On the 10th March, London Rising Tide were on hand to meet and greet NGOs and 'socially responsible' investors attending a meeting organised by BP and the 'Tangguh Independent Advisory Panel' (TIAP). The meeting was concerning the Tangguh Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Bintuni Bay, West Papua (Indonesia), a development in which BP has a controlling stake, (and in which British Gas also has a large holding).

Despite Met Police and BP security, London Rising Tide held aloft their banner, which read 'NGOs fuel climate chaos'. Prior to the meeting inside London Rising Tide had distributed and circulated information about the Baku Ceyhan pipeline and about Tangguh to all invitees.

According to an ironic BP report, the development, tapping Asia's largest untapped natural gas fields cites some of the following environmental impacts: Gas emissions including sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, waste from gas drilling including mercury and contaminated activated carbon, placing a higher burden on local ecosystem, interfering with local fishing, shrimping and ecology of the Bay. The local communities remain poorly informed of such enterprises that affect them and their future. Chief NGOs collaborating with BP on Tangguh appeared to be the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International.

Read full report and background
Also see: London Rising Tide | Burning Planet | Report by Down to Earth
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This is the second part of a series of articles on the tenth anniversary of the protests against the construction of the infamous M11 link road that was bulldozed through East London. Following the siege and eviction of Wanstonia, we decided that, for the next part of the campaign, we wouldn't passively wait for the next house demolitions to be carried out by the thugs hired by the Department of Transport. All of us were absolutely determined to stop this iniquitous road scheme from progressing further and we wanted the campaign to be much more proactive. We staged Operation Roadblock as a month long period of continuous direct action against all the destruction caused by the road. This part of the protest resulted in more and more people becoming involved for the first time in direct action campaiging on many other issues besides transport.

Read more on this event and pictures
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On the weekend of March 6/7 the European Assembly of the European Social Forum (ESF) came to London to decide whether the UK proposal to hold the ESF in London this year would be accepted. Late on Saturday afternoon, after difficult and at times heated debate it was agreed that it would be.

The accepted bid is for a forum on October 15-17, centred at Alexandra Palace, with fees around £30/40 for unwaged/waged (£10 cheaper if pre-paid), accommodating 20-40,000 people without using "spillover areas" (more). This contrasts with Paris where the average fee was around 10 euros and 52,000 people attended - but the Paris organisers were given millions of euros from the government. Read more >>

Update Fri 5th March: A new Social Centre has been squatted in 156 Fortess Rd in Kentish Town! Read report and list of events.

Update Thurs 26: People in and around the building are still determined to resist the eviction. [Report | Short video of picket]. Meanwhile, events at the Occupied Social Centre will continue as normal in resistance to the threat of eviction.

Update Wed 25th: The Occupied Social Centre still needs people urgently, as it is thought the police will be round sometime between now and the weekend. Supporters of the Centre state: "we intend to continue our resistance to the eviction".

On the 6th of January this year, after 6 months of neglect, 93 Fortess Road was occupied. The aim of the people involved was to set up a social centre, a free space for people in the local community to use as a resource and to create a place where people can come together and get creative. A place which is free, fun and accessible to everyone.

On Wednesday January 21st, the Social Centre was taken to court by the building’s owners - Mark Oliver Homes - property developers, who plan to demolish the building and turn it into commercial space and luxury flats. Following the court hearing, an eviction date was set for Tuesday 24th February. Early in the morning police and bailiffs arrived to Fortess Rd, but around 70 supporters of the Social Centre gathered o defend the space. With people occupying the rooftop, new defences having been constructed overnight (both inside and outside), supporters out on the streets and people inside ready to lock-on, it seems the eviction has been stalled, at least temporarily. It is not certain what will happen in the next few days, but what it seems clear now is that any eviction would require specialist bailiffs to remove people from the roof, cut others out of lock-ons and deal with the extensive barricade defences inside.

