I suppose it didn’t help that we took so long before deciding to set up camp at this late stage in the Occupy movement. Although better late than never, it gave the police and the council a lot of time to liaise and plan how they would respond to an Occupy Cardiff should we choose to camp at the castle, (which is where it was always presumed the camp would be set up anyway).

A bloke from the council turned up out of the blue (Neil McEvoy, deputy councillor of Cardiff Council) and did a little speech on the megaphone that was provided for him to use by someone in the crowd. He said if it’s the banks we’re against, then he’s with us, and that Callaghan Square would be a more appropriate place for the camp. We were told that if we were to relocate there, then he (the council?) would support us. This sent tongues wagging and a quick group discussion plus vote came to the decision that we would stay put at the Castle. Callaghan Square was deemed to be too out of the way, and we wanted a central location to make our presence felt.

Almost as soon as the people had collectively decided they would stay put, another man from the council, (Martin Hamiltion, chief officer), stepped forward to address us. This time it was bad news. We were told that CADW (who are the Welsh heritage site management trustees or some such bollox) were ‘uncomfortable’ with our use of the land, that it is a historical/protected site, and that they were withdrawing our implied right of access to the land. I couldn’t believe my ears.

Didn’t I just hear the council giving their blessing a moment ago?! It wasn’t clear if CADW were withdrawing the use of the land, or if it was the council who were making that decision based upon the ‘uncomfortable-ness’ of CADW, but the point was that the council had removed our implied right of access. What a bizarre turnaround!

Could this be the same CADW who put on annual events at Caerphilly Castle under the sinisterly named ‘Illuminata’, where they allow everyone to come and trample the grass to bits just so they can watch massive exploding fireworks launched from within the castle grounds? Is this the same CADW that allow Cardiff Castle to play host to many gigs and events with large crowds and sound systems, whilst Mini Cooper have a showcase of cars on the grass right next to the camp? Is this the same CADW who neglected their duty to preserve a protected area of Bute park to build a bridge and an access road to enable lorries to drive into the park? Now if that’s not a culture of inappropriate use of protected and historical sites by those hypocrites, then I don’t know what is!

He then cited an old and irrelevant by law and the Public Health Act 1875, originally intended to stop the spread of disease. (This was before the days of compost toilets I presume). He informed the crowd of the four sections within that act or bylaw which were supposed to be relevant to this situation, although it was only a very small number of people who had heard him as he wasn’t using a megaphone like the last guy. He muttered and mumbled his words quietly and didn’t hang around to clarify anything he’d said.

Straight after that, the police stepped in to inform us that we have been requested to leave and that anyone remaining after a reasonable amount of time (to take the tents down), would be subject to the police powers under section 61 of the criminal justice act. I believe this is the police powers to remove unwanted trespassers/travelers/unauthorised campers off the land if certain conditions have been met.

If you look up the conditions of the section 61 of the criminal justice act you will see it can only be enforced when.. “(a)that any of those persons has caused damage to the land or to property on the land or used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards the occupier, a member of his family or an employee or agent of his, or(b)that those persons have between them six or more vehicles on the land.”

I could sense an abuse of our human rights approaching, and needed to keep to the side as a legal observer at this point. There was a brief clearing out of tents, then once the police were satisfied that all the tents were clear, they moved backwards to re-group at the sight of the numbers of people who had now formed a wall of solidarity with each other.

It is always a good idea to remind the police that we have human rights in these sorts of situations, but they don’t seem to pay much attention to them. Whilst we have been given the right by our own government to gather and protest under ARTICLE 11 of the Human Rights Act, (An EU directive forcing the UK to bring in legislation to protect our human rights), the police don’t really give a toss about that. Our legislators have managed to sneak clauses into the act which allows the police to disregard those human rights if there is any concern for public safety, national security, or other such excuses they make for protecting the overall benefit of society, on the whole.

