40 international organizations join NI community groups & send letter to Sinn Féin demanding action
Organizations in the new International Solidarity Campaign to Ban Fracking in Northern Ireland announce online event on Thursday at 7:30pm GMT called “Fracking Emergency in Northern Ireland: Protecting Public Health, Human Rights & Stopping Blue Hydrogen” with actor Mark Ruffalo, Professor Robert Howarth from Cornell University and author of “How green is blue hydrogen?”, Dr Kathy Nolan from Concerned Health Professionals of New York, Dr Carroll O’Dolan Family Physician in one of the proposed areas threatened by fracking and Dianne Little, Coordinator of Operation Grounded a cross border network of groups campaigning for a ban on petroleum licensing and fracking.
You can RSVP at www.sinnfeinstopfracking.org. and will be sent a link to attend the zoom.
The new International Solidarity Campaign to Ban Fracking continues to gain momentum with 40+ international and Irish groups also sent an open letter to Sinn Féin leaders in the North and the Republic including Mary Lou McDonald, Michelle O’Neill, MLA’s and TD’s demanding that Sinn Féin’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill use her veto power in the Executive to stop the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) plan from moving ahead with a policy to grant petroleum (oil and gas) licenses to drilling and fracking corporations.
Letter here: International Action to Protect Health
The letter outlines the current situation and states that given new information from a series of questions and answers between MLA Gerry Carroll and DUP Minister Gordon Lyons on January 17 and 27th that the DUP’s report that they are using to justify moving forward with drilling & fracking has not studied the public health impacts of fracking.
“Minister Lyons admits that the Department of Health and Public Health Agency were not available to participate in the Hatch report because they had to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Lyons also acknowledges that because of this the health info in the Hatch report is “not site specific” and is “based on published evidence in the UK”. It’s important to note here that the public health profile is unique to Northern Ireland. As a post-conflict society suffering with some of the highest PTSD rates in the world, a full independent public health assessment must be done.”
The International Solidarity to Ban Fracking campaign launched last week with actions outside Sinn Fein offices in Belfast, Dublin, Clare, and Limerick. The groups delivered letters throughout the Republic to TD’s highlighting the hypocritical role of Sinn Fein in the North not stopping fracking while they had banned it in 2017 in the Republic. The groups also created a #SinnFeinStopFracking Twitterstorm that trended in the top 5 in Ireland. In addition to the letter and livestream, the campaign this week is running an advertising campaign including a full-page ad in the Irish News and is running ads on Facebook.
Contacts
ROI Eddie Mitchell 00 353 (87) 223 9972
NI Dianne Little 07776277774
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