[Photos 24/02 | Fortess Rd Background | UK Social Centres | WOMBLES]

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JUDGEMENT: VICTORY ON ILLEGAL DETENTION

Today the court gave a landmark ruling that the police had unlawfully breached the Human Rights of anti-war protesters who were detained and prevented from attending a protest at RAF Fairford last March. The court firmly ruled the detention and forced return to London could not be justified and The right not to be arbitrarily detained (article 5 of Human rights convention) had been breached.

Giving judgment, Lord Justice May commented "For practical purposes none of the articles seized were to be regarded as offensive. Two pairs of scissors would not make much of an impression on the fences of the Air base.

However the court went on to rule that the police were acting lawfully in turning the protesters away from the demonstration, a conclusion Mr Halford (solicitor from Bindmans and Partners) described as inconsistent and unsatisfactory. He said:

"It can not be right for police to stifle protest by preventing attendance at a demonstration, simply on the grounds that some who might attend might cause trouble. That would allow the police to prevent any - and in fact every - demonstration taking place."

Leave for appeal has been granted to both sides.

Read Full Judicial Review Case Judgement Text:
Laporte, R v Gloucestershire Constabulary & Ors [2004] EWHC 253
Press Release text from Bindman and Partners
Pictures Outside Court | Video (14Mb .wmv) | Corporate Media Coverage

Previous Reports from Judicial Review Hearing:
Court Report (15/1) | Video of Protest Outside Royal Courts (15/1) | Comments | Corporate Media Reports (15/1)
See Press Release (15/1)
Fairford Coach Campaign Website | Archive Indymedia Coverage | Archive Video Report
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Ten years ago hundreds of anti-road protesters were evicted from a row of houses in Wanstead by an army of 600 police, security guards and bailiffs. The houses were flattened to make way for the infamous M11 link road through East London. This and many of the following protests were to define the way for increasingly diverse direct action for years to come.

Read more on this event and pictures
Download [video] of Wanstead Eviction (MPEG 2.8M 1 Min 11 Secs)
See also Road Alert post (flyers, links to M11 gallery and video)

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On Friday, February 13th, almost 8 months since their initial imprisonment, 13 people arrested during protests at the EU summit in Thessaloniki last June have had all charges dropped. 8 of the remaining cases are still under investagative review by the Greek Judiciary whilst the remaining 6 have had their charges dropped to misdemeanours. A final decision on whether to pursue allegations could come as early as next week. This is an enormous victory in the campaign against state repression waged by the Greek state against anti-capitalist protestors - although it must be remembered that the battle is not over yet.

Comprehensive coverage of the Thessaloniki Support Campaign can be found on the UK Indymedia site; Athens and Thessaloniki Indymedia sites both carry breaking news regarding the Thessaloniki 7 and the other accused.

[Castellano][Deutsch]

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Anti-monarchy protesters were celebrating recently after winning £80,500 in damages from the Metropolitan Police, over their unlawful arrest and false imprisonment on June 4th 2002 - the Queens Golden Jubilee. 23 people sued the Metropolitan Police, who settled out of court, and sent each of them a letter of apology.

The protesters were arrested after their demonstration when up to 40 Police officers entered a pub they were drinking in and surrounded them. Police commandeered a number 11 double decker bus after flagging it down, then turned it into a prison on wheels, dropping off the protesters throughout the day at five different police stations. No charges were ever brought against those arrested, and the individuals were released several hours later as the jubilee celebrations were drawing to a close. The arrests were apparently "intelligence led" - an arrest report from one constable reads that he was briefed that "all answers" (the protesters might give to questions) "are to be disbelieved".

A statement issued by the group of protesters reads: "This award, apology and acceptance of liability demonstrate that the police now accept no offences were committed, nor were likely to be. We remain convinced that these tactics were employed, planned and coordinated in advance and at a very senior level, in order to remove any dissent against the monarchy or the jubilee day celebrations themselves."

