UK Promoted Newswire Archive
Palestine Today 03 31 2011
31-03-2011 19:39
Palestine Today 03 30 2011
30-03-2011 17:09
4 Actions against Shell in their first day of work in Rossport, Ireland
30-03-2011 13:32
March for the Alternative
29-03-2011 21:23
Huge numbers attended the March for an alternative in London. 32 carriages full, left Glasgow at 05:00 hrs from all walks of life, to attend this munumentous occasion.
Summary of arrests for March 26th
29-03-2011 20:18
Official police figures for arrests during the Mrach 26th anti-cuts demo.Pictures from March For The Alternative (part 3).
29-03-2011 16:13
Palestine Today 03 29 2011
29-03-2011 16:05
Pictures from March For The Alternative (part 2).
29-03-2011 15:41
Pics: Marching against the Cuts!
29-03-2011 15:22
Loads of people and some nice signs.
The only way to make the day even better would have been for the sun to come out!
Pictures from March For The Alternative (part 1).
29-03-2011 15:22
#M26: Odeon on Leicester Square occupied
29-03-2011 13:23
London was a crazy, exciting and wonderful place on Saturday, 26 March. Taking a walk around town, and passing Leicester Square, we happened upon the occupied Odeon.
Where did they get a flag that size?
#Extraterrestrials join #26March
29-03-2011 13:23
Aliens are being stopped and search for no reason at all.
But I bet those sandwiches were going to be a crucial tool for breaching the peace.
Oxford Circus to Picadilly
29-03-2011 13:23
Going for a wander in Occupied London
broken glass looks kinda pretty
What Now After The TUC's London Demo?
29-03-2011 13:17
Shells Work begins in Rossport!!
29-03-2011 12:08
Trafalgar Square: A report
29-03-2011 11:52
This Saturday over half a million people took to the streets in the biggest anti-government demonstration since the invasion of Iraq. Trade unionists and community activists from around the country rallied together. The attack on Trafalgar Square highlights to what length the police will go to quell dissent.Londinium (An Alien Perspective On March 26th)
29-03-2011 10:22
Written for American audience, but perhaps amusing.
Londinium
A small settlement on the wide flowing river, the word itself perhaps meaning ‘wild place.’ There is no certainty about where the name came from, only theories. But I am going to pretend that Londinium means ‘wild place along the river.’ It was conquered by the Romans during the first decades of the common era. Nothing more than an outpost of the Empire, it remained occupied for a decade until the queen of the Iceni tribe led her armies against the Romans. When they retook Londinium, the forces of the queen burned the city to the ground. For an entire night, the ‘wild place along the river’ was a city of flames.
East London
As you undoubtedly know, the Empire has remained in control of Londinium for two thousand years. The ‘wild place along the river’ has since become a concrete and brick labyrinth populated by over 8 million people. It was one of the main nodes in the expansion of the Empire into North America and the center of global Capital for centuries.
But it also served as a refuge for anarchists during the 19th and 20th centuries. East London was where many anarchists came to regroup and collaborate. Louis Michel, Erico Malatesta, and Rudolf Rocker all resided there at one point. The Whitechapel neighborhood in East London was home to a vibrant Jewish anarchist community, with many newspapers and organizations. These anarchist organizations contributed to numerous strikes in the neighborhood and also supported their members during long, protracted strikes. Peter Kropotkin and other anarchists created Freedom Books in the Whitechapel neighborhood in 1886. The bookstore is still there, in Angel Alley, just down the street from where Jack the Ripper killed his first victim. In 1993 it was firebombed by fascists but survived the attack. In the same building as the bookstore is ASS, the Advisory Service for Squatters, a group that provides free legal help and resources to the squatting population.
There are dozens and dozens of squats in East London. Squatting is legal in England, it being a civil matter and not a police matter. If a house is squatted, the owner has to start a court process that often takes months, allowing people to live for free during that time. Because of this, the local anarchists can quickly set up infrastructure such as social centers, free stores, and housing. Although politicians and lawmakers are threatening to make squatting illegal, the reality of that happening is far from likely, given the state of the British economy. It is not just anarchists who take over buildings. People who have to wait months for state housing are allowed to take any house that is empty. With cuts to housing and housing aid, the government would find itself under even heavier scrutiny if it outlawed squatting.
