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.
The 2005 Summit of the G8: Disappointed but resolute final statement
JOINT STATEMENT FROM AFRICAN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE 2005 SUMMIT, GLENEAGLES, SCOTLAND 6-8th JULY
As the G8 Summit comes to an end on the 8th July, we representatives of some of the largest continental organisations and national networks headquartered in several African cities, bringing together women's organisations, labour, researchers, development and advocacy NGOs across Africa note the following;
Firstly, we express our total solidarity with the British people and our deep sorrow for the victims of the terrorist attacks on London yesterday.
Simply put, we are disappointed in the outcomes of Gleneagles. The resolutions fall far short of our expectations for a comprehensive and radical strategy to make poverty history in Africa. The Summit has simply reaffirmed existing decisions on debt cancellation and doubling of aid. The debt package only provides only 10% of the relief required and affects only one third of the countries that need it. A large component of the US$50 billion pledged is drawn from existing obligations. Further, both packages
are still attached to harmful policy conditionality.
"Today, the G8 missed a historic opportunity to write off the debt of over 62 least developing countries," said Hassen Lorgat of South Africa's SANGOCO.
Our work has just begun. Over the next six months, we shall intensify our campaigns for;
1) Total and unconditional debt write-off for all of Africa failing which debt repudiation becomes the logical conclusion for African Governments.
2) The G8 to meet the 0.7% GNI target for international development assistance and front load those commitments without donor imposed policy conditionality.
3) The WTO to recognise the right of African states to redress and protect their fragile economies without losing their right to access industrialized countries markets
4) Remove OECD market access constraints and end subsidies that lead to dumping of products on Africa markets, crowding out African farmers and producers.
Above all, Africa must look within for change. "The message from Gleneagles is clear to us in Africa. We will intensify our call to our Governments that have not secured debt cancellation to strongly consider repudiating their unjust and odious external debt," said Justice Egware of Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All in Nigeria. The HIPC
conditionalities do not suit the needs of most of our countries. Further, we urge them to exercise their right to protect our economies and essential services like health and education.
This year, we have been an integral part of a historic global campaign to end poverty. We will continue to mobilize internationally through the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and other global campaigns. The millions mobilized in Africa and around the world should not be disappointed. We will stay our course and remain vigilant until we secure
the conditions for Africa's renaissance.
Signed by the following African and regional civil society organizations and networks:
African Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD)-Harare, African Women
Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)-Nairobi, African Womens
Economic Policy Network-Uganda, Mwelekeo wa NGO (MWENGO)-Harare, SEATINI,
Pan African Literacy and Adult Education (PALAE), ANCEFA, SANGOCO-South Africa, CONGAD-Senegal, Eco-news Africa-Kenya, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All-Nigeria
Endorsed by;
ActionAid International, Africa Action, Foreign Policy in Focus, Trans Africa, Global Justice
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!!!).
Meanwhile on the other side, the stewards had received the same page messages and were literally pushing back folk from trying to do what we’d all come there for (to stop the summit – or at least pester it a little). As protesters insisted that they wanted to finish the march, the stewards unilaterally withdrew from the march and ran back to hear their leaders. Hardly impartial stewarding – in fact some might suggest a bit more like doing the job that the police had singularly failed to do on their behalf.
Eventually the second half of the crowd was let through. The police opened their ranks as they’d told the stewards they would BUT – oh no – not a steward in sight so we couldn’t proceed, Mr Plod informs us. Finally a couple of stewards were discovered cowering under a paving stone, down with a couple of woodlice they’d mistaken for the speakers at the main rally. So we all proceeded on our way to a happy finale. We’d even had the good fortune to miss the Rally by then, and climbed back onto our buses, like the contented toddlers we are.
Oh the third group? Why the Insurgent Rebel Clown Army – beautifully presented, orchestrated and the only group doing something useful. Next time, let’s just follow them.
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.
Along with the closure of the council-provided campsite in Edinburgh today as planned, the blasts have left many activists stranded at a time when they are facing increased hostility from locals. Much of the antagonism has been whipped up by the negative media coverage of yesterday's blockades and isolated clashes with police earlier this week.
London has been hit by four explosions that have killed at least 33 people on the London Underground, an unknown number on a double-decker bus, and injured more than 350 others: between Aldgate East and Liverpool Street tube stations, between Russell Square and King's Cross tube stations, at Edgware Road tube station and on the 30 bus at Tavistock Square (from Hackney to Marble Arch).
The blasts have disabled the London Underground until at least Friday, and buses are only now running through Zone 1. Security has been heightened throughout central London. All West End shows have been cancelled tonight, a measure not believed to be undertaken since WW1.
