Today, at 12pm protestors gathered outside the Home Office on Marsham Street in London to protest the deportations of people to Democratic Republic of Congo.
The protest was small, but the police presence was big. One CCTV van and three paddy wagons, the ratio between police and protestors was two-to-one.
The protest was organised by the Congo Support Project (CSP) and also attended by representatives of Co-ordination of Congolese in the UK (CCUK).
Despite only twenty to thirty people attending, the demonstration was lively, loud and there were some damn colourful shirts on display. Protestors sang and chanted for the entire two hours, and seemed ready for more noise as they left when their permission to protest had expired and the police moved in to usher people on.
CSP vice-co-ordinator Akito Tongomo and CCUK co-ordinator and local community leader Ackys Kituba gave to very good interviews and drove the issue home with straight hard-hitting talk.
One interesting thing, which is in this video, is the plain clothes man in the beige sports jacket. He appeared around the end of the protest and seemed to be giving orders to the police officers, who treated him with a lot of respect. The man in question had an ID tag hanging from his neck, not unlike my press card, but the card itself was hidden inside his jacket. Whether he was from the Home Office or something else is uncertain. He didn't look like he'd just stepped out of an office though.
Another interesting scenario was Oscar Beard decided to dress up, as much as his wardrobe would allow, and there was no trouble for him, which is unheard of in these last two years. No police came to check his press pass, or even talk, make up laws to halt him from filming, or even deny him the right to document the situation.
Amazing what a shirt and a nice pair of shoes can do. Better keep it up.
The protest was organised by the Congo Support Project (CSP) and also attended by representatives of Co-ordination of Congolese in the UK (CCUK).
Despite only twenty to thirty people attending, the demonstration was lively, loud and there were some damn colourful shirts on display. Protestors sang and chanted for the entire two hours, and seemed ready for more noise as they left when their permission to protest had expired and the police moved in to usher people on.
CSP vice-co-ordinator Akito Tongomo and CCUK co-ordinator and local community leader Ackys Kituba gave to very good interviews and drove the issue home with straight hard-hitting talk.
One interesting thing, which is in this video, is the plain clothes man in the beige sports jacket. He appeared around the end of the protest and seemed to be giving orders to the police officers, who treated him with a lot of respect. The man in question had an ID tag hanging from his neck, not unlike my press card, but the card itself was hidden inside his jacket. Whether he was from the Home Office or something else is uncertain. He didn't look like he'd just stepped out of an office though.
Another interesting scenario was Oscar Beard decided to dress up, as much as his wardrobe would allow, and there was no trouble for him, which is unheard of in these last two years. No police came to check his press pass, or even talk, make up laws to halt him from filming, or even deny him the right to document the situation.
Amazing what a shirt and a nice pair of shoes can do. Better keep it up.
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