AUCPB UK CLASS STRUGGLE 28 APRIL

April 23 - London

Trafalgar square occupation against cuts 4th week
The peaceful 'occupation against the cuts' established its camp in Trafalgar square for the fourth week running on saturday 23rd April and. the 24 hour protest will camped overnight and run workshops and awareness-raising exercises during the next day

As per last week, Trafalgar square was being used for an event (this week it was a St George's day celebration), and so the occupation began on the grass in front of the national gallery. there they set up their marquee and ground sheets and held a picnic while waiting for the square to clear.
Later, they pitched tents in the square.
This is the fourth week that the occupation has taken place. it was originally called a week after Trafalgar square was cleared by an enormous and unnecessarily violent police kettling operation after the TUC march and other anti-cuts protests on the 26th march.
They announced their occupation would be entirely lawful and non-violent and effectively dared the police to attack them once more.
Although filmed by 'heritage wardens' and watched by police (both overtly and covertly), they stayed the full 24 hours, and outreached with large numbers of passers-by who also participated in workshops run by the really free school.
When i visited last week (their third occupation), their numbers had increased, and they were also joined by the beginnings of a homeless rights project. they had spread out large sheets of blank paper, forming the slogan 'no cuts', and on the paper they invited people to write how the cuts had affected them. By the end of the occupation last sunday, the sheets were completely covered with moving descriptions of misfortune, misery and deprivation written by members of the public over the previous 24 hours.
The occupation is open to all as long as their intention is non-violent and respectful. Supporters should also bring food and non-alcoholic drink to share.
Contact email: rikkiindymedia(At)gmail[dot]com
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Additions

eviction update

Published: April 23, 2011 23:35 by rikki
00:30 sunday 24th april
After the camp successfully moved into the square earlier this evening, a dozen police have just turned up and are threatening forced eviction.
The occupiers are meeting trying to negotiate and meeting to discuss what they want to do.
If anyone is reading this now, peaceful support is welcome.

6am update - compromise and threats

Published: April 24, 2011 05:02 by rikki
After the police visit at 00.30, the occupiers decided to offer a compromise and take down their tents but remain in the square.
This seemed to work, and the police backed off, but after a few hours, tiredness set in, and a decision was reached to attempt shelter once more.
The wardens again filmed the protestors and alerted the police.
Over the last hour there have been various conversations with police, and so far there has been a tents stand-off, with some crazy remarks made by individual coppers.
- a radical media activist was threatened with arrest for taking "personal photos" of an officer. the threat was not carried through.
- one has said they are waiting for riot police to turn up to aid a mass arrest.
- another claimed that if arrested, because of the bank holiday, the campers would be held in detention until tuesday. (but surely holding someone for 48 hours over bye-law infringement might be seen as a sue-ably disproportionate response).
whatever unfolds, the police are certainly keeping the occupiers awake with their presence and threats, but all remains peaceful for now.
http://london.indymedia.org/articles/8837

21 April – Bristol – Stokes Croft
The Battle of Stokes Croft

Around 10pm on Thursday 21st April, people from Stokes Croft and St Pauls in Bristol, reacting to blatant provocation, started attacking riot police gathered from three different forces with glass bottles. What ensued was seven hours of constant clashes; police charges, volleys of glass, brick and concrete, burning barricades and the trashing of a much-loathed Tesco recently forced on a community who for so long battled to stop it opening.

Just before 9pm, police had forcibly removed a small protest from outside the Tesco, which had been there since the store opened a week earlier and set up a cordon closing that stretch of the road. Their stated aim was to enter the squatted ‘Telepathic Heights’, an iconic, graffiti covered building opposite Tesco. They claimed to be acting on intelligence that suggested some occupants where planning to make petrol bombs with which to attack Tesco. Even if this intelligence was accurate, the numbers of police was far disproportionate to the half a dozen occupants of the squat.

The blocking of road by the police and the news that Telepathic Heights was threatened and that the Tesco protest had been forcibly broken up meant it wasn’t long before a substantial crowd had gathered. The crowd became more and more angry as police refused to give justification for their presence, pushing or hitting anyone who got close to their lines. The increased tension of recent months, which has built up as austerity measures begin to kick in and the community of Stokes Croft and St Pauls feel ever more ignored and marginalised, had found a focal point and personification in the belligerence of the police. All it took was for someone to tip over a glass recycling bin.

After the initial barrage of bottles, a retreat into St Pauls. As people came out their doors to see police marching through their streets, many joined in defending against the police. A routine of the police charging then retreating under a hail of bottles and bricks started to develop. Bins were set on fire and charged into police lines, others were used to form makeshift barricades. Around 1pm police retreated back to Stoke Croft and soon found themselves and their vans surrounded. The vans were prevented from moving off as others pelted them from a side street. Eventually the police broke out and sped away in the vans out of sight further up the road.