Prime minister Tony Blair who has now returned to Downing St from Gleneagles, promised the 'most intense police and security service action to make sure we bring those responsible to justice'. According to the BBC, the officer in charge of policing the G8 summit said many of the 1,500 Metropolitan Police officers in Scotland would be urgently redeployed to London.
A group calling itself 'The Secret Organization of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in Europe' claimed responsibility for the four blasts.
Activists everywhere are fearing a backlash against ethnic minority, Muslim and refugee and asylum seeker communities.
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.
I was living in New York when the September 11th attacks happened. I saw the people of New York meeting spontaneously in the streets and the squares of Downtown Manhattan. Staying together. Talking and singing for peace. Not revenge. I witnessed how power used those events for its own agenda. I remember the manipulation of the events by the media, that corporate media that was beating the drums for war. And I feared the rise of a totalitarian regime.
There are still many questions on what exactly happened that day. But since then, Afghanistan has been bombed and innocent people there, people like you and me, are still dying because of our Governments’ actions. Iraq has been invaded and occupied. No connections whatsoever linked Iraq to the September 11th attacks. And none of the alleged reasons given by our ruthless leaders were true. More than 100,000 Iraqi innocent civilians have been murdered, most of them women and children. Many young boys and girls from the United States, the United Kingdom, from Italy and many other countries lost their lives. Young boys and girls who didn't even start their lives were sent to kill other people, people who did nothing to them or to their own country. They were sent far away from home, through a brain washing process that involves complicity and unity by all sides of the establishment.
And then the massive human rights violation at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib…
All this and much more, we were told, was necessary to fight the “War on Terror”. But war IS terror.
All this and much more, we were told, was necessary to keep our cities safe. Then Madrid and now London.
All this and much more, we were told, was necessary to build democracy in Iraq. Yet, no Iraqi wants foreign occupation.
In this day of sorrow, our solidarity and our thoughts must go to the innocent victims of these cruel and infamous acts in London. But our love for these brothers and sisters must not be an empty and hypocritical gesture of circumstance or convenience.
This is a time for reason, honesty and open discussion. Those who target innocent civilians are infamous terrorists who deserve our contempt and must be held accountable. Always. Doesn’t matter if they terrorize innocent civilians with a bomb placed on a bus or with much more expensive and sophisticated weaponry paid for by our tax money. Let’s not let them win.
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.
He called the explosions 'particularly barbaric' on the eve of making crucial decisions to help eradicate poverty in Africa and make progress on climate change.
During Blair's speech, riot police were seen to be 'padding up' outside the Stirling campsite.
The prime minister will be flying to London shortly for the day, then returning to Gleneagles in the evening.
A large number of casualties were reported after at least seven explosions on the London Underground network. According to the BBC, a police spokeswoman confirmed there had been two deaths at Aldgate and UK home secretary Charles Clarke said the explosions caused 'terrible injuries'.
Arab sources told the BBC the blasts are the work of al-Qaeda.
Explosions have been reported at Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate, as well as on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, but the situation is still very 'confused', according to London's Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair. He urged people to stay where they were and not to call emergency services unless for life-threatening reasons.
Mobile phone networks are prioritising emergency services, which is causing problems for normal users.
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.
At 10am the police told the media that the demo could not go ahead for reasons of public safety (read: because it was not endorsed by Bob Geldof and Richard Curtis). By this time the G8 Alternatives coaches from Edinburgh were already en route, as were many others from all around the country. By 11am we had been stopped by police and were forced to park up in a huge improvised coach park/detention centre on a roundabout eleven miles away from Auchterarder for an hour. There then followed an almost surreal period as police escorted a convoy of dozens of coaches along closed off country lanes to Gleneagles. The matador was leading us by the nose into the bullring.
Not that we didn't want to be in the bullring, of course. In fact news was spreading that up to 500 demonstrators had been turned back to Edinburgh and were planning an improvised demonstration, and that activists from the Stirling campsite were being viciously repressed and prevented from travelling. The trains had been stopped from running, meaning that our apprehensive convoy contained all the people who would be on the demo. But it was clear that we would get to have our march, and that the earlier cancellation was merely a police lie to keep the numbers down.
The march, which had been organised by the Globalise Resistance/SWP/SSP crews, began in predictable fashion. George Galloway gave a rousing speech, and then everyone trudged off behind a plethora of banners and placards. The march moved extremely slowly down the narrow roads, passing the houses of locals who sometimes waved and sometimes asked why we wanted to shout at a fence. Just how incisive a question that was became clear when we reached the gates of Gleneagles, or rather three rows of steel barricades backed up by three rows of riot police backed up by a row of mounted police. Nothing could be more symbolic of how close these eight 'leaders', all of whom profess a passion for democracy, really are to the people. (Apologies to Vladimir Putin who really shouldn't have been lumped in with the other seven there, having never professed such a passion).
