[OccupySheffieldNews] Occupy Sheffield: Press Statement

[Occupy Sheffield]

The following statement has been added to the Occupy
Sheffield website:

  Occupy Sheffield started 2012 in determined fashion;
  unlike banks, parliament and many corporations we did
  not suspend activity or trading over Christmas and New
  Year.  Instead we continued working for the many,
  expanding our Occupation and opening Sheffield’s Citadel
  of Hope.
  
  The New Year has been a great time for us to take stock
  of how far we have grown during more than two months of
  Occupation. We established ourselves on Church St to
  challenge the local symbols of a global economy that is
  serving the interests of the few rather than the many:
  high street banks, tax avoiding retailers and the nearby
  international operations of a major financial
  organisation. We feel the sheer amount of public
  engagement and media coverage we have received
  vindicates our decision to be here representing those in
  Sheffield who do not have a voice, who know that the
  power they have vested in politicians and corporations
  has been abused and turned against them. Unlike many
  other establishments in the city we extend a warm,
  hospitable welcome to all people who seek to challenge
  the way our world works, who wish to reject the
  misinformation and disinformation of media controlled by
  the wealthiest 1%, and the rhetoric of politicians. We
  are a truly open forum where everyone can engage in
  intelligent and informed debate free from the influence
  of self-interested local and international corporate
  establishments, where everyone can propose and
  contribute to solutions for the problems facing our age.
  
  In the wider world of the early twenty first century,
  responsibilities are shirked and the burden of
  reparation is shifted to those who did not cause the
  crises we are facing. Occupy Sheffield have rejected
  this endemic thinking; instead we have established a
  community that works towards self-responsibility and
  reliance within a supportive environment of holistic and
  collective responsibility, enabling each other to reach
  our potential with dignity and respect. We believe that
  by living in such a co-operative and compassionate way
  we are setting an example of how our society can work
  and flourish when the needs of the many are met and
  surpassed.
  
  We are defining a positive message of hope, an
  alternative to the shadow of fear most of the world is
  living under, a message that is reaching the city and
  the world. Over 2000 Sheffield people have signed a
  petition supporting us; a counter petition received 4
  signatures. In December 2011, Sheffield City Council
  approved a motion supporting our right to continued
  peaceful protest. We continue to receive the support of
  many other groups and individuals including The
  Sheffield Green Party , Sheffield Quakers, members of
  the congregation from Sheffield Cathedral, Positive
  Money, all trade unions in Sheffield, UK Uncut
  Sheffield, Women’s Institute of Peace and Freedom, Billy
  Bragg, Sheffield Live, Now Then Magazine, Sheffield Indy
  Media, Alt-Sheff.org, Broomhill Labour Party, Heeley
  Ward Labour Party, Justice for All, Heeley City Farm,
  Paul Bloomfield MP, and people visiting and walking by
  the camp every day who agree with what we’re doing and
  offer support, many of whom work for major banks and
  corporations. Whilst we use existing, open and
  accountable avenues of bringing the concerns of the many
  to account, we believe those avenues are few and reveal
  the true limit of what is often mistaken for ‘democracy’
  around our world. That’s why we are using more direct
  actions to reach those who need to have their voice
  heard. By doing so we seek not only to inform and
  educate people about the problems facing our world but
  also to reveal the many solutions that stand up for
  equal rights and justice, against exploitation,
  corruption and corporate greed.
  
  In January 2012 Sheffield’s Citadel of Hope will be
  welcoming people from around the UK to the national
  Occupy conference; we believe this will be a pivotal
  moment in the fight for a fairer world, a world where
  currently those in whom we entrust our power are using
  the social disaster, the economic crisis they’ve created
  to shock and awe us into accepting actions that go
  against our better nature and conscience. If they bring
  anything to us it will be misery and fear for our
  futures. They can only treat us like this whilst we let
  them; how much more we endure is up to us. We will not
  tolerate them ignoring us in favour of greed, arrogance
  and corruption. We can stand up to them as a city, as a
  nation and as a world, and show them that we are the
  real power for change.
  
  https://occupysheffield.org/2012/01/13/press-statement/