Report from N30
Nearly two thousand people gathered at Euston station at 5pm for a rally jointly organised by Reclaim the Streets and the London Strike Support Group designed to highlight the links between the free trade agenda of the WTO and the privatisation of public transport in UK. The event was endorsed by the London Transport Council of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), whose speaker detailed the opposition to Tube privitisation and the real concerns for safety should it go ahead. As banners were hung the rythms of a samba band mixed with speeches from representatives of various campaigning groups. Although the main focus of the rally was transport, there were also speakers covering a wide array of issues linked to the WTO and the system it governs.
Genetic Engineering Network illustrated how free trade rules make it impossible for people to choose what they eat, putting them in the hands of corporations that push GMO's down their throats.
A speaker from Voices in the Wilderness criticised the British and American governments for maintaining heavy economic sanctions against Iraq. The group openly break sanctions to take medical supplies to Iraq, where it is widely accepted the sanctions are causing severe shortages of food and medicines killing thousands, particularly children.
Campaign Against the Arms Trade highlighted the links between politicians and the global arms market. While admitting it was not the WTO that controlled the worlds arms production, the speaker went on to place the blame for the worlds conflicts on companies like the UK's GEC Marconi, the labour government's so called ethical arms policy, and the inherent greed for profit that places money before lives.
There was also support for the plight of American journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, in death row since 1982 as a result of a thorougly rigged trial in which he was convicted of shooting a Philadelphia policeman. A former member of the Black Panthers and the environmental-anarchist community MOVE, he is widely considered a political prisoner.
Talking from Reclaim The Streets another speaker urged the importance of placing the WTO in the context of capitalism and its effects, and cited the growing nature of international solidarity and protest. One of the final speakers called on people to 'Reclaim Mayday' in the year 2000 as part of global day of action.
As advertised the speeches ended at 7pm to resounding cheers with a final speaker congratulating everyone on a successful day and remarkable gathering of issues.
RIOT AT EUSTON STATION
At around the same time as the first reports of police violence in Seattle arrived to London, part of the crowd that had been previously attending the rally at Euston station made an attempt to break away towards one of the main traffic arteries in the capital. Although the whole area was surrounded by police, protesters were directly met by a small number of police officers and a confrontation erupted. Police were initially driven back but a line of officers in riot gear rapidly formed and a series of charges and skirmishes on both directions ensued. There were diverse opinions among the protesters about the right course to follow, many openly calling to pro-activelly confront the authorities while others opted for passive resistance and some for withdrawal.
A small group of protesters switched their attention to an unmarked police van and proceeded to turn it over, to a mixture of booing and cheering from fellow protesters. In the following half hour there were several attempts to set the van on fire which on some occasions were thwarted by other demonstrators. Finally, the van caught fire and was surrounded by around 30 photographers, at which moment police decided to clear the station parade, advancing in perfectly structured lines. The van had been left isolated and unattended near the crowd for several hours, with 12ft metal poles attached to its top, in a remarkable flaw of police organisation.
Most of the protestors left the area by 8pm while around 500 people, now roughly divided into three groups, continued to clash with police. The first group was driven towards King's Cross, with several unsuccessful attempts to blockade the road by sitting down. They were finally dispersed after 9pm. A second, smaller, group stayed dancing in front of police lines in Eversholt street and gradually dispersed. The third group was less fortunate and, after some heated physical confrontation, was completely surrounded by a triple line of riot police who identified and photographed all of them before their release. The area was completely clear between 12 and 1am.
The latest reports speak of 38 arrests, 4 of them in connection with the carnival in the City of London on J18, and 7 casualties with different injuries (including a policeman with spinal injuries) none of them life-threatening. Road traffic and public transport were severely disrupted by the events.