[g8-sheffield] DRAFT account Carnival Full Enjoyment - feedback please! (Mike)

@mp amparo2yo at telefonica.net
Fri Jul 15 13:57:41 BST 2005




Today's Topics:

    1. DRAFT account Carnival Full Enjoyment - feedback	please! (Mike)


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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 12:09:04 +0100
From: "Mike" <mike77 at macunlimited.net>
Subject: [Resistg8-wgaw] DRAFT account Carnival Full Enjoyment -
	feedback	please!
To: <edinburghclaimantsinternal at lists.riseup.net>
Cc: reshape at lists.riseup.net, edinburgh-chiapas
	<edinchiapas at yahoo.co.uk>,	Edinburgh IWW <edinburghiww at yahoo.co.uk>,
	resistg8-wgaw at lists.aktivix.org,	ACEcollLIST
	<ace-collective at lists.mutualaid.org>
Message-ID: <000601c5892d$c1b3d910$5bb82f50 at liz>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

NOTES

Here is a draft for an account of the carnival for full enjoyment, by 
the carnival for full enjoyment.



It still needs quite a lot of work, but unless there are objections I 
would propose publishing it more or less in this form, as an account of 
the carnival by the carnival.  So if there is something you are not 
happy about please say asap.  I propose we aim to put this out by 
tomorrow Saturday early evening.



IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ANY FACTS/ PERSONAL ACCOUNTS TO ADD 
PLEASE SEND THEM IN, TO ME AND TO THE WGAW LIST.  TO BE HONEST THERE 
HASN'T BEEN MUCH FEEDBACK SO FAR, AND THE MORE INPUT THERE IS THE BETTER 
IT WILL BE.  EVEN IF YOU ONLY HAVE A WEE BIT OF INFO ON ONE PARTICULAR 
PART OF THE DAY, IT IS WELL WORTH SENDING IT IN.



ALSO PLEASE SAY IF YOU THINK IT IS BASICALLY OK TO GO OUT IN THIS FORM, 
AS AN ACCOUNT OF THE CARNIVAL BY THE CARNIVAL, OR IF THERE IS 
SOMETHINg(S) YOU FEEL DEFINITELY NEEDS CHANGED.



I know it would be better if we took longer, but on many of the 
websites, such as dissent and indy Scotland, we can update it, and the 
longer we leave publishing it the fewer people are going to see it, as 
the G8 recedes into history and people stop checking the sites.



As you can see the article is a mixture of personal accounts and a third 
person report.  I have included quotes from the evening news and from 
people we may not necessarily agree with (eg SSP and someone with a more 
pacifist viewpoint), it is arguable we should not do that, however I 
felt that these quotes backed up our account of the day, and I think it 
is useful to show that our version of events is not only held by 
"anarchists".



I think there may be an imbalance in the amount of space given to 
different aspects and parts of the day, any views on that, and 
suggestions for amendments, v welcome.



There are some sections not yet written, details at end, if anyone can 
do any of them that would be great, please let me know so we do not 
duplicate work.



Also there are points in the narrative where we are lacking info, 
INDICATED BY CAPITALS, if you have info please send it in.



If you would like to write a paragraph with a quote on your feelings/ 
thoughts about the day, then that would be great, I thought we could put 
in various of these as kinda "call-outs" interspersed throughout the text.



Also, I thought that it would be good to include some quotes from the 
leaflet, flyer and press releases, interspersed throughout the text in 
the same way, that would help get the message across of what the day was 
about, if someone could sort that out, by extracting maybe 4-7 quotes, 
it would be great.



There may well be something important I have just missed out entirely, 
if you think that then please do write a draft of such a section, or 
suggest it be written.



If anyone has time it may be worth checking out indy uk etc for more 
reports, i have looked at much of it but not all by any means.



