I was knocked to the ground and trampled underneath others who were trying to flee the police batons. A well-built man dragged me to my feet; it was painful but I'm grateful to have escaped with nothing worse than bruises. Following the crush, riot police ran into the mass of protesters, hitting people with both their batons and their shields. Many protesters were shaken and dazed. Easy targets. This early on, little is known about the man who died on the demonstration. I saw an unconscious man taken away by ambulance- I can't say whether this was him, or indeed whether he was killed in the crush, from a police baton, or from something else entirely. Already, however, the police appear to be covering up their role in the violence, portraying protesters as mindless hooligans and removing the media focus from their own thuggish attacks against unarmed protesters.
Following the attack I have described above, reinforcements of riot police arrived to guard every exit. The last chance at escape had been lost, and protesters were subsequently detained for another 1.5 hours. Even then, we were only allowed out 1-by-1, with each protester being escorted away by their own police officer (and led past barking and snarling police dogs...) Most were searched and several of the so-called "trouble makers" arrested.
Pics to follow tomorrow.
The police had also set about decimating Climate Camp, while many of the Climate Campers were otherwise engaged (being beaten by cops) outside the banks.
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19 comments:
ACAB! Harry Roberts Is Our Mate!
Glad you escaped with bruises Vicky, it could have been much worse. Its sounds horrific – the kind of situation I dread on demos. Listening to the news reports earlier, I presumed that this was how it would end. Its a common tactic used by police. Pen people in for hours, wear them down, wait for the journos to go home and then kick the shit out of them. Lesson is IMO to have the battle at the beginning, ie. refuse to be penned in, we all know how that ends.
The police are making a big thing about being attacked with missiles whilst trying to resuscitate the man who died. So nothing to do with them holding people in cramped conditions for hours, then attacking them with batons as they try to leave.....
A drink awaits you at the Font when get back up north.
Tina
Hope you are ok Vicky?
It was horrific. I heard people shouting, 'let us out' around the time I was leaving 7pm. And more reinforcements turned up to hem more people in.
And the biased media accusing protesters as, 'goading the cops'..
Bollox to that!
Hey mind if I lift this for Freedom?
it's always perceived as a shock when this sort of thing happens...police brutality etc!
Are we too dumb to realize that protests don't work unless they're peaceful.our embalmed psyche provides media fodder for the mindless hooligan angle...
Nonsense! The media will always portray us and our brothers and sisters in a negative light. The comment above is right- don't let the bastards pen us in to begin with! Resist!!!
Seriously though, the police behaved fantastically yesterday and stopped you people from humilating London before the world. You're very lucky to live in a country where they are so restrained and don't use the botons unless they absolutely have to. I watched the live feeds most of the day and probably have a better idea of what went on than most of you who were there. The only mistake they made was by not protecting the RBS, but given the amount of damage and embarrassment there would have been caused if the anarchists had broken police lines and looted the bank of England, that seems tiny.
"Are we too dumb to realize that protests don't work unless they're peaceful."
Nothing to do with being dumb . Most people yesterday wanted a peaceful protest.
However the cops didn't.
I hope Vicky and her comrades are OK.
Ignore Mike. He's a right-wing troll who usually haunts Lenin's Tomb where he is usually deleted on sight.
"looted the bank of England"
lmao
that's right, we anarchists are just after money! money money money!
Fuck you Mike - one of the cunts waiving 10 pound notes at the protesters from the windows of capitalism.... FUCK OFF!
Sounds terrible Vicky. Glas you're ok.
aah mr mike...through the eye of the needle the sceptics surgically pierce your intentions. youre spot on in that watching the live feeds one can see what truly goes on (as a whole). The police werent doing anything! Until the crowd got restless...but if youre hungry and tired you should be prepared for such woes! Take extra food. Che Guevera didnt pack an extra portion of dairylea dunkers...
Problem is vicky and others may have sense how to protest but many others dont! it shouldnt restrict the movement of other citizens.
A lot of the protestors were fighting each other. Hilariously one of the protestors shouted to the two protagonists 'fight the police' not each other.
Typical...
