Workers Solidarity Movement

The month of October saw the community of Rossport occupied by the Gardai Siochana. This occupation is the State response to a community trying to protect themselves against Shell: a multinational with a track record for maltreating communities which they operate in.

Há mais de um ano, militantes da WSM (Movimento de Solidariedade dos Trabalhadores) e do movimento libertário, se envolveram profundamente na luta de uma pequena comunidade rural na Irlanda, contra a construção de uma refinaria de hidrocarbonetos pelo consórcio da Shell, Marathon e Statoil, que é apoiado a rajadas pelo Estado irlandês.

Last Friday's events in Rossport were a clear example of the brutality of the state; non-violent protesters were viciously assaulted with fists, boots and batons. It is important to remember however, that these events are part of the same logic that saw five men imprisoned for 92 days last year for refusing to allow Shell to construct a dangerous pipeline through their land.

We have produced two posters expressing solidaity with the community struggle in Rossport and opposition of state suppression of that poster. You can download the PDF files of the posters and print out and distribute as many as you like.

WSM members are present at the Rossport Solidarity Camp and are taking place in solidarity actions elsewhere around the country. This is a complication of reports, audio, video from these actions - many from WSM members - and also fragments from discussions we are involved in online.

there will be buses travelling down to Rossport for a national day of action against Shell

Interview about National Day of Action in Rossport which saw repeated attempts to blockade the road to the refinery and Gardai (police) attacks on those doing the blockading. "The struggle against Shell's attempt to impose a dangerous gas pipeline on a local community in Rossport (in the West of Ireland) continued today with a national mobilisation, called for by the locals, where people travelled from around the country to go down and support them. "

There is to be a national day of action in solidarity with Rossport Friday 20 october which includes a mobilisation for Rossport itself.

An interview with a member of the Workers Solidarity Movement who is at the Rossport Solidarity Camp and has been joining the pickets preventing Shells attempts to resume work on their planned refinery this week.

The June bank holiday saw over half the membership of the WSM travel across Ireland to take part in a weekend of activity organised by the Rossport Solidarity Camp. Rossport is a very isolated village on the Atlantic shore where Shell and Statoil are trying to impose a dangerous gas pipeline on the local population. Last year five local men spent months in prison for defying Shell. We asked one of the RSC organisers to write for our paper about the weekend.