Press Release / Report | Original Indymedia Reports from Jubilee 2002 | Movement Against the Monarchy

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The Peace Not War Festival, starting 12 Feb, is four nights of live music, Speakers, film, photography, and art at the Hackney Ocean. It celebrates the anniversary of the mass demonstrations against the war on 15 Feb 2003.

An audiostream was planned but didn't happen see here

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In London, the Greek goddess Venus joined protests against the commercialisation of valentines day. She invited everybody for a group hug by the statue of Eros on Trafalgar Square. Eros was adorned with red heart balloons, people made their own valentine cards, the rhythms of resistance samba band entertained the crowds [video]. One of the guests says: "Some cops refused to take part in the hug and tried to spoil things a little, but even they were beaten back by the power of love."

San Francisco celebrated under the Slogan "Reclaim the Streets and Desires" with a big Street Party. The party was in full swing with a full-on sound system, a pirate marching band, street theater, couches, mattresses, paint splattered on GAP, and an impromptu soccer game in the middle of the street.

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On 31 Jan 2004, the first European day of Migrant Struggles took place simultaneously across Fortress Europe in 11 countries and 49 cities, see the noborder web site and the round-up on the global indymedia site for an overview of the actions, and click here for a round up of actions in Europe.

At Lindholme Detention Centre, near Doncaster, there was a noise demo: timeline | photos | videos.

In London, there was a No Borders Protest at Waterloo Station and on Friday a Anti-Daily Mail Demo at which there was a counter, pro-hatred, BNP demo. In the evening there was a post demo party at Kentish Town Social Center.

A short video of the waterloo station action and the adbusting actions of the previous nights has been produced. Note how happy the eurostar staff were to collect up our leaflets in order to deny others access to it.

10min, 170mb~, smaller versions will follow: ftp://italy.indymedia.org/imc_italia/video/310104high.avi
Requires divx codec: linux | mac | windows

At Campsfield there was a small protest as part of the 10 in the UK. In Manchester there was a poor turn out.

In Athens 3,000 people marched on an anti-racist demo.

Reports of actions from Indymedia Centres across Europe: Austria | Barcelona (Photos) | Brussels (Photos: 1 | 2) | Belgrade | Estrecho / Madiaq | Istanbul | Russia

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Friday 16th Jan: A Judicial Review at the High Court yesterday began proceedings considering the lawfulness of the police actions last March when around 150 anti-war campaigners were 'coachnapped' - stopped and searched for almost two hours on their way to demonstration at RAF Fairford, then forcibly returned to London under police escort (pics). As the protestors put signs in the coach windows saying "Help We've Been Kidnapped" "Call the Media" and "Denied The Right To Protest The War", the police closed the motorway behind the coaches while police motorcycle outriders blocked motorway exits (see old report).

The campaigners claimed the police overstepped their powers and furthermore that they breached articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, guaranteeing freedom from arbitrary detention, the freedom of speech and assembly, and respect for physical and psychological integrity.

Police statements revealed that at 10.45am an order was issued by Chief Superintendent Lambert to stop and search the coaches including instructions for the coaches to be turned around and escorted non-stop back to London if any 'dangerous items' or items likely to be used to conceal identity were found. It is this order that will now be scrutinised. Michael Fordham acting on behalf of the protestors said the police were within their powers to seize certain items, and that they even possibly had the right to detain certain individuals under public order and common laws, but they overstepped the law and infringed both common law and human rights law, by the blanket nature of their action (despite intelligence notes showing that the police were aware that the coach passengers were made up of individuals and members of various groups) and the way evidence was used in an attempt to justify this.

The case continues today at the High Court and a decision is expected from Lord Justice May and Mr Justice Harrisonin in around three weeks time.

