Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.08.2006, Page 6

we have no control over what the nightclubs have to
offer. Either way, we are always working on making
this a better, more comfortable event and this one was
by far our best organised and policed.”
War on innocent tourists observed at Kárahnjúkar
protest
A series of dubious tactics by law enforcement officials
in the area around the Kárahnjúkar dam protests have
left protestors and conservationists throughout Iceland
screaming “foul”.
Local law enforcement officials began to get
involved with the peaceful protest on Monday, July 31,
when the Seyðisfjörður police force arrested 14 indi-
viduals from the protest camp, accusing them of enter-
ing a closed off Kárahnjúkar work area and disturbing
the peace there.
Contractors pressed charges against the 14
protestors, who were released later that day, and the
Egilsstaðir police are currently in the process of inves-
tigating the alleged crimes.
Based on the charges put forward by contractors
working on the Kárahnjúkar dam, the Seyðisfjörður
sýslumaður, (rural position: something between a
sheriff and councilman), Lárus Bjarnason, issued a
statement that same day stating that Seyðisfjörður po-
lice had successfully removed all protestors from their
camp and dissolved it following requests from local
landowners.
According to the statement, his decision to close
down the camp was made in light of several and
continuous alleged illegal activities of the protestors
and is grounded in the 15th article of Icelandic police
laws, which ensures the police a right to prevent people
from dwelling in certain areas in order to ensure public
safety and thwart illegal activities.
An NFS report quoted Egilsstaðir senior police-
man Óskar Bjartmarz as saying that evacuating the re-
maining 12 protestors from their camp went smoothly.
They were transferred to Egilsstaðir, where their
confiscated equipment was still being kept at the time
of writing. He went on record saying that most of the
protestors were foreigners and that the police would
continue to monitor them in case they decide to return
to their protests.
The Iceland Nature Conservation Association in
turn issued a press release, harshly criticising the police
force’s recent actions against protestors and other tour-
ists travelling the highlands north of Vatnajökull.
“The association emphasises that citizens of demo-
cratic societies have an unquestionable right to peace-
ful protest and that officials should treat them with
utmost respect. The association also criticises police
advances against people travelling around the area,”
stating that they’ve repeatedly harassed them, going so
far as searching their cars.
“Members of the public have an unquestionable
right to travel the area unharassed, as long as they
clean up after themselves and stay out of pronounced
work areas. The Iceland Nature Conversation Associa-
tion encourages the government not to let the war on
Icelandic nature now taking place at Kárahnjúkar and
in the highlands turn into a war on innocent tourists.”
Andrea Ólafsdóttir, spokesperson for the Íslands-
vinir group and one of the organisers of the ten-day
long ‘family camp’ for protestors that took place at the
end of July commented to the Grapevine that closing
down the protest camp was surely an ill-founded, if not
wholly illegal, move by the police force.
“The camp was four kilometres from any work
area. These actions are comparable to evacuating a
village because a few of its inhabitants are suspected
of foul play – it doesn’t make sense and isn’t justifiable
however you choose to look at it.”
Ólafsdóttir, who left the area by the end of July,
also states that she has received reports of police of-
ficers using force against the protestors to the point of
brutality.
“Among other things, I’ve heard reports that a
female protestor was clubbed by a police officer that
I sincerely believe. I doubt she has hard evidence to
support her story, but hopefully she does. It would be
awful to let the police get away with such illegal activi-
ties.”
The Grapevine has been unable to maintain con-
tact with any sources at the protest camp, as computers
and agents of communication – including, according to
sources associated with the camp, GSM phones – have
been confiscated.
Sigur Rós end tour with protest
Popular rock band Sigur Rós performed an acoustic
set at the Snæfellsskálar protest camp, close to the
construction site of the much criticised Kárahnjúkar
dam project. The small concert got underway in the
afternoon of Thursday August 3rd and, according
to the popular Sigur Rós website 18 Seconds Before
Sunrise, the band played five songs, including material
from debut Von as well as unreleased songs.
18 Seconds moderator, Björn Erlingur Flóki
Björnsson, wrote on the site’s message board that po-
lice had prevented the band from entering “the actual
plant area (fucking fascists).”
Some weirdness precluded the band’s reportedly
moving Snæfellsskálar performance, as the night be-
fore, Ríkisútvarpið reported that police had thwarted
Sigur Rós’s attempt to play a concert there by blocking
roads leading up to the camp.
Later that night, the story was heavily refuted by
police officials who claimed that they had blocked the
road to prevent cooking equipment being transferred
to the protest site. Ríkisútvarpið in turn promptly
withdrew the story, which has since then gone unmen-
tioned.
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