Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support Us

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Climate Camp - indymedia seems quiet today...?

mini mouse | 13.08.2007 23:12 | Climate Camp 2007 | Climate Chaos | London

An event as big as Climate Camp - you'd expect to see a bit more coverage on indymedia - no?

Sadly indymedia was a casualty of the heavy, illogical and indiscriminate policing operation surrounding Climate Camp, and Sipson village in particular. The satellite truck and its power supply were caught up in a massive and pointless traffic jam.

Linda McCutcheon pleads with police
Linda McCutcheon pleads with police

and eventually gets her prescription filled
and eventually gets her prescription filled

Police control causes jams
Police control causes jams

so campers are forced to carry stuff to site
so campers are forced to carry stuff to site

Local people - even kids turned out to help
Local people - even kids turned out to help

Some people could go where they pleased
Some people could go where they pleased

Even people on bikes got searched
Even people on bikes got searched

and everything had to be carried ont to site by hand
and everything had to be carried ont to site by hand


Sipson Lane - the only road to reach the camp - is blocked at both ends by police. The road has now been designated "one way". The senior officer is unable to state the act or legislation under which this has been done, other than to say "public orders issues are involved".

And it is inconsistent. Some vehicles pass through without interference - witness the Rolls Royce - yet any vehicle that might be deemed to belong to a camper is stopped and searched.

This led to a massive traffic jam around midday. Vans destined for Climate Camp were backed up along Sipson Road awaiting search, local residents fumed with rage as they were unable to go about their business.

Terry McCutcheon was taken ill in the night. With only a single kidney the fact that he was diagnosed as having a urinary infection was very serious. His wife Linda needed to take his prescription to the chemists in Harlington - the other side of Climate Camp.

Only after a lengthy pleading with police - see pictures - was she allowed to drive along the lane to get her husband's drugs.

Meanwhile anyone arriving in a vehicle for Climate Camp was being refused entry. Food and sanitation supplies were halted - everything had to be unloaded at the roadblock and carried or dragged to the site - half a mile away. Families - kids crying at the roadside - were forced to abandon their vehicles and carry their possessions, often in several trips, to the camp.

Local residents came out of their homes offering food and drinks to stranded campers. Some even offered to help transport goods to the camp, including one gutsy ten year old (pictured).

Later in the day some vehicles were permitted to drive to - but not onto - the camp. Indymedia's trucks arrived in this way at around 7pm and a call went out to help unload and carry the tents and equipment onto the camp. Dozens responded, including a team of kids with wheelbarrows shifting the stuff across the site.

Meanwhile "BAA logistics director, Shaun Cowlam, said he was concerned the protest could distract police from counter-terrorism".

So why, local residents ask, are the police harassing their community instead of policing the airport? Why are there road blocks in the villages preventing people reaching a protest camp that the High Court has already deemed to be legal?

Climate Camp "officially" begins tomorrow. Indymedia now has connectivity, and there are plenty of people with contributions to make to the debate.

Watch this space.

mini mouse
- e-mail: mini_mouse@riseup.net

Comments

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
UK
Sat 6th September, Ledbury Carnival Against Vivisection
Sat 20 September, Manchester, Meet 12.30pm at All Saints Park: 'Freedom of Movement' block at demo against Labour Party Conference
27th September, London, Meet at Belgrave Square, 12 noon: National Anti Fur March and Rally
15th October, Brighton, Meet opposite Falmer Station at 12 noon: Smash EDO, Shut ITT - Mass Demo Against the Arms Trade
Ongoing UK
Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Iraq Occupation: Electronic Iraq
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Climate Change: Climate Indymedia
United Kollectives
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Leeds Bradford
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Nottinghamshire
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Scotland
York
IMC Alerts
Support the No Open Cast Squat at Shipley, Derbyshire.
Projects
Indymedia Projects

iMobile Page
Photo Page
Indymedia Cinema
Video Page
Radio Page
Offline Newsheet

Other Media Projects

Schnews
Riseup Radio
Dissident Island Radio
Topics
All Topics
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Unencrypted Page
We suggest you use an encrypted connection for browsing this site.
Please install the CAcert root certificate to verify the authenticity of the site, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa
ambazonia
canarias
estrecho / madiaq
kenya
nigeria
south africa

Canada
hamilton
london, ontario
maritimes
montreal
ontario
ottawa
quebec
thunder bay
vancouver
victoria
windsor
winnipeg

East Asia
burma
jakarta
japan
manila
qc

Europe
abruzzo
alacant
andorra
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
bristol
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
euskal herria
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
lille
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
nice
norway
oost-vlaanderen
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
saint-petersburg
scotland
sverige
switzerland
thessaloniki
torun
toscana
toulouse
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
brasil
chiapas
chile
chile sur
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
adelaide
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
oceania
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india
mumbai

United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
austin
baltimore
big muddy
binghamton
boston
buffalo
charlottesville
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
tennessee
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
armenia
beirut
israel
palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech
volunteer