Now how a small bunch of peaceful people setting up tents and a yurt on a disused patch of grass, (with toilet facilities to be hygienically taken care of), can be deemed to be a threat to the greater society is beyond my comprehension. There is always the possibility, of course, that it will spread the truth and encourage a more compassionate society. Is that the big threat to society they are so worried about?

The police kept mentioning the word trespass and section 61, but it is a matter of debate about whose land we were trespassing upon exactly. Negating the whole ‘nobody owns the land, the land owns us’ argument, the castle and the surrounding park was bequeathed by the Marquis of Bute to the people of Cardiff, so technically, isn’t it our own land anyway?

I can’t even see any potential victim here. Where is the crime? Then how can it be an arrestable offence? Trespass is not an arrestable offence, it is a civil matter. This is a perfect example of how the police bow down to their corporate masters instead of remaining faithful as public servants to us. Then they use oppressive force upon us as peaceful members of the public (breaking their sworn oath to the queen), instead of protecting us from harm.

The police did allow plenty of time to dismantle the tents and the yurt, but people were not very interested in clearing up and going home. The Occupy Cardiff crowd were not intimidated by the increase in police numbers at all. There were some good sing songs to keep morale up, and a human chain was formed as the police lined up opposite in equal numbers. There was a long stand off as the rain poured down, and the police didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves when they saw that the people of Occupy Cardiff were not going to leave.

It was heart-warming to see the solidarity, as the rain was now a torrential downpour and everyone was soaking wet and sinking deeper into the mud. They couldn’t just go back into their tents for cover, as they would be easy pickings for the police there, so the human chain remained unbroken. The songs continued, with “This is what democracy looks like”, but in the mud bath that they were standing in, “This is what Glastonbury looks like” would have been more appropriate.

I noticed one particular officer standing in the rain sneezing and wiping his nose. I felt a little better knowing that they are only human too. I almost laughed at him, although it made me smile, I had to remind myself not to hate the player, but to hate the game. The thing is though, they get paid for standing there waiting for their command to turn into a storm trooper, whilst what we do for free, according to our conscience, for love, out of the kindness and the passion of our hearts, are worlds apart!

With the arrival of police reinforcements, (about 15 extra officers taking the total to about 40-50 police against about 40 protesters standing on the other side of the camp), the police order came to ‘advance’. The police started dragging away the tents away first, then they started pushing and shoving the people left on the field. It was like a rugby match on a muddy battlefield, as the police pushed and pushed some more, as they sent people flying through the mud. There was a lot of raised voices all mixed in together across the line and it was hard to pick out what they were saying, but it was clear that force was being used. Instead of getting them to come straight off the side of the field, they had decided to force them backwards all the way up the full length of the field like a game of rugby!

It took a while, and there were 6 arrests in the process, but I saw nothing to warrant any arrest, (unless you could arrest the police for their aggravated abuse). People were just exercising their right and duty to civil disobedience against an unreasonable use of police powers.

Isn’t it ironic that these policemen, our public servants, (who swore an oath to protect us, the general public, from theft of property, possessions, disturbances of peace, and entrusted to stop violence/disorder), come wading in and commit upon us the very acts that they are supposed to be protecting us from? This is nothing short of a breach of their ‘duty of care’ to us. All for an out of date by-law!

I pray that those dragged into the system do not get any notches on their criminal record over this, and that the CPS have the good sense to drop these ridiculous charges (of failing to obey police orders) before it reaches court.

This is no victory for the police, CADW, or the council. Instead, this was a testimony to the strength of the human spirit in the face of oppression. It also brought like minded people together from all backgrounds to make new connections, as we recognise that we are the 99% being manipulated for profit by the 1%. The generosity of those who donated hot trays of chips and delicious home baked brownies deserve a special mention. You kept me going when my energy levels were down, and that’s something that I am very grateful for! It certainly brought out the best of the human spirit, and that’s something they’re not going to be able to break anytime soon.