We all looked at this spectacle for a few minutes, as if we had never seen riot police before, and then did a U-turn to go back to where we had started by a parallel road. At this point, I saw something I couldn't believe. The fence stopped on the corner, leaving open access to a field that stretched right up to the main security fence around the hotel complex itself. No one had ventured in to the field, but I decided to hang around as it could only be a matter of time before someone did.
Sure enough, a few minutes later at 4pm a man dressed in black carrying a black coffin bravely strolled out across the field. Oddly, he was followed by a group of Congolese people dressed in white carrying a white coffin. And then by demonstrators carrying a huge Iraqi flag with the words Make Occupation History emblazoned on it. Gradually, these isolated few became a trickle, which became a flood as the Infernal Noise Brigade, an American marching band, headed to the fence with dancing protesters in tow. Sections of the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army followed, and soon there were 400 people scattered across the field.
In a matter of minutes, the staid atmosphere of a formal procession had changed to one of spontaneity and life. Protesters massed by the fence, pulling a section down under a police watch tower. Inexplicably, some proceeded to walk straight through the gap and were immediately arrested. A tree on the boundary was climbed and covered with banners. Elsewhere the Infernal Noise Brigade were noisily marching in random directions up and down a hill, while the clowns were clowning around. Some activists were rolling about in the crops; others had formed themselves into a giant H, apparently tempting the police helicopter overhead to land on them, which would really have taught the police a lesson.
By 4.20 the riot police arrived on the street where some marchers were still dutifully marching through (socialist discipline, you see), and the mounted police that had previously been stationed behind the fence appeared in front of it. Then suddenly the atmosphere changed completely when a military Chinook helicopter circled very low overhead. There was outrage from the protesters in both the field and on the road, with people remarking that they had never seen a military helicopter on a public demonstration. The chopper landed and dispatched around 30 riot police, before taking off to get some more. At least four times it came swooping in, seemingly within touching distance, plainly trying to intimidate protesters as much as possible.
Meanwhile the longest riot police line I have ever seen had formed up, covering the entire width of the field. More police marched in on the street, followed by a detachment of clowns who had perfected the art of the distinctive police march (even down to the serious faces). In response to the police manoeuvres the whole crowd began to chant 'we all live in a terrorist regime', with a real sense of urgency and fear to it.
At this point there was an appalling example of protest stewarding. The stewards, all appointed by G8 Alternatives, began telling people that they had to move on back to the park. They claimed that there were police waiting to cordon us in on the road, which was simply not true. I asked a steward how a cordon could be successful with a whole field in front of us. She just said that if I wanted to get clubbed in the head that was fine. Other stewards shouted that if we did not move on then they would not be responsible for us, before promptly clearing off up the road. The role of stewards should be to help protesters with the situation they are in, not to tell demonstrators what they can and can't do. Instead of staying in solidarity with the protesters in the field in the face of police intimidation, the stewards were clearly more concerned with the agreements made between G8 Alternatives and the authorities. Apparently the organisers reputation with the police was more important to them than their reputation with protesters. It seems it is not just Make Poverty History that has been co-opted.
Within minutes the mounted police began a charge, causing the protesters nearest the fence to scatter. Some were hit with shields and batons. At least one sustained a serious cut to the head. All of those in the field began to run back towards the road, pursued by police with attack dogs. The huge police line formed a giant arc across the field, which gradually closed in, cutting off the space. By 5.30pm the field was clear, and protesters moved on down the road.
Having occupied a large field blocked only on two sides, it should not have been possible for demonstrators to get surrounded so quickly and easily by police. There were no narrow city streets perfect for hemming people in. Protesters effectively walked up to a heavily policed fence and waited to be pushed back. A fluid, constantly moving demonstration could have circled round the whole hotel complex, breaking off in to smaller groups and then converging, and there would have been no way to surround it. This might actually have caused disruption to the summit for a sustained period of time, and would have lifted protesters' morale. But it seems that demonstrators are far slower at learning new tactics that the police are.
Back on the coach, I found that the nice Scottish woman I had sat next to on the way up to Gleneagles had since turned into a Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown. I told her of something I had witnessed: a group of three people dressed like activists who were huddled round a CB communicating about positions in the field - almost definately police agent provocateurs. In turn she said that a cabbie had told her of having nervously picked up a group of 'scruffies', only to find that all of them had police badges. Given that the police will go to these lengths, protesters will have to show a lot more ingenuity than they have this week if they are to seriously disrupt summits in future.
We departed the scene as we had entered it, directed out by police from what felt like a set-piece battle.
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.
AN: How did you find today's demo outside the gates of Gleneagles?
