quick early report on foreign office blockade this morning
rikki | 21.08.2006 08:56 | Lebanon War 2006 | SOCPA | Anti-militarism | Indymedia | Repression | London
despite a huge police presence, they managed to enter king charles street, and the clowns staged an excellent die-in before being arrested for 'suspected criminal damage' (thought to be the washable fake blood they spilt on the pavement). some fake blood was also spattered across one of the the doorways of the foreign office. another person was arrested 'for sitting on the pavement'.
currently (9.45am) around forty protesters are penned in by large numbers of cops including tsg (tactical support group / thugs), and it is thought they are all likely to be arrested for 'participating in an unauthorised demonstration in the designated zone' (socpa) and police are trying to find enough cell space.
itn news were there so there should be some media coverage at least on local london news at lunchtime. the demonstrators were entirely peaceful throughout (doh - it's an anti-war demo - geddit!). although police were heard to claim they were holding people because of a risk of 'serious public disorder').
rikki
e-mail:
rikkiindymedia@googlemail.com
Additions
Only five arrests.
21.08.2006 13:50
Sam
Stop the War Coalition statement
21.08.2006 13:54
Readers might be interested in our press release of Thursday 10th August commending activists in Derry for their occupation of the local base of American arms manufacturer Raytheon.
http://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/stwc-press/2006-08/msg00009.html
Stop the War Coalition
e-mail:
office@stopwar.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk
Blockade in the Guardian
21.08.2006 19:07
"Five arrested in 'blockade' of Foreign Office"
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,1855050,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704
Marc
Homepage:
http://www.protestphoto.co.uk
Yes it was blockaded
21.08.2006 21:19
Yes, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was blockaded for about forty-five minutes between 8.45 to 9.30. We blockaded the main gate forcing civil servants to walk round to the back, passing the banner and gauntlet of clowns. From 8.00 to 8.45 the blockade was at the head of King Charles St. below the arch.
The comments so far have been slightly negative in tone. Personally, and speaking as someone who has been on a number of awesome actions, this was a very self-emporering blockade, well-executed, with good communication amongst blockaders and all round fun and effective.
We made a joke of their SOCPA legislation, and the cops looked like class clowns throwing a loose pen around people trying to leave for them to just decide to leave five minutes later.
All round an amazing action. As one friend said, "The best thing I've done on a Monday morning for a very long time!"
@
all those arrested now out
21.08.2006 21:34
Two of them were offered food containing ingredients they are allergic to, despite telling the custody officers of this when asked if they had any specific dietary requirements - the officers in question seemingly unacquainted with the Met's new found focus on Health & Safety.
ACAB
See also:
22.08.2006 07:39
Mary N B | 21.08.2006 23:18
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/348828.html
Sam
Comments
Hide the following 13 comments
I told you it would be a disaster with most people arrested!
21.08.2006 09:47
Come to the mass anti-war picket of the Labour party conference in Manchester on Saturday the 23rd of December. Lets make this the biggest ever demo and direct action day Manchester has ever seen. Small groups can organise their own direct actions for the day. http://www.stopwar.org.uk
Spokesman for the stop the war coalition
well done.
21.08.2006 09:53
Hopefully there will be more of an result besides lots of arrested friends.
mediA TOADS
You can get up early now get yourselves a proper job......
21.08.2006 09:58
Love and Rage
Matron X
Louise Keane
Stop the War Fighters?
21.08.2006 10:05
Manchester
21.08.2006 11:03
I dunno, its got the Peterloo Massacre to contend with................. you want a repeat of that?
And also, why be so prescriptive about today's demo? It was organised by a bunch of anarchists, what do you expect? You don't need three weeks to organise an event - you turn up with a bunch of mates and make a nuisance of yourselves. So what if clowns get arrested? They know the consequences of their actions and know the risks - not everyone wants to be organised and led and not everyone agrees to use the same methods of protest.
Matron of Mischief
re: I told you so...
21.08.2006 11:04
Anyway, hope your picket goes well. Note it is an anti-war picket (mass 'cos that's the style/philosophy of the SWP, early in the morning and not advertised cos that's our style), and don't try to co-opt direct action (the concept and the energy) as you have been known to do before.
Nice one early birds in London anyway.
bird
maybe
21.08.2006 12:20
NotNow!
Three week's notice
21.08.2006 12:43
Anyway, let's have more fun and less carping.
Matron of Mischeif
did the stop the war coalition inform and work with the cops?
21.08.2006 13:06
the SWP are such wankers in co-operating with the cops. no wonder their demos are weak, small and don't go anywhere. I bet the cops are really happy that they have such a compliant SWP/ stop the war coalition that are too scared to mount a protest outside the foriegn office.
I do know this. the muslim leaders think the SWP are a waste of space that do not understand the muslim religion or their position. Worse, the SWP and Lindsey German want to force all muslims to join their pathetic little commie committees with her in charge of the agenda.
ever wandered why none of the gitmo prisoners have ever appeared at a stop the war meeting or rally? remember this mr spokesperson?
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2004/10/299064.html
i remember during the ESF when i succeeded in getting one of the british gitmo prisoners to speak at an indymedia human rights seminar (which the SWP did everything to try and stop) that they tried to steal him on the day so they could make huge SWP propaganda during the ESF. whilst indymedia was very careful and sensitive to the needs of our Guantanamo guest, the SWP wanted to take a man who had spent over two years in solitary confinement, stick him on the stage and then claim the credit for getting him released!
nessuno
We didn't get arrested Mr. STWC!
21.08.2006 13:35
Mr STWC, you will see for yourself the success it was when the pics and vids and the whole report is posted on Indymedia later.
Nicos
in partial defence of 'i told ou so'
21.08.2006 14:43
It is true that an 8am start is bad for mass participation in this context, and the low munbers prove it. Being able to mobilise less than a hundred, despite wide publicity including an article in the guardian, is hardly cause for celebration. I've been on covert direct action that involved similar numbers from all round the countr (and even earlier in the morning).
Making an event public is all very well but it's important to ask why. It's normally done to involve more people, often with the view that more people are needed. However, with blockades, it's more usually the case that you need only small numbers of people, a few people up for arrest and a few to support them. Blockades become difficult with loads of police around and work best with the element of suprise.
We all know how police in London operate, and being stuck in a pen is not exactly empowering. If the motive for public action is to get more people involved and empower them, it can be done via word of mouth rather than publicised direct action. Again, I've been involved in quite a few covert actions where a large percentage of the participants had been enroled from other events and given training and legal briefings - surely beter than hoping random members of the public will turn up and but themselves on the line.
Non publicised actions can be better planned. You don't count on enough people turning up and doing the right thing by chance. You know exactly who is going and what roles everyone will have. You know you have a period of time before the cops or security react and you can plan accordingly.
So, 'I told you so' thinks a later action would have been more successful and involved more people... well I think that's crap. The aim was clearly to blockade not hold a demo and therefore acting later with more people would have done nothing to improve the chances of success. On the other hand, just twenty people and a well considered plan of action would have had a vastly greater chance of success.
Well done to all concerned. Hope your experiences lead you to even better actions.
!
Was the FCO blockaded at all?
21.08.2006 18:56
Zazo
Re: in partial defence of 'i told ou so'
21.08.2006 21:19
Contrary to the confused information in the OP there was no pen in the familiar sense - the police simplty blocked the entire street at both ends for the final fifteen minutes of a two hour demonstration.
ACAB