Weds 1st April: G20 protests - discussion, reaction and chat

[hipipol]

He seems heavily outnumbered by the Paps there
Been past several times today, very small scale, prob why plod felt brave enought to whack people

 

[Struwwelpeter]

View from my office (as I was serving Mammon today, not the greater good):

The policing was incompetent at best at Queen Victoria Street/Queen St. The crowd from Bank was dispersing down QVS when the police set up a cordon - but they were a bit understaffed and got surrounded. The riot police then turned up and at times I saw some completely unprovoked use of the baton. Some of my colleagues are now not so favourably disposed to the police as they once were...

BTW, contrary to my usual attire, I wore a suit to work today, as I am more concerned about being attacked by our friendly neighbourhood bobbies than those nasty crusty rioters.

 

[dweller]

Guardian Twitter

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I've just seen a girl unconscious being carried away, her whole face drenched in blood. This obv whipping up real anger
by paul__lewis at 4/1/2009 3:42:48 PM4:42 PM

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..Crowd here mainly students and hippy types - not the troublemaker crowd - but some of them have been seriously hurt.
by paul__lewis at 4/1/2009 3:41:28 PM4:41 PM

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Efforts to beat protesters back along queen vic st, toward the bank england, have resulted in v nasty scnes
by paul__lewis at 4/1/2009 3:39:48 PM4:39 PM

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Here, at least, it really does seem like pumped police looking for a fight. Protesters trying to sit down on road getting pounded.
by paul__lewis at 4/1/2009 3:30:28 PM4:30 PM

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Riot police on the surge again, have separated large groups by HSBC on wacking batons again. Turning v nasty again.
by paul__lewis at 4/1/2009 3:29:28 PM4:29 PM

 

[tangentlama]

The Guardian reports that the police plan to keep the BoE demonstrators penned in INDEFINITELY.

6.09pm:
Guardian reporter Alok Jha may have removed himself from the pen by flashing his press card but he says that police plan to keep everyone else in indefinitely.

A love of overtime? Determined to wait until most/all reporters have left and then get heavy with them?
There's a definite need to keep an eye on this one. Let's hope the BBC can keep someone there at the very least. I fear the police are going to riot when they think no-one 'important' is watching.


It's not my definition of policing, that's for sure. I don't pay their wages for them to deliberately injure innocent people.

 

[tar1984]

If he was trying to show off why would he cover his face?

I think trying to show off is the mistake. Smash the window yeah, be proud of it sure, but keep your face covered or become bait.

Maybe he just doesn't care.

 

[_float_]

I wonder where that large metal thing came from?

 

[gabi]

I think trying to show off is the mistake. Smash the window yeah, be proud of it sure, but keep your face covered or become bait.

Maybe he just doesn't care.

He throws like a girl

 

[_float_]

caption: "A protester throws an object through the already broken window of a Royal Bank of Scotland branch in London's financial district, Wednesday April 1, 2009."

...presumably if it was already broken then he isn't really commiting much of an offense, if any - in which case you get lots of posing rights with none of the legal risks.

 

[ska invita]

The Guardian reports that the police plan to keep the BoE demonstrators penned in INDEFINITELY.

I'm sorry to be contradictary here but i was able to get in and out of the central bank bit all day long. Yes the majority of main streets are blocked but there are ways out and you can circle the whole area via alleys. I went from Bank to cliamte camp then back into the central bank bit then to the pub and so on...

Ive been kettled before and i wasnt going to let it happen again - in my experience today wasnt a kettle, but yes the police did limit movement on the major roads.

 

[xes]

I wonder where that large metal thing came from?

only bank not borded up.check
lots of press photographers waiting.check

that's not a set up at all is it.

 

[ska invita]

Watching the edited highlights on the BBC News 24 -

Whilst in the pub having a little sit down i caught some sky footage - sarkozy on half the screen giving his speech, frontline agro with the police on the other half. I cant remember a demo getting so much publicity, and definitely not being followed 'blow by blow' live in such a way. Is this a first for rolling news in britain?

 

[paolo]

From the reasonably reputable sources quoted in this thread earlier, it does sound like the police lost it at least once (charging sit-downs).

A bit weird given that - on the lunchtime RBS footage - they appeared to be standing off whilst the damage was being done. My conclusion at that point was they'd figured that on balance, it was better to contain than confront.

Hmm. Hopefully there were a few broadsheet journalists witnessing the police charges, so we might get a more detailed write-up tomorrow.

 

[editor]

I am *so fucking happy* that both LDR and I managed to leg it out of the cordon.

It's such a familiar tactic: pen the protesters in with no access to food, water or toilets, be as rude and as confrontational as they can and then - bingo! One police turnout-justifying mini riot coming right up.

 

[paolo]

(@earlier posters, not ed) It certainly gets lots of coverage. There's a debate to be had though whether the smashing stuff footage advances the cause or regressed it, in terms of building support.

