{"id":146,"date":"2011-12-05T18:59:25","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T18:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gastruth.org\/?p=146"},"modified":"2011-12-06T14:54:50","modified_gmt":"2011-12-06T14:54:50","slug":"polish-fractivists-fight-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/?p=146","title":{"rendered":"Polish Fractivists Fight Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Iris Marie Bloom, Director, Protecting Our Waters<\/em><\/p>\n

Press release excerpt: “From Pomerania to Philadelphia, from Syracuse to Sul\u0119czyno, from Lewino to\u00a0Lancashire, residents of drilling towns have experienced the consequences\u00a0of hydraulic fracturing and are demanding the same thing: an end to their\u00a0dispossession and a halt to the tragic degradation of the environment.\u00a0When their complaints and protests fall on the death ears of mainstream\u00a0media and patronizing officials (As if the well water in Rogowo in the\u00a0Lubelskie Region is contaminated due to the locals’ “backward fear and\u00a0lack of knowledge”) people are forced to take matters into their own\u00a0hands.”<\/p>\n

Three video links and press release below: — check out the Youtube video to hear them present the issue, show contaminated water in Poland, do the action, and chant in Polish – they blocked the keynote speaker at “Shale Gas World Europe” conference.<\/p>\n
———- Forwarded message ———-
\nFrom:\u00a0<\/strong><stop_szczelinowaniu@riseup.net<\/wbr><\/a>>
\nDate: Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 12:49 PM
\nSubject: POLAND: FRACKING OPPONENTS BLOCK “SHALE GAS WORLD EUROPE 2011” CONFERENCE
\nTo:\u00a0syrena@zoho.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hello,<\/p>\n

http:\/\/vimeo.com\/33141308<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.megaupload.com\/?d=YOSXFJB4<\/wbr><\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cpIdyqWkCRg<\/wbr><\/a><\/p>\n

Above are links to a film documentation of Tuesday’s direct action at the
\nInterContinental Hotel: blocking the “Shale Gas World Europe 2011”
\nconference in Warsaw, Poland. Below and in attachment is the press
\nrelease- it is copy left, please feel free to distribute it far and wide.<\/p>\n

PRESS RELEASE 5.12.2011<\/p>\n

For contact email:\u00a0stop_szczelinowaniu@riseup.net<\/a><\/p>\n

POLAND: FRACKING OPPONENTS BLOCK
\n“SHALE GAS WORLD EUROPE 2011” CONFERENCE<\/p>\n

“We will do everything to assure that protests
\nare not able to stop shale gas exploration in Poland.”
\n-Bernard B\u0142aszczyk,
\nVice Minister of the Environment<\/p>\n

A meeting of the largest international energy corporations began on
\nMonday, November 28th, in Poland’s capital, Warsaw. The CEOs and
\nrepresentatives of Halliburton, Talisman Energy and Dow Chemical amongst
\nothers flew in to network with members of the European Commission and the
\nPolish government behind closed doors and away from the public eye at the
\ndowntown InterContinental hotel (the cheapest \u201csilver\u201d entry pass cost
\n10,000 zlotys\/2,500euros. Most Poles earn about 1,000 zlotys per month).
\nConference participants aimed to showcase the future profits of their
\nshale gas investments, which thanks to the smooth politicking of Polish
\nauthorities, are to make Poland the next Niger Delta.<\/p>\n

Just before the opening keynote speech, planned for 9 am on Tuesday,
\nNovember 29th, a flash mob congregated in the downstairs lobby. While a
\ngroup of drummers beat rhythms to the distraction of hotel security, a
\npasserby dropped a suitcase full of golf balls that scattered all around
\nthe hall. In the meantime, a large banner was dropped from the upstairs
\nbanister displaying a raised middle finger resembling a drilling derrick
\ncomplete with lighted gas flame on top. The banner read, “Frack You!” and
\nlisted over two dozen towns and regions around the world where fracking is
\nbeing protested or has already been banned. Amidst this commotion, another
\ngroup entered the main conference ballroom on the second floor. Linking
\narms and sitting down on the stage, they blocked the keynote, forcing the
\nconference participants to leave and wait outside. During this time, the
\ngroup organized an alternative conference in solidarity with the residents
\nof Poland on whose land fracking is underway in spite of protests.<\/p>\n

