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Public trial for war criminal

27-04-2002 03:29

kissinger puppet protest
Up to 200 people protested against Henry Kissinger presence in London on wednesday 24th April, when he attended the Institute of Directors conference at the Royal Albert Hall. Shouting "Henry Kissinger, War Criminal", people staged two sit down protests blocking the road until police forcefully removed them amidst tight security.

Report and background here
Pictures: 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 : GR pics
Links here
Video here

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GM Crop Destroyed in Highlands

24-04-2002 08:50

About five acres of a field of genetically modified crops in the Highlands has been destroyed. The Northern Constabulary report that the GM oilseed rape was destroyed on Saturday night at Roskill Farm, Munlochy, on the Black Isle in Easter Ross. The site has been the focus of campaigners’ protests since it was earmarked for GM crop trials by the Agri-business company Aventis two years ago. 4,000 protesters based on the Black Isle handed a petition to the transport and environment committee expressing their opposition to the crop trial. A few days ago a Scottish parliamentary committee called for the crop trial, beginning to flower, to be ploughed up. read more

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Thousands Protest in London

16-04-2002 05:16

thousands protest in london
Tens of thousands of people marched in London on Saturday 13th April in a pro-Palestine demonstration to protest against Israeli military action in the West Bank. Called by the Muslim Association of Britain, the protest was supported by many organisations including CND and the Stop The War Coalition. Disagreement on the numbers participating was greater than any of the recent anti-war protests, with the BBC and others initially reporting 50-100,000, then dramatically scaling the figures down after police revised their figures down to 10-15,000 - meanwhile some news organisation reported just hundreds! At the same time in Exeter 300 people held a march for Palestinian rights, while 3000 tried to march to the now infamous town of Jenin; the day before on Friday, a group of activists occupied the head offices of Caterpillar in Desford, Leicestershire in protest at the bulldozer-building company profiteering from the situation in Palestine.
Reports: 1 : 2 : 3
Pictures 1 : 2 : 3 : 4

For updates, reports and timeline of events from the War on Palestine see:
IMC Palestine | IMC Israel | IMC UK updates

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NUJ Journalists Strike Over Low Pay

16-04-2002 05:12

NUJ members at the Guardian Media-owned Greater Manchester Weekly Newspapers are to strike Tuesday and Wednesday over low pay and union recognition. In a secret ballot 100 percent of NUJ members who took part voted for a strike. On the day the result was declared the management of Greater Manchester Weekly Newspapers (North) announced that they were de-recognising the NUJ - refusing to negotiate on pay and conditions. read more Update 30/04: The strike is over and there has been a settlement

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More Snowball Acquittals

16-04-2002 04:43

April 10 2002. "GenetiX Snowball" campaigners Jo Hamilton and Martin Shaw won their appeal in Cambridge Crown Court and were acquitted. They had been convicted of Aggravated Trespass for pulling up genetically modified crops in August 1999 with Rowan Tilly. Ms Tilly appealed her conviction in the High Court in October 2001. She was acquitted, setting a precedent. full story

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Police Harassment as Mayday Approaches

09-04-2002 08:42

police raid social centre 12.04.02
STOP PRESS: 12.04.02 Police Raid Radical Dairy Social Centre + Seize Computers: Reports pictures : text : Mayday Press Release (12/04/02)

A recent press release details how police have been intimidating several web hosts from hosting a Mayday website. The police threatened them with raids and having their servers seized if they hosted the website ourmayday.org.uk The website contains details of the "Mayday Festival of Alternatives" running from 26th April to May 6th which includes film screenings, workshops and benefits. Police have also been photographing and filming people attending public meetings and social events at places like the Radical Dairy.

Also recently the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group (LDMG) revealed secret documents telling judges to come down hard on people arrested in connection with Mayday protests. The document titled "Mayhem" first came to the attention of LDMG in June 2001 when a defence barrister was refused access to it on the grounds that it was secret! Sentencing in England is supposedly based on individual circumstances and the seriousness of the offence, but clearly this doesn't apply to Mayday protesters.

The first corporate media articles about Mayday have appeared recently, with the Observer claiming that anarchist groups were planning "running battles with police" and the Independent predicting this year's Mayday "could be the most violent for a decade". By this time last year the corporate media was in a Mayday frenzy egged on by Police and Government statements with almost 50 articles printed claiming protestors were set to use samuri swords against police, tube ventilation shafts to travel, and children as human sheilds. This year the police have changed tactic and have yet to make any public announcements about the protests, after many media commentators last year criticised them and the mainstream media for a propaganda campaign hyping the issue of violence.

