Home > G8 Edinburgh : protesters scuffle with police
Edito Demos-Actions Police - Repression G7 - G8... UK
HUNDREDS of anti-capitalist demonstrators took to the streets of Scotland’s capital today in a series of protests ahead of the G8 summit.
The centre of Edinburgh was brought to a standstill as an estimated 500 anarchist protesters were involved in tense stand-offs with police.
The demonstrations, under the banner of The Carnival For Full Enjoyment, were said by organisers to be aimed at highlighting their anti-war and anti-wage slavery message.
A heavy police presence, drawn from forces across Britain, ensured protesters were contained away from the main financial district where the event had been due to congregate at noon.
Much of the west end of the city was closed to traffic as the protesters - many clad in colourful fancy dress and others in black with their faces masked - marched and danced through the streets to the sound of samba drums and whistles.
More than two hours after the first protest began there had been no major disorder, no reported injuries and just one arrest.
Several scuffles took place between police and demonstrators, with police drawing their batons during clashes.
Officers managed to corral more than 200 protesters into a narrow lane, Canning Street, off the city centre.
A similar stand-off took place on Princes Street itself.
Police had geared up massively for today’s protest and Edinburgh citizens witnessed the rare sight of officers wearing the traditional helmets of English bobbies.
Police had raised concerns about today’s protest because no formal application or notice had been given to the local authority about the action planned.
As an expectant media waited at the junction of Lothian Road and Princes Street, with a police helicopter buzzing overhead, around 60 protesters emerged at noon banging drums and blowing whistles.
The group, which steadily grew in numbers, set off away from Princes Street and along Shandwick Place towards Haymarket railway station watched closely by officers, some in riot gear and some on horseback.
Surrounded
The procession was diverted away from an approach road to Scottish Widows’ headquarters and the main financial district and within 20 minutes of setting off found itself penned in to Canning Street.
A stand-off began during which there were occasional scuffles as some protesters tried to break through the police cordon that surrounded them.
One protester managed scaled a wall overlooking the street, about 25ft up.
After about an hour police opened up a further 80 yards of the street allowing protesters to roam freely in a larger space.
They were prevented from leaving the street by police in riot gear at one end and uniformed police and police vans at the other.
On Princes Street, the main shopping street in Edinburgh, two dozen police vans moved slowly towards Waverley railway station with lights flashing.
Police in full riot gear then set up lines, including a 40-strong wall of officers outside the National Galleries of Scotland.
Protesters were held in small pockets along with tourists and shoppers.
Lothian and Borders Police said the demonstration was "unacceptable".
A spokesman added: "The so-called Carnival Of Full Enjoyment was being staged without discussions with police and was clearly intended to cause disruption and inconvenience.
"Police in Edinburgh have always been prepared to help peaceful protest to ensure the safety of the public and protesters. However, we will take firm action to deal with any disruptive behaviour."
– © Copyright 2005 Manchester Evening News
Forum posts
5 July 2005, 10:39
Seeing the pictures on the news showed the lengths the authorities go to protect the powerful.
Around 100 demonstrators in Princes Street, Edinburgh with over 1000 riot police. The police looked like c*nts with all their weaponry attacking a few street theatre people dressed as clowns, bashing them over the head.
One would almost ascertain that the polices’ main function in society is to protect the rich.
Surely not ???
5 July 2005, 12:49
G8 my arse they aint going to do bugger all about Africa WHY? the west got a bloody hard time dealing with the competition from China, Russia, Japan, Germany all competing for scarce natural resources without the blooy Africans in the race for them also, dont you worry the bloody Africans will be kept in their place and tuff if millions are dying every day the worlds over population and they (the rich) consider this more threatening than global nuclear war to their money and power.
5 July 2005, 13:06
Exactly -you have lying by omission and you have genocide by ignoring the problem.
The last thing Western nations want is more Africans putting demands on their own natural resources. Heaven Forfend ! No, let ’em die, -you’d never hear them say but they welcome the AIDS epidemic, one Afrcan tyrant fighting a ’civil war’ with another having bought the weapons from one of our countries arms manufacturers with extortionate loan rates, or an African child dying every 3 seconds. To the West they are totally expendable. Obvious.
Bill Gates and all those other Billion and Millionaires at LIVE 8. What a joke ! Easing their ego inflated consciences.
A sick joke.
6 July 2005, 03:04
i think the protesters have no right to be in our capital city,a bunch of fu*kin smelly sma*khead hippies looking for another way to get high, and they found it in protesting,poverty is everywhere not just fu*kin africa and i say we sort out our own before helping anyone else..look at the poverty throughout the uk,do the hippies march and sing and dance about that? i HATE the Polis but this has given me a major incentive to join the police,grab a truncheon and beat the sh!t out of all these smelly protesters who think they are doing good. Do gooders, too bad they couldnt do good at washing, half of the people protesting make the homeless people look glamerous. All they are after is attention ( why else would they smell,have either dreadlocks or fucked up hair and paint there faces) i couldnt help LAUGHING at all the smelly b@stards getting SMASHED by the Polis....outstanding....if the Hippies want a riot they should go down to wester hailles and protest, see how long they last in the jungle ya Bas!
6 July 2005, 09:43
You seem to endorse the media sterotype of protestor, the way the Daily Mail writes about the ’great unwashed’. So you want to ’grab a truncheon and join the police ?
Bit of reactionary macho posturing going on there possibly ? There is poverty in UK but..not quite on the scale of Africa and developing countries. Not to the extent where 50 000 are dying every day.
Anyway Edinburgh is supposed to be the capital of smackheads according to Irving Welsh., so surely they’re bringing in business.
6 July 2005, 18:15
most "violent protestors" at this and many other such events are PLANTED STOOGES (by undercover government agencies) to purposely create havoc and attack police, destroy property etc, which achieves multiple aims - notice how these violent factions are usually not-recognisable - face covered up etc.
1. gives genuine (peaceful) protestors a bad image by the media coverage - average joe watching "the news" will think that all protestors are a bunch of ratbags, blackening the name and purpose of legitimate protest.
2. gives the police the opportunity to attack (and/or arrest) all protestors - violent or not - disrupting legitimate protestors enthusiasm for protesting further (or ever again)
3. media coverage and a bad experience (eg: a broken arm or being maced by police etc) will discourage legitimate protestors from becoming involved in protests.
7 July 2005, 11:26
Agent Provocateurs are used by the state though not as much as people like to think. Some work for the media organisations.
On Sky news last night , Sky had erected a gantry exactly where the trouble kicked off. Coincidence ?
So much of the G8 media coverage is about the ’violence’ between demonstrators and police. They have discovered that punch ups attract viewers and listeners. They know that we as humans often like to see violence if not necessarily participate., and they ALWAYS say ’’it started with carnival atmosphere’’ LOL !
There are many anarchist philosphies, mostly non-violent though some advocate violence as the state agencies use it whenever they want to. Many demonstrations have needed no excuse for the police to crack a few heads and some strains of thought have decided the violence of death and starvation for millions by the powerful 8 needs to be attacked as it’s the only language they understand.