Make the G8 History Blog

G8 witness appeal

The G8 Legal Support Group writes: At the recent G8 protests in Scotland there were some 450 people detained by the police. These are different from arrests, as the police in Scotland have the powers to “detain” for a set length of time. We know of a number of people who were detained and then released, so the number of arrests is far less that 450. However, we don’t know how much less as it was difficult to get details. So, we are putting a call out for a number of requests.

African civil society groups slam G8 deal

As ageing rock stars Bono and Geldof were praising the G8 leaders for their aid and debt promises and Geldof was shouting down anyone who dared to criticise the summit's outcomes, African civil society groups gathered in Gleneagles were singing from a very different hymn sheet. They have issued a joint statement condemning what they regard as a 'disappointing' deal well short of their minimum expectations.

G8 policing condemned

The G8 Legal Support Group has released an initial statement on the policing of the G8 protests in Scotland in early July and it makes grim reading. The group claims that during the protests, police detained or arrested more than 700 people, of which some 366 people were charged with one or more offences. The statement goes on to criticise the "draconian bail conditions" imposed by Scottish courts on protesters, which not only barred their further involvement in any demonstrations but also "forced those not resident in Scotland to leave at an impossible speed, making the conditions impossible to comply with. As a direct result of this tactic, some people were rearrested for breach of bail." The most alarming aspect of the Legal Support's Group report is its assertion that those people unable to give a UK address "have been remanded in prison, even though in all the cases we are aware of, none faces serious enough charges to result in a prison sentence even if convicted."  See the G8 Legal Support website for the full statement.

In their own words: how campaigners responded to the G8 communique

Although our hearts and minds are elsewhere, Red Pepper has been working hard to maintain our live coverage of the G8 summit and its aftermath. Below you will find a large number of links to statements and press releases issued by NGOs, social movements and other campaigning organisations to Friday 8 July’s controversial G8 communique. This page will be constantly updated over the next weeks - we are particular interested in responses from Southern civil society groups and the UK's African diaspora. SH

Gleneagles Demo: Send in the Clowns.

Gaius. There were three types of official looking yellow bibs on the Gleneagles demo. Two comprised our friends the Old Bill, a little disorganised and anxious for once, and the G8 Alternatives stewards, totally disorganised and incompetent. While protesters were busy reclaiming the fields outside the Hotel to stop the summit, G8 Alternative stewards (staffed mostly by everyone’s favourite liberals, the SWP and their allies, who’ve been trying for months to get a seat at the table with Geldof and Bono), were busy telling people to get back on the road, and stay on the agreed route like good boys and girls. After all, they needed to rush back to the field to hear the reassuring tones of Lindsey German and Chris Nineham, who were there to address the masses at 4pm (and it was already 3.30!!!).

G8, Africa and climate change: a good time to bury bad news

Friday 8 July. Stuart Hodkinson in Edinburgh. When the news of the bombs hitting London broke on our campsite in Craigmillar, we all immediately reached for our mobile phones in the hope that friends were ok. In that moment, the G8, Africa, the protests and the police all became irrelevant. As  good news filtered through, political minds inevitably began to drift back to the wider political implications. "This will definitely mean ID cards,” one sighed. "Iran will be next for the neo-cons," said another. "And Muslims are going to be hammered." Debates and disagreements broke out but on one thing everyone was agreed: this was “a good time to bury bad news”. And yesterday's announcement of the G8 deal on Africa and climate change contained a lot of bad news, whatever those idiots Geldof and Bono say.

Police make good on their promise to 'get the Wombles'

Stuart Hodkinson. As the central London terrorists were going through their final preparations to detonate deadly explosive devices and kill innocent working class people in revenge for the Iraq war, at least 1500 London Met officers were working with more than 10,000 fellow officers from around the UK to shut down the streets of Scotland and stop protesters exercising their right to dissent. And it is tonight becoming disturbingly clear that the police's public threat, as reported here on Sunday. to target the anti-capitalist group, the Wombles, has been delivered. Using information from a reliable poster on Indymedia, what follows is a deeply disturbing account of how a small network of well-known activists have been subjected to a week of intimidation and harrassment in which rights and liberties we are supposed to be defending against the terrorists have been ripped up by the police themselves.

G8 and London terror

Oscar Reyes in London. We learnt from 9/11 that initial responses to a terror attack tend to confirm existing prejudices rather than force us to raise critical questions. There can be no hesitation in condemning the bombing of innocent civilians. But our condolences and horror at the attacks should not blind us to the dangerous political uses to which they will be put.

Scotland protesters told to stay put, plus update on London blasts

NG. 17.45 GMT. G8 protesters bound for London today are being told to stay put, says Network Rail.

