Just Stop Oil supporters including students are marching today to demand the UK government take basic steps to protect the people of this and all countries, by ending new oil and gas. [1]
At 4pm this afternoon, 40 supporters of Just Stop Oil began marching south on Holloway Road, by Manor Gardens Street. Police arrived almost immediately and began shoving people out of the road. All were arrested by 4:40pm.
One of those marching today is a recent graduate from Birmingham, Florrie, 22. She said:
“My great-grandad fought in India during WW2, he was awarded the star of Burma medal and got shrapnel in his neck. My great-great grandad fought in WW1 and was killed in the Somme. His name currently lies in Edinburgh castle.”
“I can only imagine what they would say about this government as they betray the people of this country and the whole world, by prioritising their own wealth and power over the wellbeing of all of us. New oil and gas will destroy what my relatives suffered and died to protect. That is why I am marching today.”
Another of those taking action today, George Simonson, 20, a mechanical engineering student from London, said:
“In an emergency we take action to protect the most vulnerable. That is what my relatives put their lives on the line for during WW2. If we aren’t taking action now, then we’re letting our government put millions of the most vulnerable people on earth to death. That’s what new oil and gas means.”
“What the government is doing is a death sentence for my generation and I’m willing to be arrested and go to prison if there’s even a small chance of stopping it. I urge everyone to consider their position. Are we going to continue sitting on the sidelines? Or are we going to stand up like previous generations did when it was necessary to protect what we value most?”
Last week 186 arrests of Just Stop Oil supporters were made at three marches on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, bringing the total number of arrests since October 30th to around 300. Slow marching Just Stop Oil supporters have racked up a total of 108 court appearances. Three supporters have been remanded to prison and seven have been released on a GPS tag. Six people who were arrested on Friday remain in police custody and are expected to appear in court on Monday. [2]
We are not prepared to watch while the government plans for millions to die and destroys everything we love. It’s up to all of us now to come together and resist. We cannot let them divide us. Together we can be the real opposition this country needs and we will win. We will stop new oil and gas.
From 20th November, Just Stop Oil is calling on everyone to join us every day at midday in Trafalgar Square to march in London until the government comes to its senses and ends new oil and gas.
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.
Just Stop Oil ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been, to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with siren sounding and ‘blue lights’ on.