Court Report (15/1) | Video of Protest Outside Royal Courts | Comments | Corporate Media Reports
See Press Release | Campaign Website | Archive Indymedia Coverage | Archive Video Report
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An Indymedia London convergence took place on Jan 30 and 31 at the Limehouse town hall. The event included a exchange on the World Summit of the Information Society, and a full day of discussions, exchange of ideas, information, visions, and plans for a future Indymedia London [Read invitation]
Read 1st Notes from the Meetings

For more details, contact us on the publicly archived email list imc-london@lists.indymedia.org.

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Anna Scher first opened her theatre school in Islington 35 years ago. Since then, she has had a profound effect on the lives of thousands, with many going on to stage or TV stardom. However, in 2000 she became unwell and was subsequently removed from the board of directors.

Now that she is better, efforts have been made to block her return to the theatre and, currently, she requires permission to even teach! A campaign has been started in support of Anna Scher and a protest was held on Saturday, 20th December.

Background | Support from the stars and others | Protest call

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As we approach the Christmas period, London Transport Police are gearing up to “keep London safe for Christmas" (words of a police officer outside Victoria Station). They are reportedly achieving this by implementing immigration sweep and deportations, outside of tube station.

Original Report | Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers | National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns

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The Thessaloniki seven have been released on nov 26. They are not allowed to leave the country until their trial comes up. Here are a health report and some pics taken after their release. More in the Imc Uk feature.

Latest reports | Free Simon Chapman campaign

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Massive demonstrations have taken place in and around Trafalgar Square in London. A 17 feet-high statue of George Bush was toppled to huge cheers from the crowd at 17:22 GMT [ Video]. Estimates of today's attendance range from AP syndicating around the world the number of 50,000 (later amended), over the Metropolitan Police's official estimate of 70,000 (later updated to 110,000) to the Stop the War Coalition ever increasing estimate of up to 300,000 (a number to which Indymedia reporters on the scene agree). Whatever the numbers, today's event looks to be the biggest weekday demonstration of recent years.

Update: Indymedia UK received over a million hits on Thursday (1,119,801 to be exact) - not bad for a website run by DIY collectives all over the UK. We would like to emphasize that Indymedia exists by non-hierarchical organization and has no other resources than the commitment of people donating their time and talent.

To kick the day off activists unfurled a banner reading "Bush Free Zone" from Admiralty Arch, see report and press release and pictures. To read up on the events as they unfolded check the Full Timeline of the events in London.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | gallery
Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Video: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Across The UK
Aberdeen: Demonstration against Bush.
Barnsley: another Bush statue toppling.
Sedgefield: Several bonfires were lit up as a preparation for today's demos in Sedgefield.
Sheffield: anti-Bush demo outside the Town Hall, followed by a sitdown protest at Furnival Gate roundabout.
Swindon: Bush statue toppling in Swindon.

List of messages of support
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
See also corporate media reports
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Wednesday was billed as a day of civil disobedience and direct action throughout the country. In London, amidst the massive security operation, people took to the streets with events and actions. The protests started early in the morning with the delivery of a Tarte au Citron to the Queen, courtesy of the Biotic Baking Brigade. Then actions kicked off throughout the day with a Critical Mass, an Alternative State Procession, Street Parties, a Women's Peace Picnic and other actions Across The UK - culminating in 2000 protesters dancing in front of Buckingham Palace on a Resist Bush Tea Party. Police proved to be still overreacting when policing during a head of state visit: When Jiang Zemin was around they turned placards of protesters away - with Bush they confiscated a small sound system singing anti-Bush songs.

