In one sentence: should a suicidal pregnant woman be prevented from obtaining an abortion in Ireland? is the question being put to the Irish people on March 6th. The question "should abortion be available in Ireland?" is not being asked in this, the fifth referendum on the subject in 20 years. Some pro-life groups have called for a no vote (Mother and Child), some for a yes vote (Pro Life Campaign), while most pro-choice groups have condemned the referendum and called for a no-vote. (Irish Family Planning Association, Alliance for a No Vote)

Pro-choice group Alliance for a No Vote (ANV) claim the referendum will criminalise the thousands of Irish women who travel to Britain each year for an abortion. At a recent ANV meeting (report) speakers denounced the referendum for its abuse of women's rights, and its failure to address the 'more money, more choice' issue. Photos, Video.

On Saturday (F16) around 250 people rallied for choice in Dublin.

Picture Credit: Workers Solidarity Movement (see their report and photos of the X case march)

The Students Union of the National College of Art and Design presents a series of five free public talks and screenings focusing on various aspects of Art, New Technology, Politics and Activism.

All talks/screenings are free and open to members of the public.

The talks and screenings will take place on Thursday evenings beginning at 6.30pm in the main Lecture Theatre in NCAD, Thomas Street, Dublin.

The line-up is as follows:

Thursday Feb 21st
Conor McGarrigle on Net Art, Surveillance and his 'Spook' Project.

Thursday Feb 28th
Ken Fero presents a rare irish screening of Injustice, a controversial documentary on deaths in Police custody in the UK.

Thursday Mar 7th
Greg Palast on GW Bush, Enron, Argentina and his new book - The Best Democracy Money can Buy.

Thursday Mar 14th
Fiona Raby on the fusion of information space and urban territory.

Thursday Mar 21st
Reclaim the Streets (London) on changing the world with cunning direct action, crowd empowerment, fun, humour and raving.

For further information or to arrange Interviews in advance with any of the Speakers contact Annette at the NCAD Students Union at 01-6711553. Email: ncadsu@hotmail.com or ecrudden@hotmail.com

Eleven people were arrested during a blockade of Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant on February 14. Over 150 Irish demonstrators blockaded the roads to the plant for nearly five hours.

The group included people who had spent the previous three days blockading Trident nuclear submarine base in Faslane, Scotland. (report from day 2; day 3)

The protest began at 6am, it was split in two as Sellafield has two main access roads and a blockade began in each of these areas. At the first access point six demonstrators chained themselves across the road in a snake formation. When the police arrived they were largely outnumbered and the specially trained protest unit "SGI" was not available. They pushed peaceful protesters with excessive force and kicked and threatened people in the lock-on. By 7.30am the blockade had created tailbacks of six or seven miles. The protest lasted until noon. Those arrested were released by 6pm under caution - none were charged.

Sellafield Blockade: why it happened.

Audio Interviews with Sellafield protestors.

80 Irish activists blocked the main entrance to Sellafield nuclear power plant on the first day of MOX operation, delaying the transit of trucks carrying the highly radioactive nuclear waste product, plutonium. Despite heavy police presence no arrests were made. MOX was given the go ahead by BNFL safety inspectors while the UK government sought to bury the MOX news under blanket media war coverage. The blockade comes in the wake of a BNFL-confirmed fuel rod handling accident in Chapelcross reactor earlier in the year.
See full report of the december 20th blockade, and an earlier protest in November.

Meanwhile Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace were absent due to their taking the UK government to the High court. The Irish government also served legal documents on the UK government, claiming they have contravened the UN Law of the Sea. In Norway people and government alike have called for decommissioning and placed a sculpture on the beach overlooking the discharge pipe - see photo.

Sign the online petition to close Sellafield.

What is MOX? see Greenpeace's detailed analysis of the Nuclear industry

Download .mpg videos of the December 20th blockade

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Over 100 peaceful protestors, including Irish Green MEP Patricia McKenna, have been arrested at the Trident Nuclear Submarine base in Faslane, Scotland. The protest was organised by Trident Ploughshares and Scottish CND and involved an estimated 2,000 people.

Today's action follows several previous protests at the Faslane base. Activists say that the base is illegal. There is also concern that nuclear submarines from Faslane may be used in the ongoing American and British attacks on Afghanistan.

However police were far quicker to act against the protestors in today's action than in previous actions. Over 100 people chained themselves to 3 seperate gates of the base at 7am to prevent morning shift workers from entering. Protestors were chained together with the chains encased in metal pipes, making them more difficult to cut. However police moved in shortly afterwards and began cutting them away, injuring several protestors in the process. In previous protests police have waited several hors before acting.

Today's rapid repression of the protest by police follows a recent pattern in Ireland where over 20 peaceful demonstrators have been arrested at three seperate protests during the past month. Today's Faslane protest included over a hundred Irish people of whom at least 13 have been arrested, including Green MEP Patricia McKenna. New regulations introduced by Scottish police mean that those without UK residence will be detained longer than UK residents.