Just Stop Oil supporters are back on the streets of Central London for the fourth consecutive day, slow-marching on major roads, to demand an end to new fossil fuel projects in the UK. [1]
At 8:00am, 56 Just Stop Oil supporters began marching from four different locations around Westminster and Lambeth. This is the fourth day of action after Just Stop Oil brought disruption to key roads in the capital every day since Monday. These marches come in the wake of comments from the Home Secretary vowing further measures in order to ban legal forms of dissent as the Public Order Bill passed through the commons yesterday. [2]
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:
“The criminals that have hijacked our democracy are destroying everything we hold dear and imprisoning anyone who speaks up. The conservative party are forcing our children into the death chambers, whilst happily taking legalised bribes, like the £3.5 million in backhanders they took from the fossil fuel lobby last year.”
“Then their 5 billionaire mates who own 80% of UK media pass all the blame for society’s ills onto people in small boats, when it’s the people in super-yachts we should be concerned about.”
“We have to change this. The next 10,000 generations are dependent on what we do right now. Make the right call, see you on the streets, sign up for a slow march at juststopoil.org.”
It was recently reported that the Conservatives received £3.5 million from polluters, fossil fuel interests and climate deniers in 2022. [3]
One of those taking action today, Suami Rocha, 35, a cycling instructor from London said:
“What are our values? Are we really the sort of people who will sit and watch as our homes burn down in wildfires? 60 families lost theirs to the 25,000 wildfires that ripped through entire streets in this country last year!”
“Are we going to sit and watch as our crops are annihilated by extreme weather and drought? We have seen almost half of some of our crop yields destroyed in the last few months, as Europe experiences its worst drought in 500 years.”
“Are we going to twiddle our thumbs, as record temperatures of 54 degrees rip through Asia, right now, affecting 1 in 3 people in the world. People can’t survive this. What are we doing about it? Deep down I think we can all sense something is not right. We have to change things, and the only option as normal citizens is to get onto the streets in droves and demand the change required.”
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign began on April 1st 2022, there have been over 2,100 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. There are currently two Just Stop Oil supporters and five Insulate Britain supporters serving prison sentences for resisting new oil, gas and coal.
We stand with these political prisoners, with the 1,800 victims of our broken criminal justice system, imprisoned for over a year without trial, and with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. This is the moment for us to come together and resist the destruction of everything we love, something that is being imposed on us by a few, who only seek to enrich themselves. [4][5]
In moments of emergency, we must stand up and be brave, we must stand up for good over evil, life over death, right over wrong. Just Stop Oil is calling on everyone to pick a side. Either you are actively supporting civil resistance, fighting for life, or you are complicit with genocide.
The time is now. Join us and slow march while you still can. Our indefinite campaign of civil resistance is underway and will not end until our government ends new oil, gas and coal.
Join Just Stop Oil on a slow march from midday, every Saturday, at Parliament Square until we win.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects. Climate Emergency Fund is Just Stop Oil’s primary funder for recruitment, training, and capacity building.
[2] Public order bill passes the commons
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/uk-passing-controversial-public-order-bill-alarming
[4] Fair Trials reports that the number of people being held in prison without trial in England and Wales is at its highest for over 50 years, with 1,800 people in prison without trial for at least a year.
[5] A recent report from Global Witness says that more than 1,700 people have died while trying to prevent mining, oil drilling or logging on their lands.
