On Saturday 29 February, comrades in the London RCG branches joined Earth Strike at a demonstration against Glencore. The British-Swiss mining multinational is responsible for devastating ecological destruction, the plundering of resources from Africa and Latin America, and the exploitation of child labourers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Glencore made $14.8 billion in 2016 and operates mines in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and the DRC. A landmark legal case was launched in December 2019 against the world’s largest tech companies by Congolese families whose children were killed or maimed in Glencore’s mines while extracting cobalt used to make smartphones and electric cars. The protest was called to highlight this case and focus attention on Glencore’s crimes.
Earth Strike is a campaign committed to building an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist climate action movement. The demonstration was a collaborative event attended by representatives of several organisations including Extinction Rebellion Sea Life, UK Student Climate Network, Extinction Rebellion Drummers, FRFI SOAS Society, Free West Papua, Oxford Climate Justice Campaign and the Revolutionary Communist Group.
The protest was successful in its aim to be visual, striking and involving:
- Tape declaring Glencore HQ as a ‘Biohazard’ and telling passers-by to take ‘Caution’
- Gravestones remembering the children that have died in Glencore’s mines
- A visual representation of a satellite image that illustrates how mining is poisoning rivers in West Papua
- Placards outlining the relationship between Glencore and the Paramilitary in Colombia
A large banner was unfurled along the ground in front the HQ for demonstrators to decorate with spray paint and ‘blood’ hand prints. Music, Samba drumming and chanting created a powerful atmosphere of militant energy.
Speeches from Earth Strike, RCG, Extinction Rebellion, Free West Papua campaign, Oxford Climate Justice Campaign and others were heard. Trevor Rayne of the RCG: ‘Glencore are the ones in the driving seat. We have to seize the controls, take the steering wheel out of their hands – the people have to take power back from the multinational monopolies, and that is socialism.’
Earth Strike protester Justin recited the militant words of Ngugi wa Thiongo to express the way that companies like Glencore under-develop the poorer nations: ‘These guys are not investing in the productive forces of these countries. A dramatic way to put it: “Great benefits indeed! Kenyans receive the sword and the bullet, blood, repression, brutality, starvation, watch the country’s wealth carted off to keep Britain great. And in return, we’re expected to rejoice, and cower in fear and silence.”’
After concluding the demonstration at Glencore HQ, the protesters carried the banner created on the protest, now reading ‘Glencore – blood on your hands’ and marched along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus, leafleting the public and chanting: ‘Climate change is a war, of the rich against the poor!’ You can watch the video of the march here:
https://www.facebook.com/earthstrikeNorthoftheRiver/videos/301673694127368/
The RCG will continue to organise with Earth Strike and other groups to build an open and democratic climate action movement. Such a movement will recognise the roots of ecological destruction in capitalism and imperialism, the international dimensions of racist oppression, and calls for the working class to ‘seize the controls’ from the big monopolies. Down with Glencore! Down with imperialism!
