MayDay - The Police State, and Kev Livingstone, BBC Breakfast with Frost
elec40 | 29.04.2001 08:51
The Mayor of London warns of chaos, destruction, dirth and disease on Tuesday, in a BBC interview with Sir David Frost.
The Mayor of London Kev Livingstone appeared this morning (Sunday the 29th April, 9am) on BBC's flagship political programme. Other than whinging on the usual issue of tube ownership (i.e he doesn't run it), he made a few comments on the Mayday protests. My tape did not get the whole interview relative to the action.
(Before this bit, Livingstone agrees that a) Peaceful protesters concerned about the issues raised should not attend, since it is not a peaceful protest and b) The police have sufficently cracked down this year. Isn't that nice?)
Frost: So it's Zero Tolerance from the police, cracking down on protesters threatening violence straight away.
Livingstone: At the sligtest sign of violence people will be arrested. The problem in this is, they seem to be trying to target oxford circus, they'll be a lot of innocent people around. If someone throws something through a plate glass window, you can get with those shards of glass blind or killed. Workers/customers should be concerned.
Frost: And what about the tensions that have been billed. There's been so much publicity over what happened last year. Some say the police overreacted last year, they will be more of them this year. Do you think that there's too much preocuppation with Mayday because of last year?
Livingstone: Well, I think the complaints last year were because the police didn't crack down harder. But last year, we were all caught a bit by the scan of the violence that had been planned. Of course this was violence that had been planned, not a demonstration that had gone wrong. The objective was those scenes of mayhem, and because you are talking about people who planned that - they come and they put on the masks, it's difficult to get shots of them for the cameras. And so, they all got away the ringleaders last year. We hope this year the crowd numbers will be well down, so the police hope that they can get the ringleaders for both last year and this year's crime - doing time for both.
(conversation goes off on a tangent)
Livingstone, for all his socialist credentials, smacks of being an establishment bastard, possibly to save his own behind. Obviously issues which we should protest about should be his issues (such as the tube) and in a nice, orderly fashion. Easy to ignore, out of sight and out of mind. However, the reach of the police involvement this year, as much as it's being played up by the Met and by their close allies, is rather disturbing. Since they are only expecting violence on may the first, i.e everyone shall be treated with the same brush, Livingstone seems to be authorizing Martial Law on May 1st.
(Before this bit, Livingstone agrees that a) Peaceful protesters concerned about the issues raised should not attend, since it is not a peaceful protest and b) The police have sufficently cracked down this year. Isn't that nice?)
Frost: So it's Zero Tolerance from the police, cracking down on protesters threatening violence straight away.
Livingstone: At the sligtest sign of violence people will be arrested. The problem in this is, they seem to be trying to target oxford circus, they'll be a lot of innocent people around. If someone throws something through a plate glass window, you can get with those shards of glass blind or killed. Workers/customers should be concerned.
Frost: And what about the tensions that have been billed. There's been so much publicity over what happened last year. Some say the police overreacted last year, they will be more of them this year. Do you think that there's too much preocuppation with Mayday because of last year?
Livingstone: Well, I think the complaints last year were because the police didn't crack down harder. But last year, we were all caught a bit by the scan of the violence that had been planned. Of course this was violence that had been planned, not a demonstration that had gone wrong. The objective was those scenes of mayhem, and because you are talking about people who planned that - they come and they put on the masks, it's difficult to get shots of them for the cameras. And so, they all got away the ringleaders last year. We hope this year the crowd numbers will be well down, so the police hope that they can get the ringleaders for both last year and this year's crime - doing time for both.
(conversation goes off on a tangent)
Livingstone, for all his socialist credentials, smacks of being an establishment bastard, possibly to save his own behind. Obviously issues which we should protest about should be his issues (such as the tube) and in a nice, orderly fashion. Easy to ignore, out of sight and out of mind. However, the reach of the police involvement this year, as much as it's being played up by the Met and by their close allies, is rather disturbing. Since they are only expecting violence on may the first, i.e everyone shall be treated with the same brush, Livingstone seems to be authorizing Martial Law on May 1st.
elec40
e-mail:
davedeans2001@yahoo.co.uk
Comments
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Bugger
29.04.2001 09:32
elec40
trades unionists for a real may day
29.04.2001 11:56
We, activists who have worked within the framework of the “official” trade union and labour movement for many years, declare solidarity with the “globalise resistance” demonstration outside the World Bank offices and other “May Day Monopoly” events. We share the organisers’ aim of “reclaiming May Day as a day of celebration for all those struggling against capitalism and globalisation”.
