Shell granted permission to discontinue its legal proceedings against Rossport landowners.
mayo |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report 
Thursday September 28, 2006 20:43
by TD - Shell to Sea
Treated as mushrooms; kept in the dark and covered in horse shit.
Today, in the High Court, before Justice Ms Mary Laffoy, Shell EP Ireland made its contemptible attempt to drop its legal action against the beleaguered Rossport landowners. Last year it was the big stick of State and Big Oil intimidation that sought to cow the legitimate concerns of the Erris community in the form of Cloverhill gaol, today, it was the rotting carrot, the Trojan Horse, that was the cynical ploy of
dropping the charges in order not to produce the State’s petroleum lease by the Minister for the Marine for the Corrib gas project. Production of the documents was ordered by judge Laffoy on July 31st, three days later, Shell announced its intention of dropping its legal action against the landowners – not a case of altruism as one might imagine, more the case, of treating the people of Erris and concerned citizens further afield as mushrooms; by keeping us in the dark and covering us with horse shit.
This was today’s main bone of contention, Shell sought to muddy and manipulate the situation further by conflating its unwillingness to release the documentation with the dropping of the charges and its application for legal costs which would be contingent on the landowners not opposing their depredations. This cynical ploy, unfortunately, was successful in regards to one Mayo "environmentalist" and partner.
The proceedings were adjourned to an undetermined date; probably in late October, once the contending parties liase with other and thresh it out with the court clerk.
Comments (7 of 7)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7one !.
They then offered to pay the costs of those six people if they did not go ahead with their counter claims against Shell.
Two out of the six have agreed to do this (Which two?)
Lawyers for the remaining four put it the court that Shell was now withdrawing its case just because of the order made for discovery of documents in July.
http://www.unison.ie/breakingnews/index.php3?ca=9&si=99082
I still cannot believe that this situation is where it is .Do the People of Rossport really believe that they will receive Justice in the end?
Not a hope in hell. Ye actually believe your legal teams are going to get justice.
Whatever happened to your Article 40 that was NEVER invoked in Court by ANYONE , including 'your' Solicitor. Remember this , there is no one YOUR Solicitor. They are sworn Officers of the Court.
They will not invoke your Constitutional rights in Court , there is too much money in it for them.
They will string all of you along for years and bleed you dry. Then get a lean on your Houses to get their fees.
A number of us have explained this to ye since this debacle began. You all have one last chance to do this before you loose all your Property. Enter your Article 40 (yourselves) and then take diesel head's advice.
The Judge was not lying when he said,' I will take House ,your Land , your Farms .......'
Let's not be side-tracked into the cul-de-sac of self recrimination and j'accuse, of what happened or should have happened in the High Court yesterday, it's small potatoes in the scheme of things, what's of vital importance is that Shell and its fellow travellers in government don't prevail, don't get their way by bludgeoning their way (via the Gardai and "specialists" in crowd control, a la Dublin May Day notoriety) into Bellanaboy and then presenting us, along with the mainstream media, a fait accompli with the attendant black propaganda of "ignorant luddite farmers styming 'progress' and 'energy needs' 'n what 'ave you.
The fuckers were paralysed by the power of prayer and outrage last Tuesday and, bejaysus, they'll be twarted, yet again, next Monday or Tuesday or whenever they malevolently choose to make their move, by the people of Erris, but why find refuge in wish projection, give solidarity at every Shell/Statoil location still not taken over by Topaz 'n others by picketing/blockading and more?.
The title and following thread on this particular piece appears to be going slightly pear-shaped!
Facts as follow: Peter Sweetman and Monica Muller are the two who have agreed to Shell's offer of costs, etc.
Philip McGrath, Brendan Philbin, Willie Corduff and Bríd McGarry have made it quite clear that they are not willing to play footsie with Shell and enter into what could only be described as another version of the 'money game' which is the only aberration of reality that Shell can deal with.
These landowners - who were hauled into the High Court by Shell last year (Bríd McGarry was not chosen for imprisonment because it was not considered good PR!) - are not now amenable to being hauled out of that same Court because Shell realize that they're in a legal mess and are desperate to get into a cosy position where many of the legal messes in existence at that time have been 'regularised' to facilitate the corporations at the expense of the citizen.
It is a truism that all processes entered into by the people involved in this saga - at whatever stage they became involved - have been entered into in good faith. The fact that that good faith has been abused is a reflection on the abusers, not on the honest people seeking justice. While this may be perceived as totally naive, another way of looking at it is that it is a testament to the continuing humanity of all of us that we have not become coarsened by the sustained use of nearly all facets of the State against us. The same still holds true in this current case before Justice Laffoy.
Bríd, Willie, Brendan and Philip will continue their long quest for Justice, not just law; the keepers at the gate will hold the gates for as long as is necessary. Shell is in bother - they know it. So do we.
And well done Shell to Sea.
Hopefully Erris will give Shell a proper black eye to go with the thumping that they got from Russia (albeit for less honourable reasons, but that's Putin for you...)
McGarr Solicitors act in High Court proceedings for Brendan Philbin and Brid McGarry, (the 2nd and 5th Defendants) in the Corrib Gas Pipeline case.
http://www.mcgarrsolicitors.ie/2006/09/28/corrib-gas-ca...inue/
Petersweetman and Monica Muller http://www.indymedia.ie/openwire?search_text=Monica+Mul...9&y=8
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