On Mayday itself (wed 1st May) protests in London include a critical mass bicycle protest starting at 7.30am from north and south London and meeting at the US embassy in Grosvenor Square; a breakfast solidarity protest outside Horseferry Magistrates Court to show support for the 7 'Wombles' who were arrested on Halloween last year; a mass action in the area of Mayfair in the afternoon at around 1pm with different themes; and a Soho Carnival Parade called by Sexworkers Pride which starts at 5pm. The normal TUC trade union event will start at Clerkenwell Green and march to Trafalger Square for a rally at 3pm and this year will be joined by the groups Globalise Resistance and the Stop The War Coalition. While most events are based in london, other cities are planning mayday events as well.

As usual Indymedia will be providing coverage of the events from participants themselves, and an Internet radio webstream is planned - details coming soon.
Don't hate the media - Be the media!

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Mock War Funeral In Northhampton

09-04-2002 01:53

The Northampton Stop the War Coalition held a 'mock funeral' on Saturday afternoon in Abington Street and then asked members of the public to sign a petition. The coalition claims that over 600,000 children under five have died in Iraq as a direct result of sanctions against the country. read more

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07-04-2002 13:12

cnd_peace_demo
Muslim groups, trade unions, peace activists and anti-capitalist groups among others joined forces to demonstrate in London at the CND "Don't STARt WARS" demo on sat 30th April. Supported by the Stop The War coalition the march and rally was against the US Star Wars missile defence system but included resistance to the 'war on terror', its expansion to Iraq and other countries, and also the military action in Palestine. The march went from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square and included several sit down protests, during one of which a senior police officer threatened a bystander with a beating if "it kicked off". In Trafalgar Square several speakers called for more direct action, both against any UK involvement in the US Star Wars system, and immediately should any attack on Iraq start. Organisers put the numbers at 8,000, while some said 20,000, and the police reported just over 3,500. Report 1 | Report 2 | Photos 1 | 2

A parallel protest called by DAAWN (direct action against war now!) saw its meeting point of Grosvenor Square.Report | Photos

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Bristol Residents Reclaim their Community

29-03-2002 11:05

easton bristol m32 protest picture
Around 200 local residents brought commuter traffic in Easton, Bristol to a standstill on Monday 25 March. The junction 3 roundabout of the M32 was blocked by the banner-waving/chanting crowd to draw attention to the soaring levels of street-crime and mugging plaguing the community and the reluctance of city authorities to tackle the issues or engage with local people over them.

"We’re sick of waiting for inaction," said Easton resident Claudette Thompson, who had brought her five year old son, Liam, along to block the road. "The city council and police have shown they have no interest in sorting out this kind of anti-social behaviour or the crack and heroin dealing that generates it. Well Easton people have had enough. The community is reclaiming the spaces and the streets... We refuse to continue being scared."

Report here
Photos: 1 : 2 : 3 : 4

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OKasional Cafe still open for Easter!

29-03-2002 10:54

manchester OKasional Cafe logo
The OK cafe, Manchester's roving squat cafe and venue is still open for Easter despite appearing in court earlier this week. The judge was totally sympathetic to the aims of the OK cafe and seemed genuinely gutted that he had to provide the necessary bit of paper to chuck everyone out. This position endorses the OK cafe's policy of opening disused commercial space and using it creatively for workshops and entertainment, housing homeless people, and creating a non-commercial space where people can chill out.

"Now it's just a case of negociating with the owners, baliffs, etc. saying that if the occupants try to resist then it'll cost them a lot of money as far as eviction costs go. So it'd be better to wait a bit. This has been the case with all previous cafes - and works well. It has already been effective - We've heard that the cafe is definitely going to be open over Easter!"

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Hatfield Moor blockaded for 3 hours

29-03-2002 01:20

Peat Picture:
Last Monday 100 people with banners and flags blockaded Scotts on Hatfield Moor in South Yorkshire, the US multinational responsible for extraction of the largest remaining lowland peat habitats in England.

"A bunch of people running across a lumpy muddy field with kids, a wheelchair and a bike plus sound system while the police had a smaller distance to cover on tarmac – but somehow we made it across to the single track that provides the only access to the peat works. We occupied the track, celebrating our surprising achievement with drum and dance. The police moved up to our position and spent a long time figuring out what to do. In the meantime, people played football and a crèche was set up for the kids." [Quote from report]

Whilst others actions continued the over the following days, resistance has been increasing to the companies extraction of millions of tons of peat to sell to garden centres and farmers around the country on Thorne and Hatfield Moors throughout 2001. [Report 2] [Report 3]

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Corporates in footsteps of RTS spoofs

20-03-2002 08:01

Corporate newspaper, the Observer, has followed the lead of Reclaim the Streets publications like Evading Standards and Financial Crimes to unleash its own version of satire on the events of September 11th. An excerpt: "Twelve days after the collapse of the World Trade Centre, amazed rescue workers uncover an entire office floor that is still doing business...'We were still sitting at our desks when we landed in the rubble', said one dealer. 'I actually completed three transactions on the way down.'"

