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Scotland says Don't Attack Iraq

25-10-2002 14:26

Bin Laden Bush Blair
About 15 000 people demonstrated in Glasgow on Sunday 20th October. The 'Scotland says Don't Attack Iraq' demo in Glasgow was the biggest demonstration seen in Scotland for a very long time. Many different groups and also individuals were present from all corners of Scotland - from Berwick upon Tweed, to Newcastle, Dundee, Aberdeen, Forth, some trainloads from Edinburgh and of course lots from Glasgow. Four marches from north, south, east and west merged in the city centre. Many people will take civil disobedience actions in the event of an attack on Iraq. Over the coming weeks the Pledge campaign will be used to try and mobilise for the Day of Action on the 31st with over 20 non-violent direct action workshops organised across Scotland.

[ Report and photos | More photos | Army Recruitment Office Action | Iraq War Threat ]

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Protest against Closure of Sangatte Refugee Shelter

21-10-2002 07:52

sangate_refugees_cps
October 19th: The first cross-channel demo was held by activists from a wide range of anti-racist groups in France and the UK. It started at Dover Removals Center, continued at the Red Cross Camp in Sangatte and was supported by Kent refugee action network, Barbed Wire Britain, Committee to defend Asylum Seekers, CAE Paris Commite Anti-Expulsions, Green Pepper Magazine, Amsterdam, European Youth For Action, Amsterdam, and London noborder group - and by hundreds of people inside Sangatte, mainly from Afghanistan and Irak. Full report
Audio reports and interviws: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Sangatte is due to close in March 2003. The inhabitants will be separated in what the authorities call "genuine" and "non-genuine" refugees. In contrast, demands at the demo included the continuation of Sangatte, abolition of immigration controls and borders and free movement for every one - including a group of aliens who asked for admission to the camp during the demo. Many refugees gave testimonies to mainstream and alternative media. Information about the campaign against the IOM was distributed as part of the european week of action.
More on Dover: Carf report
About Sanguatte: Guardian, Downing Street, Sangatte to close
Support from IOM Campaign

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Media Democracy Day

17-10-2002 11:50

media democracy day logo
18/10/02 - Actions update:
-Media Circus outside Daily Mail in London, report
-Guerrilla Screening at London's South Bank, report and photos
-MDD in Lancaster, report.
-MDD Radio Broadcast 5pm-6.45pm Resonance FM 104.4 Webstream here

International Media Democracy Day, October 18th, sees events occurring in over 25 cities across the world. Creative actions, protests, film screenings, discussions, lobbying, print publications, subvertising and spoofs are all playing their part in the beginnings of a new global movement around media issues.

Held for the first time last year in Canada and involving groups like Adbusters and FAIR, this year the day has gone global, supported by high profile groups like The Media Channel, alternative news networks like Indymedia, and smaller grass roots community media groups.

Focusing on the key themes of "Education, Promotion, Protest and Change" it provide an opportunity both to unite and publicise the work of independent, alternative and community media projects, and to protest against the failings of an exclusive corporate media system enslaved by advertising and profit.

In the UK events include a guerrilla film screening of the European NewsReal on Friday 18th October in London, as well as other events, screenings and discussions. Planning for 2003 is already underway with one eye on the UN World Summit on Information Society in Geneva, December 2003.

Reclaim The Media!
Global MediaDDay Site / UK MediaDDay Site
Media Detox Plan
Italy IMC Media Map pdf
Mediachannel: October Media Action Month
Media Mogul Ate My Hamster PDF

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Plymouth Scrap Trident Protest

16-10-2002 17:47

plymouth anti trident protest pic
Over five hundred people supported the CND national Scrap Trident demonstration in Plymouth. They came from as far afield as Southampton and Birmingham with local support from Plymouth and the surrounding areas to march, chant and show solidarity in the campaign against nuclear weapons.
They called for the UK government to comply with International Law and scrap the Trident nuclear weapons program. They also rejected Tony Blair's hypocritical pro-war stance in relation to weapons of mass destruction.

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Indymedia UK Wins New Media Award

14-10-2002 02:54

Indymedia UK has won the Advocacy Award, as well as being commended in the Online Communities Award in the New Statesman magazine's annual New Media Awards.

