The Just Stop Oil (JSO) campaign was launched in early 2022 and describes itself as ‘a coalition of groups working together to ensure the government commits to halting new fossil fuel licensing and production’. LINDA YATES, one of the many people who have taken action with JSO, has written this account for FRFI.
This idea started when I went to a talk with a friend on 7 February. The speaker came straight to the point that what we do over the next 3-4 years will determine the future of humanity as we are in a very desperate situation. JSO was planning two weeks of action and there were a number of roles people could sign up for, some of which would involve the likelihood of being arrested. Although that sounded rather scary, much scarier is what the world is facing if oil, gas and coal businesses and the government just carry on developing new fossil fuel extraction sites as they are doing.
A number of Zoom and face-to-face meetings followed, the most intense of which was the nonviolence full day’s training. The action was due to start on 1 April. We would be in small groups of seven or eight. No details were given until an hour or two before setting off and we were instructed to leave our phones behind. I found the place and looked up at the first floor window to see the welcoming face of one of the people from the nonviolence training day. We made food, chatted and were shown a rudimentary map of the targeted oil terminal.
The next morning, we piled into a minibus and were driven to another house. We were told that a group of young people had already gone to our earmarked oil terminal and 35 of them had climbed on top of tankers and probably glued themselves on to them. It might take all day before they were arrested and removed. We waited for developments. It was decided we would go to the terminal at night. We got up at 2.45am. Another change of plan saw us driving round and round and eventually being dropped off on a road going into the terminal at around 5am. Almost immediately, one of the group spotted some police and thought they were coming to arrest us, so in a slight panic one of us flagged down a lorry and in seconds we stepped into the road and sat down in front of it. Our group negotiator spoke politely to the driver, who was annoyed but not abusive, and very soon settled himself down to sleep. Two of the group then climbed underneath the vehicle, and glued themselves to the structure.
We sat in the road until 11am. A police spokesman warned us we were risking our health and that we would be arrested. It was extremely cold but three of us put a duvet over our legs. Thankfully the sun came up around 7am. Police reinforcements arrived and the police had made a loose barrier round us, in case we tried to leave. One policeman said he had evidence of our action from his body-worn camera. Periodically, we stretched our legs, checked on our colleagues under the lorry, whilst the police told us how lucky they were to be redirected to us from a Millwall game, where their day would have been hell. They clearly thought we were wasting their time.
In the distance a person from a different group glued himself to the road, causing great difficulties for the tanker drivers who had been parked up for the night and now wanted to get moving. Another group sat in the road about 30 metres away. Periodically, someone came to update us: one group had been arrested before they got to stop a tanker, another had dug a tunnel under a road, thereby stopping all tanker movement, while others had climbed onto tankers and were bedded down there.
By 10.30am, police vans arrived. I was taken first, carried by two policemen under my arms, handcuffed and put in a van. The others followed. We were driven to Southend police station separately, where the custody officer asked lots of questions. We were forbidden to speak to each other and taken to separate cells. All my belongings were confiscated except glasses and a book. The cell had a thin plastic mattress and pillow. No blankets or sheets. The light was bright, glaring and permanently on. There was a little skylight and when the light dimmed I knew it was around 8pm. It took several hours to get water, a cup of tea and eventually a meal. Fingerprints, DNA and photos were taken. I spoke to a solicitor but she told me the line was bugged and she couldn’t answer any questions.
At 11pm the door was suddenly flung open. They issued me with a bail notice, not to enter Essex except to drive through, not to interfere with witnesses and to return on 28 April at 9am. The last train to London had just left. Luckily there were some JSO people waiting to greet us as we were released.
As 28 April drew near, we learned that we didn’t need to report to the police station, but the fact that criminal proceedings were not imminent was only half the story, as by this time the oil companies were getting injunctions against protesters. My neighbours texted me to say there was a notice taped to my front door with ‘VERY URGENT’ in red letters. It went on: ‘THIS PACKAGE CONTAINS A CLAIM FORM NAMING YOU AS A DEFENDANT AND AN ORDER OF THE HIGH COURT AND YOU SHOULD READ IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK LEGAL ADVICE’. My neighbours were horrified! ‘What have you done?’ they asked. Well, actually I did very little compared with some others, but it is a good start. We need to continue until the government listens and acts. So join JSO if you haven’t already.
juststopoil.org
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! No 288, June/July 2022
