Forwarded from one of the communications groups

---------- Forwarded message ----------

The following is some of the preliminary information we have about the
success of the blockades of the G8. More will become clear as things
settle down, and we get full reports.

Starting on Tuesday, most people left the ecovillage near Stirling (where
most of the protesters were based). Most left by foot to get to locations
close to their blockade points. This was to avoid the check points that
the police were to set up around the ecovillage. Hundreds walked to the
top of the Ochil hills, lit fires as beacons of Dissent, before continuing
on their way to the blockades. The police seemed to be caught by
surprise, and by the time they had set up their checkpoints and declared a
"Section 60" on the site, most people had slipped out, with their blockade
gear.


After spending a wet night in the fields, forests, and hills surrounding
Gleneagles, people woke up and started blockading. Rolling blockades of
all routes into Gleneagles started at 6 a.m. and were in place by about
7:30. The primary motorcade route, the A9, was shut down through most of
the day, and was virtually unusable for motorcades. Off and on, the
police managed to open the road for short periods of time, but it was
virtually unusable, as protesters would hop onto the route whenever the
police were distracted by another blockade.

The M9 was shut the whole day after people walked from the Ecovillage to
the route. Some riot vans were smashed during this blockade.

The other secondary routes were blocked by smaller "affinity groups". All
of these remained in place for at least two hours.

Many then started walking towards Gleneagles, were some jumped the fence
or ripped it down.

We have confirmed reports of delayed staff and delegates, and motorcades
which had to swerve to avoid people running at them from the side of the
road. The G8, while pretending business as usual, was significantly
disrupted. The leaders themselves had to be flown in, to avoid the
blockades.

Other blockades were set up around the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh were
some of the delegates were staying. We do not have information on its
success at this moment.