Update: The RTF4 building was illegally evicted and a meeting cancelled on Thursday, 5 April, by private security backed by police.
Four months after the acquittal of the Coronet Five, police again sealed off Holloway Road and provoked a pointless confrontation with people attending a major event on the social calender of the anarchist movement. [Pics: 1 | 2 | video]
The setting this time was Reclaim The Future 4, a networking event which combined workshops, info stalls, cinema screenings, a vegan cafe and party, and was attended by hundreds and hundreds of people [Pics]. The event was held in a squatted building on the Holloway Road, which was formerly a workshop and salesroom for London Taxis.
obstructing the highway?
That the police were not happy with the event became clear early on the day. The event was scheduled to start at 1.pm and at 1.03pm the first police car arrived. It hung around for a while, while the building began to fill up as more and more people arrived. A while after it left, a CCTV van stationed itself across the road from the event, presumably filming people as they arrived for workshops, including a rather chaotic Boardroom Planning session.
Police cars parked up every now and again, and then the CCTV van drove off. Within minutes more police cars arrived with a fireman in a fire service vehicle. The fire officer wanted to inspect the actions, including the sealing off of a room in the centre of the building which also contained most of the toilets. Frenzied activity followed and the event was brought into compliance with hi instructions. By now the building was getting very busy indeed, as hundreds of people ate, attended workshops, helped set up for the evening, or sat around chatting.
Following the departure of the fire officer, the CCTV van returned and stayed outside till darkness fell. Music and cabaret started up in different rooms, and the atmosphere was relaxed and calm. At about midnight, the stream of people at the gate suddenly dried up as a row of police officers declared that they weren't letting anyone else in. Someone tried to scale the fence and was dragged back and roughly arrested. Unbeknown to the police, people then found a way in over a high wall at the back, and others came in over the roof.
Confusion reigned inside, especially when several vans turned up, with hordes of tooled up riot police arrived. The riot cops then started pushing people from the outside of the gate down Holloway Road towards Holloway tube station. Holloway Road was blocked off and stayed closed for about 3 hours, whilst a steady trickle of people began to leave the event. Others declared their intention to stay until the end.
Although there were rumours that the police intended to seize the sound systems, they were packed up at about 3.30 and left. No rigs were reported to have been seized, and most of the police eventually got into their vans and drove off, allowing the road to open once again.
It remains unclear what the police hoped to achieve with their demonstration of force. At all times they were hopelessly outnumbered, and their most significant success was the rerouting of hundreds of motor vehicles from a busy road.A number of arrests were made, and one arrestee is believed to have been released with a spot fine for an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. It is likely that a significant amount of public money will be spent on trials for some of the arrestees, and it is not unforseeable that convictions will fail to materialise at the end of the process.
For many a real sense of deja vu.
Comments
Hide the following 13 comments
one solution- REVOLUTION!!!!
03.04.2007 20:50
molly
peace
06.04.2007 21:22
tommy
Was a great party!
10.04.2007 19:17
empy spaces
Our biggest fans... YOU
11.04.2007 19:19
Secondly, "Empty Spaces" makes a really interesting point. Look at the posts, links and reports relating to this article (and plenty of others too). Almost nothing about the event, the night its self or the fun you no doubt had in what was a well-organised, peaceful event, but acres about the police, photos of the police, comments about the police, police, police, police. ...
The fact is you LOVE us; you NEED us; you CRAVE our attention because we vaildate you. Our presence allows you to feel like the revolutionaries that you're so desperate to be rather than the insignificant dropouts that you actually are. Our arrival lets you feel like you're battling against the evil, capitalist Nazis, fighting the power, smashing the state yadda yadda... You prove this time and again by having to cross-reference everything YOU do by the actions of the police. But guess what? We don't hate you; we aren't threatened by you; we don't fear that you'll overthrow the government with your Samba bands, vegan hotpots and yoga workshops. So rest assured Molly, there's no need to cover your faces. No one's going to be sifting through CCTV footage, i promise you that.
Finally, you weren't "Illegally evicted". The next day you had two people in there - an Italian woman and a bloke from Hungary asleep in a cupboard. The doors were open. We walked in, asked them to leave and they did. With no one there, English Partnerships were contacted and took control of THEIR building and that was that. (which incidently, is earmarked for social and key worker housing, which i'm sure you'll find objectionable as it involves woking for a living).
So, hopefully that clarifies a few points. See you at the next one, no doubt..... Love from all at Islington nick.
PS: Why are there always so many Italians at these things? Surely they can find something to fight against in that racist, corrupt, feudal state instead of coming over here and bothering us?
Serpico
e-mail:
plod@met.uk
gobsmacked
12.04.2007 22:02
That comment was to the point and showed some understanding- you can't be a real cop!
Oh, wait,
>
>PS: Why are there always so many Italians at these things? Surely they can find something to fight against in that >racist, corrupt, feudal state instead of coming over here and bothering us?
>
Alright, so you are a cop then.
Must have been to school or something...
It's a shame that it took a cop to say it, but yeah, there's too much fighting bullshit with bullshit up here.
And yeah, some of us do crave that piggy attention. Take note, o ye that shout the loudest...
LOVE you, though? er... NEED you?
Nup. That's kind of the whole point. We really don't need you. Hardly anyone does.
But that's the deal. You get paid loads for fuck all and we get to blame you for everything from bad sex to late buses.
