Magazine Issue 4 - Summer 1997
Campaign Updates

Genetic Chaos
Ali Bastin on a frantic stage of the anti-genetic engineering campaign.
The Big Gene Gathering. The weekend of the 19/20 April saw Canon Frome Court in Herefordshire fumed into a centre of the campaign against genetic engineering. Saturday's workshops covered topics as diverse as the science behind GE, patenting of life, the corporate players (given by CW - of course); and practical altematives to GE food, including a discussion with top chefs! This was all fumed into real solid plans for action on the Sunday. More workshops covered different aspects of the anti-GE campaign, all the way from lobbying MEPs and writing letters to shouting in supemmarkets and targeting test sites.

The Super Heroes take on Monsanto
The following day around sixty people went straight to the heart of the matter - Monsanto UK's headquarters in High Wycombe. As any seasoned genetics campaigner will know, Monsanto are the lovely people behind 'Roundup Ready' soya. After genetically engineering the beans to make them impervious to a herbicide that they also produce (gasp), they have the cheek to mix them all in with the main, unadulterated crop without any labelling at all. Cheers. So the Super Heroes Against Genetix, ammed only with the truth, silly costumes and an amusing acronym, invaded Monsanto's offices for over four hours. They survived the protestations of the receptionist, the joke bomb scare which fumed out to be a stationery package (shock), and the employee with the particularly dodgy plaster cast; all without letting their masks slip. The highlight of the entire action was a telephone conversation between a Super Hero in High Wycombe and a US campaigner who was simultaneously occupying Monsanto's worldwide headquarters in St Louis. It is still unclear how on earth this transatlantic actionwas organised without Monsanto finding out
Hotline Hijack
And two days later they were at it again. The Soya Bean Infonmation Centre, part of a PR firm in central London and paid for by (surprise) Monsanto and the American Soyabean Association, was taken over by the Super Heroes, despite ~e Metropolitan Police completely overreacting. Nobody was arrested, however: maybe Monsanto doesn't want any publicity.

Fun in Supermarkets
Fifteen people reaching the checkout, 'discovering' that their baskets potentially contain GE food and simultaneously asking for the manager can bring an entire superfnarket to a grinding halt, while others distribute leaflets and spread the message. This happens all over the country every weekend.

All over the World, All the Time. This Global Week of Action saw GE protests in over 25 countries, from Australia to Hungary, Ethiopia to Malaysia. And it's still going on.

STOP PRESS
On the 8th June 1997 a test site just outside Cambridge containing Plant Breeding International's entire crop of GM potatoes for release was comprehensively beaten at cricket by the Super Heroes. Nice one. Meanwhile test sites in Germany are occupied and/or trashed on a regular basis.

Contact Details: The Super Heroes now have their own website with details of actions and their findings. http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/shag
Genetic Engineering Network
For a newsletter and more details, including how to get involved, call the GEN Hotline: 0181374 9516
Sea Shepherd
In Lelystad penitentiary the Netherlands' only political prisoner Captain Paul Watson awaits extradition to Norway to serve a sentence for sinking a whaling ship. Watson, the president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and a co-founder of Greenpeace has for over twenty years been campaigning against whaling and other abuses of the marine environment. Taking peaceful direct action to its limit he has in that time acquired a large of number of enemies, particularly in Norway where the pro-whaling government faces an election later this year.

The whaling vessel, Nybraena, was sunk whilst in port in 1992, an action for which Watson and his wife Lisa Distefano take full responsibility. They received no summons to their trial, however, which was conducted in their absence. On June 1st '94 they were both sentenced to 120 days in prison. Watson and Distefano had offered to attend a trial on two conditions - that the Norwegian government would guarantee their safety and would change the venue of the trial to somewhere other than the Lofoten Islands, the origin of many death threats against them. Norway declined to accept these conditions however.