Thanks for all the kind comments (except Mike but I relish right-wing trolls... Lol. He thinks he knows better than those who were there. Quite an achievement in omniscience. I can only wonder what else Mike knows so much about...)
Tina is right of course, but there was no leadership, direction or coherent strategy yesterday. If there was, we would have got out of there at 5 or 6 when the police lines were thin, rather than waiting until they were reinforced and we were all significantly more tired, thirsty and hungry.
As for peaceful protests, yes, why not? That is, if we are permitted to enact our lawful protests and not hindered by police oppression. They are armed and we are not, so I don't hold with any of this "it's a peaceful protest... We have to sit down!" while innocent protesters are being attacked by armed police. That sort of pacifism is not only naive, it's also dangerous and gets people hurt.
Finally, none of this "the police were doing nothing"/"the police were showing restraint" lie that the media and a few of those who watched the action from home are attempting to perpetuate. Throwing a bottle at riot police (heavily padded, wearing visors etc.) who have been detaining lawful protesters for hours, does not give them an excuse to batter innocent protesters, to hit those already on the ground with batons. This is the armed versus the unarmed, and one side left 7 times as many hospitalised.
Police brutality on camera here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adi2i8qyerU
Rob Ray, fine lift it for Freedom. Can you credit the blog "Infantile and Disorderly" rather than my name?
The fucking BBC and cops are claiming that protestors killed the guy!!!!!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7978105.stm
Fucking scum bastards!!!!
------------> Glasgow Anarcists have this to say:
Death At The Hands Of Capital
This is no appeal to calm.
Yesterday through the actions of the Metropolitan Police a man died during the protests against the G20 in the City of London. How this man died, whether as a result of direct blows from police batons or from the effects of the police “kettling” tactic and their attempts to force people in a direction it was not possible move, his death is their responsibility. We have already seen the BBC, unsurprisingly, peddling the police’s line that his death was due to ‘natural causes’. When they mention it at all that is. Though how it is natural to be penned in by armed thugs like an animal before being beaten and attacked is a tribute to their warped logic.
What should not be forgotten in light of this murder is that this is not the first and nor shall it be the last death at the hands of capital.
Everyday people are murdered by states, police, armed forces and militias all over the world. Capital, and its agents, think nothing of human life and profit will always, always come before humanity. Capitalism is directly responsible for the deaths of millions upon millions of people all around the world. From the wars that are fought in pursuit of profit to famine and death through preventable disease to those murdered for resisting its impact upon their communities or for organising for better conditions at work.
As we see the economic situation decline for working people in this country we can expect to see this become starkly clear. As more and more are made homeless, jobless and see their living conditions reduced, the ruling class will continue to live in splendour and affluence upon our backs as their parasitical forebears have done for generations.
The rulers of this country, and indeed this world, live lifestyles of opulent luxury that is beyond the ken of the vast majority of us. These parasites shall not see their blood drenched splendour reduced in the slightest.
Unless that is that we, the honest, hard working people of this world tear their privilege asunder.
These wealthy parasites live off our hard work and we suffer the consequences of the economic games they play in pursuit of ever greater profits for themselves and everyday we, the working class, suffer and die all over the world. This death through police actions yesterday is just one more death in the tragic blood stained history of capitalism.
This is no appeal to calm, rage today on the streets of London. Rage though not at this one death but at the horror and terror inflicted upon our class by the ruling 1% and their agents. Rage against the theft of our world by parasites who sponge off our labour. Rage at having to work your entire life through only to be denied the fruits of the world that is yours by right of birth.
I agree with the statement Ste, but when I read it I couldn't find the BBC or cops blaming the murder on the protestors.
Statements such as this are typical in the rpess coverage of the incident:
"It was not clear how the man died, but some people had earlier been injured when protesters held in a police cordon for several hours following the march surged against the crash barriers."
Also every source i've read claims the only police involvement in his detah is their attempts to move him out of the way of protesters and calling for an ambulance. Nothing is mentioned of their brutality or the fact that, according to some marchers, he was himself hit by the police several times.
Thanks for this report. Here is another good eyewitness account of both the G20 Meltdown and the climate camp:
Unprovoked brutality of the police at anti-G20 protests
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