Home | Friday 29th February 2008 | Issue 622

Back to the Full Issue

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

On Saturday 23rd February, a number of actions took place in response to the callout by the Hands Off Iraqi Oil Campaign for an international day of action to show solidarity with the Iraqi peoples’ struggle against the plunder of their oil reserves.

In February 2007 the Iraqi cabinet approved an oil law which, if passed into law, would allow the likes of Shell, BP and Exxon to take over control of most of Iraq’s oil reserves, depriving ordinary Iraqis from seeing any of the scores of billions of dollars. Shell and BP, with the help of the UK Government have been actively pushing for this law and these contracts since 2003, intent on overcoming all Iraqi resistance to the plans (see SchNEWS 578).

The day saw at least 31 protests take place, with 26 in the UK, four in the USA and one in the Netherlands. A typical example was from Birmingham, where 15 people shut down a Shell petrol station for two hours in Kings Heath to protest against the multinational plundering and show some solidarity with the Iraqi Oil Workers on the front line (as opposed to the forecourt) of this struggle.

Links to reports and pix from all the actions, including those in Birmingham, London, Liverpool, Wrexham, Coventry and Amsterdam, and more at www.handsoffiraqioil.org

Subscribe to SchNEWS: Send 1st Class stamps (e.g. 10 for next 9 issues) or donations (payable to Justice?). Or £15 for a year's subscription, or the SchNEWS supporter's rate, £1 a week. Ask for "originals" if you plan to copy and distribute. SchNEWS is post-free to prisoners.

SchNEWS, c/o Community Base, 113 Queens Rd, Brighton, BN1 3XG, England
Phone: +44 (0)1273 685913
email: schnews@brighton.co.uk

@nti copyright - information for action - copy and distribute!