The awards took place on October 1st at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference, where the opportunity was used to highlight the increasing threats to free press and civil liberties and increasing political repression post September 11 (see IFJ Report)

Detailing some of the attacks on Indymedia from around the world over the last year indymedia volunteers accepting the award wondered whether the support shown for Indymedia by Stephen Timms (E-commerce Minister) who presented the award, and judges like Bill Edwards, the Director of the government's e-Communications office, could be counted on if Indymedia UK is attacked by the police or state in the future. The opportunity was also used to highlight Media Democracy Day on October 18th and next year's UN World Summit on Information Society in Geneva.

Read Full Report / Media Democracy Day: UK + Global / UN World Summit on Information Society 2003: crisinfo.org+ wsis.info

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12-10-2002 07:31


Indonesian Embassy Stormed

The Indonesian embassy in London was forcefully entered on Wednesday 9 Oct in a protest against the country’s continued occupation of West Papua [press release]. Campaigners, who chained themselves to railings in a third floor window and pulled down the Indonesian flag, are demanding the Indonesian government cease their colonialist campaign in West Papua, which has killed an estimated 100,000 indigenous people. Eventually the police arrived and cut people from the railings. Four people were arrested and charged. Three were held in custody overnight and apperared at Bow Street Magistrates Court on Thursday morning. Full report and pic.
As part of the same campaign, activists also blockaded for nearly six hours Anglesey Aluminiums on Holy Island, Anglesey. Report and pictures.

Busines Leader Gets His Just Deserts

Sir Mark Moody Stuart, leader of Business Action for Sustainable Development (BASD) and former chairman of Shell was both pied and 'greenwashed' in a spectacular double whammy on Wednesday night. Moody Stuart was arriving at a panel discussion in St James Church in Piccadilly, when two activists accosted him, one wielding a cream pie and the other a tub of 'greenwash' and hastily dispatched their loads before running off into the night. The protestors, calling themselves the Greenwash Guerrillas, accused Moody Stuart of 'greenwashing' big business. They were angry at the way that Moody Stuart and his business colleagues had thwarted efforts to achieve binding regulation of corporations at the Earth Summit.
Reports and Pictures

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Diggers, Dams & Damage

09-10-2002 06:42

Hatfield Moor action
100,000 pounds worth of damage was caused by Activists taking direct action to protect peat moors. They also raised the issue of peat and climate change. Peat Bogs store CO2, as such, they are our rainforests.

This report from last month's week of action at Hatfield Moor and Tickhill garden centre near Doncaster, has just been posted up to Indymedia.

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Plans for Reddish Vale Rubbished!

04-10-2002 13:09

Local people in Reddish, Stockport, are celebrating a victory in opposition to Reddish Vale Golf Club over plans to dump up to 100,000 tonnes of waste next to a beauty spot. With the prospect of 15,000 wagon loads of waste trundling past a local school over a two and a half year period residents, councillors and even local MP Andrew Bennett warned it would be an 'Environmental Disaster' if the plans went ahead.

At a public meeting in July, about 80 people told representatives of the golf club what would happen if they went ahead with the plans . It was made clear there would be objections and perhaps actions against any Waste Disposal Licence, and that people would be contacting the Environment Agency. The campaigners have now been told that the golf club have changed their minds about tipping on the site.

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Opposition To War Increases. Biggest peace protest in a generation in London.

27-09-2002 02:43

28th Sept - In a powerful turnout of the opposition to the U.S. and U.K. driven proposals for war on Iraq, the anti-war demo organised by the Stop The War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain, and supported by CND and a large anti-capitalist bloc attracted according to the organizers around 400,000 demonstrators [video : audio]. Police had yesterday informed City of London Security that they were expecting 30-40,000 people on today's anti-war march, but by the afternoon had counted 'more than 150,000 people', adding there had been two arrests for minor public order offences. The Stop the War coalition has called for a national day of action on Thursday the 31st of October to stop the war.

Click here for IMC-UK full report, photo, video and audio files, first-hand accounts, transcrips of speeches and background information.
IMC UK Iraq Section

Similar protests were held throughout the world on Saturday. Around one hundred thousand demonstrated in Rome, while more actions were held in Milano, Cairo, Berlin (de), Dublin (pics), Sevilla and Madrid (esp), Sydney and across New Zealand [ 1 | 2 ]. Even as political opposition to an Iraq war builds in the U.S., thousands gathered in San Francisco [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ], Washington DC and hundreds rallied in St. Louis for peace.