Captain Watson was finally arrested by German harbour police in the port of Bremerhaven on March 31st of this year. The authorities chose not to extradite him. Three days later he was arrested in Amsterdam. The Norwegians filed a further three charges against Watson, ensuring that he could not be quickly released.

Two of the three further charges, relating to an incident in 1994 when Watson is alleged to have rammed a Norwegian navy cruiser, were dropped at the hearing on 26th May. The court has now adjourned for two weeks in order to consider the remaining charges. The charge of 'sending a false distress signal' is also likely to be dismissed, the Norwegian cruiser had fired 50mm shells at the Sea Shepherd as well as depth-charging and ultimately ramming her (allegedly). The charge of sinking the Nybraena could however be Watson's undoing.

Captain Watson is said to be in good spirits, bouyed up perhaps by the crowd of hundreds who turned up to court to chant "Free Paul Watson" with whale song broadcast in the background.

Background: Since 1977 The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has confronted and stopped sealing, illegal fishing, finning, and whaling operations, not to mention the Norwegian navy. It remains the only organisation enforcing the International Whaling Commission's ban on commercial whaling. It was set up initially as Watson became disenchanted with Greenpeace which he felt was becoming too conservative. Sometimes aggressive ,sometimes surreal, Sea Shepherd has consistently pushed the limits of campaigning tactics, from f~ring civil war cannons loaded with coconut cream to scuttling ships in port. Last year they began a seal brushing campaign in order to demonstrate a friendlier method of obtaining seal fur. Captain Watson even teaches the only ecology course to include tree-spiking on the syllabus.
Pressmennan
News from the front line. Eight protesters were arrested by 30 policemen in April '97 in a dawn eviction of the tree camp at Pressmennan. They were charged under the 1865 Trespass (Scotland) Act. The area was fenced off end harsh bail conditions were imposed. These arrests raise many questions: Should landowners be allowed to exploit nature for profit? Who had the power and connections to initiate such a massive police action? Should anybody own land?
In theory the 1865 Trespass Act could be used against any hillwalker camping overnight without permission. Professor Alan Miller Director of the Scottish Campaign for Civil Liberties said: "The criminalisation of those who seek only to peacefully protest brings no credit to our criminal justice system nor to society as a whole. "Pressmennan Wood North contains over 1 000 mature oak trees at least 200 years old. Farmer John Kinnaird wants to fell 360 oak trees for sale to a timber company. Campaigning by a number of local groups has so far delayed these plans. We believe the trees are safe until the end of July when the nesting season ends. The Pressmennan eight are asking people to the Procurator Fiscal in Haddington to ask for charges to be dropped. The trial dates are 11thJune and 13th August at Haddington District Court. Pressmennan

Eight :0131657 4392 or c/ O ACE, 17 West Montgomery Street, Edinburgh, EH7 5RA
Why not write to the Forestry Commission's. Director General David Bills, Forestry Commission, Forestry Authority, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 7AT or call him on 0131 3146162.

WAND is also asking for people to write to Donald Dewar, the new Secretary of State for Scotland, Scottish Office, St. Andrew's House, Regents Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.
Why not write to the company who plan to turn Pressmennan's ancient oaks into dashboard veneer: AJ Scott, Station Sawmills, Wooperton, Alnwick, Northumberland Tel: 01668 217228
Ethical Shoplifting with the Forest Action Network
Forest Action Networkluk defends the world's forests. At the moment FAN/uk is working with the Nuxalk Nation in British Columbia, on Norwegian and other Scandinavian old-growth forests, mahogany from Brazil and against woodland trashing roads and 'development' in the UK.

In a successful action on the 9th April, Over 30 protesters from FAN/ uk and Manchester EF! invaded the Intemational Timber-yard at Trafford, Manchester. The purpose was to remove the timber from the yard, take it to the police and ask that it be returned to its rightful owners, the Nuxalk Nation, of British Columbia, Canada. The Nuxalk have never sold or ceded their lands, signed them away by treaty, or lost them in battle, so they consider the timber to rightfully be their property. Four Nuxalk people, including Chief Qwatsisnas, dressed in traditional regalia, assembled outside the yard and witnessed the liberation of approximately 15 planks of Western Red Cedar.

