Dirty Coal Tour

Cross posting from http://londonminingnetwork.org/2014/09/dirty-coal-tour/

 

By Richard on 16 September, 2014 in Events

The world’s biggest mining company, BHP Billiton, is holding its AGM in London on Thursday 23 October. London Mining Network (LMN) is working with LMN member groups Colombia Solidarity Campaign, Coal Action Network, Coal Action Scotland, Down to Earth, War on Want and WDM, and with People and Planet and Fossil Free Universities groups, to host representatives of Colombian communities affected by the company’s part-owned Cerrejon coal mine and Indonesian organisations working to stop BHP Billiton opening an opencast coal mine in the rainforest of Central Kalimantan.
They’ll be attending the company’s AGM to tell shareholders about the destruction of Colombian communities and livelihoods by the Cerrejon mine and the potential impacts of BHP Billiton’s proposed mine in Indonesia. They’ll speak at a public meeting at University College, London, which is sponsored by BHP Billiton. And they’ll be speaking at venues around England and Scotland.
The programme so far is as follows:
Thursday 23 October, 10am-11.30am, demonstration outside BHP Billiton AGM,  The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1.
Thursday 23 October, 7pm-9pm, public meeting, UCL: Chemistry Auditorium, Christopher Ingold Building, Gordon Street, London WC1.
Friday 24 October, UEA Lecture Theatre 2, Norwich NR4 7 , Norfolk
Sunday 26 October, Mappin Lecture Theatre 2, MAPP-LT02, Sheffield University, 4pm - 6pm.
Monday 27 October, Room ER145, Elvet Riverside 1, Durham University, DH1 3JT,  7pm – 9pm
Tuesday 28 October, Fine Art lecture hall, School of Arts and Cultures, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, 7pm-9.30pm
Wednesday 29 October, Glasgow (venue to be confirmed)
Thursday 30 October, 6pm-8pm, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL
Friday 31 October, South Lanarkshire
Monday 3 November, Oxford
Keep an eye on this webpage or follow us on Twitter for further details as they are confirmed.

The Resistance of Kobane will Triumph Over Tyranny

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign Statement, 16 October 2014 

The Resistance of Kobane will Triumph Over Tyranny 

The Kurdish people of Kobane have shown tremendous courage and resilience in their resistance to the ISIS onslaught. The determination of the men and women to fight to defend the territory where they have established democratic self-rule has inspired people across the world. 

The Kurds in Kobane are defending the values of democracy, inclusiveness, respect for difference and gender equality, against a ruthlessly intolerant force that offers only an orgy of bloodletting, carnage, public executions, vile abuse of women and even the repudiation of the right to education, learning and independent thought. The Kurdish resistance, and in particular the brave men and women fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), represent the hope that these humane values will triumph over a tyranny that would take humanity back to the dark ages.  As such, the Kurds have received widespread respect.    

In stark contrast, Turkey has been exposed for its duplicity and total unreliability as an ally in the coalition against the ISIS threat. Turkey’s leaders from President Erdogan downwards have preferred to bomb Kurdish camps, as they did on 14 October, rather than take swift and effective action against the murderous jihadists.  

Turkey deployed 25 tanks near Mursitpinar near Kobane on 6 October but no attempts have been made to intervene to save the strategically important city. Turkey has preferred to bargain with its allies to obtain support for the plan to establish a buffer zone in the Kurdish region of Syria and to force the US-led Coalition to launch an attack on Damascus, rather than to confront ISIS directly. We are supposed to believe that the ‘’buffer zone” is designed to protect the civilians as a safe haven, but in reality the Kurds had secured their own safe haven for themselves in Rojava, of which Kobane is a part.  Rojava needs to be recognised as a democratic entity rather than support any attempt by Turkey to set up a buffer zone. How can Turkey be trusted following its at best lukewarm approach to confronting ISIS? 

The Turks have not only stood by as passive onlookers on the border while the city of Kobane has been besieged, they have consciously exacerbated the crisis in order to weaken the Kurdish resistance. Turkish leaders have resorted to making increasingly wild and unsubstantiated allegations about Kobane and the motives of the Kurds. 

Turkish troops have contributed towards the suffering of the civilian population of Kobane by obstructing volunteers seeking to help defend the city.  

They have closed the border to supplies and blocked Kurds from Turkey trying cross to Kobane in an attempt to bolster the resistance. People throughout the world have watched on utterly aghast at Turkey's shocking actions and they have drawn their own conclusions. Many now see Turkey as acting in collusion with ISIS and share the outrage of the Kurds that this is a shameful and unforgivable act.  

President Erdogan's repeated assertions that the PKK is as much of a threat as ISIS, if not greater, are simply baffling and utterly unsubstantiated by the facts. But this seemingly perverse attitude does expose the deep seated animosities against Kurds held by large sections of the Turkish public and it has become clear that this extends right into the heart of government. Ankara perceives its strategic interests to be at risk from any success achieved by the Kurds in Syria because it will inspire the Kurds inside Turkey to demand similar rights. The self-rule experiment in the three Rojava cantons of Northern Syria must have filled Turkish policy makers with utter dismay and it seems that they have viewed the appearance of ISIS as an opportunity to destabilise Rojava if not to overturn it altogether. The intransigence displayed over Kobane is a clear demonstration of such a malicious intent.  

The Kobane resistance and the associations, real or imagined, between Turkey and ISIS that have come to the forefront of the world’s attention over recent weeks have radically transformed political perceptions. This has been a transformative moment in global politics. Many more people have now become all too aware of the ruthless calculations that determine Turkey's politics. Its preference of ISIS over the Kurds poses a challenge for even Turkey's staunchest defenders to support with any semblance of convincing arguments.  