WB: I thought it was quite militant. It was a good change in mood from the Make Poverty History demo on Saturday. This change was very important. Today's demo was anti-G8 rather than pro-G8. We are coming back to the previous perspective of Genoa. Instead of asking the G8 to do something we are telling them to get out of the way. So I'm pleased we've managed to turn the mood around.
AN: Do you think these tactics of very structured marches and rallies are effective, or are you more in favour of direct action?
WB: Well today's demo was very important, but we do need more civil disobedience tactics like in Genoa and at other summits. We need to effectively utilise non-violent civil disobedience. That's what's missing here. That can be more effective than the dramatic antics of the anarchists.
AN: It's been difficult to do that here though, with such an overwhelming police operation and the summit being held in the middle of nowhere.
WB: It is difficult, which is why Saturday's march in Edinburgh was so disappointing. If it had been marked by examples of civil disoobedience it would have given a more confrontational side to the demo. Today I feel we've been integrated into the program, especially at the fence [surrounding Gleneagles Hotel]. Non-violent civil disobedience at the fence would have been more effective. So I feel that while today was crucial in turning the mood, Saturday was the big missed opportunity.
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."
[Sir Geldof said that Bush] "has actually done more than any American President for Africa."
[Geldof] condemned the protesters who were involved in battles with police on Monday as "a bunch of losers". (...) Geldof said he believed the Live 8 concerts had made a difference. "Look at George Bush's reaction where he said he watched the concert all day and it was a great piece of mass advocacy," he said. "After the concert he began talking about trade. He started talking in very different language."
So, after Henry Kissinger and Jimmy Carter, why not Sir Bob Geldof?
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.
The collection of contributors, who include Yao Graham, Demba Dembele, Charles Abugre, Dot Keet, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, Jubilee South Africa, Jubilee South, Korinna Horta and Trevor Ngwane, argue that the Blair Commission is not only too limited in its aspirations for Africa, but that the whole basis of its analysis and proposals are deeply flawed.
Speaking at today's launch, Trevor Ngwane of the Soweto Anti-Privatisation Forum, said that the CfA had made many promises on debt relief, aid and trade justice but no one in Africa really believed these would be delivered:
The Anti-Privatisation Forum rejects the CfA because all of its proposals are based on major conditionalities like privatisation and trade liberalisation. If you look at the 14 African countries who qualify for Brown's deal at the G7 under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country scheme, they have all either gone through or are currently pioneering neoliberal reforms beneficial to Western corporations.
Ngwane, who went straight to the Dungavel asylum detention centre protest after his appearance, spoke for all the alternative African commissioners when he stated that “Africa does not owe this debt – after the slave trade, colonialism and apartheid perpetrated by most of the G8 countries, we don't owe Bush, blair and the World Bank anything.” He also condemned the policing in Edinburgh on Monday as “a deliberate agenda of intimidation in order to scare people away from coming to Scotland to protest”.
Charity Musumba, a debt campaigner from Zambia, claimed that civil society in her country had attempted to contribute to the CfA's public meetings on the continent but found them to be simply PR exercises with participants “invited by the CfA secretariat to take part in highly superficial events”:
I believe this was part of a deliberate effort to underplay the problems of debt crisis. If you read the report, trade and aid dominate - there is no real plan for how to deal with debt.
MP Giyose from Jubilee South argued that the CfA and the G8 agenda were working together as part of a “well connected pincer movement” to impose a new settlement of conditionality in return for debt relief and aid in Africa.
If NEPAD was prefaced by bad history, then Blair's Commission is prefaced by no history whatsoever – the report glosses over colonialism, slavery and neoliberalism in Africa.
Also present was Marxist intellectual from Egypt, Samir Amin, who made four very clear criticisms of the CfA:
Firstly, this is not a Commission for Africa but Blair's Commission against Africa...Secondly, at 454 pages, the report is thick, but completely empty...Thirdly, the commission promises to raise aid – we've been waiting 50 years for this and it has never happened. We don't want this aid for imperialism, we want reparations for the people of Africa, Asia and Latin America....Fourthly, the only raeson they are talking about cancelling debt now is because the debt has served its purpose bu forcing through neoliberalism. The empire can now plunder and loot without the need for debt.
Amin ended by calling for a global campaign against the debt with three parts. First, an audit of where the debt came from and who is responsible – these people and companies should be tried as criminals. Secondly, a call for the total cancellation of the debt. And third, an international law for dealing with debt in contrast to the present system, which he argued was corrupt and illegal.
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.
