POLICE CLOSE ERSKINE BRIDGE BUT RAINBOW WARRIOR SAILS DEFIANTLY UP THE RIVER CLYDE

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GREENPEACE: Rainbow Warrior warned not to sail past Dumbarton upriver to COP26 protest at Finniston Quay

Closed: Erskine Bridge closed to vehicles as Rainbow Warrior sails up the Clyde.Greenpeace via Greenpeace
Erskine Bridge closed to vehicles as Rainbow Warrior sails up the Clyde.
Suzanne Plunkett via Greenpeace
Fridays for Future youth climate activists Jakapita Faith Kandanga, 24, from Namibia, left, Farzana Faruk, 22, from Bangladesh, second left, Maria Reyes, 19, from Mexico, second from right, and Edwin Moses Namakanga, 27, from Uganda pose for a photograph aboard the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior.

Traffic Scotland said the closure would be temporary and the bridge would be reopened “as soon as it’s safe to do so”, and that has now happened.

At around 4pm on Monday, the ship successfully passed underneath and the Erskine Bridge was reopened.

Four members of the Fridays For Future group from the most affected areas of the world are on board Greenpeace’s sailboat.

The vessel set off from Liverpool on Saturday night and is aiming to berth near to COP26, which is being held at the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow.

In a joint statement, the activists, who come from Namibia, Uganda, Mexico and Bangladesh, said: “The authorities have seen sense and now understand that our presence at the climate summit is too important to shut out.

Greenpeace via Greenpeace
Rainbow Warrior passes Ailsa Craig on its way to defy authorities by sailing up the Clyde.
“It’s ridiculous to think that climate talks could be held without the most affected people there and it’s positive that the police and port authorities have changed their minds.

“World leaders attending the talks could learn a lot from this cooperation. We have been ignored long enough, and now with a safe passage to Glasgow our voices must be heard at COP26.”

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: “The Rainbow Warrior is sailing towards the COP26 venue and the restricted area of the River Clyde at which time it will breach the regulations in place to ensure the security of COP26 and the safety of those in attendance.

“Harbour authorities had been in regular communication with the Rainbow Warrior and had instructed that, due to the restrictions and some significant safety concerns, it could not sail to its intended destination. Despite this, the captain of the Rainbow Warrior signalled her intent to continue.

“Accordingly, following consultation between police and harbour authorities, it was considered that the safest option for the crew of the Rainbow Warrior and wider public was to ensure the safe passage of the vessel to its destination.

“We are now engaging with Greenpeace and all relevant partners to ensure the safe passage of this vessel, its passengers and the wider public.”

Leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden earlier spoke at COP26.
Greta Thurberg (centre) says that change will not come from COP26 as she criticised the “blah blah blah” of world leaders.

Meanwhile, Greta Thunberg told a protest in Glasgow that change will not come from COP26 as she criticised the “blah blah blah” of world leaders.

The Swedish climate campaigner earlier spoke with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in the COP26 ‘blue zone’.

Thunberg joined a rally organised by ‘Fridays for Future Glasgow’ at Festival Park in Govan where there were speeches made by people from parts of the world most impacted by the climate crisis.

Activists are set to deliver Press Conference on the banks of the Pacific Quay between the STV building and the Premier Inn, opposite the COP26 conference at 17:30 Monday. Anyone with any pictures of the Rainbow Warrior passing Dumbarton Rock on its way upriver is invited to send them to the Democrat at heaneymedia@btinternet.com

2 comments

  1. Maybe the utterly sidelined Nicola Sturgeon will join the protestors since she and her government have had absolutely no part to play in the COP 26 summit.

    Excluded entirely this would allow Sturgeon to get some publicity to try and show that she is in some way relevant.

    A conference of 20,000 attendees from over 140 represented nations, and technical groups and Sturgeon and her pretend government have no part.

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  2. Or maybe, on second thoughts, Nicola Sturgeon will see the Rainbow Warrior as a stage prop for her big focus issue of LGBTI++ and queer.

    Aye, she’s a sidelined joke when it comes to significance on the real key issues on the world stage like climate time.

    Think anyone will ever listen to her again if she opens her mouth about climate change green issues.

    Reply

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