Cheers mike



---------------------------











Carnival takes over Edinburgh city centre





     * http://www.nodeal.org.uk

     * http://www.edinburghclaimants.org







The Carnival for Full Enjoyment took over the streets of central 
Edinburgh on 4th July. Despite a level of police violence rarely seen at 
demonstrations in Scotland Princes Street  - the capitals main street - 
was occupied and closed for the whole afternoon and till late in the 
evening. A significant number of locals were involved along with 
internationals.



"Despite heavy-handed police action, the day was an impressive show of 
what people can do to take back the streets."



The aim of the day was to encourage resistance to wage slavery, benefits 
slavery, debt slavery and army slavery (links to each section leaflet)

ADD BIT MORE ABOUT AIMS OF DAY



BUSINESSES SHUT DOWN

A victory was gained from the start as many businesses shut for the 
whole day, hopefully winning their workers a paid holiday, something 
much needed as UK workers toil for some of the longest hours in Europe. 
  More businesses closed in the course of the day, including many shops 
and pubs, such as Boots, Next, Gap and Ann Summers, as the police 
advised every business in the city centre to close their doors.



The A4E offices in Rutland Square - where unemployed people are forced 
to undergo compulsory courses - closed for the whole week, but are 
reportedly still forcing their slaves to do that week later.  HM Love 
sheriff officers on Heriot Row - debt collectors - were closed on the 
day, after stating earlier that they did not close for the local holiday.



Many posh shops in Multrees Walk by the St Andrews Square bus station 
announced in advance they would close for the day, due to the carnival. 
The chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said the G8 had 
had a "devastating" impact on retailers. "It was worse than we had 
expected", he said. (Ed Eve news 8.7.05)



I am pretty sure i read a report that most if not all city centre 
branches of the royal bank of scotland closed, but not got that to hand.

ANY INFO ON THIS ????

ANY MORE INFO ON PLACES SHUT ON DAY???  EG THE ARMY RECRUITMENT OFFICE?



POLIS TAKE EARLY LEAD



The day started badly with police trapping people and penning them in 
Canning Street, a side street near the west end. About 200 protesters 
were corralled outside Exchange Tower, where police in a line three deep 
blocked both entrance and exit.  A three-hour standoff ensued. The Pink 
and Silver Samba Band played and kept the crowd's spirits up, while 
other protesters, wearing fluorescent wigs and brightly coloured 
clothing, danced and whistled wildly in front of the police.



Efforts were made to breach the police line but were unsuccessful. 
Before they were allowed to go on their way, every person was forced to 
give their name and address into a video camera before being searched. 
The police were adamant that anyone refusing to remove their masks would 
be arrested immediately.



The protesters finally left the police with a rendition of Gloria 
Gaynor's I Will Survive.



The Evening News reported that Martin Currie, the financial fund 
managers firm, had three bricks thrown through the windows of its 
Canning Street offices.





---------------------------

" I am here today because I am against oppression, hierarchy and money."



CARNIVALISTAS FIGHT BACK - POLIS ON DEFENSIVE



Despite the early set-back at the West End, around  1pm other people 
managed to come together at the west end of Princes Street, sweep past a 
weak police line and march together eastwards half way along Princes Street.



Here they almost met the Infernal Noise Brigade contingent, who had 
defied police corralling and made it westwards along the main street of 
Edinburgh?s capital, only to be once more surrounded by police.

NEED MORE DETAILS ON THE INFERNAL GROUP'S ACTIVITY



Due to police corralling tactics, it didn't prove possible to unite the 
two groups, after some time the Infernal contingent having to once more 
head off eastwards. Shortly after this the group which had driven east 
from the west end made a big push to get through the police lines. This 
almost succeeded, but as both demonstrators and police tumbled to the 
ground, the police line just held.



Some time after these demonstrators changed direction, heading 
unhindered back west up Princes Street, a FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT banner to 
the fore with chants such as NO BORDERS NO NATIONS STOP THE 
DEPORTATIONS. Turning south into Charlotte Square a stand off with 
police, including mounted police, ensued.



