Update from Irish crew at GHate

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday June 02, 2003 09:11 by tinasyndrome - direct action against apathy directactionagainstapathy at yahoo dot co dot uk

Just Received a phone update this morning from the Irish 'good bus' crew. Everybody is ok but very tired and dazed from lack of sleep, things are fairly crazy,

Just Received a phone update this morning from the Irish 'good bus' crew. Everybody is ok but very tired and dazed from lack of sleep, things are fairly crazy, the police are very heavy handed using incredible amounts of tear gas/concussion grenades/rubber bullets/water cannons/battoning people, one activist has been slightly injured from a tear gas canister but she is ok.

Some of the crew were part of the bridge action affinity group where an English activist based in barcelona (some of you will know him from treeclimbing in ecotopia, he has asked not to be named). After the cop cut the rope where the activists were suspended he FUCKED OFF ie drove off in a hurry in the police car leaving the rest of the affinity group and one cop to hold the rope where the other activist was suspended on. (i read on some indymedia report that he was later arrested??) One Irish person doing legal support and another person doing medical support had to try and get him out of the river by themselves and received no help from the cops. They had to administer first aid with little equipment. Cops refused to let an ambulance through and it took an hour or so before the helicopter arrived. I think everyone at the action was arested but were later released. The Irish crew in Lausanne at the minute arent being allowed into Chuv hospital to see the activists but i think there are other people with him. Apparently there will be press conference today at 12 from the hospital.
http://www.indymedia.ch/demix/2003/06/10341.shtml

The rest of the Irish crew were at the Bourdonnette camp which was raided yesterday. They had been staying here after moving from the VAAAG camp. Most people (several hundred) at the camp were 'arrested' (whether they were arrestables or not)and detained for hours having their passport details taken by the cops, but were later released.

Due to a bus/train strike beginning tomorrow it's not certain whether those planning to return (some will be staying on)to Ireland can actually do so, they're trying to get to paris tonight in order to make the ferry tomorrow, the next ferry doesn't leave until the 9th.

I don't have any details about any of the GR crew or whether they were at the Bourdonnette camp or not.

Swis news dispatch about bridge incident
http://dispatch.indymedia.it/article.php3?id_article=154

Legal team press release
http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=70427&group=webcast