The timber, shipped by Interfor and MacMillan-Bloedel (Mac-Blo), was carried to the local police station. Eventually, a receipt for the timber was issued and the timber was retained in the station. It seems that there is some uncertainty in the ranks of the blue brigade on how to proceed and apparently the Canadian Embassy has been consulted. The Nuxalk and activists will continue to press the police to bring charges against Meyer International, the yard owners, for handling stolen property and to prevent the sale of all remaining stocks. Further legal steps will be taken if the timber is returned to the yard.

The campaign to prevent the theft of timber, respect indigenous rights and for ecologically and sustainably managed timber extraction will continue. For more information contact: Forest Action Network/uk c/o 4 Kingsley House, Avonmore Place, London W14 8RY, Tel: 0171602 5889
Baby Milk Action:
Nestles inappropriate language. As part of Baby Milk Action's campaign for the ethical marketing of baby foods around the world, companies have been called on to label products in "an appropriate language."

Nestle, the company with the largest share of the baby milk market, recently wrote to Baby Milk Action, "If you ever bothered to look at a Nestle infant formula pack, you would see the statement [on the label] not only in a language that 'mothers are likely to understand' but also in the language that the govemment of the particular country demands."

Baby Milk Action knows from its monitoring activities that this assurance is false. One case cited in a 1994 report concerns Malawi, where Government census statistics show that of females who can read, 43% read only Chichewa, the national language, yet Nestle does not include Chichewa alongside English on its labels. Baby Milk Action is pressing Nestle on the issue and asked the Ministry of Health, Malawi, to confirm in writing its requirements. The Chief of Health Services wrote in March 1997:

...our requirements on labelling of infant formulae are that they should be labelled in Chichewa and English because they are our 'appropriate language'."

A manager from Nestle (South Africa) was asked to ensure this was done in 1994: "He was even advised on the possible institutions that could help in translation of the information from English to Chichewa. The Ministry has not received a reply from Nestle nothing has happened. To maximise profits Nestle is prepared to ignore an official Government request and the offer of assistance in translating the label. There will be a demonstration at Nestle (UK), Croydon on 17th May. Action: Write to Nestle' Chairman and Chief Executive David F. Harris, St. George's House, Croydon,Surrey, CR9 1 and ask him to explain Nestle" actions. Contact: Baby Milk AcHon, 23 St. Andrew's Street, Cambridge, CB3 2AX. Tel: 01223 464420
Verdict imminent!!
The McLibel verdict is expected (at last) sometime around 18th June. As part of their final legal arguments, Helerl & Dave submitted that UK libel laws are oppressive and '. unfair. They argued ~l that multinational corporations should not be able to use libel laws against their critics, as it is of vital public importance that matters which affect peoples lives and health are areas of free, uninhibited public debate. They submitted that the McLibel case was an abuse of procedure and of public rights, particularly the denial of Legal Aid and a jury trial; and that there was "an overriding imperative for decisions to be made to protect the public interest".

If the verdict goes against them, Helen & Dave ~ntend to appeal, and then if necessary take the British Government to the European Court of Human Righ, over oppressive UK libel laws. :~ Whatever the judge's personal | verdict, the public will have l access to full information to enable them to judge for themselves, thanks to the Mcspotlight (http:// www.McSpotlight.org/) web site. Launched in Feb 1996, the 'McSpotlight' site has been accessed over 12 million times, and now contains an estimated 19,000 pages of testimony and controversial legal arguments. There is nothing McDonald's can do to prevent the public's right of access to this material - McSpotlight is here to stay as a public resource, uncensored and unstoppable, tlte final nail in tne coff~n of McDonald's global censorship strategy.