We support the demonstrators against the fantastic frenzy of aggression being whipped up by the police, much of the media and the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. The announcement of a “zero tolerance” policing policy and a campaign of preventive arrests is a brazen abuse of civil liberties.
Livingstone’s call in his Evening Standard article (23.4.01) for police to arrest anyone “whose intention it is to engage in criminal activities” (how will they be selected?!) is shameful. It is an incitement to officers who have no sympathy for progressive causes to abuse the powers given them by Labour’s dictatorial Criminal Justice Act – as Livingstone knows perfectly well.
The publication of photographs of people “suspected” by police of “intending” to cause violence – by newspapers with a pathetic or non-existent record of exposing capitalism’s monstrous, daily destruction of people and environment – is witch-hunting, not journalism.
The establishment’s paranoic reaction to the movement against global capitalism, and the indifference or hostility of most “official” labour organisations, is symptomatic. Instead of embracing the passionate enthusiasm with which a new generation are confronting the evils of an immoral society, they shudder in fear. We welcome that enthusiasm with open arms.
Signed (all in a personal capacity), Richard Abernethy (TGWU (transport union) member, Oxford), John Ballantyne (president, Tower Hamlets Trades Union Council, member of TGWU (transport union)), Geoff Barr (Exeter Socialist Alliance), Miles Barter (National Union of Journalists northern regional organiser), David Black (Hobgoblin magazine), Jim Boumelha (executive committee member, International Federation of Journalists), Alan Clark (GPMU (print union) Greater London Region Branch Committee), Clare Cowen (GPMU, Southwark), Chris Ford (secretary PCS (BA) (civil servants’ union) Central & West London Branch), Steve Drury (Association of University Teachers), Peter Gibson (assistant secretary, Croydon Trades Union Council, member of TGWU), Tim Gopsill (editor of the Journalist (National Union of Journalists magazine)), Norman Harding (chair, Micklefield Tenants and Residents Association, Leeds), Sean Hefferon (chair, Brighton general branch MSF), Paul Henderson (secretary, Leicester and District Trades Union Council), David Hookes (Natfhe (further education teachers’ union) Coventry), Trevor Jarvis (secretary, Hull & District Trades Council, and secretary, Hull Assocation of University Teachers), Bozena Langley (Brighton & Hove trades council member, GPMU Mid-Southern branch), Bridget Leach
(coordinating committee Secretary, Natfhe, University of Greenwich), Liz Leicester (chair, Camden Unison (public service union)), Anton Moctonian (assistant branch secretary, Camden Unison), Robert Myers (MSF craft section, Manchester), Simon Pirani (deputy chair, London Freelance branch, National Union of Journalists), Andy Robertson (Unemployed Action Group, Newcastle), Keith Scotcher (TGWU, Fords Dagenham factory), Jim Smith (Lambeth Unison), David Temple (former National Union of Mineworkers North East Area Executive member, GPMU member).
Contact: 020 8333 2152,
simon pirani
e-mail:
smpirani@compuserve.com
Military Police on Duty
29.04.2001 12:24
MODPLOD
LIVINGSTON I presume, is a puppet
29.04.2001 12:31
Stanley
Duh?
29.04.2001 14:00
Surely if that happens, there will be a huge confrontation, and the police can then justify blocking off oxford street, scaring the shit out of everyone who's got no idea whats going on, and probably baton charging a load of japanese tourists.
THESE PEOPLE ARE INSANE...
townie
e-mail:
cant_cope@hotmail.com
Nice one!
30.04.2001 00:08
Workers, students, environmentalists - solidarity will prevail.
Wiiiiiiiicked.
Dan
Waste of Space
30.04.2001 14:42
The main problem is that many of the so called protesters don't really know what they're protesting about. Without any clear message behind the demonstrations, the vaugeness of the whole thing leads to unpredictabilty, a lack of controll and ultimately a failure to get across any clear message. The message that sadly reaches most people is that these protesters are a bunch of troublemakers who ought to get themselves a job instead of vandalising the nation's capital. They've got a point when you look at it.
Normal Norman