See also: Iraq Journal.org : Active Resistance to the Roots of War : Direct Action Against the War Now : Voices in the Wilderness : Media Workers Against War

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RTS Parties in Dublin and London

27-09-2002 01:39

rts dublin picture
The weekend of the 21st September saw both Car Free Day , UN Ceasefire Day and the Countryside Alliance march in London. Meanwhile RTS events too place in both Dublin and London. In Dublin around 1,000 people gathered on St Stephens Green to party, according to one participant: " It's been a good turnout and the cops have been well behaved. RTS is a self organised space, everyone can play a part and not just consume. It's about empowerment and having a good time." The party was preceded by a Critical Mass cycle protest. Unlike last year's car free day which a saw a number of arrests or the Mayday RTS which saw a Garda (police) riot, this time the Gardai were peaceful. This was despite some over excitable media build up. Full story here , another report here . Pics at 1 2 3 4 : Video : Audio

In London the 'Reclaim The Future' event went ahead at a large squatted building which activists had cleaned, repaired and painted. Despite an early police presence people managed to get the sound systems into the building and over 20 workshops were held as well as a large exhibition, with entertainment provided by bands, theatre groups, poets and DJs.

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Crystal Palace Fences Torn Down

26-09-2002 09:44

At a candle lit vigil on Sat 21st, around 50 local residents tore down fencing blocking off part of Crystal Palace Park in south London. The fencing had been erected by Bromley Council pending development of the park area. In previous years the site had been earmarked for a huge 18 screen UCI cinema but lobbying, protests and direct action were successful in stopping the development.

Background Info Old News May 01: 1,2

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anti-nuke flotilla meets Mox ships

18-09-2002 10:07

Two British freighters "lightly armed" loaded with enough plutonium to make 50 nuclear bombs, have now compleated the home straight of an 18,000 mile transport of terror. As the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal end their journey from Japan via Australia's Tasmanian Sea, past South Africa,to the Irish Sea and home to Sellafield.Protest has followed the pair on every leg of the journy.
A flotilla of sailboats from Ireland and the British Isles and the Rainbow Warrior were waiting in the Irish Sea to peacefully protest and to highlight the madness of the shipment.The freighters were first spotted off the coast of Portugal and entered the Irish Sea on their way to Barrow.
The main concerns are that the ships are vulnerable to catastrophic accident or terrorist attack, which could lead to large-scale contamination of the marine environment and coastal communities.
The Irish Government, backed by all opposition parties has condemned the imminent arrival of the plutonium shipment,who this summer issued Iodine kits to households to protect against nuclear contamination , agreed to deploy naval vessels and aircraft to track the shipment and to ensure that it did not enter Irish waters.
The Nuclear Free Flotlla, which the Rainbow Warrior supported, comprises individuals whose love of the sea and communities that it supports, has united them to take action to protect it.
BNFL and the British Government should take note of the strength of commitment of some of the people whose lives they risk with their deadly shipments and radioactive discharges from the Sellafield nuclear plant.

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A year after S11- analysis of the legacy

15-09-2002 08:29

One year on, Osama Bin Laden has not been found and is not reported as being looked for - which was the reason for bombing Afganistan? Or was it to replace the Taliban with a friendlier regime that would allow the construction of a pipeline to carry the newly found oil in the Caspian region? Read some thoughts on the legitimacy of actions labelled as 'war on terrorism':

Implications of the 'war on terrorism' in privacy rights. Amnesty International concerns over Human Rights violations following the 9/11 attacks. Implications for the provocation to start a war. Noting the lack of investigation on the 9/11 attacks. Vilification of Islam. Other events to remember on 9/11 too. Read about an association of victims of September 11. Report of actions in New Zealand.

More links: Gas attacks by Iraq did not stop us during Iran-Iraq war. Human rights abuses since September 11. Robert Fisk Bush plans FBI arrests of dissidents in Pakistan. US paramilitary and rights removal in Colombia by President Uribe. Iran and Bahrain oppose US war plans against Iraq. Huge trade deal draws Iraq to Russia deal worth £60bn.

