Phone report from the climate camp site at 1.30pm:
There are now about 300 people on site. The atmosphere seems to be relaxed, although vehicles are still not allowed in, and people are only allowed to enter the site from the Sipson end. Police are strolling around the site accompanied by campers taking notes onf clipboards. People are being searched on both ends. Lots of media vans are parked near the main entrance, including many tv crews and three satellite vans. Generator x is stuck outside the camp.
The building of infrastructure has slowed down due to the police blockade. Wheelie bins are being used to bring stuff in, the media is very interested in that. People are laying a pipe for water but currently, they have to carry it in. However, without vehicles, it is impossible to get marquees onto the site, which are needed to hold workshops and meetings.
Comments
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Defying police terror?
13.08.2007 16:13
For instance - is it possible for people to enter en masse Wombles style and break police lines without being searched? What about crossing neighbouring fields - do police have the field blocked on ALL sides?
I sense that if this happened on the continent, there would be a lot more reaction to the police abuse - for instance there would be a layer of anarchists who travelled together en masse, masked up, refused to be searched at the station or the camp, broke out of the station as a group if necessary or occupied the train, etc. This has happened in places like Gothenburg, Davos and so on.
Also wondering how difficult this is going to make actions on Sunday or whenever. Presumably it is not going to be possible for people to set out from the camp with lock-on equipment or fence cutters, or to set out en masse towards Heathrow - though police activity might be lighter at some times than others, and actions which don't start from the camp itself might not be affected so badly?
The corporate media and police and BAA are playing a nasty game of trying to label disruptive protest either as necessarily "violent" (notice how those likely to take direct action are deemed a "small minority" - those willing to take any direct action including non-violent, not those "bent on violence") - and trying to play it up as a terrorism risk. It needs to be emphasised not only that protest and direct action are not "terrorism" (which is being done well), but also that terrorism is a far lesser risk than global disaster from global warming, and that "anti-terrorism" is being used as a pretext to close public space in general.
People should bear in mind that if this continues, they could easily ban further climate camps - there doesn't have to be "violence" for them to justify this on their own terms, disruptive action is enough - so we need to think about how a camp could be established and defended despite being under injunction etc, or what kinds of alternative actions could be organised. In Germany, Italy, Greece, etc, I think they know that if they allow such gatherings there will be some disruption, but if they ban them there WILL be GREATER disruption and mass unrest, so the cost of banning outweighs the cost of not banning.
annie kissed
this isn't the continent...
13.08.2007 21:30
there's not really the topographical anonymity to arrive there unseen. neither is there the numbers for serious responses to the police as you describe - hopefully, when extra numbers arrive, things might be more in our favour; the vast majority of people are still required to build the infrastructure, some of which is being let through in drips and drabs. not ideal, i know.
anoither card with this camp is the media-savvy angle of it - we are very much under the eye of the press, which is something the climate camp process for this year has invited, and they seem fairly onside, as do the local villagers - not a bad thing. not sure if black bloc actions might be a tad out-of-place, or not...
Led Astray
Trespass
14.08.2007 07:52
Hope the storms don't dampen the camp.
Angela eagle