It emerged in January that the Shell exploration rig Kulluk that was beached off the coast of Sitkalidak Island in the Gulf of Alaska, ended up there because Shell was attempting to drag it to Seattle for maintenance in order to avoid paying tax to the Alaskan State. In a single act of moral emptiness, Shell has managed to combine environmental with social and political irresponsibility.
To draw attention to such unimpressive behaviour and to highlight our campaign to protect the Arctic from rapacious exploitation, Greenpeace shut down dozens of Shell garages in both London and Edinburgh on 16th June last year. In Edinburgh, eight of us were arrested and charged for our actions. Several more activists were arrested in London.
It is the first time that I have been arrested on a Greenpeace action. Although fully aware that there is always the risk of arrest at such actions, I was still surprised to be arrested on this occasion; my role as a polar bear being limited to the unsuccessful pursuit of seals on the pavement outside the garage forecourt and the occasional bit of growling. On the plus side, pictures of the polar bear being arrested were on the front pages of several newspapers the next day and provided a memorable image of our day's action.
After several months' wait, our court case took place on Friday 4 January at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court. At the hearing, our solicitor convincingly argued for the costs sought against us to be reduced from an extravagantly fictional £10,000 to a down-to-earth £300. Although the Judge appeared to be sympathetic and was aware of the issues surrounding the case, seven guilty verdicts were handed out, each with a £200 fine. I was found not guilty. My discomfort at being the only one to receive such a verdict was tempered by the fact that it is important that people involved in low-risk activities on actions are not arbitrarily arrested and charged; and the court decision in this case confirmed that.
Our campaign against Shell's activities in the Arctic will continue. The threat that the Kulluk posed to the pristine wilderness of the Gulf of Alaska will be repeated again and again, as technology falls short of avarice, until there are enough of us put a stop to it.
Ian Greaves
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