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Solidarity with Rossport protestors: Demonstration 12.00 noon Derry, Saturday, 7th October Buncrana Road/Strand Road roundabout

Friday 6th October 2006

Local people in Rossport have been in confrontation with gardai at the site of the proposed terminal all this week. On Wednesday, gardai forced a pasage through the protestors to allow work on a pipe-line to begin.

The Derry demonstration will be at noon, at the Buncrana Road/Strand Road roundabout, close to the Shell storage depot.

Last year, five local men served more than 100 days in prison after Shell won an injunction to prevent them protesting. The five objected to the pipeline passing close to their homes.

The Derry protest has been called by the Socialist Environmental Alliance. Said SEA spokesman Eamonn McCann: "The Rossport case has been supported by a broad range of people. Two public meetings in the Derry area addressed by members of the Rossport Five were widely supported.

"But we have now come to a crunch. Hundreds of gardai have been drafted into Rossport. Hotels in the area have been block-booked for the next month to accomodate them. The State is putting its full weight behind Shell Oil to help crush local resistance to a global corporation.The gardai have been sent in to act as enforcers for Shell.

"In Ireland, as everywhere, the major oil companies are out to exploit the natural resources of land and sea in the interests of profit, not the interests of local people or of the environment.

"We want to send solidarity to the Rossport people. We want them to know that there are many thousands of us, North as well as South, from varying political backgrounds, who support them in the stance they have taken, and who object to the way the Southern government is acting as representative of big business.

"We invite members of all political parties and none to join us at noon on Saturday, at the Buncrana Road roundabout."





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