the peaceful 'occupation against the cuts' has established its camp in trafalgar square for the fourth week running tonight. the 24 hour protest will camp overnight and run workshops and awareness-raising exercises during the day tomorrow.

click on image for larger version. all images are 'some rights reserved' - free for credited non-commercial use, otherwise contact author for permission

as per last week, trafalgar square was being used for an event (this week it was a st george's day celebration), and so the occupation began on the grass in front of the national gallery. there they set up their marquee and ground sheets and held a picnic while waiting for the square to clear.

later, they will pitch tents in the square, and tomorrow will run their workshops and talk to the public.

this is the fourth week that the occupation has taken place. it was originally called a week after trafalgar square was cleared by an enormous and unnecessarily violent police kettling operation after the TUC march and other anti-cuts protests on the 26th march.

they announced their occupation would be entirely lawful and non-violent and effectively dared the police to attack them once more.

although filmed by 'heritage wardens' and watched by police (both overtly and covertly), they stayed the full 24 hours, and outreached with large numbers of passers-by who also participated in workshops run by the really free school.

when i visited last week (their third occupation), their numbers had increased, and they were also joined by the beginnings of a homeless rights project. they had spread out large sheets of blank paper, forming the slogan 'no cuts', and on the paper they invited people to write how the cuts had affected them. by the end of the occupation last sunday, the sheets were completely covered with moving descriptions of misfortune, misery and deprivation written by members of the public over the previous 24 hours.

the occupation is open to all as long as their intention is non-violent and respectful. supporters should also bring food and non-alcoholic drink to share.