This evening (monday 8th November) around 100 people met in central london to take part in NVDA (non violent direct action) in direct response to the attack launched today by the US against the city of Falluja in Iraq. Actions are planned again on Wednesday 10th November - meeting at 7pm at the statue of Edith Cavell (see below).
Around one hundred people gathered from 7pm at the statue of Edith Cavell (opposite the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery, north-east of Trafalgar Square).
They then blocked the road at the top of Whitehall, near to Downing Street for around ten minutes. When police arrived the group blockading the road soon moved across the bottom of Traf Square and up to Leicester Square.
At Leicester Square the Queen was attending a cinema premiere, and the demonstrators paused for around ten minutes making a loud protest. Nearby what appeared to be a special police protection squad van almost ran into one protestor who was in the road.
After around ten minutes the group then moved on to Piccadilly Circus and again blocked the road. Police again attended and were firm but not violent, although one person was pushed to the ground.
At around 2047 hrs police had moved in and surrounded a small number of the group who had not moved out of the road quick enough after police ordered them to do so. Up until that point there had been no arrests.
One of those supporting the action said "it is vital that people do more than simply march from A to B, or gather to listen to speeches".
The action had come out of a meeting called by Voices in the Wilderness UK in London on 26 October, where an ad hoc group of people agreed to take part in nonviolent direct action on the night that the assault of Falluja begins.
This evening it was announced that people will take action again on Wednesday 10th November. Again meeting at 7pm at the statue of Edith Cavell (opposite the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery, north-east of Trafalgar Square). This will follow the handing in of wreaths to Downing Street by Military families at 4pm, and a Protest and Rally at Parliament Sq running from 5.30pm - 7.00pm
For more see:
http://www.voicesuk.org
http://www.stopwar.org.uk
http://www.j-n-v.org/index.htm
They then blocked the road at the top of Whitehall, near to Downing Street for around ten minutes. When police arrived the group blockading the road soon moved across the bottom of Traf Square and up to Leicester Square.
At Leicester Square the Queen was attending a cinema premiere, and the demonstrators paused for around ten minutes making a loud protest. Nearby what appeared to be a special police protection squad van almost ran into one protestor who was in the road.
After around ten minutes the group then moved on to Piccadilly Circus and again blocked the road. Police again attended and were firm but not violent, although one person was pushed to the ground.
At around 2047 hrs police had moved in and surrounded a small number of the group who had not moved out of the road quick enough after police ordered them to do so. Up until that point there had been no arrests.
One of those supporting the action said "it is vital that people do more than simply march from A to B, or gather to listen to speeches".
The action had come out of a meeting called by Voices in the Wilderness UK in London on 26 October, where an ad hoc group of people agreed to take part in nonviolent direct action on the night that the assault of Falluja begins.
This evening it was announced that people will take action again on Wednesday 10th November. Again meeting at 7pm at the statue of Edith Cavell (opposite the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery, north-east of Trafalgar Square). This will follow the handing in of wreaths to Downing Street by Military families at 4pm, and a Protest and Rally at Parliament Sq running from 5.30pm - 7.00pm
For more see:
http://www.voicesuk.org http://www.stopwar.org.uk http://www.j-n-v.org/index.htm 
Comments
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100 ???
08.11.2004 23:03
As for the person who was pushed to the ground, unless there was someone else, then I wasn't pushed to the ground, I dropped. It is a silly reflex (too many NVDA trainings) because I didn't want to stay in the middle of Picaddily Circus ; But when the police started pushing me, I just dropped.
Probably other things happened later as the bigger group was split up ? I know some people taped the Army Center on the Strand with police line ("police line - do not cross").
As for the wednesday meeting (now that it's been made public), I think the idea was to come better prepared. You could, for instance, come with a small group of people, discuss what you'd like to do before hand, prepare banners, or whatever you think is needed to make a relevant and effective action. And if you know what you want to do, and have the people to do it, then you wouldn't even need to go to the meeting - you could just go ahead and do it ! (not that I am suggesting anything)
xxx
xxx
Join us on Wednesday!
08.11.2004 23:59
The originators of this rolling action are a random bunch of militant peaceniks, anti-authoritarians, those with a long-term involvement with Iraq, former soldiers, feminists, compulsive NVDA'ers, people in alt media, people we meet along the way, people involved in straight NGOs, radical queers, lifelong war-resisters, people who realised their inherent anti-war/anti-violence recently, basically people who give a shit enough to try to disrupt the comfortable, remote, daily life here and say "enough!" in whatever small way we can.
No party, no recruitment, no dogma, just a desire to come together, to speak out and to act.
Please join us. Bring some banners, friends, props (obstructive?), ideas about what you want to do. Limited (but organised) legal observers and support available.
For a little roundup of other UK anti-war action over the past few days check out
peacenik
Impromptu demo on 8/11
09.11.2004 19:55
Cavell statue Fallujah vigil
Cavell statue Fallujah vigil
Despite not intending to fragment, we did, and a small non-arrestable portion returned to the Cavell Statue to join a good, visible vigil. It was a group of individuals who were outraged by the an attack on a city, without any of the usual Trotskyist paper-sellers.
C