Finland: Pyhäjoki anti-nuclear camp call for international solidarity

finland

First Call out 28.04.16:

The police attacked the ‘Stop Fennovoima camp’ at Pyhäjoki – We need help immediately!

28.4. around 3 pm, a riot cops and a police patrol with dogs started to approach the camp. We communicated clearly to the police with a megaphone that they are not welcome, and we don’t want to engage in conflict with them. The police didn’t say anything or answer to any questions.

The police started to shoot people with a projectile / rubber bullet gun and the people at the camp defended themselves by throwing rocks. The police was clearly aiming for the activists heads, backheads and upper bodies with the gun. People got hit several times on the area of their upper bodies. As far as we know, not to the heads though.. The police got hit several times with the rocks, and there was one police car burning up in flames at the area.

After a long struggle with delay tactics, the police managed to move ahead to the camp when the people who were defending the camp disappeared to the forest. In the camp the police shot projectiles towards the kitchen-collective people. The police evacuated all the people from the camp, and took some people into custody.

The police has also threatened to evict another camp location which is still in our use.

We don’t accept giving in to repression and police violence, and the struggle against Fennovoima will continue. Now we’ll need everyone to help build up the camp again, and to continue the fight and actions against Fennovoima. We invite comrades to this fight where ever you are – let’s aim our actions towards the companies which are working with/for Fennovoima, the embassies of Finland, or the local police.

Pyhäjoki, Finland: both camps evicted, several arrested, one hospitalised due to police brutality.

This is our second communique and call-out on our hour of need:

Repression against the opposers of Fennovoima-Rosatom nuclear power plant project continues: and it’s getting worse and worse. On Friday 29.4. two protest camp sites got evicted at Pyhäjoki, Finland. Police operations were, on Finnish scale, massive. Not big. Massive. Present were roughly 20 police vans, officers in riot gear, border patrol’s helicopter, sections from both national SWAT teams, dog units and specially equipped riot vans.

Police decleared the eviction of both camp sites by presenting a legally vague, written police order without even specified locations of the camp sites or other information. Just an order to leave and a decleration that police weill arrest everyone “under the police law” it considers to “be connected to locations” or “able to disrupt public order”.

Majority of protest campers and Reclaim the Cape -action week participants grouped up and vanished into the forests without negotiating with the police.

As we speak, both sites are being emptied of infrastructure and belongings. Comrades are being searched and picked from the woods. Those been detained are being helped and awaited outside the cells. New campsite is under construction, but no public.

Thursday 28.4. several participants did a classical non-violent lock-on blockade against the Fennovoima-Rosatom construction. After several hours of blocking, police arrived but soon lost interest to the blockade, and instead advanced towards the action week camp. After police had forcefully taken over the campsite, 11 are still arrested after detention, eight of them international comrades. Some of them under a threat of imprisonment. So far charges are about “aggravated sabotage”, “participating in violent riot” and “(violent) assaulting of a police officer”.

One comrade is still hospitalised and in a severe condition, apparantly due to been assaulted by police.

As usually, majority of mainstream media has not taken interest to be neutral or professional. Systematical defaming against the Fennovoima-Rosatom opposers is being carried out expecially from YLE Oulu’s (local department of national broadcast service) behalf.

As usually, we shall not bend our heads when confronted by state repression and physical violence. This police operation was a third large-scale operation against the Fennovoima-Rosatom opposers within four days. The sheer volume of police and state reourcers that have been put to work against us tell a simple story: we have been able to considerably harm Fennovoima-Rosatom and cross the line from inconvenient to possibly dangerous. Alongside, we have managed to spark up a culture of resistance not seen in Finland since the civil war on 1918: wich undoubtebly has spooked those in power.

If there never was a time to invite every possible comrade to participate this struggle: this is the time to call out for practical solidarity. In our hour of need we call for support for the arrested and to builders and defenders of the new campsite here at Pyhäjoki – and to join the struggle by giving Fennovoima-Rosatom what its asking for. With deep respect to diversity of tactics, we encourage everyone to present this company and every firm connected to it with feedback: and to present Finnish embassyes and local police representatives with their share.

Solidarity is a verb. Practice it. We call everyone everywhere to remember your captivated and wounded comrades here up north.

Finland: Pyhäjoki anti-nuclear camp call for international solidarity