Although mainline rail services are continuing to run as near normal service as possible, people are asked not to make any unnecessary journeys into London today. King's Cross station, a natural depot for trains to and from Scotland, is likely to remain closed 'for some time'. GNER trains are currently terminating in Peterborough.

London Blasts: Don't Let Them Win

Gabriele Zamparini. London, the city where I live, has been attacked. Ordinary people are paying the price, once again. Killing innocent people is an infamous act, never legitimate. Never justified. Never. But if we want to understand what’s going on without hysteria, we must look at the full picture. Again, not to apologize. But to understand. And hopefully to do something to build a better world.

G8 summit continues despite London blasts

Natasha Grzincic in London. Following explosions that have paralysed London, prime minister Tony Blair announced that the G8 leaders have no intention of cancelling the summit.

In a live national broadcast from Gleneagles Hotel at 12.05GMT, Blair said it was the will of the G8 leaders to carry on as usual.

'All the leaders share our determination to defeat this terrorism,' said Blair.

The strange affair of the Gleneagles G8 demo

Alex Nunns. The G8 Alternatives demo at Gleneagles on the 6th July was a very strange affair. To start with, it was officially cancelled, yet it ended up with military helicopters hovering over young kids who were rolling around in a field.

Rivers of oil, oceans of hunger: Nnimmo Bassey Interview

Oscar Reyes. Nnimmo Bassey is Secretary-Director of Environmental Rights Action (Friends of the Earth, Nigeria) and a poet. In this interview at the Global Dreams, Corporate Nightmares conference he discusses the environmental and economic impact of the oil industry in Nigeria and reads from his poem 'Mountains of Food, Oceans of Hunger'. You can hear a recording of the full interview here or continue reading for an edited transcript.

Walden Bello: 'Saturday was the big missed opportunity'

Alex Nunns interviews Walden Bello.

Regular readers might think that this has become the Walden Bello G8 blog, but us Red Pepperistas just keep bumping in to him. Today I sat next to him on a coach back from the Gleneagles demo, so I took the chance to get a quick reaction to the week so far.

Nobel Peace Prize for Sir Bob? Why not

Gabriele Zamparini, The Cat's Dream. Live8 organiser Bob Geldof has been nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Why not? Look at these recent statements in the media:

Sir Bob Geldof has warned an unnamed American musician not to criticise US President George W Bush during the American Live 8 concert next month. (...) The mystery singer, who is anxious not to be named, was told by an angry Geldof, "Please remember, absolutely no ranting and raving about Bush or Blair and the Iraq war."

The blockades begin

Stuart Hodkinson in Edinburgh. They were massively outnumbered by the 10,000-plus police officers brought in from every corner of the UK. Their movements in and to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Gleneagles were heavily curtailed by police use of Section 60 powers to randomly stop and search people for offensive weapons without grounds for suspicion and road blocks on every major route into and out of Gleneagles. To top it all, after nearly a week of glorious sunshine, the Scottish heavens opened and it, as the locals would say, "pished it down". Yet against all odds, it is tonight clear that although not the spectacular shut down  originally sought, around eight thousand alter-globalisation protesters combined clever orienteering with a helping hand from the police to cause major disruption on the opening day of the G8 summit in Gleneagles.

Africa for Sale

The Gleneagles hotel, which is owned by UK drinks multinational Diageo, is not the only venue hosting a G8 summit today. The official G8 Business Summit is taking place in London, hosted by Business Action for Africa and chaired by former Shell boss and current Anglo-American PLC chairman, Sir Mark Moody Stuart. But who is behind this initiative and where does it come from?

Alternative Africa Commission launched in Edinburgh

Stuart Hodkinson. Tuesday, 11am. On the eve of discussions on Africa at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, a range of leading campaigners and activists from across Africa today gathered together in Edinburgh to launch their own highly critical response to Tony Blair's Commission for Africa (CfA). 'The Alternatives Commission on Africa' contains statements, analyses and perspectives from African civil society voices previously silenced by the Geldof-Government-Oxfam coalition that is running the Live8/Make Poverty History axis.

Good protester/bad protester

Alex Nunns. At 1600 BST the news went round the Independent Media Centre in Edinburgh that Bob Geldof was in town. Within minutes a rapid reaction force of independent journalists and activists were dispatched to Edinburgh station, where the has-been rock star had arrived aboard a Make Poverty History Virgin train along with Hollywood's Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Our mission was to disrupt Geldof's press conference, armed only with an Indymedia banner and some tough questions.

G8 number crunching: the deal doesn't add up

John Hilary, Campaigns & Policy Director, War on Want. Heading up to Gleneagles tomorrow for the demo, but we've spent much of today number crunching so as to work out exactly what the G8 are preparing to serve up as their answer to global poverty - and also to work out how on earth the government has managed to get the good press it has when it is offering such derisory crumbs from the rich man's table. So, specially for Red Pepper readers, this is what we know.

