Protesting the G20 summit

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Police Gearing Up For Week Of G20 Protests
March 27, 2009

The first of a series of protests timed to coincide with the G20 summit in London will be held this weekend. Thousands of people are expected to join the march for "jobs, justice and climate" in the capital. It has been organised by an unprecedented alliance of more than 150 unions, environment, faith and development groups. The march will be followed by a rally at Hyde Park, which will hear calls for action to save jobs and support a low-carbon economy. There will also be demands for stricter control of the finance sector.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Never before has such a wide coalition come together with such a clear message for world leaders. The old ideas of unregulated free markets do not work, and have brought the world's economy to near-collapse. They have also failed to fight poverty and have done far too little to move to a low-carbon economy. Of course the G20 will not solve everything in a day's work, but leaders must sign up to both boost the world economy and govern it better."

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in rallies, marches and stunts over the next week. Organisers deny claims they are intent on causing trouble and have complained about police briefings which, they say, give that impression.

Thousands of police officers will be on duty in central London next week for the run-up to the summit, which begins next Thursday, April 2. It will be hosted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and among those attending will be US President Barack Obama. The day before, protests will be held throughout London by groups including Campaign Against Climate Change, 20 Meltdown, Rising Tide and Stop the War Coalition.

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I've a feeling this won't pass peacefully - and by that I mean that I hope there is violence against the banks.

click here to watch the series 'I Predict A Riot'

[luke]

the problem is the police are going to come down hardcore ... you can see the in media coverage recently they've been kinda preparing the public so when the police go in all heavy handed people will think the protesters caused and deserved it

also, i don't really see what can be accomplished by these protests. these cunts are the g20 don't care that loads of people are protesting. they didn't care over the iraq war, they won't over this

thanks for the i predict a riot series, i watched that a while back

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The MEP in this clip has the most viewed clip on youtube this week after challening Gordon Brown in the European Parliament - 1,3m views in 3 days... you can watch it HERE

[luke]

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Fort Granny to defy Heathrow bulldozers
Pensioners are preparing to barricade their threatened homes in the fight to halt the third runway
Ed Caesar
timesonline.co.uk

LYNNE DAVIES is not your average revolutionary. Aged 60, bespectacled, and dressed in a lively cerise fleece, she oozes suburban respectability. Indeed, in the sitting room of her semidetached house in Sipson - a village of 700 that will be demolished if the third runway is built at Heathrow airport - Toby jugs compete with carriage clocks and pictures of her grandson for space on the mantelpiece.

However, this wholesome appearance hides a steely resolve. If it comes to the crunch, Davies plans to fortify her home, rather than let the bulldozers move in. She would consider building barricades, encircling her house with high scaffolding, creating tyre bulwarks and letting direct action activists make a home in nearby trees if it will halt the destruction of her village. “I will consider anything and everything,” she said last week. “I’m willing to break the law if necessary, which is completely out of character for me. But I’m not having someone coming into my village and evicting me. I’ve lived here in Sipson for 50 years. We built this house. My sister lives next door. I’m absolutely not moving.”

Greenpeace, which has bought a large parcel of land in the path of the proposed third runway, is already drawing up plans to dig a network of tunnels and deep trenches beneath the site to foil developers. The siege-like mood is redolent of Passport to Pimlico, the Ealing comedy in which residents of a part of south London declare independence.

Despite offers from BAA, the owner of Heathrow, to buy homes at a guaranteed price, Davies, like many in Sipson and nearby communities on the outskirts of west London, has protested against the third runway since it was suggested in 2002. When Geoff Hoon, the transport secretary, announced in January that the government supported Heathrow expansion, she went into overdrive. Between the palm trees that decorate her front garden, she has put up placards that make her position clear: “Stop Thieves: BAA and Brown Robbery Area” and “Sipson Village RIP”. Her 16-year-old grandson is mortified.