In one particular squat, there are four separate empty buildings that are connected by pathways along the rooftops. Lush trees grow around the old Victorian brick and gardens grow in planting boxes made from discarded shipping pallets. Rooms are slowly transformed from forgotten wreckage to livable, warm dwellings. Electrical cords and water hoses keep everything lit and people hydrated. Resources are shared amongst the rotating cast of characters who live there. The newest room, converted only recently, is going to be turned over to other anarchists once the current occupants leave. This is just one of many squats scattered throughout East London.
There is much more local context that would take many pages to explain. In the links below you will be able to find some of this context. But let it be said that East London has been an anarchist center for over a hundred years and continues to be so to this day. And now…
March 26th, Central London
Piccadilly Circus, situated in the middle of London, is another radiant jewel of the Empire. While not as vertical as Times Square in New York City, it is certainly London’s equivalent. Surrounding a metal statue of Eros, the Greek god of love, are giant electronic billboards constantly flashing messages to the thousands of tourists and consumers who pass by each day. Piccadilly Circus is the center of a vast commercial district that pulls in millions of dollars a year. It is also where one of the longest street battles was to occur on March 26th, 2011.
The Trade Union’s Congress (TUC) had called for a large march and rally against the recent austerity measures being imposed by the government. It was given the name ‘March For The Alternative’ and was meant to encourage the Conservative-Democratic coalition government to provide more green jobs, more government services, more work, work, work. During the build-up to March 26th, many people were expecting it to draw up to a million people and be comparable to the march against the Iraq War in 2003. Starting with the protests against the G20 in 2009, a wave of energy had been building in London with each new demonstration. The student protests and occupations, the storming of the Millbank Tower, and the local demonstrations against the borough councils had all been increasing the level of militancy of the population. A local Marxist academic (who had been fired for ‘inciting violence’ during the G20) and his cohorts had been telling the media that on March 26th, the city of London would be taken over. Not only did they say this, they also organized five separate street parties to take place on that day, each party representing the five points of the pentagram. This was to act as a curse against the royal wedding set to take place on April 29th.
The TUC had been openly collaborating with the Metropolitan Police, coordinating their plans and ensuring that the march would go off peacefully. The stewards of the TUC would have no hesitation turning over unruly elements to the police. The march was set to be a point A to point B affair, all of it ending in a rally at Hyde Park where politicians from the Labour Party and other union leaders would speak. The business community of London felt safe with the collaborative plan between the TUC and the Metropolitan Police, knowing that all the protestors would be in one place, contained and harmless. Anyone who deviated from this official plan was obviously a mindless trouble-maker. Papers ran stories warning of evil anarchist plots to disrupt the legitimate demonstration.
On the day of the march, several ‘feeder marches’ were to start at 11 AM in locations scattered around London, all of them separate from the main TUC march. One of them started in front of the University of London Union. One hundred and fifty red and black flags (the local colors) were distributed to the crowd, mounted on wooden poles. By 11, two thousand people, largely students and anarchists, were assembled in front of the Union. The feeder march kicked off and moved towards the Thames River. In this march, hundreds of people were dressed in black and as it moved hundreds of anarchist flags fluttered in the air. Nothing really happened on the way to the river, but when this march reached the river, this is what happened:
The feeder march ran into and was absorbed by the main TUC march. While there, no one moved. The march was so big (over five hundred thousand people) that it could no longer move between point A and point B. For an intolerable amount of time, the feeder march was stuck within a cacophony of sheepish BAAAAH!’s and bovine MOOOOH!’s. A small group of liberals waiting in line for the port-a-potties implored the anarchist ‘cowards’ to take off their masks and do something their ‘children would be proud of.’ The A to B march stood perfectly still, waiting to get to the trough and then go home. To the delight of everyone, the march finally started moving and the first smoke bombs were lit, filling the air with the rancid stench of sulfur. The anarchists walked with the rest of march, listening to crowd favorites like the Buzzcocks’ “Orgasm Addict” on their sound system and chanting about burning the leaders of government.
