Police beating climate camp protesters this evening
What was happening as I left was that the Police had decided to send some people into the middle of the camp. This was met by everyone holding up their hands in peaceful protest, and calls of “incoming”, “go back” and booing. There was some altercation, and at least one man in the camp area was beaten around the head and was bleeding profusely.
The riot police had materialised at both ends of the camp sometime mid-afternoon, even when there was no riot in progress, and might never be, but I felt very intimidated all the same, especially when I went with Big Mark, dressed in a pin-stripe suit covered in what looked like green custard, to sing de-escalation songs in front of the Police line.
Those who argue for real action on climate change are beaten up…the entire global climate framework is based on carbon trading, which doesn’t solve the crisis but does provide more money for financial institutions.
I guess the men and women who sold the world will be getting knighthoods…
Brown treats the electorate as he does his wife. With contempt. Gordon’s storm troopers must not allow anyone to interrupt his dinner.
Comment by oldrightie — 1 April, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
Time to wake up people
Comment by Flea bite — 1 April, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
Most of the police have been over-aggressive. They forget that they are meant to SERVE the people, not twat them over the head with batons.
Comment by mixmatosis — 1 April, 2009 @ 10:51 pm
Indymedia minute by minute update on what is happening at http://london.indymedia.org.uk/articles/943
The best news source on what is actually happening by far
Comment by Strategist — 1 April, 2009 @ 11:11 pm
It’s not just Brown.. look at Smith and her Database… the arrogance of this government is not gender-specific. The top brass are all monsters.
Comment by Maria — 1 April, 2009 @ 11:17 pm
I was at the Bishopsgate climate camp, passing through. I’m a capitalist but even I was shocked at the behaviour of the riot police. The atmosphere was festival-like. I saw the riot police lining up and was bemused as there was no trouble. I was horrified when I realised that they were going to move in on the peaceful camp. Campers had their hands in the air but I think it kicked off a bit when a TSG smashed a girl of about 20 in the face with his shield. The police definitely started it. I always thought demonstraters were talking out of their arse when they claim police weren’t provoked. Now I believe them.
Comment by Evelyn — 2 April, 2009 @ 12:04 am
A man in his 30s, trapped behind one of the police cordons, collapsed and later died at hospital. This vile police intimidation technique was already arguably a contravention of human right laws. How will the police justify their actions now?
Comment by Anon — 2 April, 2009 @ 12:33 am
On the death of a protestor:
And why is the BBC not reporting the death, at all, on the front page at www.bbc.co.uk/news as I write. The G20 article there, now 2nd row, just relates to the RBS storming. Need we ask why the state broadcaster is doing this?
My condolences to his family and friends.
It’s not yet clear how the guy died.
Scanty reports are suggesting he was caught up by the cops. Others ‘natural causes’; which could be a host of things. e.g. what may have caused e.g. a heart attack. I’m not going to point a finger yet.
But IF the cops are involved or indeed if they don’t yet know whether they are involved this is what has already happened.
At an emergency meeting at Scotland Yard, their people PR will have already had it made clear to them that they need to leak whatever they have on the dead protestor to the media ASAP - he went there for a trouble, maybe a youth caution for shoplifting, that sort of thing. Spurious accusations - e.g. ‘was he my rapist?’ (as happened to Jean Charles de Menezes) will occur later.
Elsewhere a cop detail will have destroyed all forensic evidence relating to the death, already met to collaborate on how they write it up and will have managed to ‘lose’ other bits of evidence.
Somewhere else cops will desperately be trying to see from their intelligence video etc, which protestors or journalists may have captured events around the death as photos or video.
As soon as they identify them, they will seek straightaway to seize this and there is a possibility that this will later be destroyed, in a ‘accidental fire’ or similar. About as accidental as Steve Biko ‘falling out’ of police station window that is.
I really, really advise anyone who may have such evidence to immediately post it online and anonymously e.g. at Flickr, YourTube, indymedia etc so that we at least have a copy when the cops seize the originals. Post links to it in many left and anarchist sites. Such photographers should do so from a web café and may also want to stay elsewhere for a few days.
If, and I stress if, the cops have killed, it will be the first time they have done this to a demonstrator in Britain (save NI) since they murdered Blair Peach in 1979 and Kevin Gatley in 1974. The time previous to that was in the 30s.
It will be a whole new ball game. It will be a declaration of war by the pigs.
Let us not be found wanting.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 2 April, 2009 @ 1:54 am
As I predicted the police PR offensive has already started:
- “One man died after collapsing, but it was not clear what caused his death, Reuters reported. A police source said he probably died from a pre-existing medical condition.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/world/europe/02protest.html?em
Which is, of course, at variance with the official line - ‘we are investigating’.
Elsewhere there are claims that protestors threw bottles at the guy and those with him as he was being evacuated by paramedics (on a stretcher, I would have thought?). I wonder who may be the source for such unlikely sounding claims?
Of course,I don’t know what happened and he may have died from something unrelated to violence. But he may not have.
In saying ‘Let us not be found wanting’ above, I am arguing that we should view any ‘official version’ with a healthy dose of scepticism, before making up our minds independently.
And finally ‘not be found wanting’ in arranging protests over the death IF (and I stress IF) it is the fault of the cops.
Comment by Southpawpunch — 2 April, 2009 @ 6:14 am
Well, the “prexisting medical condition” argument hardly absolves the police from responsibility.
May of us have expereinced being penned in by the police in these circumstances, and they are indifferent as to who they detain, even inclusding unconnected passers by; and then they are heardtless n not allowing people out, whether they have small, childen, are elderly or infirm or whatever. So given the thousands of people they have done this too it was only a matter of time before they detained someone witha pre existing medical condition that made it dangerous for them.
Indeed the possibility of medical complicatiosn arising from detaining an arbitrary mass of people in stressful condition, snot allowing them to know when they will be alowed to move on, and not allowing them to go to the toilet or get refreshement is so obvioulsy foreseeable that the senior officers who authorise the tactics are arguable reckless to the medical consequences.
Comment by Andy Newman — 2 April, 2009 @ 8:54 am
I went to Liverpool St to meet a friend. At that time there were a few hundred climate camp-type protesters in front of the station but it was quiet. I met my friend inside the station later, there was nobody at the front of the station when we went out. We walked for a distance and in the Bank area there was one of these police kettles going on. We walked on and eventually reached Trafalgar Square for the demo there. Later we went home. I heard police helicopters coming from the City late into the night.
Comment by Faust — 2 April, 2009 @ 11:44 am