woman arrested in front of Labour Party conference

little john | 26.09.2004 15:34 | London | World

a woman was arrested in front of labour party conference in Brighton, thanks to the good offices of the Trade Justice movement.

At the end of the rally organised in Brighton for the start of the Labour Party conference, a crowd was standing in front of the conference centre.

While the Christian mob were cheering at the slogans of one of their bishops, a couple in the crowd shouted at the trade unionists on the balcony of the Brighton Centre, that they should be ashamed of themselves (which is something most people would agree with).

One of the nice ladies of the trade justice movement turned and screamed at the couple that they were not allowed to talk, because "they were pushing their own agenda" (as if the trade justice movement wasn't), and that this was their rally, therefore nobody else was allowed to say anything.

The woman in the couple replied something which the writer could not hear, when suddenly a policeman who had watched the discussion leant over the rails and shouted a warning to the woman, then few seconds later he jumped over the rails with three of his mates and proceeded to arrest her.

the nice ladies of the trade justice movememt looked on with satisfaction whilst the woman was being dragged away by force by their nice friends the bobbies, for no reason at all.

I do not know who the arrested woman was, but I guess that the nice lady of the trade justice movement will tomorrow be sitting comfortably in her armchair, discussing with the vicar's wife, over a cup of fair trade coffee of course, the good they do the poor with rallies like this one, where they ask the same criminals who are responsible for the death and misery of millions to be nicer and just a tad less greedy.

an eye witness.
let's wage war against wealth, not against poverty.

little john

Comments

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?

26.09.2004 15:52

what did she get kniked for?

anarchkit

I am appalled

26.09.2004 18:39

"One of the nice ladies of the trade justice movement turned and screamed at the couple that they were not allowed to talk, because "they were pushing their own agenda" (as if the trade justice movement wasn't), and that this was their rally, therefore nobody else was allowed to say anything." I find the vilification of people for having independent opinions by some large groups of the (so called) left disgraceful.

Moderate

except

26.09.2004 20:10

the trade justice movement (world development movement) is not a group of the left or similar. it's a bunch of liberals who think that the world will be changed by buying different brands of coffee and putting out their recycling.

this is the first time i've ever heard of this happening at a so-called broad rally, and i'm disgusted by it.

andy in brighton

...

27.09.2004 06:08

Andy and Co above are right - this is a very sad event, particularly at a time when it looks like Christian Aid, CAFOD and other 'progressive-religious' charities are becoming much more robust in their criticisms of free trade orthodoxy. Shopping people with broadly similar outlooks but differing tactics, can only create bitterness and precludes future co-operation. This sort of thing has unfortunately happened before, most notably after the Poll Tax demo of 31st March 1990 when some left wing activists allegedly fed information about 'violent anarchists' to the state.

Caz

Indpedent Left

Autist activists

27.09.2004 06:59

I was at the 2 million person antiwar march in 2003, when red ken appeared to give his speech - everyone wanted to hear what he woz saying (condeming the war). Instead, the people around me were subjected to some loon vegan shouting "pidgeon murderer", "pidgeon killer" in her high pitched screeching voice, nearly drawn to tears. Eventually, someone told her to fuck off and shut the fuck up - rightly so - she was preventing a peaceful demonstration, in fact - it was nearly an incitement to violence. You get these fuckers at various stages, people who believe that all protest is homogenous. They are mad multi-cause fuckers: "If you believe in the anti-war stuff, you must be a vegan anti-homophobe CND left anarchist long-hair dredlocks pot-smoking antiGM PC cyclist who composts"! Save the pidgeon. Well I think podgeon is vermin, as are inland seagulls, and would like to see them depopulated in favour of other native birds. And I think when you go to the effort to organise a demonstration, then you have the right to comment on how it feels when some nutter usurps your efforts to shout at people that they're too cowardly to shout at in their own (membership count one) peer group! (rant)

Jolly

woman arrested

27.09.2004 15:01

That's exactly it, I don't know why she was knicked, all she did was to reply to this other woman who told her to shut up.
I've also got some experience of people trying to hijack events, especially members of the Stalinist confraternity, but even the guy who went to see red ken would agree that you should not have them arrested for it, and if he doesn't I am very worried about it.
Has nobody else heard about this?

The eye-witness (sounds so important)

little john

what?

27.09.2004 16:03

i still dont know why she was nicked. and a cupple of people shouting up to a balcony is hardly hyjacking an event.

anarchkit

Insider Info

28.09.2004 17:48

I have it on good account from a fairly anarchic christian "friend" that one of the conditions for people stewarding was that they agreed to ensure that the police arrested any trouble makers. In other words, the march would be stopped and as a precondition of moving on, the person would have to arrested. Which as a Christian I find disgusting. We're supposed to be called to speak out against injustice, not to perpetuate it. I got very angry about it when I found out, and those who I spoke to about it seemed completely unable to understand why. Patience is a virtue but some people do make life difficult.

Rebel W

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