The third para in the last edition of Peace News (PN 2668), under ‘Trials of the Climate Resistance’, begins: ‘Just Stop Oil’s only actions since June have involved slow marches in Exeter and Leeds....’
This is far from accurate. At a rough count, since June there have been two more slow marches in Leeds, two in Manchester, one in Lancaster, one in Kendal, one in Liverpool and one in Sheffield. That’s just the North.
In addition to Exeter, there have also been marches in Bristol, Portsmouth, Norwich and Brighton.
There were also several weeks of slow marches in London post-June. I was down from the North between 16 – 22 July and got arrested by an over-zealous policeman.
In the main these were non-arrestable actions, and several so called ‘cultural’ actions: the Chelsea flower show, the Proms and Wimbledon were disrupted .
So I think we can say it’s simply not true that NVDA by climate activists has almost ground to a halt recently.
It’s also not true that large numbers of activists are being given heavy sentences, and that this is a deterrent to action: a fabricated reason for the fabricated facts!
The only really heavy sentences have been handed out to the two brave souls who climbed the Queen Elizabeth bridge.
There have been several ‘not guilty’ verdicts, including the fake blood fire engine-spraying mentioned in David Polden’s article.
There’s something extremely dispiriting about such lacklustre reporting. I know that there are debates about tactics in the climate movement. We all debate the tactics and agonise about being a nuisance in blocking roads for a short time. But consider how much more of a nuisance the rail strikes have been to the travelling public, and yet I assume we all support the striking railway workers?
I really appreciate Peace News and regularly get it and read it. I also appreciate my mates in Just Stop Oil and the help that’s on hand to make it a spanner in the works of the ghastly business-as-usual English establishment.
OK, we tend not to do consensus too much; but we give each other good attention. Love, even.
Just Stop Oil is a growing campaign attracting many young people. It’s rooted in nonviolence. The training is excellent. So, please, let’s have some good, accurate reporting,
Jules, our reporting was not up to the standards we try to reach for and I apologise for that. The London slow marches in July, for example, were well-publicised. As you say, not many extremely heavy sentences have been handed out – though several climate activists have been sentenced to over a month in prison this year. Reporting these things accurately is separate from the rights and wrongs of the strategy and tactics involved. However, the rail strikes happen because they’re disputes between rail workers and their employers; there is a direct connection, which is exactly what is missing between a lot of JSO actions and their desired outcomes. – ed