On Wednesday, April 9th a group of about 20 peace activists from all across London went on a direct action flying picket through central London.

The first target was EXXON Mobil headquarters on Aldwych. The group tried to push their way through the main entrance (see picture). One activist managed to get into the reception area before the security locked the doors. The
activist was not let out for about 20minutes. So he used the time inside to enlighten EXXON employees about the evil character of this company (see: www.stopesso.com). Some employees were quite interested and listened to the activist, especially those trying to enjoy their coffee in the Café which is located just behind the reception. Meanwhile, the group outside blocked the main road in front of the building and chanted: “EXXON, EXXON, BP, SHELL! – TAKE YOUR OIL AND GO TO HELL” plus various other slogans connecting the war to oil. Police was called but only one officer showed up. Legally, there was nothing EXXON could do as the activist was kept inside the building against his free will... EXXON who had hired extra security and kept their main entrance locked ever since the last occupation (two months ago), re-opened their main door only three days ago. Well, now they are back to normal - locking themselves away from the people (see picture).

The next target was the Directorate of Information of Ministry of Defence (MoD) at St. Giles Court, London. This time a group of 8 people managed to get into the reception area and staged a sit-down chanting: “No justice, no peace
– UK out of the Middle East”. MoD security went mad grabbed one of the protestors and quite brutally threw him out. While the activist was not hurt, the glass door of the MOD got smashed during this MoD / police operation (see
picture). The remaining seven protestors decided that they had made their point and left the building before police managed to get re-enforcements to the location. The whole protest lasted about 15-20 min, no one got arrested or
injured – apart from the door, of course….

Another action involved the army recruitment office across Charing Cross train station. Protestors spilled red paint in front of the entrance and wrote “Blood on your hands” and “Terrorist recruitment centre” on the pavement using chalk. The pictures turned out quite nicely – so check them out! The direct action flying picket then called it a day and is looking forward to more direct action in the future.