From Pomerania to Philadelphia, from Syracuse to Sul\u0119czyno, from Lewino to
\nLancashire, residents of drilling towns have experienced the consequences
\nof hydraulic fracturing and are demanding the same thing: an end to their
\ndispossession and a halt to the tragic degradation of the environment.
\nWhen their complaints and protests fall on the death ears of mainstream
\nmedia and patronizing officials (As if the well water in Rogowo in the
\nLubelskie Region is contaminated due to the locals’ “backward fear and
\nlack of knowledge”) people are forced to take matters into their own
\nhands. In Opole Stare, Kra\u015bnik and Kostry, disenfranchised locals have
\nbegun sabotaging drilling sites, removing over 300 m of otherwise
\nworthless specialty seismic cables on one occasion, and an entire set of
\nhydraulic\u00a0fracturing machinery on another. The residents of St\u0119\u017cyca and Sul\u0119czyno
\ndeclared last week that they will block roads leading to drilling sites.
\nTaking cues from their initiatives, we decided to interfere in Tuesday’s
\nundemocratic meeting.<\/p>\n

After blocking the conference for two hours, we were forcibly removed from
\nthe ballroom by police and transported to arrest. We have all been charged
\nwith trespassing and are facing up to one year of imprisonment. This
\ncharge is peculiar. While we are accused of wrongful interference in
\nInterContinental’s possessory rights over their property, it is
\ncorporations who are forcing entry onto peoples’ land, fracturing the
\nearth under their homes, inducing earthquakes and contaminating their
\nwater supply. The most radical form of trespassing to which communities in
\nPoland are subjected, involves the expropriation of land in the name of
\ncorporate profits. This practice has been legally sanctioned by the new
\nlaw on geology and mining, according to which regional governments and
\nlocal\u00a0communities are excluded from decision making processes that concern gas
\nand oil exploration. This same law renders geological resources a \u201cpublic
\ngood\u201d under the exclusive jurisdiction of the state, which sold shale gas
\nconcessions without consulting local people.<\/p>\n

With a decreasing toolkit of legal instruments, endangered by corporations
\nand abandoned by the state, the residents of Poland, just like their
\ncounterparts in other countries, are forced to take the initiative.
\nDespite absurd accusations of \u201cacting against national interests\u201d, direct
\nintervention appears to be the only effective means of preventing local
\ntragedies. Ultimately, it is grassroots protests that authorities like
\nVice Minister B\u0142aszczyk and international corporations fear the most.<\/p>\n

Eleven out of the twelve of us detained were released after 8 hours in
\narrest. One was additionally charged with aggravated assault of a police
\nofficer. She remained in arrest overnight and is facing up to three years
\nin prison. Two drummers were fined 200z\u0142 (50euros) each for alleged
\ndisorderly conduct.<\/p>\n

A solidarity fund for the group’s legal defense has been started. All
\ncontributions to the following account are warmly encouraged and greatly
\nappreciated as the group’s initiative was entirely grassroots, as are
\ntheir pockets in general.<\/p>\n

Solidarity Fund Account:<\/p>\n

PL 08 1240 1024 1111 0010 2760 9063<\/p>\n

SWIFT (IBAN) code: PKOPPLPW<\/p>\n

Warsaw 5.12.2011<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

**Note to all: I don’t know the folks who sent these links and information and am not in a position to verify their fund appeal; I’m just passing it on for general interest! Thanks, Iris.<\/strong><\/div>\n

—
\nIris Marie Bloom<\/span>
\nDirector, Protecting Our Waters\u00a0<\/span>protectingourwaters.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Organizer, Shale Gas Outrage\u00a0shalegasoutrage.org<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Phone:\u00a0\u00a0215.840.6489\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~ Email:\u00a0protectingourwaters@gmail.com<\/wbr><\/a><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
“The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives”
\n–Teton Sioux<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Iris Marie Bloom, Director, Protecting Our Waters Press release excerpt: “From Pomerania to Philadelphia, from Syracuse to Sul\u0119czyno, from Lewino to\u00a0Lancashire, residents of drilling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gastruth.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}