The Festival of Dissent! ... 6th-10th April Lanarkshire.... A chance to form networks of resistance... A chance to plot, conspire, and dream about resistance to the G8... To meet people learn skills, share information, practice direct action, and party together.
The G8 is the annual meeting of the leaders of the worlds most powerful countries. It is a major symbol of capitalism: a summit where rich governments plan how to stay rich. Since 1998, these summits have been resisted wherever they have attempted to meet. Protests have erupted on every continent, fuelled by disgust at the extremes of wealth and poverty, military repression and environmental breakdown. In July 2005, the G8 comes to the UK.
Dissent! is a network of individuals and groups planning to use creative direct action and civil disobedience to resist the presence of the G8. Dissent! has no leaders, no paid staff and no membership list. Focuses for action so far include targeting the oil and war industries, the practical rejuvenation of neglected communities in Scotland and the
sustained disruption of the summit itself. Dissent! is acting as a focal point for coordination of resistance to the G8 and for continued radical action against capitalism into the future. The Festival of Dissent! will be the best chance before the Summit arrives to get together, learn
skills, share info, plan, and get inspired about protests at the Summit.
Workshops will include
* Planning action at the G8 * Direct action training * Background on the G8 * Consensus decision making * Blockading * Hill walking and navigation * Corporate involvement in the G8 * Scottish law and legal training *
Medical training * CIRCA and much more.
Location to be announced. For further information please visit the website and to register please get in touch.
Dissent! is a network of individuals and groups planning to use creative direct action and civil disobedience to resist the presence of the G8. Dissent! has no leaders, no paid staff and no membership list. Focuses for action so far include targeting the oil and war industries, the practical rejuvenation of neglected communities in Scotland and the
sustained disruption of the summit itself. Dissent! is acting as a focal point for coordination of resistance to the G8 and for continued radical action against capitalism into the future. The Festival of Dissent! will be the best chance before the Summit arrives to get together, learn
skills, share info, plan, and get inspired about protests at the Summit.
Workshops will include
* Planning action at the G8 * Direct action training * Background on the G8 * Consensus decision making * Blockading * Hill walking and navigation * Corporate involvement in the G8 * Scottish law and legal training *
Medical training * CIRCA and much more.
Location to be announced. For further information please visit the website and to register please get in touch.
e-mail:
Homepage:
Comments
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T*R*A*P*E*S*E
25.03.2005 16:52
TAKE RADICAL ACTION through POPULAR EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABLE EVERYTHING
A popular education collective informing and mobilising around the issues behind the G8.
trapese
Homepage:
http://www.trapese.org
Workshops/Meetings
26.03.2005 17:04
Mr P
nuclear waste consultation
04.04.2005 15:10
click the link,, read the blurb, follow the link and have your say; )
another world is possible.
fish
Press Coverage
06.04.2005 21:14
Thanks to STV for fair coverage and there's more to folloow it up!
Watch this space!
G8 protestors hold five-day event in Lanarkshire
06 April 2005 17:58
A five day event for protestors planning to disrupt the G8 summit at Gleneagles began today in the Lanarkshire countryside. People attending the Festival of Dissent will attend workshops on civil disobedience and receive advice on what to do if they are arrested. The festival is taking place just 13 miles from a disused hospital, where Scottish police are receiving training on how to deal with riots at the summit.
Training for a riot at the G8 - Scottish police officers have been practicing what they call public order techniques in advance of the summit this July. They would not let Scotland Today in to the old Law Hospital near Carluke but pictures were filmed from an overlooking hill.
Thirteen miles away in a windswept field the Festival of Dissent was getting underway. Several hundred people from a loose network of anti-capitalist protestors, environmental and peace campaigners will gather there to plan protests against the G8. They believe that civil disobedience is the only way to challenge the might of the eight world leaders - and they say have no plans to use violence. The organisers would not let Scotland Todays on to the site to film, but two agreed to talk to us nearby.
Community activist Alice said: "There's often references to violent protestors although it's not something we're expecting and I've not heard anyone planning anything violent in any of the Dissent network."
Street medic Lesley said: "It seems like there's some sort of hysteria being whipped up in the media, saying we're going to be violent. There's no-one on site at the moment planning anything like that. It may well happen, we can only speak as individuals, but we're not planning to."
They are planning what they call non-violent direct action. The police say they have no firm intelligence of widespread disorder. The training at Law Hospital is a precaution. But the officer in charge warns that anyone breaking the law can expect to end up in court.
Chief Constable John Vine from Tayside Police said: "Obviously if groups want to take part in any sort of protests they can talk to us about it. But I would emphasis that if any of the protestors break the law, as the police service we will be arresting them and putting them before the courts."
In Derby a recent anti-G8 demo attracted just 150 people - making the presence of 1000 police officers look a little heavy handed.
With exactly three months to go the protestors and the police are finalising their tactics for the G8. The plans for non-violent direct action means some kind of confrontation is inevitable. But no-one yet knows how serious it will be.
Lesley R
e-mail:
dragondynamics2000@yahoo.co.uk