The Kurds, by contrast, have earned enormous respect for their fortitude and determination in putting up a resistance against ISIS for so long and so successfully given the huge odds stacked against them. ISIS is a formidable force; it is well funded, well-armed and can count on some powerful supporters.  

The remarkable support shown by Kurds in the UK and throughout Europe for Kobane has had an enormous impact on changing public opinion. A momentum of support for the Kurds has been building up with more and more people convinced by their impressive stand against ISIS which is seen as an enemy of humanity. 

The conflict between the Kurds and the Turkish state is at the root of the attitude of Turkey towards ISIS in the current crisis over Kobane. A credible resolution to this conflict must entail decriminalising the only party that truly represents the Kurds in Turkey and which is affiliated with the Kurdish resistance in Syria, namely the PKK. Erdogan’s attempt to characterise the PKK as another ISIS simply lacks all credibility and should not be given credence by members of the Coalition formed to fight ISIS, many of whom are Turkey’s fellow NATO members. 

There will ultimately remain no alternative to the peace process between Turkey and the Kurds despite the hostility shown by Erdogan towards Kurdish interests in Rojava. Much more effective pressure must be brought to bear on Turkey to restart the peace process and take concrete steps to negotiate a political solution to the conflict which should include the delisting of the PKK and the release of Abdullah Ocalan. 

The Kurds have earned their entitlement to be treated as equals in any negotiated peace. That's the central lesson that needs to be drawn from the siege of Kobane and the inspirational Kurdish resistance to the tyranny of ISIS. 

Peace in Kurdistan  

Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question 

Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk  

www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com 

Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie  Sirinathsingh - Tel: 020 7272 7890 

Fax: 020 7263 0596 

Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas, Nick Hildyard, Stephen Smellie

Scottish Green Party conference calls for solidarity with Kurds!

We call on Turkey to end the blockade of support and aid at its border for the Kurdish people fighting in self-defence in Kobane and Rojava.

We call on the UK to immediately lift the ban on the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and urge the UK and our legal representatives to press for the removal of the PKK from the UK, EU and UN lists of proscribed terrorist organisations.

We call on our representatives to press for the protection of the autonomous region Rojava, where people live together based on values such as equality, tolerance, pluralism and ecological balance.


Background reading
https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/derek-wall/western-blind-spot-kurds%27-forgotten-war-in-syria

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-fe30-Rojava-a-beacon-of-hope-fighting-Isis/

 

Green Party to contest Maidenhead, Bracknell and Slough constituencies, nominations open!

Call for nominations for members wishing to stand for parliamentary election in Maidenhead, Bracknell or Slough

As the East Berkshire Green Party Nominating Officer and designated Electoral Returning Officer (ERO), it is my duty to give formal notice to the EBGP membership that we are calling for nominations for anyone wishing to stand for parliamentary election in the constituencies of Maidenhead, Bracknell or Slough, from today, Wed 8th Oct 2014.

Green Party rules for the selection procedure are detailed at the end of this email.

Any member seeking nomination should contact the ERO through the email address given in the timetable below for further information. You will need to comply with the rules set out in the procedure for nomination.

A ready made nomination and consent form will be provided, along with a nomination statement form containing various detailed questions regarding your suitability as a candidate. You will be required to provide a separate supporting statement of no more than 500 words.

The selection timetable has been set in accordance with guidance from Chris Rose, the Green Party National Election Agent. Close of nominations will be at 5pm on Wed 22nd Oct. (If a second call is required, then final close of nominations will be two weeks later on Wed 5th Nov.)


Wed 8th Oct         First call for nominations

Wed 22nd Oct      Close of nominations, at 5pm, to the Electoral Returning Officer (ERO)

Thur 23rd Oct       RO checks validity of nominations and informs nominees accordingly

Thur 30th Oct       Ballot Papers and statements sent out to all members in the relevant constituency

Fri 31st Oct -
Wed 19th Nov       Hustings period (notification will be given of any hustings meetings)

Thur 20th Nov       Close of postal ballot at 5pm; count held with at least 2 Exec members present

Thur 27th Nov       Notification of result to relevant GP bodies and EBGP membership



If no female candidates are forthcoming after the first call, then in line with national GP guidelines we will have a second call lasting a further two weeks. The timetable will then run as follows:

Wed 22nd Oct      Second call for nominations

Wed 5th Nov        Close of nominations 5pm, to the Electoral Returning Officer (ERO)

Thur 6th Nov        RO checks validity and informs nominees accordingly

Thur 13th Nov      Ballot papers and statements sent out to all members in the relevant constituency

Fri 14th Nov
-Wed 3rd Dec       Hustings period (notification will be given of any hustings meetings)

Thus 4th Dec        Close of postal ballot at 5pm; count held with at least 2 Exec members present

Thurs 11th Dec      Notification of result to relevant GP bodies and membership



Electoral Returning Officer: Craig McDermott

Contact: craig.mcdermott4@btinternet.com

Greens condemn U.S. and Turkey’s response on battles in Kobane

7 October, 2014 

Press Release 

Greens condemn U.S. and Turkey’s response on battles in Kobane 

  

The Green Party observes the war against ISIS, the battles in city of Kobane and Turkey’s stance with interest. 

  

Especially in the city of Kobane, Kurds have been left fighting alone, without the support of Americans or Turkish fighters, who despite their declarations are helping the jihadists with these actions. 

  

Turkey is trying to win a few more «prizes», with America’s blessings, before it decides to join this war. 

  

The result is thousands of Kurds fighting ISIS, getting killed and forced out of their city, without any help. 

We consider any Kurdish protests fair, regarding the tolerance of the West and Turkey’s sly decisions. 

Cyprus Green Party