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Protests against EU-summit 9-16 March

15-03-2002 02:23

Sat 16th March in Barcelona
Culminating a week of events called by the Campaign Against the Europe of Capital,up to 500,000 people marched through the streets of Barcelona on March 16 to protest the summit of European leaders. Protesters faced widespread police violence, including the use of rubber bullets and tear gas, despite the fact that the majority of protesters were peaceful.
SEE IMC UK Breaking News Sat 16th.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 - Videos: 1 | 2 | 3

The previous day up to 20,000 people took part in decentralised actions all over the city. Many were attacked by riot police with what one Reuters correspondent called "the considerable force that is a trademark of the Spanish riot police". The legal team confirmed a total of 109 arrests over the two days.
SEE IMC UK Breaking News Fri 15th.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

The week of protests started with 3000 people holding a reclaim the streets party on Sat 9th (report | video), and included a 100,000 trade unions demonstration on the 14th. 400,000 people also protested on the 10th against further privatisation of the water supply (report), and the National Hydrological Plan, which would re-route the biggest river in the Spanish State.

While much of the planning for the week of events had sought to minimise confrontation, the denial of basic rights that is now becoming commonplace in Europe was widespread - although not wholly unexpected - in Spain. Statewatch had previously reported on the Spanish State's latest criminalisation strategies to quell dissent.
See evidence of police agent provocateurs in Barcelona: Video . Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

- Breaking News Archive (multilingual)
- IMC Barcelona Protest Archive
- IMC UK Barcelona Special Feature



ROME: RECLAIM YOUR MEDIA!        Mar 16 2002

Reclaim your Media!

Also on March 16th, a 20,000-strong Street Party took place in Rome to support Radio Onda Rossa and Italy IMC for free and independent information.
The street party was called after four Italian social centres, allegedly housing Indymedia centres, were raided by the police on Feb 20th. During this operation the police seized audio and video material referring to the anti-G8 actions in Genova last summer, and confiscated computers, archives, and equipment needed by hundreds of Italian activists for daily cultural and political activities.
In Italy the attack on independent information has also concerned Radio Onda Rossa - an independent radio station in Rome. On January 22nd, the ministry of communications officially notified that its broadcasting license will be revoked.

IMC Italy | Radio Onda Rossa

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Anarchists turn up at Police protest

14-03-2002 13:34

The most sureal protest of the year took place yesterday. Police officers from across Britain gathered around parliament to protest at reforms to the police service proposed by the home secretary, David Blunkett. Banned from actually demonstrating in uniform or with placards, hundreds of men with skintight haircuts loitered around Westminster seeking more money.

The police brass band complete with plastic 'bobbie' helmets drafted in for the day were drowned out when an assortment of Globalisation, enviromental and social justice campaigners turned up with a Samba band. As the media descended upon the activists, d signs were displayed with "Remember the Miners" slogans and others highlighing oppressive policing of protests. Full report.

Meanwhile another police demonstration took place in Barcelona.

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'Last Chance' GM Rally In Stratford

10-03-2002 12:58

stratford genetics action picture
(New pictures here)
Campaigners have damaged a crop of Genetically Modified oilseed rape at Forest Farm, Long Marston, after a rally in Stratford-upon-Avon attended by up to 300 people. 2002 is the final year of the farm scale GM trials in Britain.

Last year a survey carried out in the village showed that the majority of residents do not want GM crops. Letters have been written to MPs, local authorities, and the farmer himself asking for the trial to be stopped.

Local people attended a public meeting at the time of sowing in October to demand action from the Government and Aventis - the biotech company who manufacture the GM crops. The trial has even been reported to the police for the criminal damage that could be caused through contamination of neighbouring crops rendering them unsaleable. GM Info

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International Women's Day 8th March

08-03-2002 00:07

international womens day london pic
International Women's Day was celebrated in over 80 countries throughout the world. Across the UK there were screenings, meetings and protests.

