cctv as seen from venue
the main stage b4 the party
the fire patrol arrives
april fools! no entry
samba
batons raised
police lines
full riot gear
obstructing the highway?
one arrest
at least sainsbury deliveries were fucked by police
the huge space was still being prepared for tonight's party as more and more people arrived to take part in the various workshops on offer.
a little after five o'clock some police cars arrived with fire officers, and the fire officers were shown around the space by organisers. after some negotiation, one of the rooms was closed up, and a fire exit area was cleared, but the firemen then left giving the space a clean bill of health.
as the music started, and the upstairs indymedia cinema packed out, more people arrived throughout the evening. fantastic vegan food was supplied by 56A, the punks colourfully took over the front room, the breakbeats slammed in the dj room and the main stage carried various live acts.
then as april fool's day approached, a few cops decided to play silly games and set themselves outside the gate stopping anyone else from joining the hundreds inside. despite this provocation, people at the gates remained calm. half the samba band was inside and the other half (due to play) were kept outside by the few police at the gates. the split band managed to play some solidarity rhythms between them.
although the crowd of fifty or more outside could have easily overwhelmed the police at that stage and got in, everything stayed peaceful.
meanwhile though, the police set up road blocks near highbury and islington, and further up holloway road by the central library, and in a repeat of the ridiculous over-reaction of anarchist bookfair 2005, the whole of holloway road (a main london route) was sealed off. then the riot squad turned up. without warning they piled into the dozens of people outside the gates, sending drums, bicycles and people flying as they violently cleared the area outside the gates with batons raised.
the familiar police lines then set themselves up, and fully kitted riot cops pushed the small crowd up the road away from the gates. a few folk staged a sit-down and one person was quite roughly arrested.
police were overheard talking about waiting for a magistrate's warrant to seize the sound systems. this would mean entering the building, and stopping nearly a thousand party-goers. as more and more police vans turned up, i was now outside the cordon and wouldn't be able to get back to the venue or get any worthwhile shots. hopefully others will report the next stages from inside, so i came home to put up some photos.
what is it with islington police and anarchists? at least the sainsbury trucks couldn't get through to make their deliveries.
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that cctv van
01.04.2007 16:24
here's another picture of it
emck
We could of taken them...
01.04.2007 18:22
This was the best party i've ever been to, and this is my conviction now, there are more of us than there are of them, just anarchists alone outnumber the police everywhere, The ammount of times I was frustrated by attandance, and felt like we are just a fringes movement have changed last night, the fringes have become (or maybe always been) bigger than the state, and now is our time.
I beg anyone that has been to not stop there, to keep on going to actions and protests, to have the movment growing, and make the "system unworkable" everywhere. We are not only growing in size, but more and more people are realising that we do represent everyone, that every struggle we have to fight in our day to day life is fought collectively through anarchism.
Space jackers, well done, it was amazing, the party was excelent, please do more, many more, remember that it must be unpredictable to be effective, to seperate our selves from the "spectecle", and innovate all the time.
Be it hungry mexican farmers, brazilian families, south african tribal community, London squaters or anyone else
highjack the world.
Next one will be even bigger, more people will help out, and many more people will come. by next year we could reclaim the future.
Not Alex Jones
More photos
02.04.2007 19:42
riot police arrive
look at the size of him! is it really neccesarry?
the wall
I disappearred back inside, had a dance, then came back out, and there were then riot police, and they had moved the crowd back down the road with their lines. I went back inside again and there was a wicked band playing... I stood by the window and noticed there were about five, six, maybe more officers filming us from outside, through the windows.
Anyhow, the music had to be stopped, but still kinda carried on, the party carried on all night, and soon the police went and left us to it.
Kudos to the folks that found ways in when the police were blocking the gates.
OK, here's a few choice photos.
The rest of the photo's of the police can be found at
neck