 

[editor]

only bank not borded up.check
lots of press photographers waiting.check

that's not a set up at all is it.

Not everyone holding a big camera was press, but there certainly was a ton of media there today.

Naturally, the vast majority of them weren't interested in the entirely peaceful and fluffy Climate Change camp nearby.

 

[editor]

Absolutely spot on, Monbit:

But there has always been a conflict of interest inherent in policing. The police are supposed to prevent crime and keep the streets safe. But if they are too successful, they do themselves out of a job. They have a powerful interest in exaggerating threats and, perhaps, an interest in ensuring that sometimes these threats materialise. This could explain what I've seen at one protest after another, where peaceful demonstrations turn into ugly rucks only when the police attack.

The wildly disproportionate and unnecessary violence I've sometimes seen the police deploy could scarcely be better designed to provoke a reaction.
If this is so, they lose nothing.

They might get the occasional rap over the knuckles from MPs or the police complaints commission. It doesn't seem to bother them. By planting the idea in the public mind that the streets could erupt into catastrophic violence at any time, were it not for the thick blue line thrown around even the mildest protest, they establish the need for a heavy police presence. While the public lives in fear, no government dares to cut the policing budget.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/apr/01/g20-policing-climate-protest-riot

 

[ElectricKingdom]

It's weird because it looks like the crowd are mostly taunting the police, looking for reaction so they can then blame the police for their actions. It's not as if the police WANT to actually be there is it? Would you want your day at work to be this? This is all your choice - what do you expect the police to do? Let everyone run the streets?

 

[sleaterkinney]

Went down at luchtime to have a look, stood close to where rbs was for a bit but we left for a pint before it kicked off.

There were loads of press there.

 

[Crispy]

I'd expect them to stand back and only react to direct violence.

 

[editor]

It's weird because it looks like the crowd are mostly taunting the police, looking for reaction so they can then blame the police for their actions.

The people still stuck there are being held against their will. By now they'll be hungry, thirsty, tired and very angry. The police are to blame for that.

 

[ska invita]

 

[paolo]

I'd expect them to stand back and only react to direct violence.

Yep. No point having it all kick off because someone's shouting insults or whatever.

 

[cesare]

BBC have just reported that the atmosphere is now changing at the fluffy bunny 'peace camp' (BBC term) because the police have changed tactics. Robin Hall (I think it was) stressed how peaceful it had been in Bishopsgate during the day, and that apparently there were no plans to try and clear the climate change people ... but it looks as though that might be about to change.

 

[ddraig]

kettle outside boe coming up live on ch4 news after ad break now
looks like quite a lot of people

 

[cesare]

BBC now describing BoE, saying that the police are penning everyone in, and then repeated penning.

 

[ajdown]

They've had a chance to make their point, now it's time to go home. The police have the power to disperse them, if they won't go peacefully then the police need to use stronger tactics to enforce the law, get them out of the way, and allow people in to clean up the mess so the city can return to normal tomorrow.

It's time for the workers to reclaim the streets, and the protesters to go away.

 

[paolo]

The people still stuck there are being held against their will. By now they'll be hungry, thirsty, tired and very angry. The police are to blame for that.

My take on that tactic is that it's to wear down morale rather than fire things up. It certainly sounds legally sketchy though. Hasn't this been challenged in court before? Anyone have more info?

 

[editor]

BBC have just reported that the atmosphere is now changing at the fluffy bunny 'peace camp' (BBC term) because the police have changed tactics. Robin Hall (I think it was) stressed how peaceful it had been in Bishopsgate during the day, and that apparently there were no plans to try and clear the climate change people ... but it looks as though that might be about to change.

That'll because lines of black-clad riot police were limbering up at the entrance in a wildly inappropriate fashion.

The street is full of kids in little tents playing songs, having picnics, reading books and chatting. It was unbelievably fluffy there.

 

[paolo]

They've had a chance to make their point, now it's time to go home. The police have the power to disperse them, if they won't go peacefully then the police need to use stronger tactics to enforce the law, get them out of the way, and allow people in to clean up the mess so the city can return to normal tomorrow.

It's time for the workers to reclaim the streets, and the protesters to go away.

Have you read *any* of the posts about what the police are actually doing?

Funny man.

 

[cesare]

They've had a chance to make their point, now it's time to go home. The police have the power to disperse them, if they won't go peacefully then the police need to use stronger tactics to enforce the law, get them out of the way, and allow people in to clean up the mess so the city can return to normal tomorrow.

It's time for the workers to reclaim the streets, and the protesters to go away.

They've been wanting to leave for hours. Not everyone knows the back doubles round there, people have come from pretty far afield. There are injured people there that can't get medical attention, and the police won't let them leave. Have you not seen the live aerial/high shots?