It’s already been five days that the Active Resistance Camp for the Defense of the Territory from the MAT (Muy Alta Tension; Very High Tesnsion lines of electricity) and the space that will be usurped for its installation in the forests around Fellines (Viladens), not far from Girona. In these past days more than a hundred people have met in this area who have come from the area and from far afield. During this first week, we wanted to give importance to familiarity of the zone to be usurped, to see the state of the advancement of the project and to share experiences and strageties of the similar struggles to difuse information and foment agitation against the project.
During our promenades in the work zone that the construction of the towers of the line that still need to be built in the zone around Girona (that go from Bescano to Santa Llogaia d’Àlguema) advance very quickly. In certain places, the construction of the cement bases of the towers is happening in a rapid fashion. The forests have been cleared in other places to prepare for the construction of the towers and new paths have been cleared to make way for the installation equipment.
Concerning the interconnection of struggles, we’ve had the opportunity to be with comrades coming from past and present struggles in France. They’ve presented similar movements against high tension lines of electricity and struggles against nuclear energy in Normandy and finally the current struggle against wind turbines planned in the Ariège. Another discussion about the destruction of the Amazonian rain forest in Peru perpetrated by oil companies such as Repsol (The spanish version of Total). All of these things have been the motor behind very interesting debates about the possible strategies and practices about these experiences.
The inhabitants of the villages in the zone to be destroyed have expressed to us their solidarity when we went to their farmers’ markets. Some of these people say the MAT has already been constructed and that it can’t be stopped. Our insistent response is that the only struggle that can be lost are those that are abandonned.
The situation changes from day to day. The towers are being constructed every day of the week, even if the workers aren’t at the same tower. It’ clear that the companies want to finish the construction as quickly as possible. So, it’s very important that a big and prolonged participation continues to put the monkey wrench in this machine of destruction, knowing that each day the construction is put behind causes more economic damage.
We invite you all to participate in the assemblies that are held each day 7 o’clock in the evening at the camp, also in the walks we make to the work zones. We equally invite you to come for the festivities planned for the 30 and 31 of August. Above all, we want to highlight the importance to bring the struggle against the MAT and it’s world in each corner of this electrified society.
Some of the companies who participate in the construction of the MAT:
- Red Eléctrica de España (REE)
- Rotella
- Promsa
- Garoc
- Vinci
- Eulen
- Grues Güell
- Estabanell
- Intelgir
- Terroca Treballs
- Elecnor
- Monfo S.L.
- Siemens
We would also like to shed some light on the dirty work that’s happening in the Unió de Pagesos (the biggest agriculture union in Catalonia), which puts pressure on the people living in the affected farmlands to accept the offers to buy their lands, under the threat of usurpation without financial compensation in making them believe that the possibility to continue the struggle until that last moment is impossible.
Nothing is FINISHED
We will see each other between the shadows.