Why Reuben was miffed

JJ. My friend Reuben left the G8 Alternatives youth forum spitting chips. He'd gone with a clear plan to discuss something he's passionate about - getting a real unionisation drive going among young and casual workers.

He's petrified that there's a new generation of young people who'll have no access to, or knowledge of, trade union organisations. But it was not to be. "No one of any interest got to speak," he told me, "because the speeches from the floor were dominated by Workers Power and Socialist Worker bickering about Respect."

Don't fence me in

JJ. First wet day and have spent it with the midges out in the middle of nowhere. Dungavel detention centre to be exact. This was one of the key protests that I wanted to make sure that I attended and, with certain reservations, it's been a successful day. The first thing to say is that the police have been practising for tomorrow. Not simply awkward, irritatingly interfering and intimidating but also flexing their muscles disrupting transport.

Crane stoppers protest against 'Brownwash' of anti-poverty movement

Stuart Hodkinson. At 8.30am this morning, three protesters hung a banner off a construction site crane near Edinburgh's North Bridge demanding 'No More Brownwash' in response to the successful co-optation of the aims and message of Make Poverty History by Gordon Brown and the UK government. The development campaigners from Brighton World Development Movement (WDM) wanted to get out a message from grassroots activists that New Labour is not a defender of the poor and has no intention of delivering the Make Poverty History agenda. The activists came down at 6.15pm and were immediately arrested.

Carnival for full policing

Stuart Hodkinson. After the political whitewash of Saturday's Live 8 and Make Poverty History, today saw the first serious protesting against the G8 summit in Scotland. The non-violent blockade against the Trident nuclear submarine base in Faslane passed off peacefully without incident. But at the originally Carnival of Full Enjoyment in Edinburgh, the streets of the Scottish capital experienced a very different reality with thousands of police shutting down the city and then physically turning on protesters, resulting in over 30 similar injuries when people were forced to jump over spiked railing at West Princes Street Gardens after being baton-charged by riot police.

Home truths: local reactions

Natasha Grzincic. On the streets of Edinburgh we caught up with some natives to find out what they thought about playing host to the G8 and the tagalong protesters. Staff at jewellery shop Fraser Hart on Edinburgh's main thoroughfare Princes Street told us on the weekend that they would be closed on Monday 4 July for a 'city holiday' (still trying to determine if that's official or not), which was good news to them as the anarchists were in town and 'they're scary'. Other shop staff took a different approach, many putting 'Make Poverty History' posters in their windows, or else pointing out they were a family run business, and thus not deserving of having their windows smashed a la McDonald's in Seattle.

Chaos, boxes and light relief

JJ. Am taking a break from the Carnival of Full Enjoyment to bring some rather scattered thoughts. As I set off this morning it was clear that Edinburgh people were very keen to let me know I should "watch myself" as "today is the day of the anarchists", which sounds more like a Hollywood film than a protest.

Ideas of a movement

JJ. I've been told that Madonna began her set with the hit song 'Music' whose main refrain goes "Music unites the rebel with the bourgeoisie". I can think of hardly any other song that sums up Live8 better than this. But if the ideas of the gig goers and TV viewers must have been mixed, what of those who actually came to the protests in Edinburgh? Having spent the weekend diligently vox popping and discussing the mood there are some clear pictures emerging, of who is here and why.

Green MSPs and MEP to join anti-WMD protest at Faslane

Green MSPs and Green MEP Caroline Lucas will join thousands of peace campaigners G8 protestors in a demonstration at the Faslane nuclear base today, Monday 4th July. Demonstrators aim to blockade the base for the day in protest at weapons of mass destruction and the absurd sums spent by G8 countries on war and weaponry whilst half the world starves.

Decaffinated protest

Click. Click. Click. The marketing people must've been smiling last night as the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh passed off with incident. In fact, it felt like the protest equivalent of decaffinated coffee. A crowd, a march route and some slogans - but nothing to keep the G8 leaders awake at night.

London Met police threaten revenge on the Wombles

London Metropolitan police appear to have been handed a special role during these protests - to harrass and threaten the anti-capitalist group the Wombles (White Overall Movement Building Liberation through Effective Struggles) at every turn. Yesterday afternoon, as the police blocked the 'black T-shirt anti-capitalist bloc' from joining the Make Poverty History demonstration, members of the Met's so called Forward Intelligence Team (FIT) - those with a penchant for filming and photographing activists - were overheard warning a 'Womble' that the police were 'going to get you lot this time'. Such threats have been accompanied by a very obvious harrassment exercise in which notorious Wombles are being followed and filmed as they move around Scotland's capital attending meetings.

