civil disobedience: new york is doing it, why not london?

juice | 27.03.2003 11:23

civil disobedience campaign today, march 27

An ad-hoc coalition of anti-war groups is planning a massive non-violent civil disobedience at 8 am on Thursday, March 27, 2003.

We target corporate war profiteers and the media/corporate/government collusion that is promoting this war. We target the Rockefeller Center area since many media and corporations have offices there or nearby. We target the corporate structure that is profiting from this war.
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they've even organised a mobile phone text system to get updates on latest actions around the city....

how do we set up something like this in london?

juice
Homepage: www.m27coalition.org

Comments

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more on the plans

27.03.2003 11:46

here's more on the plan of actions, the key being to *run* from the police, not to sit down -- interesting change of tactics. again, how do we get this going in london?

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The time for symbolic acts has ended. The war is on and we must take our resistance to another level.

Get your affinity groups together and plan for autonomous direct actions against the war in the streets of NYC at 7 am on Thursday, March 27th. We will be on the streets all day!

Disrupting the city is as simple as 123:
1) Pick your target -- any busy street or intersection will do.
2) Your affinity group takes the intersection until the cops come and then runs away to a new street or intersection.
3) Rinse. Repeat.

* This is just one idea. If your affinity group has a good idea, go and do it!
* Keep the details of your action confidential.
* Coordinate clusters of affinity groups to hit a target over and over throughout the day.
* Be creative, stay out of jail and on the move.
* We will support each other by having lots of groups doing lots of actions all day.

This day of action is not being called by any one organization. Get into small groups and organize actions!

juice

tried and tested tactic

27.03.2003 11:54

I remember this tactic was used (albeit accidentally and as a response to police tactics) in Manchester Mayday protest 2001 or 2002. Has added advantage that affinity groups can be small and mobile and still effective if people are able bodied enough to jog from crossing to crossing ahead of cops. pushchairs were also used to keep junciton blocked after main group had sprinted off, thus slowing police chase (although I couldn't possibly promote such actions)(@) we ended up taking the manchester motorway junction for a few minutes after chaos in town centre, and at least two other groups were doing the same

anarchoteapot

Keep moving is the key

27.03.2003 12:10

I definitely agree that sitting down takes the energy and momentum out of blockades and protests. We need to get this message across.

From what happened on Park Lane in London last Saturday it was obvious that the police got the upper hand as soon as we stopped moving.

If we keep moving the police will never know where we're going, they won't have time to surround us with riot vans etc. and helps us to cause as much disruption as possible

Spread the word... keep moving, stay on your feet!

It's worked brilliantly in the USA

27.03.2003 12:16

Sounds very much like the "swarm" protests which have been so successful in San Francisco (

http://sf.indymedia.org/) -- in the first couple of days after the bombing started the police there have had to arrest over 2,000 protesters just to keep the city's traffic flowing. Of course most of them went straight back onto the streets as soon as they got out of custody!

We could shut down large amounts of central London with just a couple of hundred activists.

Watching the World

programe on this theme Barcelona Radio Sat.

27.03.2003 12:40

one of the free radio stations wants to ask these and other qwuestions concerning civil disobedience and protest succeses and failures since Feb 15.
if you speak Spanish. contact at email before.
arrange time to call/record.
:-)
we are all doing the same thing
differently

ipsiphi
mail e-mail: ipsiphi@diplomats.com
Homepage: http://contrabanda.org

who's in?

27.03.2003 12:50

glad to hear all this; next step is to decide on a date and co-ordinate (or not co-ordinate) a "coalition" of interested groups....

juice

why just london?

27.03.2003 12:56

it always seems to revolve around london?
folks from all over the country have been trying to set up links with other networks and groups, it's been difficult but we're definately making progress.

the point is, london's busy's are well used to large actions etc, outside cities are not.
here in cardiff, the police were completely caught out when during last thursday a group of "pesky" people decided to lock on and block a major road. we then moved on to the annoyance of the authorities and caused havoc throughout the city centre.

if you want lots of independent free thinking groups to help out on a major action, we all must start thinking further a field than just in the capitals city centre.

x.

snooch

good point

27.03.2003 13:07

snooch: your point is a good one. i talk about london simply because that's where i am. but these things should be taking place everywhere.

juice

april fools

27.03.2003 14:04

Manchester STWC have called for an april fools day of disobedience london disobedence network are supporting it. Its a perfect time to try out the Swarm tactic during the day with your own group them meet up for picket of BBC 6pm Bush house Aldwich

Anna kissed

it's all happening now...

27.03.2003 15:11

http://warandpeace.nycimc.org/

has the latest updates on what's going in new york as we speak.... also www.ny1.com

it has got to happen here next.

juice
Homepage: http://warandpeace.nycimc.org/