The Evening News reports that "Around 1:35pm in Charlotte Square, the 
cry went up from a squad of English police officers: "Batons up. Prepare 
to charge." The police then broke into a short jog before shouting in 
unison: "CHARGE!"  The protesters pulled back. As the police line was 
bolstered by mounted officers, behind whom stood a third line of police 
in riot gear,.. one young woman in a clown's costume went along the line 
of riot police kissing each officer's shield."



However it was a giant cardboard cat that proved a secret weapon for the 
Carnival. One protester, kitted out with the costume, moved closer to 
the mounted police, causing the horses to grow jittery and difficult to 
control.



After some time the majority of demonstrators in this area re-grouped, 
several hundred strong, and headed east away from Charlotte Square along 
George Street and then south into Princes Street. The police presence at 
this point was weak and the demonstrators had control of the streets, 
right in the centre of Princes Street.  Two magic carpets were prominent 
- these are like a banner, but actual carpets with handles attachted, 
carried by 3-4 people and excellent for either pushing through police 
lines or for defensive use to block a police attack. They were adorned 
with the slogans ???????????????????? HAS ANYONE GOT THIS INFO? This was 
perhaps around 3pm.



"This to me was the most inspiring period of the day. Totally unhindered 
by police we took over the whole width of Princes Street. Two magic 
carpets and the Freedom of Movement banner moved in unison down the 
street.  Chants of "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" and "Whose World? Our 
World!" rang out, along with anti capitalist slogans in Italian.



As we burst into a run, heading east, a group of police in front of us 
turned and ran like rabbits. Actually they were in no danger, the 
running was a playful expression of our joy in taking over the city centre.



Now however things turned nasty as police drew their batons and started 
attacking demonstrators. At this point I took a nasty blow to the hand 
from a police baton. Luckily for me two street medics were on hand and 
did an excellent job in treating me. Others were worse injured, as riot 
police were deployed and the iron fist was used."



ANOTHER  EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT

"I spent the day at the carnival, and it started out nicely. Like our 
man says, the walk along George Street and Princes Street was 
phenomenal, it looked like thousands of people (corporate media reports 
say about 1000 - but with no cars around it looked like many more) 
reclaiming the streets in a massive version of our annual local 
edinburgh reclaim the streets demo. It was great, really beautiful. Even 
the Black Bloc guys and the people who'd clearly come prepared for 
something other than nonviolent protest were all smiles.



But when the police decided to stop us, they didn't hesitate to be 
brutal. We were walking peacefully, at this point there was no violence 
or stone throwing of any kind, when the mounted police charged us. At 
the east end of princes street, directly outside Jenners, They charged 
at least three times, with batons unleashed on the final one, and while 
this had been happening they boxed us all in with lines of riot police.



Trapped and panicked by the brutal tactics, things did escalate. I've 
been on many protests across scotland, and this was by far the most 
provocative and violent policing I have ever witnessed. "





Nevertheless demonstrators held the ground in Princes street and danced 
as a small sound system on a trolley blasted away.  The appearance of 
the sound system was a triumph of perseverance as police had attempted 
to stop it joining the demo.  Later as late afternoon went into evening, 
police moved in, attacking demonstrators on Princes street and the 
neighbouring gardens.



  At one point police attempted to arrest a single individual and chased 
him into Princes Street Gardens, which was packed with spectators and 
protesters, many of whom went to try and save the man, pelting the 
police with flowers and earth.  Park benches were used to try and halt 
the police attacks, and some buckets etc were hurled at the police. 
Some locals were upset at the use of the benches, which are dedicated to 
deceased loved ones, but it is almost certain that those utilising the 
benches had no idea of this fact, and were merely using whatever came to 
hand to defend themselves.



A few hundred Edinburgh residents en route home found themselves trapped

outside BHS in Princes Street by the police cordons. One pregnant woman,

with a seven-year-old child, pleaded with police - initially in vain - 
to be let past.  Green MSP Mark Ballard criticised the police for 
effectively imprisoning passers-by.



