Further reports confirm that medics, clearly identified by red and black crosses on their arms, have been specifically targetted at the demo in Edinburgh. Five medics have been detained and the vehicle impounded with all supplies. The police have also refused to call ambulances.

It seems unbelievable that people providing care and support are being deliberately targetted. However, I guess this means that we shouldnt be naive in thinking that we can provide this support and be external to the protests.

I work in an NHS hospital in Fife near Edinburgh and was told by one of my colleagues at the Edinburgh Eye Pavillion Emergency dept that the police 'locked them in' for two hours because they had information that anarchists planned to get inside an A&E dept and pretend to be injured.
That seems completely implausible and very worrying that they might have attempted to prevent people accessing medical care. Has anyone else heard of this happening at any other depts in Edinburgh ?

Having been part of the medic preparation for the G8, I am very angry to find - as we expected - that police are targetting medics for harassment and arrest and impounding our supplies.

The G8 medics come from a variety of backgrounds and are a variety of ages, and we have a variety of political beliefs. But we all believe that the injured have a right to be cared for - this is international law, incidentally.

We began planning for the G8 nearly a year ago. We all trained voluntarily to a high standard, and continued to freely train others, we fundraised round the clock for months(and raided our own pockets) to get the money together to buy supplies to use and give out, and we got loads of support in this from our local communities, as well as from professional medical folks.

What does it take to get respect from the police for people's basic rights - the right to medical care - not to mention the right to resist oppression without ending *needing* medical care as a result...

I ask everyone who believes in those rights makes complaints to the police about this, NOW, so that medics can work unimpeded during the rest of this week, and in the future.

Yes Ben, and frankly it is the tip of the iceburg when it comes to Naghty, reckless dangerous life threatening actions by scumbags with no love no dicks and no fucking humanity.
They will do anything, repeat anything to try and maintain 'order'. Containment is the buzword and we are well used to it by now. They stop at nothing in their quest to complete this mission. They are utter scum and their mum hates em and thinks they smell of wee and dresses em funny.
Any misapprehensions people on yesterdays demo may have or any misguided notions of the british bobby theat were held will have been eroded after experiencing some of the reported brutallity.
The pigs in the UK mainland may not shoot us...yet, but as with all pig forces, the evil knows no bounds, their contempt for life no equal apart from the masters they serve with no questions asked about the destruction and plunder that is reaped upon our planet everyday.

Fuck pigs...big up the medics. SHUT DOWN THE SUMMIT...Do SUMMIT special to a pig today
Pikey chavs against the G8

Yes, but how many times in the past couple days have you seen people purposefully taunting police, desperate for any sort of reaction? I have seen hordes of photographers jump to snap a shot from an angle that makes the situation look menacing so they can rush off and post news of violence against protesters.

Rumours are useless. I think we need to post things backed up by actual fact, especially news about police locking people in or out of hospitals.

Its easy enough to hurl abuse at the established media for controlling the public with fear---are you, the independant rumour-mongers any better?

"Do SUMMIT special to a pig today "

Comments such as the above don't really lend much weight to the 'we were all victimised by the police when we weren't doing anything' claims.

If people are to believe that it's a peaceful group of people, then we need to -be- a peaceful group of people who don't attack the police.

There is an important distiction to be made between retaliation and self defence. Perhaps in some cases the line is too fine to be seen clearly, but intimidation creates fear and fear results in violence. Sometimes this violence can be effective self defence, in this situation (where I was at least) the response was too weak to be effective and only invited more violence. The fact is, provocation is part of the police tactics. It's a bar fight mentality, they can't be seen to throw the first punch but they desperatly want to bash someone. Do not respond to provocation, unless you are in circumstances where you are willing and capable to respond effectively.

I am a Street Medic who get arrested last monday during the carnival in edimburgh, my crime?? help people!!! I was retained for up to 24 hours and accused afterwards of a coordinated anarchist complot against the police with another 20 people,this is absoluty stupid since all those charged with this were people from all over the world who has never meet before, some of us were finally realesed with the condiction of leave scotland or keep out of glenagles area and edimburgh and glagow city centre until further evidences obtained but some of us have been driven back to prision for a week.
Ones again unjustice and state terrorism has been present, basic rights as an independent solicitor has been denied and the people charged as organizers have been arbitrary selected and those who were not able to provide a uk adress are still in prision, some people is loosing their flys back home and some of them were coming from countrys as far from here as Israel, Germany or Poland and they may not have money to pay for another one. I'm encouraging everybody to colavorate, donate and support for the freedom of this people. OUTSIDE AND INSIDE THEIR PRISIONS.. LA LUCHA CONTINUA!!!