topic by
John Calvin
5/2/2002 (20:05) |
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4,000 police stifle May Day demo
By Karen McVeigh
WITH a ratio of almost one officer to every protester, the police were leaving nothing to chance as thousands of anti-globalisation demonstrators and union members poured into central London for May Day.
The annual demonstration, which has descended into violence in recent years, causing £20 million damage to businesses in 2001, took place amid police fears that a 'hard core' of infiltrators were hell-bent on destruction.
After one of the toughest police operations ever mounted in the capital, the day passed off relatively peacefully. As night fell, however, police had to control an angry group of 250 protesters in Shaftsbury Avenue, some of whom were throwing bottles and other missiles. Scenes were reminiscent of last year’s event as a small group were kept hemmed in by police in Soho, in an area bounded by Wardour Street and Old Compton Street. There were additional localised clashes between police and protesters and several arrests.
Underlying the day was an enormous security operation, backed by what Assistant Commissioner Mike Todd, of the Metropolitan Police, called 'in yer face' policing which promised to stamp out any trouble before it escalated.
At one stage the massive police presence - all leave was cancelled and 4,000 officers were on duty - overwhelmed the number of protesters, which varied during the day from a few hundred to 7,000.
Yesterday’s scenes contrasted sharply with last year’s chaos, where police lost control of the crowds amid violent skirmishes. Thousands of noisy demonstrators, many dressed in colourful garb, passed through central London, blocking intersections in its busiest streets and stopping traffic, before being moved on by police.
The protests kicked off with a 200-strong crowd cycling from Camden to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square and ended with a joint TUC and Globalise Resistance rally in Trafalgar Square.
Among the speakers was Tony Benn, former Labour MP, 77, who was cheered as he said: 'I remember as a kid listening to the voice of Hitler and we knew it would end in war because nobody stood up against fascism then. After the war, the generation of which I was one resolved we would build a new world order based on peace. Now we find that all those hopes have been dashed as we return to imperialism, to war and to fascism.'
Traffic was brought to a halt outside Horseferry Road Magistrates Court for 15 minutes as cyclists joined a demonstration for seven Wombles - the White Overall Movement Building Liberations through Effective Struggle - on trial for alleged public order offences on Oxford Street last year.
Apart from causing upset to one woman, who began to cry after finding her BMW hemmed in by the whistle-blowing crowd in Oxford Street, the cyclists reached their destination without further incident.
At the American Embassy, protesters unfurled a banner which read: 'Capitalism Doesn’t Work So Let’s Replace It.'
In Mayfair, one of London’s wealthiest districts, where police intelligence warned the greatest danger lay, the streets were quiet. Around 40 per cent of the designer shops and jewellers were shuttered up, some of them with extra metal boards and security guards. Workers had been warned to dress down, but few had heeded the warning. 'I have seen nothing at all, but police vans,' said Paige Ames, 39, a businesswoman from San Fransico, who was lunching in the area.
'I was warned by business associates not to come here, but I wonder what all the fuss is about.'
Police, who had been expecting up to 10,000 protesters, had warned of up to 400 violent protesters, using 'guerrilla tactics' in the streets of Mayfair. Militant groups, they said, had been careful not to advertise their plans to avoid a repeat of last year, in which 5,000 people were corralled in Oxford Street for six hours with no food, water, or toilet facilities.
One anti-capitalist website warned: 'Keep moving and don’t let the cops trap you.'
Assistant Commissioner Mike Todd, said around 1,000 protesters - including known troublemakers - were playing 'cat-and-mouse' games with police in West End side-streets.
In Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, monuments had been boarded up to avoid a repeat of scenes two years ago when anarchist defaced the Cenotaph and a statue of Winston Churchill.
On New Bond Street, where litter bins and other street furniture had been removed, Donna Karan, Versace, and Dolce and Gabbana were boarded up. At one point, more than 500 protesters marched and cycled through nearby Berkeley Square. Protesters chanted anti-capitalist slogans and painted 'Unions Rule' on a Gucci boutique shop front.
Scotland: Carnival atmosphere around protest
ABOUT 400 anti-capitalist campaigners gathered in Glasgow yesterday for a peaceful May Day parade.
The crowd, including church ministers, students and pensioners, marched through the city centre to 'reclaim the streets', many carrying drums and wearing colourful costumes.
Under the constant whirr of a circling police helicopter, protesters carried banners targeting the US in response to President Bush’s comments on the 'Axis of Evil'.
A banner read 'Axis of Evil - White House, Pentagon and Wall Street' as well as 'Our world is being struck dumb by AMERIKKKAN dreams'. One marcher donned a President Bush mask with a top-hat in stars and stripes colours.
Other banners read 'Poverty Kills' and 'All Wars Are Terrorism - Bin Laden, Bin Bush, and Bin Blair'.
At one point, it seemed that the only anarchy that would break out on the streets of Glasgow was when the protesters could not decide which way the march would move next.
The parade halted briefly outside Glasgow City Chambers, circling George Square before marching down Renfield Street and outside McDonald’s.
It then made its way to Buchanan Street, the city’s main shopping street and home to many of the multi-national chainstores which the campaigners so deeply despise, where they held a two hour sit-in.
Caroline Anderson, 19, of Hillhead, Glasgow, said she was at the march to enjoy the party atmosphere. 'It gives people the chance to voice their political opinions, which is always a good thing.
Dave Buchanan, 23, from County Down, Northern Ireland said: 'The protest has been very peaceful and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.
'We have proved again that you don’t have to wreak havoc on the streets and smash up McDonald's and Gap stores to get the message across.'
However, one bemused onlooker said: 'They’re just a ragtag bunch of unwashed plebs.'
The only moment of tension during the demonstration occurred outside the Armed Forces career office when a protester had her water gun confiscated by police after squirting passers by.
After the sit-in on Buchanan Street, the crowd continued to march towards Kelvingrove Park where the party continued. A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said the march had passed off peacefully without incident.
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