The Evening News reported that "Further lines of riot police charged 
across the square at the bottom of the Mound, which caused more 
terrifying scenes. There was shouting and screaming and widespread 
confusion before things momentarily settled down."



The Evening News quoted a passer-by as saying "I've been here since

one o'clock and it's been absolutely terrifying. I think the police have 
been very heavy-handed by instigating most of it, because they're moving 
into the crowds, charging, hitting people on the heads with batons and 
their plastic shields. This has caused mayhem and caused the crowds to 
disrupt into angry scenes. I saw a police van drive into two protesters 
which knocked them to the ground."



A Carnival participant wrote in Indymedia about this part of the day :

"Eventually, through charges with lines of riot police they trapped us 
inside Princes Street Gardens East. I managed to get out the other side 
before the stormtroopers had secured it, but many of my friends and 
comrades were trapped inside. The police were very hostile and 
threatening, barking at people to move arbitrarily from place to place, 
on what appeared to me to be filthy fascist power-tripping.



"People were let out one at a time, with many being photographed and 
almost all having to provide names and addresses. It took around two 
hours for my friends to be released, after which we went to Bristo 
square where the (amazing, brilliant and fantastic) Clandestine 
Insurgent Rebel Clown Army and many others were having a party.



"This was a celebration, a creative and positive thing, and it was very 
much the kind of action I like to see. Music, dancing, drumming, 
singing, making new friends, and all in solidarity against the brutal 
exploitation of the capitalist system and the (fresh in our minds) 
brutal tactics of the police."



SNOOPER HQ FLYPOSTED



As battle raged on princes Street, a contingent of demonstrators 
converged on the Social Security head office at Lady Lawson Street, home 
of top Scottish snooper boss Joan Kirk - official title Principal 
Manager Scotland, Counter Fraud Investigation Services.  As the Infernal 
Noise Brigade blasted out rhythms of resistance, demonstrators pasted 
the building with posters, including ones proclaiming WE STOP THE 
SHERIFF (link to sheriff officer leaflet). Two of the main themes of the 
Carnival were resistance to benefits slavery and to debt slavery. 
INSERT SNOOPER PHONE NUMBER???



ROSE STREET ROCKS



A mini riot erupted in Rose street, at the St Andrews Square end, in the 
early evening, around 6.30pm. One eye witness reported that local youth 
and black bloc united against the common enemy  the polis. The police, 
who had assaulted people, were met by hails of missiles



Another observer reports that demonstrators took advantage of Rose 
Street's cobbles : "Some more angry protestors ..... started to dig 
individual bricks out of the street to use as weapons. This technique 
spread, leading to wide-spread pelting of the police with bricks..." 
Bread pallets were also hurled and shopping trolleys were pushed into 
police lines.  One witness reports around 200 demonstrators involved at 
this point.



Another eye witness described the events thus :

"The Rose street "mini-riot" was an awe inspiring sight, Youths, 
Anarchists, left-wingers, punks, anti-capitalists, clowns, hippies, 
homeless people and even your average joe on the street united as one 
mass, differences aside, to fight against our enemy: The thugs of the 
ruling class."



A bit later, around 8-9pm, and not far away, on South St David St, off 
St Andrews Square, more clashes broke out between crowds of mainly 
locals and the police.  The Evening News/ Scotsman web site reports : 
"Several hundred onlookers gathered at the junction with South St David 
Street while chants of "scum, scum, scum" were hurled at the police. 
Later, some of the crowd began hurling stones and cobbles at the 
advancing police line. ..... a large number were locals."



REBEL PIPER INSPIRES REVOLT..



An eye witness writes on Indymedia Eire, of events later in the day 
around the east end of Princes Street:



"This was 8pm.....I cycled up and it was hard to find out what was 
happening. There seemed to be no 'centre' of activity, and there were 
certainly no 'activists' left at this point. I cycled around a long way 
to get to the other side of the police line, where 4 or 5 people were 
being detained with plastic handcuffs in front of a boarded up mobile 
phone shop. They were definitely not pink, black, clown, or any other 
block. Just ordinary folk. An onlooker said they were being arrested for 
refusing to move on when ordered by a Police officer, but I cannot 
confirm that.