Two, three, many counter-summits

Natasha Grzincic and Alex Nunns. Today was the day of counter-summits, a bewildering array of speakers, workshops, seminars... After much debate (but not really) the two of us decided on the free summit, as opposed to the G8 Alternatives summit that cost a tenner with the same speakers, or the Dissent! one that was also free but had Red Pepper's own Stuart H plugging his Make Poverty History expose yet again.

The day the music died

Natasha Grzincic and Alex Nunns. Some of us spicier Red Peppers have been staying at the campsite provided by Edinburgh Council, the Jack Kane community centre in Craigmillar, apparently Scotland's fourth most deprived area (and that IS deprived). Thanks to Dissent!'s negotiations with council, the site's free, but last night we paid the price in the form of forced exposure to 120 decibels of the worst house music in the world... ever.

Andrew Gilligan evicted from protest planning meeting

Anti-G8 protesters today threw out infamous journalist Andrew Gilligan from a meeting discussing tactics around the counter-G8 actions at the Dissent! convergence space at the Teviot student union. The former BBC Radio 4 Today correspondent now working for the London Evening Standard, who was at the centre of the war of words over the so called Iraq 'dodgy dossier' between the BBC and the UK government that led to the death of the scientist Dr David Kelly, failed to depart the packed 'Anti-Authoritarian Assembly' when journalists were asked to leave.

The Abominable Live 8

Gabriele Zamparini, The Cat's Dream I felt dizzy when I read about Bono and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz talking about poverty in Africa. But the worst had still to happen. I wanted to laugh – but I couldn’t – when I heard George W. Bush talking about the great generosity of US Government to help the developing countries. But the worst had still to happen. I felt sick when I saw Tony Blair and Sir Bob Geldof flirting and preaching on TV about Make Poverty History. But the worst had still to happen.

Bello and Jagger defy MPH spin doctors

As Red Pepper told you exclusively this month, Make Poverty History's organisers had been working overtime to stop any message coming out of today's Edinburgh rally that might embarrass the government. Whatever tomorrow's newspaper coverage says, they didn't completely succeed. Predictably, thousands defied the dress code and turned out wearing an array of colours and slogans (and selling the 57 varieties of socialist newspaper). But it was from the Make Poverty History stage that the embarassment was most acute. Prominent anti-globalisation figure, Walden Bello, who heads the Bangkok-based development NGO Focus on the Global South, took almost every opportunity from press conferences to the main stage to press home the issue of war and occupation in Iraq. One insider told Red Pepper that MPH organisers 'winced' each time Bello went off-script.

Walden Bello keeps Iraq in the picture

Kathy Haywood interviews Walden Bello of Focus on the Global South

KH. Why did you call for everyone to wear multicoloured rather than white T-shirts to this march? 

WB. From my point of view it reflects the rainbow colour coalition of all the forces in the global justice movement - it shows that this is a global movement. People should just speak their minds today. Of course we want to 'make poverty history' but we also want to 'make war history' and even as we demand an end to poverty we also must demand an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. I think that these values are indivisible: If you are against economic injustice you also have to be against political injustice and you also have to be for national sovereignty, human rights and democracy. This is why when you talk about feeling the pain of Africa – we cannot divorce the pain we feel for the 100,000 people dead in Iraq.

Police stop black bloc joining MPH march

SH. Red Pepper warned you that Make Poverty History organisers wanted only white T-shirts on their march around Edinburgh's city centre and they were true to their word. Around 400 protesters, deliberately wearing black in opposition to the Make Poverty History whitewash on the G8's destructive global agenda, were prevented from joining the main 'welcome walk for the G8' by a huge battalion of police. The protesters were detained for around three hours and stopped and searched under Section 60. Several tried to break through police lines only to be beaten back. As protesters finally allowed those detained to disperse, they began following members of the Wombles.

Final preparations underway for historic Faslane G8 Blockade

Organisers can now confirm that they are expecting thousands of G8 activists from around the world to shut down one of Britain's most important military bases on Monday 4th July to highlight the links between poverty and war, militarism and destructive globalisation.

Indymedia live reporting ready to go

Indymedia UK activists have announced that Edinburgh Independent Media Centre is now open. There will be daily IMC and reporting co-ordination meetings at 7pm each evening at the venue above The Forest Cafe (street entrance door to the left) on Bristo Place, Edinburgh. To report news direct to Indymedia from the streets or counter-summits, ring the Indymedia Reporting Hotlines: +44 (0)7901 778 062 or +44(0)7050 686 844. These are one way reporting hotlines and not a general information line. See Indymedia UK for more

Not hand outs, just butt out

Jim Jepps. The debate around the G8 should not just consist of rich Westerners talking to powerful Westerners about how to help the poor. So we spoke to Amancay Colque, an indigenous Bolivian activist, on her views about the G8.