According to the stats we have, the G8 package of $40bn debt stock cancellation agreed last month translates into around $1bn a year in cancelled debt repayments for the 18 lucky countries which have 'qualified' to get it - instead of the $45bn in cancelled annual repayments which we'd see from 100 per cent write-off of the debts of the 62 poorest countries. That's quite a shortfall - roughly 98 per cent short, in fact.
On aid, if the G8 were to reach
the 0.7 per cent GNI target they signed up to in 1970, they'd need over $125bn
extra on top of what they give today. And what are they offering? $25bn -
barely 20 per cent of what's needed - and much of that's already been pledged
so can't be passed off as 'new' money anyway.
Worse still, any good achieved which might be achieved by aid and debt cancellation
will be wiped out by the forced liberalisation which has been foisted on the
poorest countries both at the WTO in Geneva and through the World Bank and IMF.
In fact, the countries which have managed to 'qualify' for the debt package
above have only done through agreeing to the neoliberal policies which will
bring them deindustrialisation, unemployment and mass poverty when their
markets open up to competition from the world's most powerful multinationals.
That's enough figures - if you want the whole story, have a look at the War on Want press release G8: Massive shortfall exposed in Gleneagles deal.
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."
This self obsession of sections of the English left discussing England only questions has been extremely detrimental to the debates in the G8 Alternatives forums, which are, afterall meant to be international. The platforms have been invariably interesting and focused (or at least those I attended or heard about) but the floor and doorways have been clogged by the hard left more intent on lecturing on their obsessions than learning something from this unique opportunity.
On the Sunday I went to a forum on Globalisation, and heard some really excellent and informative speeches - the best of which was Alex Callinicos who was particularly incisive. Unfortunately, Alex's comrades had decided that their job of the day was to get up in seemingly unending numbers and counter "the sectarians" by making almost identical points (this perspective was later confirmed in conversation with SWP friends of mine that they were totally focused on 'countering' other left groups).
The cumulative effect was to drown out anyone from the movement uninterested in this English point scoring e.g. by being African, or emotionally well adjusted. Just as I was considering leaving this stifling atmosphere a real breath of fresh air blew in.
She was brash, inarticulate, nervous and muddled. She was moralising, badly informed and hectoring - but she was honest and she was real. "Where are the African voices here? Where are the voices of the ordinary people?" and brilliantly she ended by lambasting, "why don't you all just shut up for a change and listen?" Possibly not too persuasive for this audience - but jeez it felt good.
It's absolutely true that when a representative sample of the movement get up to speak they often come up with a mix of brilliance, idiocy and / or mediocraty, but these are genuine voices that deserve to be heard, they're fresh, interesting and express the issues that the left need to address, rather than the left dictating to the movement what we should care about.
Perhaps it's time the organised left took a chill pill, sat back and listened with open ears to the people it gives so little opportunity to speak.
I must be fair to the organisers though. They'd achieved a good balance of topics and speakers from many different strands of the movement and many differnet countries. They also made a good attempt to break up the old habits and began meetings with performance poetry or music, but the floor was not playing ball.
As the day continued the pattern seemed undeterred so I thought I'd catch up with the Corportate Nightmares conference. What a difference!
You could walk in comfortably and unharrangued by a forest of publications and leaflets. The hall was light and breezy and the tone relaxed. Large screens and good sound quality made speakers, contributors and video showings easy to listen to.
But perhaps the most important difference was that the discussions seemed very issued focused - a stark contrast to the G8 Alternatives where sometimes you felt some catastrophe or repression was seen as a good way of getting protests and campaigns going, with the issues being purely incidental.
I'm positive that this issue based culture was a hundred times more healthy. I'm very glad that I wasn't an organiser of G8 Alternatives because if I was, just like Reuben, I'd be spitting chips.
Maybe it's true that those with a revolutionary message should do something truly radical and just shut up and listen.
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.
Many people were searched on the way to the demonstration, coaches were stopped, and in some cases boarded. Whole groups were surrounded, filmed by police and 'detained' outside of the protest area. I think this is the prototype of what we can expect tomorrow at Gleneagles.
Even Scottish Socialist Party MSP Carolyn Leckie was charged at the
protest after refusing to allow police to search her handbag as she
travelled to Dungavel to take part in protests there. Police informed
Carolyn that they were invoking Section 60 of the Police and Crime
Prevention Act 1994 and insisted on searching her handbag. Carolyn said
afterwards:
Yet again we see totally over the top and heavy handed policing. Quite what they expected to find in the way of weapons in my handbag I don't know. I regard it as an infringement of my civil liberties and of all those who the police searched without a shred of evidence that we were anything other than entirely peaceful demonstrators.
Under these circumstances it's certainly difficult to determine how many people were there. People were arriving and leaving all the time - I'd say a conservative estimate would be up to 2,000 at any one time and 5,000 across the day - but don't shoot me if I'm wrong on this (or for any other reason).