However, no matter how fascinating you find the site, don't forget the events happening in the "real" world The international 'Victory Day of Action' takes place on the Saturday after the verdict (almost certainly Saturday21st June). It is expected that a large majority of McDonald's 750 UK stores will be leafletted and you can help out by adopting your local store. Contact the McLibel Campaign for an "Adopt-a-Store" form to complete.

Please send donations and/or requests for information to:
McLibel Support Campaign, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, UK. Tel/Fax 0171713 1269. E-mail & Listserver: dbriars@world.std.com http://www.McSpotlight.org/
Boycott Procter and Gamble with UNCAGED CAMPAIGNS
Uncaged Campaigns is one of the most active, dynamic and radical anti-vivisection pressure groups in the UK. Committed to the abolition of vivisection through working with a wide range of sympathetic groups and individuals, they do support research that is truly scirntific, reasonable and humane. Social change has to democratic in order to be sucesful, longlasting and morally compelling.

Rage Against the Cage is a yearly national march against vivisection broad carnival style including mus (vegan) food and entertainments. Working with Sir Andrew Bowden MF' Uncaged have tabled an all party motion calling for an amendment to the current law, which could save an e, mated 5,000,000 animals every year

Pigs Might Fly is a campaigr against using pigs for spare parts for humans. Uncage beleive we could win as the dangers and cruelty of xenotransplantation become widely known.

On March 29th Uncaged held their first GLOBAL BOYCOTT PROCTER& GAMBLE DAY. There were a dozen events in the UK, 65 protests in the US, and more in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India and South America.

The US group Defence of Animals have been pushing the boycott for ten years with Uncage joining in three years ago. There are over 500 manufacturers in the US who, unlike Procter & Gamble, no longer use animal testing for their cosmetic products.

Procter & Gamble persist in portraying themselves as "a world leader in developing alternatives to animal testing." Research into humane testing should be the automatic responsibility of a manufacturer, not a PR smokescreen to greenwash their critics.

Procter & Gamble spent more in one week on advertising than it spent in eleven years on finding alternatives to animal testing.

If you want more information: Uncaged Campaaigns 14 Ridgeway Road, Sheffield, S12 2SS. Tel / Fax: 0114 253 0020 E-mail: uncaged.antiviv~dial.pipex.com Web: www.uncaged.co.uk
Lloyds and Midland Boycott (LAMB)
The AGM season kicked off in good style at the Lloyds-TSB AGM in Edinburgh on 15th April. Fun and games started when the thoroughbred pantomime horse turned up and was eventually allowed into the AGM. Inside much horseplay ensued, with a few canters up and down the salubrious aisles of the Conference centre, to the amusement of most present, apart from the chairman Sir Brian Pitrnan. He remained steely through out the entire process, refusing to answer questions concerning funding Vickers tanks to Nigeria, or Alvis tanks to Indonesia. When pressed on the matter he swiftly ejected the shareholders (shame, as we thought the army uniforms would endear him to the cause!)

After a heavy round of questions concerning debt and arms financing, it was the respectable middle-aged former JP who dealt the final blow to Sir Brian, asking, 'Why does the chairman have to resort to sarcasm and arrogance when dealing with these young people who, thank God, have the conscience which most of us have lost?". Outside it appeared that she wasn't the only one to have felt that way, with many people thanking the protesters for raising the issues and demanding answers.

Apart from the AGM, LAMB had a successful day of Action in February, with 14 groups up and down the country taking the costs of banking home to Lloyds bank - featuring more pantomime horses, army dictators and even a nun!

Universities are also busy making changes: Nottingham Union now have an Ethical Banking motion; Hull, who made money by having a LAMB policy, are now petitioning for LINK machines on campus and Cambridge are getting their JCRs to change accounts.