Once the feeder march reached a major road it quickly broke away from the TUC march, bringing with it roughly five thousand people who were bored, restless, and eager to do something other than drink from the trough. The break-away march proceeded into Central London, clumping together, gathering its strength, and getting as far away from the TUC march as possible. It soon entered the commercial district where the first targets were hit. Initially, paint bombs and large fireworks were the only things thrown, but soon large rocks began to crash against the windows of posh shops. The first cracked window evoked only silence from the crowd, but by the next target everyone cheered as the windows shattered.
The police used small teams to intimidate the crowd, but they largely kept to the sidewalks, hoping that their cameras would be enough of a deterrent to prevent anyone from acting. The march would walk from target to target, stopping only when enough people were attacking in order to warrant a pause. This kept everyone safe and the cops away. Rocks and paint bombs flew over the heads of the police who were helpless and confused. Multi-colored paint splotches covered the faces, hats, and uniforms of every Metropolitan Police officer who tried to protect Santander Bank, Top Shop, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Starbucks, McDonald’s, lingerie shops, clothing shops, money exchanges, and jewelry stores. The march quickly weaved through alleys and streets, choosing direction organically, finding targets naturally, and moving constantly. When an HSBC bank was passed, people covered it with paint bombs and graffiti and smashed its windows. Changing direction later on, the march then passed it again. The bank was damaged even more, the doors were broken open with a dumpster, and dozens of people flooded inside and began destroying it. All but a few of them got out before the riot police arrived.
Then the march passed the Ritz Hotel in Mayfair. Paint was everywhere, multiple windows were smashed, fireworks were thrown, the police were beaten with sticks and pegged with more paint-bombs while chants of ‘Class War!’ filled the air. The Ritz is a very glaring symbol of wealth in London and the fight lasted nearly ten minutes, ending with the police cowering and the guests at the hotel being evacuated to the kitchen. The words FAT CATS were left spray-painted on the wall. Only a few block away was a nine story squat, occupied a few days earlier, that was being used as a convergence center for the day. Draped from its sides was a giant banner with the squatting symbol that read “OUR SOCIETY IS BIGGER THAN YOURS” and another that proclaimed “CAPITALISM IS CRISIS”.
The march went where it wished, destroyed what it could, and only dispersed when it merged with the occupation taking place at Oxford Circus. For two hours it had efficiently and relentlessly attacked the most obvious targets it could find. Two random men, drawn into the excitement and energy of the march, were overheard saying this to each other: “Where are we going next?” “The next fucking capitalist target!” These men stayed with the march, cheering whenever a window was broken. Indeed, these targets resonated with an angry, dissatisfied public.
By the time the march had disintegrated, there were multiple separate groups roving the streets of central London. From this point onward, one could walk in any direction, find one of these nomadic groups, and be swept away into a confrontation or excitement. There were no cars on the street. It became normal for everyone, bystanders included, to walk on the street. The police were completely overwhelmed, especially now that multiple groups of random people were replicating the nomadic, roving tactics demonstrated earlier.
While a giant Trojan Horse was being burnt to the ground in Oxford Circus, an anti-cuts group had occupied Fortnum & Mason, the famous grocer to the Queen of England. Hundreds of people shut down the store that sold jars of jam for eighteen pounds. This grocer was just down the street from Piccadilly Circus. As the day wore on, people began to clump around this occupation. In the area around Piccadilly Circus, there was no car traffic. Stores that had not been hit were boarded up, tourists took pictures of the damage, and whoever wanted free food or beer simply had to walk into a Tesco, grab whatever they wanted, walk past the distracted and confused employees, and leave. Central London had become free, host to a riotous, chaotic carnival of people who roamed the streets joyously.
All of this activity eventually coalesced around Piccadilly Circus and the occupation at Fortnum & Mason. From here, multiple street fights broke about between the crowd of thousands and the lines of riot police. Everyone, young, old, male, and female, began to throw themselves and whatever they could find against the pigs in neon green. One young teenager, disregarding all the cameras, began to gleefully smash an ATM with a wild smile on her face while other beat the cops thirty away from her. These battles lasted for hours and were a constant back and forth between the forces of order and the forces of chaos. Every target that was within the domain of the chaotic crowd was torn apart. A Santander Bank, attacked earlier in the day, was broken into and trashed from the inside. Eventually, with all of the chaotic activity beginning to centralize itself in one area, the police started to push the crowd towards Piccadilly Circus.
