Skip to content or view screen version

Democracy Village eviction night, Parliament Square - pics

dv | 20.07.2010 23:33 | SOCPA | Anti-militarism | Free Spaces | Repression

High Court bailiffs finally came to evict Democracy Village from Parliament Square, Westminster, London shortly after 1am on Tuesday, 20th July 2010.

Folk musicians entertain villagers just hours before the eviction
Folk musicians entertain villagers just hours before the eviction


Bailiffs have arrived
Bailiffs have arrived

tripod first thing to come down, villagers caught cold
tripod first thing to come down, villagers caught cold

some assemble in the peace garden
some assemble in the peace garden

bailiffs manhandle hunger striker
bailiffs manhandle hunger striker

two activists climb scaffolding
two activists climb scaffolding

more activists forcibly dragged away
more activists forcibly dragged away

activist climbs kitchen tent
activist climbs kitchen tent

bailiff documents the eviction
bailiff documents the eviction

one activist locked on to base with D-lock, two others on top
one activist locked on to base with D-lock, two others on top

activist's view from top of pile of fencing aboard flat bed truck
activist's view from top of pile of fencing aboard flat bed truck

activist forcibly hauled down from kitchen tent
activist forcibly hauled down from kitchen tent

bailiffs inside their cage
bailiffs inside their cage

banner facing Parliament
banner facing Parliament

protest continues outside the fenced-off area
protest continues outside the fenced-off area

others catch up on sleep
others catch up on sleep

...after an exhausting night
...after an exhausting night

some music
some music

...and press interviews
...and press interviews


The primary focus of the camp, set up on 1 May 2010, was to bring the war in Afghanistan to a peaceful conclusion and to get the troops returned home. After losing a recent appeal in the Court of Appeal against an eviction order and injunction granted to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson in the High Court, it was only a matter of time before the order was enforced.

The villagers held out for around 4 hours. After clearing the square, the bailiffs erected metal fences around the entire perimeter of the square, save for a strip of pavement on the east side, where tents belonging to Brian Haw and friends' Parliament Square Peace Campaign and Maria Gallastegui's Peacestrike campaign are located; plus a patch of grass where one of Brian Haw's tents is located.

Around thirty villagers continued their protest on the remaining strip of pavement during the morning rush hour, with various media present.

All images are Copyright (c) 2010 D. Viesnik but may be reproduced free of charge for non-commercial use if credited. For high resolution versions / commercial use, please e-mail.

More info:

 http://democracyvillage.org
 http://democracyvillage.blogspot.com
 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113998618637971&v=wall

dv
- e-mail: vd2012-imc[at]yahoo.co.uk
- Homepage: http://democracyvillage.org

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. Hunger striker forcefully dragged and dropped during Democracy Village eviction. — Barry