Multimedia

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
Video: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Across The UK

London: reports including the full London timeline with it's sections on the resist Bush teaparty, Critical Mass, alternative state procession, school students, street parties and the O.I.L women's peace picnic.
Aberdeen: About 80-100 people demonstrated against the Bush visit to the UK in St Nicholas Square at lunch time.
Bradford: Bradford saw a notable amount of Anti-Bush protest including a rally and the handing of a petition calling for the arrest of Tony Blair on war crimes charges to the police.
Cardiff: The whole city centre brought to a standstill.
Cambridge: 100 people demonstrated toppling the statues of Bush and Blair in the Market Square. No arrests were reported. Indymedia reports from people in the US were read out to the crowd.
Canterbury: About 100-200 people gathered outside the library at 6pm, after several chants lead by Mac someone produced a guitar and an African drum and started a song "We're going to war. Pay your taxes".
Edinburgh: A very peaceful, determined demo took place in the day followed by an evening protest that broke through police lines near the US Consulate. Pictures
Glasgow: In Glasgow reports estimate over 1,000 demonstrators gathered in George Square then took to the surrounding streets. Shawlands Academy pupils were among the striking school students involved.
Kent: A small but enthusiastic group from Ashford peace group,East Kent Greens and supporters from Folkestone etc gathered near Ashford Intl Rail station to demo against Bush with several colourful banners (some made by 10 year olds!) and whistles.
Nottingham: 'No-Bush' demo in Nottingham in Market Square.
Oxford: Around 1500 people turned out, protestors left Brookes University at 5.00pm to march to the city centre on reaching The Plain they found a large, enthusiastic and noisy group of friends, some dancing to the sounds of Oxford's new Radical Samba Band. People then marched enthusiastically up to Carfax where another group was waiting to topple the papier-mache effigy of George 'I-stole-the-presidency' Bush. A die-in and a staged wedding between Bush and Blair also took place during the afternoon. Oxford IMC Feature
Liverpool: 200 stand up scousers stopped the traffic outside Liverpool Town Hall for an hour.
Molesworth: A short vigil was held at the Joint Analysis Centre Molesworth to protest at George Bush’ UK visit.
Swindon: Shoppers and workers in Swindon town centre this lunchtime were slightly bemused to find George W Bush explaining his plans for global domination via a megaphone.
York: 300 people marched through York in the rain to protest about the visit of killer Bush. A statue of Bush, cash in hand, with Blair aside, was toppled.

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As Bush was flying in to London protests were already underway. Over one thousand people marched on the US embassy (via the offices of ExxonMobil) in the Burning Planet March Against Bush. Focussing on climate change the march was noisy and bright and gained support from many passing by. Outside the US Embassy speakers including former Environment minister Michael Meacher, Tony Juniper (Director, Friends of the Earth) Stephen Tindale (Director, Greenpeace)and others all lined up to denounce the destructive policies of the Bush administration and its corporate sponsors.
See [report] [report + pics] - Pictures [ 1] [2] [3]

Meanwhile in Brixton yet another statue of George Bush was being toppled by campaigners, this time complete with mock trial where he was found guilty of a number of charges - see report and pics [ 1] [2].

Earlier in the day another naked protest against Bush took place at the Tate spelling out the words 'Bush Go Home', while students at University College London have occupied part of the university. The London School of Economics Student Union also voted to support the next three days of protests.
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After discussions late this afternoon The Metropolitan Police and the Stop the War Coalition have agreed the march route for Thursday that allows the march over Westminster Bridge, past Parliament and along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, as expected after speculation in the press over the weekend (see also corporate media coverage).

Meanwhile last minute preparations are underway for the multitude of demonstrations and actions planned against Bush. Not just restricted to anti-war issues, the protests also deal with issues from GM to Climate Change to Globalisation (see reasons to protest). Wednesday 19th has been called as a day for civil disobedience and direct action. In London, amidst the massive security operation, wednesday will see people taking to the streets with events and actions running throughout the day including an alternative state procession, a critical mass, a street party, school walkouts, the Resist Bush Tea Party mass direct action and many more smaller actions (see London Listing + ResistBush.org). On Tuesday, the day Bush arrives, the Burning Planet climate protest will march via the ExxonMobil ("Esso") offices in Aldwych, through central London to the US Embassy.

More reports on Monday, Sunday and Saturdays actions follow.

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