In London the Global Women's Strike campaign held a 'Whistle-Stop Tour and Cacerolazo" to "Sweep Out the Global Killers". Around 160 people, the majority women, with puppets, banners, drummers, pots 'n' pans and brooms, marched danced and sang their way from the Shell Centre, via the Ministry of Defence and the Institute of Directors, to the World Bank Office at Haymarket. At each location there were speeches highlighting the issues, with a strong emphasis on anti-war and anti-globalisation.
Pictures: 1 : montage a : montage b
Audio (.wav): summary : singing

At the same time around 40 women held a noise protest outside Holloway Women's Prison, highlighting the conditions women are held in and the fact that increasing numbers of women are being jailed for poverty related 'crimes'. Report and pics: here.

Later in the early evening people gathered for a No Sweat 'Tour of Shame' along Oxford Street. Highlighting sweatshop conditions and the exploitation of women workers, the main GAP store was shut down while speeches were made and leaflets handed out, before people moved off to also visit the main Nike store. Report here.

A 24hr web stream celebrating International Women's Day was also broadcast on Friday 8th March by Pirate TV and included video footage shot earlier in the day.

Also see Indymedia.org: International Women's Day Feature.

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Pies and Pints at Big Brother Awards

07-03-2002 06:03

BBA
On March 4, 2002, Privacy International presented the 4th annual UK "Big Brother" awards to the government and private sector organisations that have done the most to invade personal privacy in Britain. Four Big Brother awards were presented, including Sir Richard Wilson, Cabinet Secretary, for his long standing commitment to opposing freedom of information, data protection and ministerial accountability, and the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) for its 2001 proposal to archive and warehouse all email, internet and telephone call traffic records for the entire population.
Five "Winston" awards were also given to individuals and organisations which have made an outstanding contribution to the protection of privacy, as well as to those who have been victims of privacy invasion, but the proceedings were disrupted by people who objected to the winners. The assistant editor of The Daily Telegraph had a pint thrown over him and hit back, while ex-MI5 agent David Shayler was pied in the face.

Reports: Award Winners : Shayler Pie : Telegraph Pint

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Emissions Trading Conference Disrupted

06-03-2002 00:12

RT-logo
Activists from part of the Rising Tide Rising Tide UK network strolled into and disrupted a top-level £300+ a head conference on the new market in trading carbon dioxide emissions. The conference, titled 'Emissions Trading Schemes - Objectives, Implementation and Future Opportunities', was held at London's Kensington Palace Hotel.
Rochelle Jackson from Rising Tide UK explained the situation. "The new market in the trading of carbon emissions is pie in the sky. It pretends to be a solution to the oncoming climate change crisis, but is in fact the privatisation of the atmosphere, the same atmosphere that protects the earth and all its people. We need 60% cuts in carbon emissions now, and hand-in-hand with that, we need climate justice, which could start with an admission that it is the rich in the west who are causing the problem and who are now attempting to profit from it, and the poorest people of the south who are bearing the brunt of the crisis".

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Thousands March For Peace

04-03-2002 08:12

stop the war pic
Thousands marched through London on Saturday 2nd March protesting against the continued bombing in Afghanistan and the evolving plans to widen the "war against terrorism" to Iraq , Somalia and elsewhere . Called by the Stop the War Coalition and supported by CND, the march went from Hyde Park to a rally in Trafalgar Square. Many different political and religious groups were represented as well as many concerned individuals. Organisers reported 20,000 people while police said there were only 7,500. Media coverage was almost non-existent. The protest followed ARROW's action last week when protestors locked themselves to the gates of Downing Street .

Reports: Overview : Sit down protest : Call for direct action : Stop The War report
Pictures: montages : stills
Video: Tariq Ali : Tony Benn

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The plant that burns Blair's rubbish is putting Britain's children at risk

27-02-2002 08:17

Climbers on top of waste chimney
A team of Greenpeace volunteers have shut-down and occupied Britain's flagship waste incinerator in south London to protect the health of Britain's children. The SELCHP plant in Lewisham, which burns rubbish from several London boroughs as well as the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street, routinely releases dioxin chemicals which the World Health Organisation classifies as causing cancer. The Government has already admitted that one in three Britons are taking in the maximum amount of dioxin which is considered 'safe' and more than half of British babies and toddlers are exceeding this limit. Since Monday 25th Feb, Greenpeace volunteers have sealed the chimney flues and pledged to occupy the plant until Onyx - the French multi-national which runs the incinerator - shut operations for good. Lewisham Council, which plays host to SELCHP, has estimated that it could recycle 92% of its waste but in fact recycles only 4%. As of Wednesday 27th nine activists are still defying teams of climbing bailiffs trying to remove them.