The other police tactic had been to move the asylum seekers out of their prison for the protest (I believe they are returning tomorrow). I know for a fact this did put some people off coming, but made others more determined. Why we should allow the police to tell us what we will or will not protest about is beyond me - and the asylum seekers detained there will, I hope, take the fact that they had to be moved as a sign that there are some people in this country that don't believe having a heart only applies if you're from this country. Asylum seekers are not criminals and should be supported not criminalised.
So as we allowed the insects to get the taste of our blood the demonstrators from all over Europe held an impressive, if rather static, rally / demonstration next to the wire of the detention centre. The speeches were passionate but with the heavy police presence it was clear there was to be no attempts at breaching the wire, and perhaps with no occupants there genuinely was no point.
One organiser appealed to the police that "they had kept their side of the bargain - will the police keep theirs?" And allow us to leave safely - it was a bit fluffy for my taste, appealing to the cops to be nice and *not* bash us up - but in the circumstances probably just as well.
The demonstrators set off at 4pm en bloc having assembled to the chords of the fantastic US singer songwriter Dave Rovics and his "we will shut them down" - stirring stuff. Then the long trip back to Edinburgh, the protesters seem keen to get to Gleneagles tomorrow. Let's see how near we can get.
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.
This was not what protesters had in mind as the midday Carnival in central Edinburgh began. Their aim was to bring together "workers, migrants, students, benefit claimers, New Dealers, work refusers, pensioners, dreamers, duckers & divers" to resist the "daily grind of the institutions that plunge us into overwork, poverty and debt". Protesters were joined by Samba bands and clowns from the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA). When five riot vans were seen chasing after a 'gaggle' of 20 clowns near to Edinburgh University, the tone was set for the day.
To their credit, carnival-goers spent the entire afternoon attempting to dance and sing through the city, taking over large parts of Princes Street and the surrounding areas and forcing traffic and shops to close. The carnival attracted thousands of local on-lookers and many hundreds of Edinburgh workers and youths joined the protesters in the streets. It was initially good natured but as numbers began to swell down on Princes Street the trouble began.
Red Pepper witnessed the events as they unfolded. In short, thousands of police officers without official badge numbers engulfed the protesters and persistently shut down the streets with lines of vans, officers in full riot gear and mounted police. Police pens were created, splitting protesters into groups of a few hundred all over the Princes Street area. At specifically timed intervals, baton-wielding police violently charged protesters and crushed them against steel fencing leading to dozens of injuries with some taken to hospital. Having shut down all the roads around the area, a completely unprovoked mounted police charge led to one elderly woman being knocked down. She then suffered some kind of fit and was rushed to hospital. In response, there were isolated incidents of clashes with police, mainly carried out by local youths using the opportunity to throw bricks at the police. Tonight, around 40 people are arrested in police custody. The charges against them are unclear.
As the city finally calmed down again, one thing remained clear: the policing for this G8 is already repressive and violent, and the numbers of police on the streets are completely disproportionate to the numbers of protesters on the streets. Reports on TV tonight of protesters behaving irresponsibly are simply untrue - it was the police who charged protesters and created the pretext for clashes, a fact confirmed by Green MSP Mark Ballard when interviewed on TV news channels tonight.
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.
While penned in by riot police along Princes Street on Monday afternoon, two teenage shoppers from Falkirk were disappointed to see their favourite chain shops boarded up or shut (some with shoppers inside, hello Sainsbury's!). They thought the standoff was 'cool' but weren't too sure why it was happening. 'They don't want the G8 meeting to go ahead, and they don't like Bob Geldoff too much,' guessed one. 'But I don't see the point of the police making so much havoc over this. Nothing exciting is happening – people are just standing about.'
But not for long, as Lothian and Borders' (and Merseyside's?) finest charged at protesters with their truncheons, causing them to run chaotically through Princes Street Gardens (off of the main thoroughfare). 'How the hell do they know who's who?' asked one man nervously to his friend. For it was not just G8 protesters who were fending off riot shields – hoodies battled to escape from the police pen with local shoppers, camera-clutching tourists, tracksuit-clad yobs and news-hungry hacks. From the front lines, it seems the street clashes were caused as much by youths – many of them local judging by their taste for Buckfast, a local brew – looking for an excuse to attack authority as much as by the small group of masked activists.
Some thought the aggression was brought upon by the (heavy-handed) police, who outnumbered the protesters by at least three to one. 'I would like to apologise to the anarchists on behalf of my own city,' said an older local woman, who got caught up in the crowds on her way home from work. 'This police presence is totally over the top. We are being treated as criminals. I haven't seen anything like this since I went on flying pickets on the miners' strikes in Fife.'