For more info ring LAMB on 0161274 4665 or write to LAMB, c/o Grassroots, Manchester University Student Union, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PR. http ://www.u- net.com/manchester/lamb/home.html
Sod Buttins - Come To The Last Resort!
Why not come to Lyminge Forest? For a limited time only - your last chance to see this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This inclusive package offers self-catering accommodation in your choice of tree hut, tunnel or bender, and a range of exciting activities from the thrill of treetops to the deep joys of underground. The forest is open and free to all, but not for long if Rank get its way.

Following over three years of local campaigning, protest camps were set up in April. Protesters are now digging in, but more people are needed to defend the site, climbers and tuMellers especially. A large protest now may well result in the scheme being dropped, so the environmental impact of the protest needs to be kept to a minimum. Forest Enterprise (the newly privatised Forestry Commission which manages the wood)is being friendly to the protest, so long as protesters dont interfere with forestry work. Any newcomers to camp should therefore contact the campaign first: 0410 536 592 No cars in the wood (use the car park) please, and no chainsaws.

Unlike previous campaigns, where land is cleared for construction, Rank will actually want to preserve many of th, existing mature trees as decorative item around their tourist toy-town. This wil evicting protesters and keeping them out much harder.

Rank has still not completed the _4m purchase of the wood, and is likely to insist on vacant possession, to avoid the huge security bill necessary to keep protesters from returning once removed. Forest Enterprise is short of cash, so the prospect of the bill could stop the scheme. A month after its public promise '...to go through the plans with protesters...', Rank had still not replied to repeated contacts from the campaign. When pressed by a local journalist, Julie Gould, The 'Oasis Village' press officer, admitted that they "hadn't actually meant it"...
Women's Environment Network:
Breathe easy- buy local. Increasingly large amounts of food are imported from abroad, travelling thousands of miles, to supply our desire for narrow range of produce. This greed is putting regions' food security at risk (both the growers and the consumers), encouraging economic centralisation, depleting biodiversity, increasing air pollution, and poisoning everyone who eats the food...

Air pollution from transport causes asthma and lung cancer, smog and global warming; furthermore foods are also stuffed with additives and pesticides and are fumigated with highly toxic methyl bromide to protect them from pests and spoilage during transportation.

Meanwhile only a fraction of the Brittain's own edible plants are used, which is bad news for biodiversity.

The developed world's desire forhis produce is also heightening eco- nomic problems in the developing world- - local communities are starving whilefood is exported from local fields,labourers are paid pitiful wages and suffer ill health (including sometimes cancer) caused by pesticides sprayed onthe vast monocultural plantations. The livelihoods of small scale farmers aroundthe world are threatened as they cannotcompete with this mass production of food.

The West Wood saga is set to become a public relations disaster for Rank. Some creative campaign could really embarrass them. Rank also owns the Odeon Cinema, Top Rank, Bingo and Hard Rock Cafe chains, perfect targets for those who can't make it to the forest.

Contacts: Camp Mobile 0410 536 592 Friends of Lyminge Forest 01865 437 762 Greensword 01303 265 737 The Flat Oak Society 01227 463 368

So, what can be done? Buy loci~! produce; if it's not available ask why, and pressure your supermarket to start buying from local sources. Buy seasonal foods, not those that are imported. Support local shops which sell local produce. And contact WEN for more info and ideas for action. - WEN, 87 Worship St., London, EC2A 2BE; tel 0171 247 3327; fax 0171 247 4740.
Death visits Nuclear Conference
A cosy gathering of nuclear scientists in Stratf on-Avon was disrupted last month when The Grim Reaper made a personal appearance chaining himself to the stage. Death and friends then handed out books and leaflets on the real risks of low level Radiation, much to the distress of assembled suits.

