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eco-camp in stirling surround by the police

momo | 07.07.2005 04:46 | G8 2005 | Repression

eco-camp in stirling blocked by the police.

This morning at 3am, the police in riot gear starts to surround the eco-camp in stirling. It seems to be a lot of cops (really), maybe all the staff who are in stirling for the G8.
Now it s 5h30, and the police is still here (of course), and they stopped everyone who want to get out of the camp.

I think they just want to stop all the actions and they not gonna come in the camp.

momo


Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Advance on the flank

07.07.2005 07:25

So if they've got so many police surrounding the eco village, surely they have left themselves open to attack elsewhere. Especially if those in the eco village can keep them occupied.

amphibian


Real Number

07.07.2005 11:24

Perhaps it's false news to be saying that many police are surrounding the camp or the like. Sorry to dissapoint the readers but I travel past that camp every morning and every night.

This morning at around 10am there were about 25-30 police by the roadside.

Sorry if this dissillusions you all, I know you were imagining thousands of riot clad policemen, horses, dogs, helicopters surrounding the eco village but there you go 25-30 policemen is all there is.

Eddie


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07.07.2005 12:45



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Real Number

08.07.2005 03:04

They weren't just 30 cops. I kept awake since the police surrounded the place and at that time they were at least 80 cops (10 vans).
And furthermore one helicopter was over the camp for many hours observing the people.

Fischer


Real number

08.07.2005 10:25

Both of the above commenters are correct. This is not a matter of misinformation or exaggeration or underplaying policing levels. Every comment on police numbers is simply a 'snapshot' at a given moment in time.

There have been times when the police have been very few in number at the gate and near the entrance to the camp, so the perception of the person who passes the camp twice daily may be correct at that particular moment in time.

At other times there has been a very significant build up in numbers, with dozens of police in riot gear pouring out of minibuses and blockading the entrance to the camp, presumably with additional backup in close proximity to the camp.

A further factor relating to the reports of policing is their dress code at different times. Sometimes the police outside the camp are in shirt sleeves, whereas at others they are in full riot gear, which is quite intimidating.

The person who passes the camp twice a day may wish to pass by at 3am in the morning, at which time, during consecutive nights, a police operation has commenced involving busloads full of police in riot gear blockading the camp to prevent people leaving the camp, or sometimes allowing the people to leave but subjecting them to searches.

It's unwise to challenge and dispute other eye witness accounts if you weren't there at that particular moment in time.

Ann O'Neemus


Stirling being surrounded

13.07.2005 13:30

The police used tack-tick's to intimidate. They did fluctuate in numbers and this was to keep us on our toes. On thursday morning I was on watch from 3am till noon, and they would swap shifts, loose numbers, gain numbers and do exercises involving 30 riot vans and armoured police. And some of the time it would look like only a few were there.
The point is we were surrounded and they changed numbers for many reasons, mostly to intimidate us. The great point was most didn't mind being stuck in the camp. We had food, music, beer and didn't have to stand in a hot stuffy uniform for hours doing nothing!

Fernando


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