Tomorrow, Davies, along with 25 other, mostly retired, residents, will launch a scheme with Plane Stupid, the antiaviation pressure group, called “Adopt a Resident”. It involves an eco-activist being assigned to each home to facilitate “creative” obstruction to Heathrow expansion.

That defence will be made easier by having activists like Paddy Gillett, 24, a postgraduate geography student at Leeds University, on their side. He will be one of the first to move into Sipson. Gillett has been “inspired” by other direct action protests, such as the Claremont Road occupation against the M11 link road in east London in 1994. “There’s really no limit to what we can do in Sipson,” he said. “We’ve got so long to prepare. If the runway is given the final go-ahead, building won’t start until 2012 at the earliest [because of a potential legal challenge and the protracted planning process]. We can make it very difficult for the authorities.”

The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have both promised immediately to halt the construction of the third runway should they win the next general election. However, should Labour hang on, and the runway go ahead, there are signs that the local Tory-led (and antirunway) council will not go out of its way to stop residents fortifying their homes.

Sipson is not alone in being affected. The nearby village of Harmondsworth, with its country pubs and medieval tithe barn, would be cut in two. Many of its residents would have to leave, and the others would live within eardrum-shattering distance of the third runway.

Armelle Thomas, 62, has lived in Harmondsworth for 40 years with her husband Tommy, 87, a second world war veteran and winner of the Légion d’honneur. Both have worked at Heathrow, but both are vehemently opposed to expansion. They will not countenance illegal activity, but will encourage other Harmondsworth residents to block the village gates to prevent construction workers getting in.

The Thomases are also being “adopted” by an activist. They attended the climate camp in Sipson in 2007 with 2,000 other anti-aviation protesters, where Tommy was treated “with great politeness”. “They weren’t all hippies, they were just concerned people,” he said. Armelle has written dozens of letters to BAA and ministers, and the couple took part in a recent flashmob at St Pancras station to promote high-speed rail as an alternative to Heathrow expansion.

Ministers should take note. The women of Harmondsworth and Sipson are not for turning.

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Not about the G20, but it's great to hear about normal people realising that the system they've supported and defended all their lives simply doesn't help them as individuals. Also, it will be excellent to see Greenpeace activists having the chance to really go to town on the defences.

[luke]

mark thomas from saturday

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DEMONSTRATE AGAINST WAR THIS WEDNESDAY:

Saturday's Put People First demonstration was excellent. Tens of thousands came out to protest against the whole spectrum of the world leaders' policies. The anti-war bloc was very big and very loud and got lots of coverage.

The next big event is the Yes We Can demonstration this Wednesday. This is the only anti-war demonstration at the G20. It is the main chance we have to make sure that the G20 leaders can't avoid the massive opposition to their war policies.

The demonstration will assemble at the US Embassy, Grosvenor Sq, London W1A 2LQ. Nearest tubes Green Park or Bond Street.

We will hand in a message to Barack Obama and then march through central London to Trafalgar Square for an alternative summit. Speakers include Arthur Scargill, Tony Benn, Susan George, Lindsey German, Bruce Kent and Daud Abdullah.

[11antoniacourt]

This protest is so important for all of mankind. While I can't be there I hope it is very loud and very forceful and I admire those who turn out for this very important demonstration. They speak for us all. Will you be attending Face?

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It's in London, so it's not really practical. I would love to be there though. what a lot of the nay-sayers don't understand is that even if the protest falls on deaf ears there's always a great feeling of unity.

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An interesting clip from tonight's 'The One Show'. I don't think I've ever seen a segment about protesters on primetime tv that wasn't about violence. Good to see.

[luke]

that is pretty incredible for the bbc! unfortunately thats one tiny little bit in a sea of "they're all out to cause trouble". thanks for capping though, like you said good to see

[luke]

a couple of windows have just been smashed

i wish i'd gone now

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I've posted this because there's some good photos. The two vehicles that were brought along are excellent. The irony of using an ex-army Saracen is a cracker.

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Looks like a great day out!

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Some information that won't be on the news...