A protest against an international privatisation conference at Dublin's Burlington hotel turned violent when the Gardai (Irish police) attacked protesters with batons. They were aided by a number of non uniformed men armed with sticks and torches, some of who may have been political police (Special Branch) but others appeared to be private security.

One of the non uniformed men attacked photographers including this reporter, attempting to smash their cameras to the ground. Under the attack the protesters retreated out of the hotel car park and down the street. At least twelve were arrested and at least two protesters received head wounds. The one pictured below appears to be the less serious of the two.

After I gave my camera to someone else to take care of I returned to demand the name of the person who had tried to smash it. At this stage he was at the centre of a group of uniformed Gardai. Some of these had removed their numbers from their uniforms.

The referendum on the Nice treaty on October 19th has produced a flurry of campaigning groups canvassing holding meetings and protests:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 for a No vote.
It as also produced some lively debate on the newswire 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
The Yes side includes major business organisations , most of the main political parties, farmers groups , the trade unions and Bono .
The resources of the Yes side are clearly higher, which might explain the posters. 1 2 3
A key issue for many IMCers is article 133 and its effect on Public Services: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Though politicians have been somewhat reluctant to discuss the issue.
While the yes side have had some problems , some unpleasant characters are calling for a no vote.
There have been complaints of media bias and activists are monitoring of the balance of the corporate media coverage. 1 2
Previous Indymedia Nice Treay features are here and here.
Read the Nice treaty for your self here.

Some 1,000 people gathered on St Stephens Green to party in Dublin's' Reclaim the Streets event, coinciding with European car free day (not that you would know it was that in Dublin!).
According to one participant: "The day has been good so far. It's been a good turnout and the cops have been well behaved. RTS is a self organised space, everyone can play a part and not just consume. It's about empowerment and having a good time."
The party was preceded by a Critical Mass . Unlike last year's car free day which a saw a number of arrests or the Mayday RTS which saw a Garda riot, the Gardai were peaceful.
This was despite some over excitable media build up.

Full story here , another report here . Pics at 1 2 3 4

Some IMC contributors paid a visit to one of Fine Gael's forums on the Nice Treaty at which Peter Sutherland - in reply to an IMC question about the complexities of Article 133 of the Treaty - gave a very honest answer.
"He kindly confirmed that the General Agreement on Trade and Services can be ratified post-Nice without ever being debated in, much less subject to the approval of, a National or European parliament or any other form of democratic institution."
In the course of his answer he mentioned three groups - the EU Commission, The Council of Ministers and the Article 133 Committee as being the groups with the combined power to sign the EU as a whole up to GATS. When did anyone ever vote for one of these groups? They are all appointees rather than elected representatives. And who are the 133 Committee anyway? Try Google. You will get more info from a simple search about this shadowy group than the EU will ever give you.
Article continues here

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Boats from Ireland, Wales, England and the Isle of Man joined Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior to meet two BNFL ships carrying 255 Kg of Mixed Oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel which had been rejected by the company's Japanese customers. After meeting in Holyhead the boats split into two groups, one heading north to wait for the BNFL ships in Barrow, close to the Sellafield facility, and the other heading south to meet the ships on the high seas. Both groups were successful and their message of protest was delivered loud and clear.

While the Flotilla was preparing to deliver a message to the MOX ships, activists staged a land-based protest by chaining themselves to the roof of the Sellafield visitors centre. Earlier a 40-strong group organised by Gluaiseacht travelled to Sellafield to voice their opposition to the plant.

Recent weeks have seen huge difficulties for BNFL and the British nuclear industry. British Energy, Britain's main operator of nuclear power stations, is effectively bankrupt while BNFL's biggest customer for it's MOX business, Tokyo Electric, has been found to be falsifying safety data and has suspended its MOX programme indefinitely. Meanwhile a MORI opinion poll indicates that 72% of the British public want government subsidies to go to Wind and renewable energy and not to the nuclear industry.

The success of the flotilla action and the corporate media attention that it generated has highlighted the problems that BNFL is facing and has boosted the spirits of anti-Sellafield activists. Further actions against Sellafield are already being discussed and planned, and the struggle against Sellafield and the British nuclear industry is likely to intensify in the months ahead.

Photographs: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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