Celebrations broke out as the crowd realised they had the streets. Calls of “Smash Tesco!” rang out. Tesco windows and an abandoned police vehicle were smashed and a police trailer full of riot equipment was looted. Police then returned to the area. More clashes as police forced people back into St Pauls and down Stokes Croft before finding themselves again outmanoeuvred and at which point they again retreated. This time Tesco’s windows went all the way through as well as the shutters behind. When the police came back, their vans sped straight into the crowd. At least one person was caught behind police lines, unable to get out of Tesco in time and took a frenzied beating whilst on the floor. Someone else was run over, sustaining an injury to his foot and others hit by vans. Next time it was made sure vans would not be able to manoeuvre in this way as a skip was dragged into the road. Tesco was entered a second time and objects being lunched from rooftops made it increasingly difficult for the police.

A number of injuries were sustained and nine arrests made including four of the occupants of Telepathic Heights. Police report that eight of their number were hospitalised.

One local resident noted the police had “thrown a quarter century of semi-decent community policing down the drain” another saying “If they [the police] don’t calm down, things are getting tense enough on a range of other issues for a new pattern to develop of poor community relations and repeat rioting against a police force which has chosen political sides”.

The police provoked this. Turning up in this area of Bristol with such numbers, attacking Telepathic Heights and blatantly using public money to defend the interests of a corporate giant such as Tesco was always going to get a reaction.


More on this:

Cop vehicles and Tescos smashed in Bristol (Stokescroft) riot last night.
Just a brief couple of pieces from the mainstream (ish) press and the police themselves.

Very interesting article on last nights riot in Bristol.



The videos on the above website show both show Tescos being smashed up and police cars being attacked.

As the (informative) comments accompanying this article show this is just a few minutes in over 3 hours of running battles through Stokes croft, St Paul's and Montpelier. As hundreds were involved I suspect that we will build a fuller picture of what happened over time.

And here is a copy of the police statement. Which seems to mention 12 arrests so far.


FROM AVON AND SOMERSET POLICE WEBSITE

Police say that actions taken during their robust operation in Bristol city centre overnight were fully justified.

Protestors took to the streets after police carried out an operation to arrest four offenders who represented "a very real threat to the local community" from a property in Cheltenham Road, Stokes Croft.

Officers also seized a number of items following the arrest – including petrol bombs – which are currently being forensically examined.

Acting on intelligence provided during the day, officers rolled out well-rehearsed plans at 9.15pm last night, closing Cheltenham Road before forcing entry into the building.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences and another person on suspicion of threats to cause criminal damage with intent to endanger life.

Following the operation, which was completed swiftly and effectively, groups of protestors began to gather in Cheltenham Road and surrounding streets in the Stokes Croft area and refused to disperse when asked by police officers.

As minor fires were started and bottles, bricks and other objects were hurled at police, additional officers were bought in to assist their colleagues.

Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said:" Residents have called us to several incidents in the property over the past few days. Yesterday there was a very real threat to the local community from the petrol bombs that were being made and we needed to take positive action.

"The safety of the public is paramount in any situation of this kind and we took the decision to carry out a swift arrest operation, following intelligence received about the criminal intentions of those who were occupying the building,"

"The fact that we seized petrol bombs illustrates the seriousness of this situation and the reason why we took this positive action.

"When 300 people congregated and a small minority from that group started small fires and throwing bottles, stones and other items at officers, we used well-rehearsed plans, which involved the use of officers from neighbouring forces to control what had become a volatile situation," said ACC Hansen.

Minor incidents continued until about 4am when the groups finally dispersed.

During the operation police made eight arrests.

Eight police officers and a number of protestors were injured and required hospital treatment. None of the injuries are believed to be serious.

Around 160 officers were involved in the high-profile operation, which included 66 officers drafted in from neighbouring forces.

****end***

Despite their joint operations with South Wales police being well-rehearsed they obviously didn't do spell checker rehearsal A&S constabulary. ( its protestErs not protestOrs)
Brizzle Rising
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/04/477953.html

Youtube
Stokes Croft, Bristol Riots: 21st - 22nd April 2011

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Activists keep up school sit-in
Sunday 24 April 201
Climate activists continued to occupy the grounds of a disused school in Lewes, East Sussex, tonight.
Around 40 protesters from the group Brighton Climate Action entered the grounds early on Friday morning, local media reported.
The group has vowed to undertake a week of training and "direct action" against companies accused of environmental damage.
A list of potential targets released by the group includes Gatwick airport, Hastings bypass and the Newhaven incinerator. High street shops accused of tax avoidance were also named as targets.
An exploratory oil drilling site in an area of ancient woodland on the South Downs will be targeted for sabotage, protesters said.
Workshops in protest techniques will be given by members of UK Uncut, which campaigns against corporate tax avoidance and Climate Rush, the environmental protest group.
After the camp, activists plan to occupy the building of the former special needs school permanently and establish allotments in the grounds.
Ian Ratcliffe, a landscape gardener from Brighton, said the group had declared squatters' rights over the site.
"The timing is perfect. Evicting us legally is going to be quite difficult as between the two bank holidays they only have three days next week to do the bureaucracy," he said.
A Sussex Police spokesman said officers visited the site at the request of East Sussex County Council last night. He said the camp was peaceful and no arrests were made.
A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said: "Our property and legal staff are monitoring the situation and we are working closely with Sussex Police. We hope that this situation can be resolved without having to take legal action through the courts."

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