being acquitted. So far this week, the Judge has not accepted any of the defense arguments.
At one stage when one defendant questioned the level of force that had been used on the protesters, Superintendent Patrick Diskin responded that "Public order situations are never pretty. pushing and shoving sometimes has to happen to ensure people don't get hurt."
Gardaí refused to arrest local people on the roads on Monday, instead using brute force. Yet they are happy to criminalise outside supporters in their effort to further isolate the community of Erris.
Stay tuned this week on shelltosea.com and twitter to find out what happens with the rest of the cases.
Comments (8 of 8)
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Are the defence lawyers in this week's Belmullet District Court cases making any attempt to highlight the wrongdoing connected with the United Nations Aarhus Convention, which all three of the main branches our Government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) continue to unconstitutionally -- and consequently unlawfully -- indulge themselves in?
And if, as I assume to be the situation, the defence lawyers are not raising the United Nations Aarhus Convention Agreement issue in connection with these cases, why not?
Who are the defence lawyers REALLY defending in Belmullet District Court this week?
Is it their clients the defence lawyers are defending, or, are they slyly defending the extremely serious crime the Government of the Republic of Ireland continues to subject all of its people to in connection with the high-quality environmental and human-rights protection the United Nations Aarhus Convention Agreement provides, plus the crime of our Government's ongoing criminally wilful failure to abide by Article 29.5.1 of Bunreacht na hEireann (the Supreme Law of the Republic of Ireland): well over 13 years after signing the Unted Nations Aarhus Convention Agreement?
..a grip on the legal handle W.
Can you initiate a citizens case on civil grounds?I'm no law-head, but would Raymond Crotty not provide a precedent?
REPLY to Suggestion from "opus diablos" at Wed Feb 22, 2012 17:14
Question (from "opus"): "Can you initiate a citizens case on civil grounds?"
My Answer: "There's nothing I'd like better."
The trouble (for me) is: 1) I don't know how to go about doing it myself, and 2) I am unable to find the professional legal help I need for the purpose of advising me on the likely difficulties and pitfalls connected with the "initiate a citizens case" suggestion you have very usefully (in my opinion) made.
As I suspect you will already know, and very sadly for the Republic of Ireland and all of its citizens (present and future), and the citizens of the world generally (it appears to me), Raymond Crotty "changed worlds" (as some Japanese people tend to see such events) in 1994. (I've taken this piece of information regarding his death from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Crotty and I have no reason to doubt it.)
I notice that there is mention of "Anthony Coughlan" in the above Wikipedia piece on Raymond Crotty, and the information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Coughlan strongly suggests he is still alive.
However, I have no idea as to whether (or not) Anthony Coughlan would be willing to help myself (or anybody else) who tried to SERIOUSLY challenge the present overwhelming amount of undeserved and largely fraudulent power of the grossly corrupt "tin gods" (as I see them), who have been at the head of our Judiciary in recent decades: and where the challenge in question would be of sufficiently good quality to flush out -- for once and for all -- all of the huge amount of very well-established and deeply-embedded corruption and crime that very obviously continues to be running wild in our Judiciary at the present time. "Banging on the door with a feather" cannot, at this very advanced stage of Judicial corruption, remedy the huge problem which exists at the present time (in my opinion).
For anybody who might be surprised about the particular set of beliefs and viewpoints I now hold relating to our Judiciary, please note that I have still not received any reply from former Chief Justice John L. Murray to the registered letter I sent to him on August 28th 2007, and who is still a Supreme Court Judge (it would appear from the information provided at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Murray ).
A scanned copy of the registered letter to Judge John L. Murray referred to in the paragraph immediately above can be viewed at the following Internet location:
http://www.europeancourtofhumanrightswilliamfinnerty.co...r.htm
Additionally, there is nothing (that I know of) to suggest that our present Chief Justice (Ms Susan Denham) is doing anything, of a practical and responsible nature, to try to remedy any of the extremely serious difficulties I listed in my e-mail to her dated February 15th 2012 at the following location:
http://www.humanrightsireland.com/IrishLegalProfessions...l.htm
Last but not least, and well over three months after formally lodging my old age pension appeal on November 2nd 2011, I have still not heard a single word from "The Chief Appeals Officer": despite all of the hard evidence of extremely serious wrongdoing which I provided his (or her) Office with, and which was all copied -- also through the registered post on November 2nd 2011 -- to our new Republic of Ireland President, Dr Michael D Higgins. Scanned copies of the main letters in question to both of these people, and the associated Post Office receipts and delivery notes for both of the registered letters, can be viewed at the following address:
http://www.humanrightsireland.com/PensionAppealsOfficer...r.htm
A final thought, and with the looming threat of a thermonuclear WW3 suddenly springing up at any moment just now (like a "Jack-In-The-Box") -- thanks to the collective efforts of all the "tin-gods" involved, who, among other things, appear (to me) to now desperately need a major distraction of some kind to deflect attention away from all of the socially destructive chaos their "Bankers Derivatives International Looting Scam" is causing -- perhaps your interesting and useful suggestion might somehow arouse the "Spirit of Raymond Crotty" in ways that might help humanity (generally), regarding the assistance so many people all around the world appear to desperately need at the present time: for the purpose of taking the arrogant "tin gods" down off their extremely overgrown and bloated "high horses", and off the backs of all the people (including myself) who are at present saddled with them: in ways which, in practice, leave us completely powerless to rid ourselves of them by peaceful and lawful means: despite the factual presence of huge amounts of national, constitutional, and international laws that are already in place for precisely such purposes?
Anthony Coughlan is still in the gig ok...I just searched him at the top of the page..you should be able to contact him.
REPLY to "opus" at Thu Feb 23, 2012 13:20
Thanks for the information you have provided on Anthony Coughlan.
It would be very much appreciated if you (or anybody reading this) could help me to get into e-mail contact with him.
My e-mail address is:
newinngalway@yahoo.co.uk
..I just re-searched and it gives
http://www.nationalplatform.org
for contact.
A copy of my comment at "Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:02" has been sent to Anthony Coughlan.
The full text of the e-mail I used, which was sent yesterday (i.e. February 23rd 2012), can be viewed at the following location:
http://www.humanrightsireland.com/CelticParty/23Februar...l.htm
My hope is that Mr Coughlan will consider the contents of my e-mail to him of yesterday; and, that if he feels he can help he will contact me.
Also, and partly because of the way our Judiciary continues to show TOTAL contempt (as I see things) for Article 29.5.1 of Bunreacht na hEireann -- the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland, i.e. the Supreme Law of The Republic of Ireland -- in connection with the United Nations International Aarhus Convention Agreement our Government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) signed in 1998, a copy of my "Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:02" comment has also been sent to Ban Ki-moon (Secretary-General of the United Nations). The full text of that e-mail, also sent yesterday, and which was copied to several others including Republic of Chief Justice Susan Denham, and Republic of Ireland Justice Minister Alan Shatter TD, can be viewed at:
http://www.humanrightsireland.com/UnitedNations/23Febru...l.htm
Related link:
http://www.constitutionofireland.com
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