We show off our total lack of revolutionary strength to you, confirming what you want to see. And you parade what we want to see - your total lack of principles (and not just by our standards, but by the standards of the whole tenuous edifice (people equals society; society = democracy; democracy = elections; elections = government; government = governing; governing=police) by which you claim legitimacy. What, too complex? Read it again slowly, with punctuation.).
Your giving us something to moan about is just some small compensation for your uselessness (and for facilitating everyone from Ken Livingston to Lord Sainsbury from robbing us blind).
So - No, we don't need you. Life would be a hell of a lot easier without you, and I'd take my chance with a few bad bwai kids and their weapons who are STILL THERE despite the police crying for (and getting) more guns, more money, more powers to aggravate anyone they happen across.
>(which incidently, is earmarked for social and key worker housing, which i'm sure you'll find objectionable as it >involves woking for a living).
Knee jerk 'I pays me taxes*' bollocks, eh? I'd almost come to expect better.
Woking, eh? It's objectionable enough without it being for a living.
I'm sure you agree (or was it Enfield? Harrow? You all come from some home counties shithole or another)
else you 'key workers' on thirty grand a year wouldn't be putting your names down for tax-subsidised housing right by zone one.
I wouldn't even care, but you've the gall to begrudge us our two grand worth of beer and horsetranx vouchers.
That aside, it is refreshing to see a cop make sense, if only every other sentence.
I'd take my hat off to you if I had one. Which I don't cos hats are fucking bourgeois.
gobsmacked
Serpico
13.04.2007 11:07
The title was originally "Riot cops at RTF4" and the suggested byline was
"Repetitive Beats. Police Batons on Holloway Road" - referring to the fact that this is the second time local bobbies have set off a scenario which ended in the Holloway Road being closed and lots of your tooled up mates wandering around with batons drawn, looking for a ruck. Its not clear how or why it got changed to the present headline.
After the Anarchist Bookfair fiasco in 2005, 5 got charged and 5 got found not guilty. Meanwhile shoppers coming out of Waitrose got to see you mates losing it and threatening MOPs indiscriminately.
If you're proud of the chaos that your tooled friends cause in these situations, then there is something wrong with your head.
Your biggest fans? I think not. We know what you stooges of the ruling class really stand for, and we suspect that you were all playground bullies or victims of playground bullies in your schooldays.
Carry on enjoying your delusions.........
ACAB
anarchists
16.04.2007 18:51
Arseholes, in whatever form they take, be that Police or Anarchists.
After reading this article, and the attached comments, I am reminded of a few months ago, at a Stop The War rally. As I'm sure you're all aware, STW couldn't stop a bus by putting their hand out, but these things are usually worth attending, if only to hand out fliers for a more effective action.
What do I stumble across then? Four 'Anarchisti' with bandanas over their faces and funny white coats on, including Rage Against The Machine lyrics crudely written on in marker pens of various colours. These were not the 'WOMBLES', they were boys (and possibly a girl, its hard to tell with bandanas and hood) of about 15, and by god did it show. These kids weren't there to cause trouble they were just there, and that alone was deemed reason enough to don a disguise just in case MI5 start a file on them. Personally, I've done some serious shit in my time without ever feeling a need to wear a mask.
What was the point of telling that then? Well, that is exactly the sort of stupidity I am reminded of whenever I hear these tales of supposed run-ins with police, or just idiots spouting off their hypocritical mantra with lines like 'kill all fascists'.
I think a large majority of people within movements like this (I talk from personal experience) are just idiots (be they 15 or 50) who want something to belong to, or something to rebel against. I don't see that this detracts from the idea of Anarachism, but certainly undermines the quality of people who are associated with it. Get rid of the slackers and 'rebels' and then you might find yourselves surrounded by people who are there for the right reasons.
Et Tu, Brutus?
big up
17.04.2007 15:57
badbassnine
Got yer !
20.04.2007 09:48
No wonder we dont get anything done in this country if even an average copper can see through the organisation to this extent.
I know Im sick of yet more samba bands, prats dressed as clowns and wannabies in red scarves thinking they are changing the world. The Old Bill infiltrated groups like the SWP, Wombles and CAAT years ago so it's no surprise their work does F*** all.
I got involved in local government politics two years ago and had all my views changed in about six months. Real power is there, we change things, make a difference to lives and avoid all the stupid marches and demos. Of course my old mates think I've sold out while they organise another letter to Blair demnading he resigns !
O well back to work
Cheers !
In my experience
20.04.2007 11:39
Turn up at a demo, shout abuse, throw things at them and give them a hard time you get a punch in the face from them.
Explain why you are there, treat them with the same respect any other human deserves and you get in most cases a reasonable conversation with some body who comes from the same background you do.
Old activist
Politics
21.04.2007 16:11
the reality is we need a constant amount of new young blood who think that waving banners and staging die ins will make a difference so that we can then mould them into real political acitivists who will get involved in real politics. That's what events outside power stations, arms companies, or in city centres achieve. It builds a feeling of solidarity among young slightly geeky youngsters who don't fit in elsewhere and who we can use to build the movement. Lets not break that recritment route.
revoulution Now !
thanks
Think !
23.04.2007 08:29
Think again
Bollocks to you
07.05.2007 10:50
What about:
The anti-slavery movement and the boycotts of Tate & Lyle
The entire union movement from Tolpuddle to ach all of it
The suffregates
Ghandi
The US civil rights movement
The Vietnam anti war movement
The Poll tax protests
The road movement
The anti-GM campaigns
and like a zillion other instances
People matter, so get off your arse stop moaning about how protesting doesn't change anything and go do some
emptyhand
e-mail:
emptyhand17@yahoo.com