It was a nice day out, sun was shining on the strikers for most of the time. Except for the moment when the police decided to clear that sit in protest on Whitehall outside McDonald's (which had its own line of coppers). Section 60 was used as carte blanche to stop everyone who fulfilled a certain set of criteria: young, (mostly) male, dressed in black, (and apparently in a group with at least one person from BAME background - at least so it seems to your insignificant observer, but others have commented on this too). It was a clear tactic of intmidation, which hopefully won't work.
Generally the turn out was ok, the atmosphere was happy but unexcited, and everything was nice and colourful.
Police lines were also randomly selective about letting people leave the protest or not. If they liked your face, you were free to go where you please, if they didn't then your freedom to protest turned into the obligation to protest, whilst your freedom of movement was swiftly stripped. Obviously the coppers on the lines were asked to make a judgment and were helplessly overwhelmed. I wonder what kind of orders they get in situations like that? "You can let individuals through, but make sure the march stays on the route"? So if they decide you are "the march" you aren't allowed to pass? Or a more explicit: "You can let everyone through who wears a suit or has shopping bags, but if they look like protesters, make sure they stay in the designated protest area"? Or maybe the much simpler version (overheard at a police line on a different occasion) "Let them through if they're the right ones"?
There was a whole lot of stereotyping and profiling by coppers on the front line happening, and maybe it's time for some public enquiry into how they are trained to do - what exactly?
Read more >>Late reporting from Whitehall and surroundings.
Arrived in Trafalgar Square in the early afternoon, then marched on Whitehall towards Parliament Square. Police were busy directing people where they wanted them to be. Barriers stood in the middle all along Whitehall and police seemed intent in making the march go only on one side of them.
Once in Parliament square, I ended up on the green outside Westminster Abbey. A sound system was on one corner and on another one, a banner with the words “Workers Assembly”. Next to it was a speaker that seemed to welcome anyone who wanted to speak. I could see lots of people with the same model of t-shirt: “Real Democracy Now”, the main demand of what seems to be known as “The Spanish Revolution”. A real assembly seemed to be happening right there. People raised their hands and waved them from time to time (a sign of agreement with what is said at that moment).
On the way back to Trafalgar Square, I saw a small group in the distance, between the Square itself and the McDonalds restaurant, that seemed to be kettled, or in the process of being kettled. Heard reports of snatch squads and seemingly random arrest. People had seen police with “snatch cards” on their hands.
Noticed a police line being formed on one of the side streets. They allowed people to get through the line but at a given point, they stopped allowing anyone through. Before I could figure what was going on, a noise of running came from a few yards back. Three very big guys, bully thugs style, were running very close together. They were carrying a smaller guy between the three of them, clearly against his will. I then realised that the guy being carried in this way had his hands tied up behind his back. He did not have handcuffs, but one of those plastic bands used to hold cables together. His hands were placed in a very ackward and obviously painful position.
Now, these big guys in plain normal clothing carrying this other guy “were” allowed through this police cordon. Then the cordon eased off to allow a van in. After some talking and lots of note-taking by the thuggy guys and uniformed police officers, the guy with his hands on his back was put into the police van.
The incident just described is what is known as “snatch squad arrest”, where police in plain clothes choose one person from the crowd and quickly, by surprise and without any warning or even any word, they immobilise him/her and they quickly take him/her into police custody. I saw another person being taken into a police van in this very same way up in Trafalgar Square too.
Saw another, smaller march also in Trafalgar Square. People dancing to a samba band and with banners about Congo and Sudan marched towards Whitehall. They were escorted and surrounded by police, various big vehicles and other hired workers. Some of the workers picked up traffic cones in front of the march, from one of the big vehicles, leaving them there as the march passed next to them. Other workers put a white tape between the cones, in a way that made the march enclosed by police and by white tape too. Then a last worker removed the tape and put the cones on a last vehicle moving slowly behind the march.
When this small march went on to Whitehall, police had made sure the Strike march was out of the way from the smaller march. So both marches were never mixed up.
Thursday 30th June saw the first attempt to a General Strike in Britain for more than 80 years, although it was primarily a Public Sector workers' strike.
As part of the support for the strike from people who are not necessarily public sector workers, a Critical Mass happened in South London, visiting the picket lines that had been announced and showing support.
We met at about eight in the morning in Burgess Park. About 50 people on bikes set off at about half past eight, with more and more people joining as we biked.
The first drivers showed their solidarity by tooting, and soon we reached Elephant and Castle, where we greeted the picket outside the London College of Communication. After two rounds to the roundabout, the Mass continued towards Brixton, on the way meeting another picket line. We stayed with the workers for a few minutes while the mobile sound system got fixed, and we had music from then on.
Once in Brixton Oval (the public open space where Reclaim Your Food used to give away food every Sunday) we also joined some workers demonstrating there for a few minutes, and then what look like a hundred-strong crowd appeared at the door of Lambeth Town Hall.
After a brief spell up Brixton Hill we headed East again, towards Camberwell and on to New Cross. Up to that point the cyclists had managed to deal with the traffic by doing things like corking (staying static at junctions while the mass passed safely unrammed by cars and bigger vehicles). From New Cross on we had the kind help of Police (seven vans at one point) which made a difference in terms of respect showed by motorists. Amazing what the mere presence of a well-marked police vehicle can do to motorists' behaviour. On the occasions when we lost sight of them and then they appeared behind us again, all yelling at us, insulting and generally threatening behaviour from drivers on four wheels dissapeared. So in that sense their presence had a positive effect except on one occasion when a driver almost knocked off one of the bikers and a police officer just threatened to arrest both the aggressor and the victim.
When the mass arrived outside Deptford Town Hall, at about ten, it joined the demonstration that was taking place there. Lots of flags and a banner of South London Solidarity Federation were the landmark of a brief street party interrupted by the forces of law and order. The joint demonstration became a march towards Deptford and once there, the march and the mass went their own separate ways.
Police did not seem to realise it though, and a line of police on foot started to follow the critical mass. When it was obvious they would not keep up with the bikers, they were picked up – and apparently seven vans were needed for the picking up operation.
Critical Mass then made its way to Whitehall and Parliament Square, where it melted itself in the crowd.
Watch live broadcasts from all over London, from the point of view of a cyclist! Follow live broadcasts from the critical mass cyslists who set off early this morning to ride around London to give support and encouragement to public section workers who are striking today. Brixton, Peckham, New Cross are some of the areas they will be passing.
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