Index: /trunk/tools/bin/backport-common.sh
===================================================================
--- /trunk/tools/bin/backport-common.sh	(revision 84266)
+++ /trunk/tools/bin/backport-common.sh	(revision 84267)
@@ -73,4 +73,5 @@
 MY_EXTRA_ARGS=
 MY_DEBUG=
+MY_FORCE=
 
 while test $# -ge 1;
@@ -127,4 +128,8 @@
         --first-rev|--first|-1)
             MY_FIRST_REV=1
+            ;;
+
+        --force)
+            MY_FORCE=1
             ;;
 
@@ -160,4 +165,6 @@
             echo "  --first-rev, --first, -1"
             echo "    Merge only: Check that the branch does not have any pending changes."
+            echo "  --force"
+            echo "    Forces backporting, regardless of ancestry. Use with caution!"
             echo "  --update-first, --update, -u"
             echo "    Merge only: Update the branch before merging."
@@ -213,3 +220,2 @@
     exit 2;
 fi
-
Index: /trunk/tools/bin/backport-merge.sh
===================================================================
--- /trunk/tools/bin/backport-merge.sh	(revision 84266)
+++ /trunk/tools/bin/backport-merge.sh	(revision 84267)
@@ -71,4 +71,7 @@
         echo "*** Merging r${MY_REV} ..."
         echo "***"
+        if [ -n "${MY_FORCE}" ]; then
+            MY_MERGE_ARGS="$MY_MERGE_ARGS--ignore-ancestry"
+        fi
         if "${MY_SVN}" merge ${MY_MERGE_ARGS} "${MY_TRUNK_DIR}" "${MY_BRANCH_DIR}" -c ${MY_REV}; then
             # Check for conflict.