Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

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

London: Protest against G8 Evian Police Brutality, 23 june 2003

allsorts | 23.06.2003 17:31

As part of an international day of action against Swiss Embassies and Consulates around the world, a small (but perfectly formed) group of mixed pink and silver and black paid a visit to the Swiss Embassy in London this morning, Monday 23rd June 2003. We went there to voice our outrage at the political repression and police brutality during the recent G8 meeting in Evian.

ACTION

Two of the group managed to push past the already alerted but unsure security guards and through two doors to get into the main reception area where they made themselves comfortable and demanded to see the consul general.

He duly came down and for the next half an hour we complained and discussed and presented our demands and asked questions some more and disagreed a lot, and eventually handed over our letter.

After reading it carefully the Consul General Mr Ulrich Huhn promised to fax it over to the big Swiss bosses today and to write a response (at some point god knows when). We then called Martin at Hospital in Switzerland and put him on the phone to the Mr Huhn to chat. All very Swiss and British and civilised I guess but we were glad to have been able to have personalised it for him even if only a little.

Meanwhile, outside the building, the more colourful elements of the protest were talking to, and leafleting, both staff and passers by. They were also sending numerous messages on colourful placards to all [see photos to be added later] including Martin and Guy, and all in Barcelona (for their amazing solidarity actions there in the past weeks), the Argentinean Autonomistas and the Zapatistas and the Palestinians, as well as questioning Swiss neutrality etc.
Our banner read: "We demand the right to protest: without police brutality"

Once we finished at the embassy we went down to the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square that houses the Swiss Tourism Office. Once inside we spent time leafleting and chatting to staff, warning would be tourists there about the safety of Switzerland and checking out their offices and desks a little as well. After asking them to send their complaints about our unexpected and unwelcome visit to the Swiss Government and letting them know to expect regular visits until our demands are met - we left with more ideas as to how to be more effective next time.

CONTACTS

Read a copy of the letter presented to the Swiss Federal Government, and the Cantonal Seats of Vaud and Geneva.

More info and to arrange comment or interviews from Martin Shaw, call 00 41 (0) 787413116, or email  groupe.aubonne@lobbyist.com

More info and comment from independent journalist Guy Smallman, contact 0044 (0) 2077357055

Exclusive and unexclusive pictures and video available. These include pictures from Aubonne Bridge climbing action, Guy Smallman's shooting, and pictures of their injuries... contact  groupe.aubonne@lobbyist.com or call 0041 (0) 787413116

allsorts

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

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

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
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
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