While we were chatting and fending off riot shields, an Asian hooded-youth was surrounded by three police and searched for weapons. He had none. On a nearby street, three 25-year-old men were also stopped and searched. According to police, one of them matched a CCTV description of 'man throwing projectiles'. But he had been holed up at home all day. 'Today we wanted to be seen to be part of the crowd, and we've been completely peaceful,' said one of the trio. 'I don't see a point in being violent; it gives people a chance to put the blame on us.'
He added that Saturday's Make Poverty History march had a better atmosphere, but he's not sure if 'dumping all the debt is the right answer'.
Not everyone shared his peace-lovin' message. One family man disappointed with the week's events, the closing off of the town core and the graffiti going up in his hometown, was standing amid the melee to make up his own mind about the protesters. He concluded: 'These protests are a disgrace. I want to stick into these people and do as much damage to them as they want to do to a policeman.'
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.
The 'carnival' has been very well attended but I couldn't say by how many thousands. The original hoodies - the black clad anarchos were there, the media friendly clown army, lots of fluffies and a good number of bobbies turned out to support the protest, or not.
Things I've not seen today; any police with numbers on thier shoulders. None at all.
Something I have seen today; tourists and locals being shoved around by said cops.
In all honesty I can say that the police have been over reacting and getting pretty shirty. There have been arrests but at this stage have no idea how many. It appears to be illegal to run about laughing and reclaim your own streets for a bit.
Things I've not seen today 2; any anarchist being violent.
In fact the carnival atmosphere from the beginning was really excellent and relaxed. As the police began to set up the boxes in which we are meant to live the chaos started to over spill.
The police presence has been large and the numbers of under cover cops seems excessive to say the least.
Slogan of the day; Who G8 all the pies?
Somewhere else in Scotland; discussions on women's liberation, people recovering and faslane protests.
Something else I saw today; naked man running in and out of police lines to the cheers and whoops of the crowds. His enthusiasm began to die as he realised the police would do nothing and after ten, fifteen minutes of wandering around he wandered back into the protest, I hope to find his clothes.
Incidentally I've been converted by the Clown Army. The incredibly disproportionate press coverage they were getting before the protests was beginning to get on my wick - but having seen them in action I've relented.
On Saturday for the minutes silence they had marched into the Meadows and formed up in a huge circle (150 of them?) I thought "Hello, they're going to subvert the silence or something." Nope they observed the silence and at the end cheered and clapped with joy then rushed in for the largest group hug you've ever seen. Respectful and fun, cool.
Today I've seen clowns lying in a supposedly cleared road in front of police horses. After quite a while the police couldn't bear it anymore and retreated. Wow! The power of clowning sleep - who'd have thought it?
The clowns also went down very well with the crowd and chatted and joked with them which was excellent PR. It also appears that wearing clown make up is a very good chat up technique - it certainly worked on me. Respect.
Big up to; the anti-capitalist medics who were quick and efficient with the minor injuries I saw them attend to.
Star road sign; "Make Poverty History - expect delays"
Indymedia time line could be useful for more info as it comes in.
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.
Demonstrations will take place throughout the day at the nuclear base.
Green MSP Chris Ballance, speaker on Peace and Nuclear issues for the Greens, said: "Following the historic demonstrations in Edinburgh and across the world at the weekend, that spirit of overwhelming demand for change will now focus on militarism, the arms trade and our very own WMD on the Clyde. A shameful £48 per second is spent on the UK's nuclear weapons. At a time when the clamour for action on poverty and climate change is resonating louder than ever before, the promotion of the global arms trade and nuclear weaponry by G8 nations must be stopped.
"The hypocrisy is quite breathtaking - on the one hand Blair and Bush claim moral rights to invade other countries to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, yet they are quite happy to spend billions of pounds on their own supply of them.
"They are illegal under international law and waste taxpayers money that would be better spent on tackling poverty, creating a sustainable economy and addressing the very real and present dangers faced by humanity - such as climate change."
"It is the intention of western states to hold onto and build even more nuclear weapons, and it is this that is spurring on nations around the world to do the same. We must honour our international treaty obligations and get rid of Trident now."
Caroline Lucas Green Party MEP for South-East England, who is also a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's national council and Co-President of the European Parliament's cross-party Peace Initiatives group, said she would keep attending peaceful demonstrations - and risking arrest for non-violent direct action - until the UK scrapped its nuclear arsenal.
"Nuclear weapons have been responsible for the indiscriminate deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians worldwide, and their use has been declared unlawful by the international Court of Justice in The Hague," she said.
"The risk of nuclear weapons use - by accident, design or miscalculation - is increasing due to the proliferation of nuclear weapons to new States, the possibility of non-State access to nuclear weapons and bomb-building materials, and the expanded nuclear weapons use doctrines of the nuclear weapon states.