The Third International Conference on Health Effects of Low Level Radiation: Challenges for the 21st Century, was organised by the British Nuclear Energy Society on 11th - 1 4th May. At the very beginning of the proceedings, during the keynote speech given by Prof Sir Richard Doll, Death himself, in black cowl and with grinning skeletal features, stalked into the hall. He gave out 130 copies of Chris Busby's book, Wings of Death: Nuclear Pollution and Human Health, together with a leaflet explaining the risks from low level radiation. These contained detailed evidence of childhood leukemia clusters from Sellafield, Dounreay and La Haugue to Harwell in South Oxfordshire (recently reported in The Independent). Contact: Low Level Radiation Campaign, Ammondale, Spa Road, Llandrinod, Wells, Powys, LD1 SE7. Tel. 01982 552 502
HOLTSFIELD
SUCCESS AT THE HOUSE OF LORDS BUT WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP! On 1st May the House of Lords gave their judgement on the test case which many thought marked the end of an eight year battle to save the self-built chalet community of Holtsfield. The case was a wonderful result in that it gave complete protection to Dai Morris and his family asserting their right to remain in the chalet which they have built and maintained for 20 years. Unfortunately, that leaves many of the other chalets unprotected and over the last two weeks Mr. Jones has written to the 8 most vulnerable chalet households informing them of his plans to evict them at the earliest opportunity and urging them to leave their homes immediately!

You and I can help by writing to Barclays at the addresses below, stressing that while there has always been a moral imperative for Barclays to close the account of the developer Tim Jones' company Elitestone Ltd., there is now a clear financial responsibility also.Barclays are fmally listening to this growing pressure, the more we can do to increase it the better our chances of getting them to end their support of Elitestone Ltd. and the destructive evictions. Elitestone Ltd. is over _750,000 overdrawn to Barclays. Please contact the following, asking them to do all they can on this matter:Gareth George, Director, Barclays Bank (Wales) PO Box 323, 4th Floor, Windsor Court, 3 Windsor Place, Cardiff CF1 3BT and Martin Taylor, Barclays Bank plc., 54 Lombard St. London EC3P 3AH. Holtsfield Campaign: 01792 234027
Survival International
A new bridge connecting Argentina and Paraguay threatens a centuries-old Indian culture. On its route across the Pilcomayo River, the bridge ploughs through indigenous lands, home to 6,000 Wichl. So concerned were the Wichl that over 1,000 of them, from 35 villages, occupied the bridge for a month in September 1 996.

The bridge is marooned in Wichl lands at the village of Mision La Paz. At either end is little more than a dirt track, though a road is planned. If a road is finally built, the effect of commercial activity in this previously remote region will be devastating for the Wichi~. There is a chance that nature will take its course and the river may wash the br~dge away before it is used....poetic justice indeed. This is just an example of promises broken between the government and the W~cl<. Successive Salta governments have promised to recognise the right of the Wichi to the land they have occupied for millennia but none have done so.

Survival will be reporting the Argentine government to the Geneva-based International Labour Organisation, for its failure to honour international agreements guaranteeing Indian rights to their lands. For more info, contact: Richard Garside, Survival International, 11-15 Emerald Street, London WC1N 3QL tel. 01712421441.
Gorleben.
German people fight nuclear waste transport. In 1995 the f~rst Castor transport was pushed through with lS,000 police opposed by 2,000 protesters. The second shipment in 1996 needed 19,000 police to remove 6000 protesters. This March the latest shipment was eventually sent requiring 30,000 police against 10,000 protesters, costing the German government DM150 million.

The protesters came from far and wide and were camped under a huge banner saying "We are the Laughter!" This year whole communities opposed the shipment, local and regional governments joined the

protest, schools refused to house police, water was denied the police for water cannons, and local farmers formed a 70 tractor blockade on the route at Splietau.

Civil disobedience on such a scale is a rare and beautiful thing. A nuclear state has never had such a "social defence" thrown at it.

Contacts: Bl Luchow-Dannenberg, Drahwehner Str 3, D-29439 Luchow, Germany Tel: (+49) 5841 4684. Website: http://www.ndh.net/ homeldilg/index.html