Cork Shell to Sea leaflet Naval Base

Monday June 22, 2009 18:57

by John - Cork Shell to sea

Cork Shell to Sea today leafletted members of the Naval Service and others working at Ireland's naval headquarters at Haulbowline in Cork Harbour as they came off duty from the naval base.

Members of Cork Shell to Sea make their voice heard at the Naval Pier in Cobh

The campaign called on nval personnel to withold their support for Royal Dutch Shell's attempt to force a high pressure gas pipeline and on-shore refinery at Erris, in North Mayo.

As the government once again announced increased and expensive security for the oil and gas multinational to physically subdue local opposition to the pipeline and refinery Cork Shell to Sea circulated an open letter to the members of the naval service and to the general public in Cobh:-

"We are contacting you on behalf of the people of Erris and their comrades from around the world currently resisting the activities of Royal Dutch Shell, with specific reference to the "security" firm IRMS, whose role in Erris is that of a mercenary army hired by Shell, and the impending re-arrival of pipelaying ship, the Solitaire, who the navy tried to protect last year. We made this request last year. We are repeating it again.

We want you to withold your support from this project fortwith and join with the people of Ireland in regaining control and ownership of our natural resources.

We offer these points for your consideration:-

1. The gas that Shell wishes to extract and process largely at Irish expense is destined for overseas markets and as things stand Ireland will recieve little benefit from it. There is substantial British involvement in this situation. While being a multinational with interests all oer the globe Shell has its international headquarters in London and has substantial connections to the UK establishment.

2. Other national institutions that have been used to force this project through, most notably An Garda Siochana have done themselves untold damage in the eyes of the people and indeed in this time of international communications, the world, to the point that their legitimacy as a force for law and order can be severely questioned.

3. In recent times endemic corruption has been revealed among our political and business classes. They have neither the interests of Ireland, nor the people at heart. Should you require specific illustration as to how this affects the navy, we refer to the highly toxic waste dump next to you on Haulbowline Island.

4. These events are taking place against a backdrop of great upheaval. This gas, if used wisely, could remedy some of these problems and help us to ride out the others. The activities of Shell in other countries clearly show that they do not have our interests at heart and it is impossible to see how assisting them can be justified.

We understand that to take these points seriously will necessitate deep, far reaching changes within the navy and society at large. We would like to see the initiation of a process to bring this gass under the collective ownership and control of the Irish people and to make any decisions as to its use in the interests of future life on this planet. This understanding has been shaped by events in Erris and the Niger Delta and the response of governments and corporations to same. To make those changes is to kiss goodbye to certainty. Not to make them is to invite disaster.

More information on www.shelltosea.com

We repeat our request. Withold your support from Shell. Please copy and circulate

Thank You

Cork Shell to Sea

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Comments (8 of 8)

Navy reaction

by John

Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:11

Hi Anon. Hard to say.
We stood at the top of the steps as the launch from Haulbowline came in with pictures of Pat O'Donnell and handed out leaflets. Some people took them, (not all who would have been navy but some who definitely were) some didn't. I felt there was an atmosphere of unease at what we were saying, not all of whom would have been navy. Around the town a few people who more or less identified themselves as navy, appearing to be fairly senior, gave an initially hostile response and then refused to communicate at all. Conversely in one instance a woman who claimed to have heard nothing of events in Mayo took a leaflet and then came back for another for her husband who she said was in the navy. Hostile or not among the navy people seemed to understand why we were there.
I'd imagine that as in the cops it would be hard for dissenters to open their mouths for fear of being ostracised, threatened, hurting their careers etc.
There is a dynamic at work here, as elsewhere, where people shut down and won't take in any information that would cause them to question their beliefs. In the case of Mayo it is so clear that if you see through one lie you then have to question everything and the foundations that you have built your life on collapse underneath you and then you have to do something about it and you can't ever go back to where you were before. Not a comfortable feeling and one it seems many people are not able for right now. I think our job has to be to keep making them uncomfortable and then if they're willing to move, help them through what comes after to a place where they can take some effective action.
That's my opinions, others who were on the action may have more to add.

'monitored'?

by Chrissie - Shell to Sea Cambridge

Tue Jun 23, 2009 10:54

It's OK then, that they sink a boat & all but murder the crew - they're monitored!

IT piece

by eld

Tue Jun 23, 2009 10:00

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0623/1....html

Navy not happy?

by anon

Tue Jun 23, 2009 09:05

I have heard Navy bosses are not at all happy to be sent to Mayo in these circumstances ,what was the reaction from the sailors to the protest?

Well said John

by Billy idle

Mon Jun 22, 2009 23:27

To quote a line from a famous film "theres some people you just can't reach". Probably FF et al voters who are still in denial about how their buddies have crashed the country!!

Impressions of the day

Mon Jun 22, 2009 22:59

Was a nice day out. Very hot!
Nothing dramatic but varied reactions from the public and the navy. The one's that interest me are the folk who refuse to read or hear what you have to say. Since my last visit to Erris I find myself less polite and trying harder to penetrate the bubbles of illusion that so many people seem to live in. We certainly managed to impact a bit on the consciousness of Cobh today. I had a sense that with actions like this we are little by little eroding the cosy comfortable consensus that allows people not to see and that allows Shell and their like to operate on this planet.

Things coming to a head

Mon Jun 22, 2009 19:43

I fully believe this state will stop at nothing to facilitate Shell. The evidence of the past few years in Mayo is proof of that. At a minimum over the coming months I expect people to be seriously injured or worse at the hands of state/shell militas in Mayo. The question is whether this will stop the project. I'm not so sure, the parallels with Nigeria grow by the day, as Shell attempt to pump their oil/gas, stolen from the irish public via corrupt deals, through an increasingly impoverished country as the economic miss-management by FF bites down on everyone except the elite. Be prepared for some bloody grim times ahead folks!!

More photographs...

by kaggen

Mon Jun 22, 2009 19:26

Shell's Navy?