Photos from demo against police brutality 4 April
vg | 12.04.2009 20:50 | G20 London Summit | Repression
Some photos from the demo at Bank on Saturday 4 April against police brutality in the wake of the G20 policing and the death of Ian Tomlinson. Not to be confused with the somewhat larger demo this Saturday.
About 100 people assembled at Bank a week ago last Saturday to observe a minute's silence for Ian, after which a decision was made to go to Bethnal Green Police Station, where many of those arrested during the G20 demos and Climate Camp were held. The cops, who seemed anxious to distance themselves from those who had been on the streets earlier in the week - 'we're just ordinary bobbies' - stopped us after about a minute, on the grounds that the statutory (six days?) notice of a march or procession had not been given to the police as required by law. This is the law with which the government would like to 'harmonise' our freedom to demonstrate spontaneously - in other words, any demonstration anywhere would be unlawful unless notified to the police in advance.
There was confusion about what was happening, and after a while everyone shambled back to Bank where there was some hanging around and some speeches, including an announcement by Lois Austin about the legal challenge to the kettle tactics used by the police at Oxford Circus on Mayday 2001, which is now going to the European Court of Human Rights. Lois suggested that the evidence of people who had witnessed the police kettling at the G20 demos, and in particular what happened to Ian Tomlinson, might be useful to this case.
Eventually, everyone set out again for Bethal Green, police authorisation or no, passing a gang of workmen busy replacing the huge plate glass windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland on the way. There was lots of chanting and some leafleting as we went along. We were joined by a van full of cops and a police helicopter, but no attempt was made while I was there to stop the march. Unfortunately, I needed to leave when we were still half a mile short of the police station, so don't know what happened next.
Sorry it's taken me so long to get these pictures up, but I think it's still news... nearly.
There was confusion about what was happening, and after a while everyone shambled back to Bank where there was some hanging around and some speeches, including an announcement by Lois Austin about the legal challenge to the kettle tactics used by the police at Oxford Circus on Mayday 2001, which is now going to the European Court of Human Rights. Lois suggested that the evidence of people who had witnessed the police kettling at the G20 demos, and in particular what happened to Ian Tomlinson, might be useful to this case.
Eventually, everyone set out again for Bethal Green, police authorisation or no, passing a gang of workmen busy replacing the huge plate glass windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland on the way. There was lots of chanting and some leafleting as we went along. We were joined by a van full of cops and a police helicopter, but no attempt was made while I was there to stop the march. Unfortunately, I needed to leave when we were still half a mile short of the police station, so don't know what happened next.
Sorry it's taken me so long to get these pictures up, but I think it's still news... nearly.
vg
Comments
Hide the following comment
Don't apologise!
13.04.2009 19:47
It's good that you made an effort to report hat happened. The mainstream media either ignores, or distorts this kind of event by giving limited information which conceals the truth.
Cheers, keeping taking photos.
Pinkolady
Homepage:
http://www.liverpool-jobsearch.blogspot.com