Thursday: Inspiring Autonomous Demo in Edinburgh
ab | 30.03.2003 21:47
Last Thursday there was a successfull exciting autonomous anti-war demonstration happening. It was small but fun.
Here is a report.
Here is a report.
Last Thursday, a demonstration of some dozens of people started off at about 12 noon opposite the Scots Monument at Princes Street.
For the numbers of protesters there was quite a heavy police presence employed, which more or less tried to surround the protesters from the start.
Particularly school students were discouraged from participating at this anti-war protest, as the police targeted the teenagers to single them out and take their name and address.
The small protest continued walking on the pavement, surrounded by policemen, untill at a traffic light at Princes Streets East End the streets were reclaimedby folk in the front of the demo stopping and folk at the end of the demo starting a spontaneous sitdown protest.
After a while, protesters were able to turn round and to walk to the Army Recruitment Service, which was already boarded up and the front door covered by police.
A picket took place, with bystanders reaction and the excitement of the momentum of spontaneous action being the participants main entertainment.
The Picket turned into a demo again, walking up Princes Street with a sit-down protest in front of GAP, known for its environment destructive politics as well as its exploitative work policies in third world countries sweatshops.
Then the traffic junction at the mount was blocked by a sit down protest.
"Stop the city- stop the war."
After some time and with more police reinforcement arriving the continous excitement and adrenaline-powered nervousness of what would happen next contributed to the decision to chill out in the Gardens for the rest of the sunny day.
Anyway, over all this demo on Thursday was mega-exciting, super spontaneous, peacfull, goodnatured with an assertive attitude of the protesters to claim and stand their space, and it was fun!
Actually it probably was one of the best protests to be had in Edinburgh.
Everybody was united and working for the demo to be a success and all the little contributions made it a rememberable and remarkable day.
In the evening there was "The Battle of Trafalgar" - about the Poll Tax Riot in 1990 on in th Forest cafe, describing how a major big pea ceful demo and ralley turned into a rioting street fight induced by bad policing and police brutality.
For the numbers of protesters there was quite a heavy police presence employed, which more or less tried to surround the protesters from the start.
Particularly school students were discouraged from participating at this anti-war protest, as the police targeted the teenagers to single them out and take their name and address.
The small protest continued walking on the pavement, surrounded by policemen, untill at a traffic light at Princes Streets East End the streets were reclaimedby folk in the front of the demo stopping and folk at the end of the demo starting a spontaneous sitdown protest.
After a while, protesters were able to turn round and to walk to the Army Recruitment Service, which was already boarded up and the front door covered by police.
A picket took place, with bystanders reaction and the excitement of the momentum of spontaneous action being the participants main entertainment.
The Picket turned into a demo again, walking up Princes Street with a sit-down protest in front of GAP, known for its environment destructive politics as well as its exploitative work policies in third world countries sweatshops.
Then the traffic junction at the mount was blocked by a sit down protest.
"Stop the city- stop the war."
After some time and with more police reinforcement arriving the continous excitement and adrenaline-powered nervousness of what would happen next contributed to the decision to chill out in the Gardens for the rest of the sunny day.
Anyway, over all this demo on Thursday was mega-exciting, super spontaneous, peacfull, goodnatured with an assertive attitude of the protesters to claim and stand their space, and it was fun!
Actually it probably was one of the best protests to be had in Edinburgh.
Everybody was united and working for the demo to be a success and all the little contributions made it a rememberable and remarkable day.
In the evening there was "The Battle of Trafalgar" - about the Poll Tax Riot in 1990 on in th Forest cafe, describing how a major big pea ceful demo and ralley turned into a rioting street fight induced by bad policing and police brutality.
ab