There were calls today for multinational pro-anarchy pressure groups to be investigated for monopolistic practices after the NW3 branch of the London Radical Left Movement For Socialist Revolution was disbanded due to lack of interest.

The group's spokesperson, leader, treasurer, secretary and only member, Nigel Wilkinson, believes that global anarchy movements such as the ones responsible for the G7 riots in Seattle and the disturbances expected in London on May Day
are to blame for forcing out smaller, independent operations like his.

"These large American anti-capitalist movements have effectively taken over the militant scene in this country," he said from his bedsit in Highgate. "There used to be lots of small, independent groups all with their own unique character. Now it's the same old anarchy all over the world."

Wilkinson has seen his group's membership dwindle by almost 70 percent over the last year from a peak of three members to just one - himself. "We used to stand outside shopping centres and try to sell Socialist Worker to students. Now its all balaclavas and spray paint and massive crowds of people. I dunno. The character of these protests has totally changed."

However, Kyle Redmond, spokesperson for WorldProtest, which has thousands of members in 20 countries and co-ordinates protests all over the world, defended his organisation's approach: "We give anarchists what they want. It's a supply and demand situation. We offer a basic menu of building defacement, vandalism of a McDonalds outlet and general looting, ending with a confrontation with the local police. All our research shows that this is what the average anarchist on the street wants."

(c) urbanreflex.com 2001