after being told (incorrectly) by cops that the gleneagles demo had been cancelled, thousands of protesters decided to demonstrate against this draconian suppression of free speech and right to peaceful protest. they were joined in prince's street by 200 activists who had just arrived in edinburgh, having travelled up the night before from london in the live8 megabuses. many of the protesters were so-called "wishy-washy liberals" who had become involved in the Make Poverty History campaign, but they soon had their eyes opened to the real power relationship between cop and demonstrator...
video (quicktime, 14'22, 32MB) at: www.thenewagenda.org/g8
video (quicktime, 14'22, 32MB) at: www.thenewagenda.org/g8
e-mail:
Homepage:
Comments
Hide the following 6 comments
Police Brutality and Activist Tourism
08.07.2005 17:42
I think there is a serious debate to be had about the number of activists coming on these things with cameras.
Sure it's important to show it from 'our' perspective, as the media continues to distort things. However things are getting ridiculous and actions are continually getting hampered the number of folks with cameras.
Personally, i don't see the difference in the obvious tourists lined up on the pavement taking pics and the many so called activists with cameras on the demo if you retreat when cameras are really needed! In fact you just get in the way cause you don't join in collective actions such as sit downs and linking arms in the front line as you are all worried about damaging your precious dv recorders and looking for that perfect shot to take home and boast about to your mates - well thats how i feel after getting several beatings that day.
i know this appears like a rant and i will contribute a detailed report when i have more time over the next few days. i just wanted to start some kind of debate about an increasing problem on demos. Do we really need any more activists with cameras?
fatbum
That's a Brilliant Video
08.07.2005 19:06
Edinburgh Resident
spliffy
e-mail:
mrspilfy@hotmail.com
Well....
08.07.2005 19:54
Fatbum... Pescao happened to be in the rear of the crowd when they started doing what they did, so don't be too harsh on what he recorded. There were plenty of others that did take photos of the 'incidents' including the girl being thrown about 3 metres through the air onto the pavement, the wild punches they threw, the kicks, the truncheon hits & hopefully me being grabbed by the throat and threatened with a truncheon. I believe many will post the pictures when they return home this weekend, or so they told me they will.
All in all it was a very peaceful protest till that moment and everyone should be applauded for not retaliating and providing them with the 'violence erupts in edinburgh again' pictures and headlines they were looking for. I can't help but feel exactly as that lady said "I'm embarrassed and ashamed at this country's police force" and told them so at the time!
Peace
ricardo
nice way to start a debate!
09.07.2005 18:15
indeed, but i captured as much of it as i could. my mind's not as sharp as i'd like after an 11-hour bus ride, and carring clothes, computer and sleeping bag limits my movement a bit.
>What's the point in filming such scenes if you are going to retreat to behind police lines when the going gets tough!
in case you couldn't tell, i was trapped in front of another police line when the charge happened. i never retreat when the going gets tough, and certainly not behind any police lines.
>A sit-down protest was viciously attacked by cops with batons and fists. where is this shown? i saw you filming pescao and i saw you move out when things got hot.
fuck you! i stay as close to the cops as i can, and frequently get pushed and shoved around by them. i couldn't get a shot of the sit-down violence and arrests because there was a wall of camera-people in front of me and i didn't want to push them out of the way. i'm always prepared to put myself on the front-line or preferably between the two lines, but i was trapped at the other end of the demo when the violence broke out, as you can see in the video.
>I think there is a serious debate to be had about the number of activists coming on these things with cameras.
there are a lot of cameras around at demos, carried by activists, cops, journos and passers-by. this has certainly changed the nature of protests and the effectiveness of different tactics on all sides. debate away, but try not to smear or lie, please!
>Sure it's important to show it from 'our' perspective, as the media continues to distort things. However things are getting ridiculous and actions are continually getting hampered the number of folks with cameras.
how exactly did the spontaneous action on prince's street get hampered by cameras? are you seriously suggesting that things would've worked out better if we didn't have any cameras there? or if just the cops had them?
>Personally, i don't see the difference in the obvious tourists lined up on the pavement taking pics and the many so called activists with cameras on the demo if you retreat when cameras are really needed!
some tourists join in demos, too! but seriously, you're right that the primary responsibility of activists with cameras on demos is to protect fellow activists from police harm. generally, cameras have a pacifying effect, but it's not always easy to work out the best place to stand and best direction to point, especially if you work alone. even if you do figure it out, it may not be possible to get there and do it. as for running away when things get hot, all i can say is that it's impossible to both intervene when the cops get heavy and film at the same time. sometimes i make a tactical decision to film a conflict instead of getting involved in it, but i tend to find that most people on the demo are braver than you suggest - i didn't see anyone retreating.
>In fact you just get in the way cause you don't join in collective actions such as sit downs and linking arms in the front line as you are all worried about damaging your precious dv recorders and looking for that perfect shot to take home and boast about to your mates - well thats how i feel after getting several beatings that day.
i'm sorry i didn't film any of them. but this is the grain of truth in what you say - if i'm filming i generally won't join in with sit-downs and the like. partly because it's very difficult to do both (ever tried filming with linked arms?) but also because i am claiming from the cops the protection of being a news-gatherer, and therefore should not be overtly trying to influence events. that's the way i think i can be most effective, but even if i wasn't filming, i might not join a sit-down if i thought it was a stupid place to sit down.
>i know this appears like a rant and i will contribute a detailed report when i have more time over the next few days. i just wanted to start some kind of debate about an increasing problem on demos. Do we really need any more activists with cameras?
i look forward to your detailed report, but you haven't really yet specified this increasing problem of yours. apart from getting in the way or retreating when things get hot, all you're really criticising us camera-people for is not getting good enough shots! i agree, i wish i could get better shots of police brutality, because that would hopefully prevent it from happening so much and allow for more justice when it does. but the way you're going to get that is with more cameras on demos and for them to be used more effectively. certainly pooling tapes is a very good idea, but better co-ordination throughout would mean less situations where several cameras film the same action from the same angle while other stuff is happening elsewhere unrecorded. there are plenty of ways our demos could be organised and executed better, but whining that some of us are not as confrontational as you want us to be is only going to sow distrust and weaken the unity we are beginning to see. i wish i could film every bit of violence the cops give out, but that's impossible. if you say the reason is that i don't get involved in the confrontation, then you miss the point. if we all got involved with all the confrontations, there wouldn't be any filming at all, and then the cops would be able to do what they liked. this way we can try to limit their violence, and hold them to account when they go too far. if you've got a better idea, let's hear it.
spliffy, it's too big to put on indy's servers, but can be downloaded directly from
pescao
Good footage - thanks
19.07.2005 13:11
It captures the whole mood of the protests on Princes Street there on that day.As the protests moved down the road they were split into two, one a bit further up the road. The protest was stopped from going any further by a police blockade and the police then surrounded the protest and were trying to move the protest to - well, to god knows where.
Gary
Witness of arrest
13.10.2005 19:00
Cheers
Vanesa
e-mail:
vanesafuertes@hotmail.com