"The G8 leaders meeting in Scotland cannot hope to persuade states such as Iran and North Korea to abandon their nuclear ambitions whilst they maintain their own nuclear arsenals: and I will keep protesting about Trident until it has been scrapped."
Dr Lucas, who is in Scotland to take part in the 'Alternative G8 Summit', added: "If G8 leaders are serious about tackling hardship in the developing world, they must take seriously the link between nuclear weapons, militarism and poverty."
The G8 countries account for 80% of the world's arms trade, supplying weapons to countries all over the world and to states who use them for oppression in developing countries. The G8 countries also own most of the world's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
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.
Instantly recognised due to his media profile role during the Iraq War, Gilligan, 36, was spotted taking notes and using a dictaphone and was given 20 seconds to leave by angry activists who particularly object to the coverage of anti-capitalist protests in the Evening Standard. When he refused, a large number of individuals simply escorted him from the building. Although his personal equipment was initially confiscated, it was later handed back. His diary is now being sent down to London.
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.
I thought of Afghanistan and Iraq when I heard UN Secretary General Kofi Annan saying: "On behalf of the poor, the voiceless and the weak I say thank you." But the worst had still to happen.
Then I saw Bill Gates on the stage of Live 8 in London, calling for generosity. But even that wasn’t the worst.
The worst would be let these clowns blind us on the real causes of the problem, in Africa as anywhere else. The worst would be falling in this propaganda trap orchestrated by war criminals and their friends. The worst would be let them win.
This morning I read an open letter by Sir Bob Geldof to the leaders of the G8. Toward the end, he writes: “Today there will be noise and music and joy, the joy of exuberant possibility. On Friday there will be a great silence as the world awaits your verdict.”
Let’s not be silent, neither on Friday, nor on Saturday or on any other day. Let’s not be silent against this clan of gangsters who arrogate to themselves the right to decide the life and death of millions of people and our very survival on this planet.
To keep my sanity I collected a few articles about all this. Take a look!
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.
However, the organisers did not have it all their own way. Despite the much-hyped
appearance of Gordon Brown, the chancellor never showed up on the 'dignitaries' march'. And just before the 225,000-strong popular march was about to start, political satire group CRAP society (Capitalism Represents Acceptable Policy) hijacked the front of the demonstration with placards like 'Bomb Iran Next', 'Bring Back the Slave Trade', 'Make Money Not Love' and other such gems. While the corporate media went into a mass feeding frenzy, the Make Poverty History faithful were not amused. One man angrily snatched placards from the pranksters while others shouted 'shame'. Keep watchin' Indymedia UK.
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.
Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, has expressed his backing for the
action, explaining:
"Britain spends many times more on arms than it does on aid. It is
particularly shocking that Britain spends over £1 billion a year on its
own nuclear weapons of mass destruction, Trident. That money should go
towards liberating people from poverty and war not sustaining weapons of
mass slaughter. CND is right to highlight the presence of Trident at
Faslane on Monday 4th July, while the G8 leaders prepare to meet at
Gleneagles. I wish the blockade every success."
Amongst those planning to blockade Faslane naval base, which is situated 30 miles west of Glasgow, (approximately 50 miles from Gleneagles) is a broad spectrum of protestors, from Parliamentarians and Church leaders to anti-globalisation activists involved with the Dissent! network.
Delegations of activists from countries including the USA, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Greece are planning to help shut down the base, with many planning to use sophisticated non-violent blockading techniques, including metal piping, chains and passive resistance. A carnival atmosphere is expected, with a 60-strong Samba band from Berlin amongst those expected to take part.
A spokesperson for the Faslane G8 Team, Joss Garman, said:
"On Monday, we will make history by shutting down the home port for
Britain's Weapons of Mass Destruction. Whilst the G8 leaders will talk
about ending poverty, we will show how they are creating it through war
and the arms trade. You can?t end poverty, unless you also end war."
He added, "Whilst 80% of the world lives on less than a dollar a day, Britain alone is spending £1.5 billion per year on a useless and illegal relic of the Cold War, and propping up the arms trade to the tune of £900 million per year - fuelling conflict and poverty across the developing world."
The demonstration, which is scheduled to begin at 7am, is organised by CND and Trident Ploughshares, but is supported by Campaign Against Arms Trade, Stop the War Coalition, Britain's biggest trade union - UNISON, Scottish TUC and G8 Alternatives. Members of the Clergy, joining the blockade, will hold a religious ceremony in the entrance to the North Gate at noon on Monday.
For practical information and maps:
www.faslaneg8.com
ACTION LINE:
0845 45 88 361
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