Massive Trade Justice Demo in London Attracts 25,000 Protestors

Stuff Free Trade! | 16.04.2005 11:10 | G8 2005 | Globalisation | London

An all night 'trade justice' vigil complete with workshops, cinema, music and comedy was staged around Whitehall in London through the night of 15th April - culminating in a mass march past Downing Street at around 7am on Saturday 16th April.

Organisers said up to 25,000 people attended the events throughout the night, which were part of the build up towards the G8 Summit in Scotland in July.

wake up to trade justice

marching near parliament square

passing downing street

making noise outside downing street

preparing to hand in banner signed by lots of people

the hand in

passing parliament

make poverty history

more noise

free trade - the empires new clothes

returning to march start point

crowds at end

closing announcements - 25,000 people - thankyou and good morning

hundreds of messages...

don't chicken out on trade justice...

see you there!

Trade Justice Movement:

http://www.tjm.org.uk

Stuff Free Trade!

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Make CAPITALISM History!

16.04.2005 11:49

I think the turn out was brilliant! The groups involved thought around 5000 people would come for the midnight 'white band of light' candle / lantern event, in the end the crowd was huge with around 10,000 people from all over the country filling the streets down whitehall - it was clear that barriers on the edge of the pavement was no way enough room as one side of the street was filled. A minutes silence was also held at midnight for the victims of (preventable...) poverty around the world.

After that the programme of events in multiple venues continued, but due to the large numbers many couldn't get inside the various buildings as they filled to capacity - brrr it was a bit cold hanging around outside - and it was a shame that more people could not have heard some of the good workshops.

One workshop in particular was putting the spotlight on EPAs - Since 2002 the European Union (EU) and countries of the Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Group (ACP) have been negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). EPAs aim to establish "new WTO compatible trading arrangements removing progressively barriers of trade between EU and ACP countries" which would build on "the regional integration initiatives of ACP states" and promote "sustainable development and contribute to poverty eradication in the ACP countries ". EPAs as they are currently being set up and negotiated are essentially Free Trade Agreements. While there have been massive mobilisations against the WTO / FTAA etc - EPAs are being negotiated on the quiet... If you don't know about this check

http://www.stopepa.org

The "Wake Up Government" event was backed by celebrities like Ronan Keating and Beverley Knight, Vanessa Redgrave, Pete Postlethwaite, Thom Yorke from Radiohead and several others. The campaign will continue with mass email campaigns targetting MPs and the Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh on 2nd July ahead of the G8 Summit.

Nelson Mandela said about the campaign:
"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation"

Only time will tell if the governments are prepared to listen, and importantly act, instead of making hollow declarations which seems to have been the pattern over the last decades of similar campaigns.

See you at Gleneagles...

poverty

16.04.2005 12:57

BOYCOTT NOW: Esso, ExxonMobil, McDonalds, Starbucks, Nike, Sky TV / the Sun / the Times (all NewsCorp), Microsoft....

boycotts are fun. corporations +really+ don't like them. so add to the list. even granny and grandad can join in. hit the driving force of world capitalism and go for the domino effect.

nick watson
Homepage: http://www.zmag.org/cartoons

some blurred pics from the vigil through the night

16.04.2005 14:44

spread out along whitehall

massed opposite downing street

holding vigil

line of vigil candles left stretching all the way down whitehall

more pics at:

http://www.tjm.org.uk/gallery/index.shtml

peace

smash capitalism

17.04.2005 13:38

all very middle class. smash capitalism don't reform it. Destroy the bourgoisie

bored

Media Coverage

25.04.2005 07:06

I was stewarding at the event, and it went brilliantly. The police and security team supported what we where doing, and were impressed with the dedication and motivation of the people who attended. However, as usual, coverage by the mainstream media was somewhat lacking. Never ceases to annoy me how, if something had gone wrong, you can bet they would have jumped on it. But, peaceful as it was, what's to report? Only 25,000 people descending on Whitehall for a cause. Glad to find some pics on indymedia.

Bring on the G8...

skychic

UK Indymedia