I was very concerned to read the following article (pasted at the bottom of this email).

You insinuate that the protests for a living wage in Canary Wharf are intended to be violent. I can tell you that the organisers of this protest have never intended for these protests to be anything but completely peaceful.

You claim misleadingly that Globalise Resistance "led the violent Mayday protests".

I have many problems with this sentence. For a start, G.R joined in with the peaceful Trade Union Congress march. It did not join in with the anarchists (who weren't even in the same part of London). G.R comprises mostly socialists and those with socialist leanings - NOT anarchists. It is not an anarchist organisation. If you read anything on an anarchist website you will know that anarchists don't even like Globalise Resistance, in fact they can't stand the organisation.

Also, I take issue with the phrase "violent Mayday protests". These protests have always been almost entirely peaceful. When violence broke out, the mainstream media liked to focus almost entirely on this violence whilst ignoring a) the fact that the protests were mostly peaceful and b) ignoring the highly complex and highly important global social and environmental issues about which people were protesting in the first place. It is also worth pointing out that violence was usually instigated by the police. As someone who has taken part in numerous peaceful demonstrations I can assure you that it is true that police often start the violence, yes even in the UK. You may find this hard to believe from your cosy little office but get out into the real world and you'll see what happens.

And I would even be so bold as to say that it is hypocritical to condemn the violence of protesters (who are only a tiny minority of protesters anyway) without condemning the horrific violence of what they are protesting against. What, after all, is throwing a brick through McDonald's windows, compared with the global human (and animal) rights, social and environmental impact of this corporation and others like it??

Of course a lot of these things are hard to measure and subjective (up to a point). However, I would say that it is VERY clear that your specific claim that Globalise Resistance led any sort of violence at all on Mayday or any other day is nothing short of a big stinking lie.

I would not be at all surprised if you find Globalise Resistance taking this issue up with the Press Complaints Commission.

When are the media going to learn to stop lieing about protest and dissent? No wonder we all hate you.

peace and love,

------ -------, independent activist, writing as an individual on behalf of myself.

Quote me out of context and I'll have you for breakfast :-).



NB: "have you for breakfast" means I will (hypothetically, in the event of your quoting me out of context, not that I expect you to quote me at all) complain to all the relevant authorities and keep complaining until justice is done. So don't go crying to the police saying that a "violent anarchist" (which I'm emphatically NOT) is going to have you for breakfast. Because it's a fucking figure of speech.

DAMN, that was therapeutic - beats playing squash ;-).


------


www.thisislondon.co.uk

Protesters to defy Canary Wharf ban
By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent, Evening Standard
14 October 2004
Hardline anti-capitalist protesters were converging on Canary Wharf today to demonstrate against multinational banks.

Direct action group Globalise Resistance, which led London's violent May Day protests, were targeting the tower despite an injunction banning them from the area.

The group wants to highlight what it claims are unfair pay policies where bankers enjoy sixfigure salaries while cleaners earn barely more than the minimum wage.

Globalise Resistance's direct action comes on the eve of the European Social Forum at Alexandra Palace.

Up to 30,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, which will bring together groups lobbying for environmental protection, human rights, public services, peace and fair trade.

Its organisers had hoped the publicly funded event would enhance the reputation of activists as peaceful, reasonable campaigners rather than violent anarchists - and are distancing themselves from the Canary Wharf protest.

For more information about the European Social Forum see: www.fse-esf.org