Police at the G20 Rally.
I’m pretty angry. I’m pretty angry about a lot of stuff. I’m angry about the total failings of Capitalism and the fact that only few people can see just how much of an exploitative and corrupt system it is. I’m angry about climate change and the fact it’s the biggest danger facing the world today yet everyone is being complacent about it. I’m angry about the way the government has abused our liberties since the terrorist attacks in 2001. For these reasons I went to the protests in London on April 1st. I had an absolutely brilliant time, I met some amazing people, I protested for something I believed in and I felt like I was doing something active about my political beliefs.
It also gave me a chance to experience something first-hand that I’d only ever read about on Indymedia and in blogs. Police brutality. I was a peaceful protestor and so were the vast, vast majority of people who attended the protests at both Bank and Bishopsgate. When we left London Bridge the atmosphere was great, there was a brass band, people were dancing and applauding. Office workers came out to have a gander but as soon as we arrived at Bank things changed. The police closed off the street behind us, we were crushed into a small area and as another march from Moorgate arrived this became even worse. There were kids falling over and getting hurt and people were becoming irritated. I had wanted to leave for a bit to go to Foyles to pick up a book so I made my way up Poultry and managed to escape the police blockade by walking through a shopping area and to Mansion House tube station.
Yet more police.
I got back to Bank at about 3pm and found every street totally cordoned off, riot police were actually shoving back members of the press on Poultry and a van was used to barge one man out of the way. I was told that to get into the central area you had to walk through Poultry. I did so and what I found was a nice surprise. Instead of the chaos I was led to believe awaited me by BBC News 24 it was peaceful, people were sat down enjoying the sun, reading the paper, chatting, having lunch. There was a reggae guy singing at one end and at the other there was a sound system. I think I’d probably missed the majority of the ‘violence’ around RBS and there were some people stirring up trouble with the police at the far end of Cheapside. I stayed around until I had to catch my coach back at about 5pm. I made my way to the police cordon and asked them to let me through, showed them my coach ticket and they wouldn’t, tried the same thing at 3 other places and was told no. Finally I decided to go up to Cheapside where the anarchist bloc were confronting the police. I asked here and they said no. I saw several police officers batter a group of peaceful protesters sat on the ground with truncheons and I also saw a man shoved to the ground simply for trying to talk to an officer.
In the end a really nice guy who turned out to be from the SWP said he’d show me how to get out so he led me down a side alley, across a small patch of grass and out by Cannon Street tube station. If it wasn’t for him I’d never have got home. I don’t know who the police were protecting but it wasn’t me, it wasn’t the protesters and it sure as hell wasn’t the public who were treated as badly as the protesters. It seemed they were protecting property over human life which is unacceptable and now that footage has surfaced of them possibly killing a man I really, really hope that the IPCC pulls its finger out of its arse and severely chastises the Met for its disgusting tactics. The summer of rage that’s been predicted had better happen. I would be so happy to be involved in this century’s 1968.
For more of my photos of the G20 protests have a look here.
A Mug of Tea 