Entrance to Colnbrook and Harmondsworth blocked
Freedom of movement 4 all
People banging the fence by Colnbrook
The banner that could be seen from inside the detention centre
March leaving at about 1.30pm from detention centres
Samba on march
XB-92 blowing a gasket...
and his friends join in...
with some good old fashioned police aggro
The call for backup is made...
and backup arrives soon after! (Though we're all heading home)
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The day started off dull and drizzingly, but thankfully had stopped raining by the time everyone arrived at Harmondsworth. The police initially tried to get everybody into a police pen, but due to their only being around 30 police throughout the day no-one paid particular attention to this, and by midday people had occupied the main driveway into the detention centre.
Early on, at around 11.45, some people went down the public footpath running past Colnbrook to get closer to those imprisoned inside. People banged on the fences, chanted and held up banners for people inside to see. For their part they waved back and chanted too (though unfortunately it wasn't audible from where we were standing). After about ten or twenty minutes the police dispersed people, though not before stop and searching a couple of people for being either a 'card carrying WOMBLE' or a 'known anarchist', which I guess probably are crimes nowadays.
For the next hour or so there were speeches and announcements from people involved in solidarity work, those who had been held in detention centres, and those who had friends who were still inside. There was also some oppurtunistic politicians who used the space to try and get people to join Labour, which seemed slightly incongorous with the event.
At around 1.30pm the samba band, and others decided to march onto the main road that runs past the detention centre. There wasn't much the FIT team and other constables could do under the circumstances and allowed everyone to march off. After about ten minutes though something snapped in FIT officer XB-92 who started throwing his weight around pushing and pulling anyone who got in his path. Never wanting to miss out on good old fashioned police aggression his friends joined in. Within a couple of minutes around 50 other TSG police constables arrived. Though they all looked fairly ridiculous when they realised we were just marching back to our coaches to go back home; rather than starting the revolution in Heathrow.
Elsewhere on the day other people were showing solidarity with those being occupied by Israel at Carmel-Agrexco - more details are at:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/361900.html FREEDOM FOR ALL
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