There was already one fire burning in Piccadilly Circus when the crowd was pushed back. Once the police had pushed that far, night had fallen. Further back, towards Trafalgar Square, away from the Fortnum & Mason that was now completely surrounded by police, people began to burn great piles of trash in Piccadilly. They assembled large barricades of garbage bags and construction fencing in the middle of the road. People began to gather everyone they could to feed the fires that soon attracted hundreds of people. These fires burned while tourists and consumers nervously ate their meals at TGI Friday’s and the Aberdeen Steakhouse. When asked why they were burning plastic, one diabolical arsonist responded, “We live in a city.” The person shrugged and said, “Fair enough.” Rather than host a mob of unthinking tourists, Piccadilly Circus hosted fires, revelry, and chaos that night. Until the fire brigade put them out, that is. With the death of these fires, normality, traffic, and commerce slowly resumed throughout the rest of the evening.
Further to the east, closer to the river, three thousand people were assembled in Trafalgar Square, one of the five points in the pentagram (the other points being Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square, and the Hilton Hotel). Multiple fires burnt as people danced to jungle music. The metal lions and the central column of the square were covered in graffiti. The police held back until the 2012 London Olympic Clock was attacked with paint bombs. At this point, another street battle began that lasted into the wee hours. Shops were burnt and police were injured before everyone who remained in the square was surrounded. This was to be the last battle, ending at 3 in the morning of March 27th.
Conclusion
Central London became a liberated area for several hours on March 26th (in addition to over five million pounds being lost by businesses). Normality was disrupted and commerce was halted. Thousands of people joined in the attacks on the police and the destruction of ‘capitalist targets.’ The next day, the media would invent tales of masked anarchist ‘thugs’ hijacking a ‘legitimate’ protest. But when all of the diverse people involved in the fighting against the police read these sensationalized fabrications, they were able to clearly see just how law and order is maintained, how ‘legitimate protest’ are really just other words for passivity, and how rebellion is always maligned, denigrated, and attacked.
London is a vast, pulsing node in the networks of the Empire. But the ‘wild place along the river’ is still home to the same foxes that roamed the forests that once lined the river Thames. They can still be seen, walking on the roofs of a squat or emerging from some slimy tunnel, looking ragged and worn but still surviving. They emerge at the most unlikely time and stare at you with apprehension. They do not want to be seen, these wild creatures crawling underneath the streets of the Imperial City.
Like every major city of the Empire, London is a long-subjugated place. But a long time ago it was free and wild. Centuries of slavery have attempted to reduce the inhabitants into cattle and sheep. Nevertheless, there is still and always has been rebellion, just as there always will be. What happened on the 26th might be similar to other events that have taken place in London, but it is also something completely new. The extensive attacks on banks and other ‘capitalist targets’ that took place that day resonate in a completely different manner than they have before. With all of the money drying up in the UK and the EU, a line of riot police protecting an Apple store looks vastly different than it did in 2004. Not only that, there are more people who willingly attack DeBeers, Porsche dealerships, and Lloyd’s Bank than ever before.
And now the Royals are set to marry off their son to some rich girl in a ceremony that will cost millions of pounds. The public will have to watch, some of them willingly and happily, others with disgust in their eyes, as an opulent spectacle is paraded in front of them. Already there are plans to disrupt the wedding, and it will be that much more difficult to pull it off after the victory of the 26th. But here is to the folks of London and all the others who travelled there to make that day possible. Godspeed and good luck in all of your future endeavors. It has been an absolute pleasure. Stay wild.
Why we took out Ann Summers on Saturday 26 March:
29-03-2011 01:36
A response to the confusion emerging from the broken Ann Summers windows on a march about... CUTS?!Video: Thousands head to Fortnums occupation
29-03-2011 00:24
Thousands of people pitched up in central London to do more than just march from A-B....
Occupy for the Alternative!