London May Day 2004

01-04-2004 00:05 | 3 comments

Press Hysteria Ahead of Dublin EU Mayday

Press hysteria and propaganda around this years Mayday has been mounting over in Ireland, where the latest headline to hit the streets revealing that troops will be drafted in to "Put Down" EU protests!

All of the media reporting so far about Mayday in Dublin has concentrated almost exclusively on "violent" protesters, while no evidence has been presented of a real risk of violence, and barely a mention has been made of the reasons that people will be protesting.

Indymedia Ireland comments:

"The corporate media is creating the climate for repression. They are trying to drive people away from protests and creating the climate where the police can smash the protests with force."

See Indymedia Features, Analysis, and Reports:
Irish Independent Piles On The Mayday Hysteria Mar 27
Demonstrators Challenge Anonymous Smear Campaign Mar 26
What to do about 'Anarchist Menace' Corporate Journalists? Mar 23
Pre-EU Mayday Press Propaganda! Oh YES! - Associated Newspapers in Ireland
Requiring Army Deployment? Was her Editor Drunk Too?

The media madness will be familiar to those who have followed the sad excuse for journalism rolled out every year, for the last four years, ahead of Mayday protests in London, which has been riddled with factual mistakes, bare faced lies, so called intelligence from so called "intgelligence sources", and quite ridiculous claims.

So far this years coverage from this side of the Irish Sea has focussed on the "Mayday Cancelled" statement from some members of the Mayday Collective, which says that the usual large autonomous protest in London is not being planned this year by the Mayday Collective, and explains some of the reasons for that, citing increasing levels of police repression, and calls for a more open dicsussion of politics and goals. Thus far coverage from the BBC and the Evening Standard has failed to mention the Mayday EU events in Dublin (see reports 1, 2).

Events in Dublin framed as "Say no to Fortress Europe - A Mayday No Borders weekend", include a week of cultural events, exhibitions, screenings, workshops, and much street theatre and visual actions focussing on asylum seekers and refugees, housing, recycling, anti-war and public/private space. There's also a Critical Mass Bicycle protest, a Noise protest at the EU Ministers Dinner, a No Borders Camp, and a Reclaim The Streets Party (see Audio/Video).

The usual Dublin Mayday march by Trade Unions has been cancelled, making way for the official EU enlargement celebrations, however the Another Europe is Possible Coalition will still be demonstrating on May 1st with a carnival parade in central Dublin. Meanwhile the BBC/RTE 10,000+ "Beautiful Night" concert has been cancelled after the Irish Cabinet decided the closure of O'Connell Street and adjoining areas for five days before the event would be unacceptable.

Indymedia Ireland will be reporting the protests, as well as holding a series of events entitled "Another View of Europe" (April 23rd - May 3rd), including screenings, exhibitions and workshops from the European Independent Media network, with a major theme being Independent media from the countries joining the EU, as well as events at the Sustainable Living Convergence Festival.

In London plans for the traditional TUC backed Trade Union march are going ahead, assembling at Clerkenwell Green at 12 noon and marching to Trafalgar Square where there will be speakers from the Stop the War Coalition, Globalise Resistance and Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London. There has also been a Disarm DSEi Mayday Action call in London for April 30th [Flyer]. There are also plans for Mayday events in other towns and cities across the UK, including Lancaster.

See: Mayday No Borders weekend in Dublin (main site)
Indymedia Ireland EU / Mayday Section | Indymedia UK Mayday 2004 Section
Wombles Mayday Section | TUC March in London

31-03-2004 15:05

Statement from Mayday Collective Members

Following a meeting held in mid-January the London Mayday Collective decided not to proceed with plans for an anti-capitalist event this year. This will be the first time in 5 years that there has not been an event of its kind in London [See IMC-UK coverage of Mayday 2000 and Mayday 2003].

Some participants in this year's collective have produced a statement which is now online and also available to download as a pdf. The text intends to explain the reasoning behind the decision, and perhaps begin some discussion into the prospects for planning future Mayday events, keeping in mind what has gone before. It starts stating:

"The decision to postpone London Mayday 2004 was taken only after several disappointing and poorly attended meetings that had produced little in the way of either a concrete proposal for gathering around or a strong unifying theme that could lead to ideas worth developing .../... In these circumstances we feel not calling an event this year is the right thing to do. Whatever the feeling for Mayday activities, we now have the opportunity of at least a year’s breathing space to review where we are as a movement, to discuss some of the problems associated with the event in its current form and to look to what opportunities lie ahead" . Read full statement

In place of this year’s event the collective have invited anti-capitalists to join them for a MAYDAY PICNIC on Saturday 1st May from 3pm in St James’s Park). They stress that the event is genuinely a picnic and nothing else. Meanwhile, and similarly to the past few years , corporate media have started their own campaign of (mis)information and Mayday scaremongering with articles such as the London's Evening Standard "Police wear down May Day anarchists" and the BBC's "Apathy kills off May Day protest ".

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London May Day 2004

01-04-2004 00:05 | 3 comments

Press Hysteria Ahead of Dublin EU Mayday

31-03-2004 15:05

Statement from Mayday Collective Members

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