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Carnival Violence. Pics & Analysis.

Guido | 05.07.2005 18:24 | G8 2005 | Globalisation | Repression

Pictures and report from Carnival of full enjoyment.

First they came for the medics...
First they came for the medics...

The thin yellow line.
The thin yellow line.

Solidarity.
Solidarity.

FIT charge led by the man from the ministry of silly walks.
FIT charge led by the man from the ministry of silly walks.

Anarchist bench is detained.
Anarchist bench is detained.

Herioc cop attacks unarmed woman.
Herioc cop attacks unarmed woman.

The front line
The front line

You stay away from my herbacious borders!!
You stay away from my herbacious borders!!

Putting them behind bars.
Putting them behind bars.

Constable looks on as commander delivers verdict on Police opperation.
Constable looks on as commander delivers verdict on Police opperation.


If the Police had wanted to avoid violence at today's Carnival of Full Enjoyment they could have done so very easily. With thousands of Cops on duty they could have easily allowed anti capitalists to assemble with their Samba bands for their street party with minimal fuss and zero threat to corporate symbols like banks and McDonalds restaurants. Instead they decided to pander to scare stories in the right wing press and instigate confrontation from the very beginning. All of Edinburgh was subject to a Section 60 ruling giving them the power to stop detain and harass anyone they chose.

The day started with people dressed as clowns being penned in and searched on the ground that they might be responsible for some violent disorder later on? Volunteer medics and musicians were the next to be targeted with anyone else showing up being harassed for the way they were dressed or simply for being in the area. Having created an unnecessarily tense situation by penning in and pushing around large crowds of people who had committed no crime the disorder that followed was inevitable.

Dozens of people were injured by truncheons and several more were violently arrested. The idea that the Policing arrangements for the G8 protests had been well planned was expose as being total farce as easily panicked officers loudly argued with their own colleagues about tactics and deployment. It was very obvious that the MET Police were calling the shots and their involvement was bitterly resented by the Scottish plods who were doing all the donkey work. No doubt the violent images will justify to the media the huge amounts of money being wasted on a repressive and unnecessary Police operation.

Guido
- e-mail: guidoreports@riseup.net

Comments

Display the following 2 comments

  1. screaming boys and girls — Never_fazed
  2. They can't be serious — fredrico