Nothing Nada Zilch – The Anti War Rally

The Demonstration March took place on a relatively hot Saturday in Central London, arranged by the Stop The War Coalition There was a mixture of odd alliances seemingly united under one common aim; to Stop The Israeli/Lebanese/Hezbollah War. It was an impressive demonstration of people’s dissatisfaction with the deplorable situation. There were many buckets being shaken en route and donations asked for. Some seemed a worthy cause, others I wouldn’t trust further than I could spit. A mixed bunch of people marched. Some opportunists even took the opportunity to try and sell very out of date copies of the Big Issue. There are opportunists everywhere these days.
It was when a smaller mass of protestors started chanting anti war, anti Blair sentiments outside the entrance to Downing Street, Blair’s lair that the police began to get a little hot under the collar. Police vans had followed the march from the rear. The masses had now reached the assembling point at Parliament Square where rallying speeches were made by the Respect Party’s Minister for Parliament George Galloway, Bianca Jagger and Jeremy Hardy, amongst other media figures and politicians. The vans were parked in a line, blocking the road, by the gated entrance to Downing Street, which was 500m or so before the main rallying point, the square.
The police had obviously been told that the chants were putting Blair off his stroke and were given the order to move people on. Many shoes were thrown in front of the giant gates that bar entry to Downing Street, symbolising the 1000 plus dead in the Israel/Lebanon catastrophe, by those demonstrating.
There were scuffles, pushing, jostling and a general resistance against the police cordon, who were building up a head of steam with their coercive intimidation.
Why the police were doing this, I can only imagine was for a show of pig-headed force and a power play move, designed to show who the bosses were, against peaceful demonstrators.
Those with a penchant and a memory recalled previous police brutality tactics, the Poll Tax Riots, Brixton Riots, Toxteth Riots and many more. (Un?)Fortunately, this demo was nowhere near the scale in its fervour and indignation of the demonstrators, and the resultant police brutality.
Three people were arrested for doing nothing more than exercising their right to protest peacefully. Shortly afterwards a huddle of 5 people sat down in the road and linked arms. They refused to move. The police line pushed everyone further down towards the rallying point where speeches were being made or onto the pavement behind crowd control barriers. The same style control barriers that were used to great effect in Trafalgar Sq. during the Poll Tax Riots to prevent police vans driving headlong into the protestors. The barriers rammed under the wheels slowed them and stopped them.
However, this was not on the same scale at all.
Why not?
What had happened to all the non-violent direct action lessons taught and learnt by thousands that could have been used to make a real impact and give the demo some spark, some life, some real human commitment ?
Or have the police got better? More organised, creative and subtle? More controlling certainly.
Have their fuck up`s over the recent innocent murder of Jean Charles De Menendes at Stockwell tube station and the `accidental` shooting and subsequent high profile, 250 officers taking part, arrest of two innocent brothers accused of making bombs in East London ( released uncharged ), made their profiles lower and more `sensitive` today ?
Or, had the Demo contained such a mixture of individuals with different political and religious agendas that there was not enough impetus to define their anti-war sentiments with any form of direct action? There was no chaining to barriers, handcuffing to police vehicles, or to the police themselves. Or any other number of non-violent tactics. Nothing, nada, zilch.
I was busy taking photos of this scenario outside the Blair’s residential entrance, continually being grabbed or blocked by the police, being warned they would “do me” unless I moved off the road. Despite my protesting of my human right to stand on a public road and take photos, the boys and girls in blue continued to harass and cajole - physically and verbally. By now the police had lost patience with the sit-down bunch and were dragging them off the road onto the pavement, all the time CCTV was running from a crane above us and a police surveillance copper was busy snapping away at all the faces. The crowd was mixed in colour, creed and attitudes towards what was taking place. No doubt any potential terrorists were duly snapped. I was finally grabbed by a copper and forcibly thrown towards the pavement, being told if I stayed on the road I would be arrested.
I feigned that I couldn’t see, was blind, couldn’t see the pavement, but 2 more ferocious shoves I ended up there.
I gave this copper a mouthful and walked back onto the road to get pics of the sit-downers still on the pavement. I was told to move. I decided to move. My eldest daughter was with me, along with Steve standing on the pavement, behind the barriers. I checked the sit-downers were ok, asked the police how I/they could get copies of the pictures they were taking of me and everyone else.
I was given an address at New Scotland Yard to write to. I think I will be wasting my time, writing to this address, but I will be interested to se what excuse they give.
Maybe it will put more detail to the files they have on me, who knows?
Am I being too harsh on those who demonstrated? Too defeatist and blinkered?
I only hope that something to help the innocent slaughtering to stop happens soon……..there has already been far too much dithering, ducking, diving and murdering already.
But, hey, what’s fucking new there?
I met many people, including Hatem, at the Rally, and had an interesting talk with him about the war, Zionists, media censorship and the redrawing of the Middle East map, as predicted by retired US army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters, who gives an idea of the American vision. It’s scary.
The first two lines from the Culture Club’s cheesy 80`s hit, The War Song, kept echoing in my head during the day. Steve said the same thing as well;
war war is stupid
and people are stupid`……
We sadly couldn’t remember any other lines, but it kind of summed up today’s Demonstration today for us. Yeah, war is stupid, fucking stupid, but what are people doing about it, and I am talking about those who aren’t being bombed, who have good incomes and comfortable lives. Why weren’t they or their kids doing something today? Apart from walking along the route. Or sitting watching TV. Or getting pissed in their local pub. Or barbecuing themselves to an early grave.
Enough of the middle class protestors were stopping and queuing at Starbucks and other shops down Piccadilly and South Audley Street, Mayfair for drinks and sustenance for the Anti-War March. They could afford it. The shops did a roaring trade as well, and weren’t bombed shells with murdered innocent bodies buried in their rubble.