They were put into vans, with a chorus of boos and hisses from the crowd,

chanting to let them go. Next thing a glass bottle hit the line, racking 
up the tension. The cops were getting nervous, and the crowd were 
telling them to fuck off (because most of the riot cops were English 
rather than local Police, it seemed). The cops jumped into the crowd and 
snatched a teenage girl, provoking more anger and the occasional missile 
from the crowd. A bagpiper blowing out traditional tunes seemed to be 
stirring the Scots into a bit of an anti-establishment fervour. It 
seemed as if this crowd had mostly just turned up after they saw what 
was happening on the news, and joined in the activities themselves.



What happened next was bizarre and unprecedented. A group of about a dozen

riot cops were left in a laneway while the others had been taken away in 
vans. Possibly they were just waiting around for an empty van to come 
and pick them up. Several people saw them down the lane isolated, and 
the next thing they were being stoned and bottled by people steaming up 
the laneway. Bottles were fired at them from close range, a dumpster was 
pushed straight at the line of shields, and a traffic cone and a bin 
were thrown at them when they charged their way back to the junction of 
the street.



Four or five of the Clown Army showed up at this point, trying to stop

people throwing stuff at the cops, and making faces and generally being 
silly right in front of the Police. One female clown was nearly hit in 
the head with the big traffic cone, and their attempts to calm the 
situation didnt really work at all, so they left fairly quickly.



Within a minute a huge amount of Police vans arrived into the area with 
sirens squealing, pouring out more padded riot units. This sent the 
crowd scattering. They also brought out the dog unit, forcing people 
away from the laneway, threatening to use the dogs on people that did 
not back off.



Eventually the Police got all their Officers back into vans, and retreated

out of the area rapidly. The crowd cheered and was chanting Anti-G8 
slogans as well as "Whose streets? Our streets!" ..."



Other reports corroborate these events, the described laneway being 
apparently off Rose Street, and put the time of the police pull-out at 
9.35pm.



An Indymedia Scotland report quotes a local Scottish Socialist Party 
activist as saying around this time "It's been mental and the riot 
police have been here and really been squaring up to young people who 
mostly live in Edinburgh who are really outraged that the riot police 
are used in Edinburgh.  It's never

happened before and it must never happen again. They're our streets! The 
attitude of the police has been disgraceful. They're our streets!?"



An Australian guy standing nearby stated, "We did throw some bottles but

only after watching our girl friends get bashed and our brothers get 
crumbled and that's understandable. You wouldn't throw bottles after 
your brother and your girl friend had both got crumbled? Fuck that!"



NEEDS A CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH I THINK





Sections to be inserted in boxes..





Section on arrests and remands in custody to be inserted.

Plus contacts for prisoner support





To get the message of the Carnival across thousands of leaflets (link), 
flyers (link) and hundreds of posters were distributed, especially 
around Edinburgh and at the huge Make Poverty History demo.  200 copies 
of a special leaflet (link)COULD SOMEONE SEND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF 
THIS published by the local Industrial Workers of the World (link) were 
distributed to workers at Standard Life, on Lothian Road Edinburgh. The 
media reporting was, as expected, overwhelmingly hostile, though Radio 
Scotland broadcast a statement from the Carnival and - astonishingly - 
the Daily Mail reproduced a significant amount of a Carnival press 
release (link to press release).



Section on street medics - positive message on what they do - plus 
police repression of street medics to be inserted



Section on legal observers - what they do , their importance



Section on continuing activity - THE CARNIVAL CONTINUES ????

MAKE EVERYDAY A CARNIVAL OF RESISTANCE???

With contacts - and some description of activity - note that will be 
having a follow-up meeting(s)?







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