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Johannesburg Earth Summit

01-09-2002 00:00

Coverage of the Jo'burg Earth Summit.

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Reporting the Earth Summit

30-08-2002 22:23

southafrica imc logo
10 years after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Johannesburg Earth Summit (aka The World Summit on Sustainable Development) was in full swing accompanied by an impressive mobilisation of alternative, independent, and radical information sources providing daily coverage. See the timeline of anti WSSD events here

As for now, the repression continues in South Africa - latest news from South Africa IMC

For further in depth coverage also see Climate Indymedia
See full coverage on imc-uk Major Reports page.

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Social Centre News Update

30-08-2002 22:14

radical dairy social centre picture
Stop Press 30th Aug: St. John's nursery in Hackney, London has been occupied by parents in protest at its closure by Hackney Council. This follows similar previous actions ( 1 : 2 ) and an ongoing camapaign in the borough, where Socialist Alliance candidate Paul Foot is to stand for Mayor in October. Elsewhere in Hackney the Random Artist Collective has opened a squatted community art space at 282 Richmond Road and are running practical DIY workshops alongside exhibits and a newly installed Riot Squad Records shop.

A recently opened squatted Social Centre in Colchester has been ordered closed after court action by PFI partners Capita Insurance Services. The 50 room building had been left empty by the Capita Group for years, but the new occupants had more community minded plans including cafe nights, internet access and childrens events. See reports 1 : 2 : 3

A new resource centre (La.R.C) has openeed in Lancaster. Not to be mistaken for 'LARC' (the London Action Resource Centre in Whitechapel) the Lancaster Re-Source Centre in Penny St has a literature section and internet access and is open on Wednesdays from midday to 7pm.

Meanwhile the Carnivalistas are founding the Lambeth Community Action Network in south london, while raising funds to buy a space for a new social centre. The Carnivalisas and are part of the growing London Social Centres Network which includes Emmaz and the Radical Dairy (020 7249 6996 for summer events).

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Contaminated GM News

30-08-2002 22:09

genetic crop graphic
DEFRA will allow the planting of the genetically modified winter oilseed rape trials following the results of seed testing for GM contaminants. Last week, Dorset Police Press Department were forced to correct their original media statement which claimed that protestors had targeted the wrong field during an action at Hilton in Dorest. Fourteen were arrested for 'criminal damage' and aggravated trespass when they attempted to decontaminate the illegal GM trial site. The protest was in reaction to the news that an unauthorised release of antibiotic-resistant GM oilseed rape has occured in over twenty five GM trials since 1999. [ contamination report | action report | photos | video ]

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PGA Conference Radio Coverage

30-08-2002 14:50

Leiden, Holland. Activists from all over Europe and beyond are gathering at the 2nd European PGA Conference. People's Global Action is a network of grassroots groups, developing ways to link up local issues globally. This process takes place in conferences, streets, local meetings, telephone, cyberspace & more. In this spirit, People's Global Radio is broadcasting coverage of the conference from 5pm until pub closing time both on the internet and FM. They'll also pick up the Diversity Radio stream from the WSSD Summit in Johannesburg.

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In defense of Titnore Woods

21-08-2002 03:20

The future of the ancient Titnore Woods in Durrington, threatened by property developers and their bulldozers is defended by a well-supported local campaign against a threatened 900-home estate. However the local police seem to be overly jobsworthy in their bid to identify "organisers" of the campaign. Police questioned woman who helps produce local independent newsletter 'The Porkbolter' about plans by protest group Ye Olde Friends of Titnore to deliver a letter on Sunday September 1 to the landowner, and were eager to be provided with names. Previously Worthing police hassled a Titnore Lane resident with repeated visits because she was displaying a "Save Titnore Woods" placard. The letter in question is a special scroll inviting the landowner to enter into a covenant with the people of Worthing to preserve the future of Titnore Woods "for our children, our children's children and our children's children's children".

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Human Rights Abuses of Post-September 11 Detainees

21-08-2002 03:02

The U.S. government's investigation of the September 11 attacks has been marred by arbitrary detentions, due process violations, and secret arrests, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The U.S. Department of Justice has misused immigration charges to dodge legal restraints on its power to detain and interrogate people as it pursues its terrorist probe.