Around 150 people from across the UK have attended a protest in Aberdeen city centre against the fossil fuel industry and plans to develop an Energy Transition Zone in a Torry park.
Activists from Climate Camp Scotland have been staying in tents in St Fitticks Park in Torry since Thursday evening.
At around 1pm today, an hour after the original plan of noon, protesters banging drums and chanting slogans against the oil and gas industry appeared on St Nicholas Street outside Marks And Spencer, after walking through the city centre.
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A number of police officers were in attendance, and the protest remained peaceful.
In a large circle, signs were erected with slogans like “No new oil and gas”, and “Hands off St Fitticks Park”.
After the drumming and chanting concluded, a number of speakers from different causes spread their message via a microphone and speaker.
Support has been ‘unbelievable’ says Torry campaigner
Passers by and those curious enough to take a seat to listen heard from Betty Lyon, from the campaign to prevent development of an Energy Transition Zone at St Fitticks Park in Torry.
Other speakers included trade unionists and activists protesting the oil and gas industry as a whole.
Betty said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic, the support coming here from the people has been unbelievable because we’re getting nowhere with the council, they just keep dumping more and more things on us.
“They’re doing nothing in Torry, they never do apart from dumping stuff.”
She said that if development does go ahead at the St Fitticks site, then children will have “nowhere to play, nowhere”, and vowed to “fight until the end”.
Activists travelled from all across ‘Scotland and beyond’
Quan Nguyen, one of the people who helped to organise the Aberdeen camp, said he was pleased the protest.
“We have about 150 people here from all corners of Scotland and beyond,” he said.
He continued: “We’ve heard from campaigners to save St Fitticks Park, trade unionists saying how the just transition needs to come from workers and communities, we had Maggie Chapman MSP from the Greens to support us, and much more amazing speakers.”
Quan said there has been few Aberdonians who have stopped to ask the protesters what they’re doing.
He said: “A couple of them were a bit puzzled and asking what’s going on, some were just wanting to get past, and some were stopping and listening.
“The people who have come to our camp have been exceptionally friendly, all Torry residents who know what is at stake.”
When will they leave Aberdeen?
The camp at St Fitticks is due to be packed up tomorrow, after which all the activists are meant to be leaving.
But before that, there further protests are planned for Monday morning in the city.
Read more about the Climate Camp Aberdeen activists and what they’re doing in St Fitticks Park here:
- Meet the Aberdeen climate campers pitching their tents in Torry
- ‘It’s imagining the world you want to see’: Meet cyclists who pedalled over 170 miles to Aberdeen’s climate camp
- Leaders defend criticism from protesters heading to Aberdeen climate camp
Conversation