As of Sunday 3rd (i.e., the day after tomorrow!) don’t expect much activity on this blog for a few days. Well, prob’ly closer to a coupla weeks actually.
For I be off on my rambles again. This time to the Climate Camp that’s even now in process of being set up near Kingsnorth Power Station in northeast Kent.
Well, I say “in process of being set up”. That’s when they can manage to do the setting up in between bully-boy incursions by the local Gestapo… um, sorry, I meant political police. Um… no, what I actually meant was “officers of Kent’s constabulary”.
Apparently, within 24 hours or so of the site being “claimed” the local boys in blue swarmed all over the place, searching, using pepper spray, arresting, and generally being a bit intimidatory. Nothing new there then.
No doubt they saw it as payback time for when a police incursion was made at the Climate Camp last year, situated near Heathrow.
A detachment of cops marched on… and were very promptly marched off again by the assembled campers, who quite rightly objected to such arrogant tactics. A few red faces in the cop canteen that night probably.
In fact, thinking about it, the cops didn’t have a very good time of it last year. What with being unceremoniously ejected from the Camp and then, in Harmondsworth village, the lovely Chief Inspector Pendry sending a detachment of riot cops away with a flea in their ear (see this), they’ve got a lot of ground to make up.
Which is to say nothing of one cop being thrown from her horse in the “Battle of the Beanfield”.
So, this time around they have apparently managed to seize a number of items that they claim could be used to cause criminal damage, including such offensive things as kids’ crayons and a couple of board games. Wow!
And that’s to say nothing of their seizure of stuff intended to help construct the camp and make it a relatively comfortable, safe, and hygienic place for later arrivals. (Bearing in mind its not just your hardened activist that comes to Climate Camp, but also folk who simply want to find out about the issues, or learn the skills required to develop an environmentally friendly and sustainable lifestyle, and elderly people, and disabled folk, and kids… in other words, a fairly representative cross-section of society as a whole.)
This article on Indymedia has the full story.
Yet the Camp’s not toally without supporters in the Establishment. Check out this article by the parliamentarian Chris Davies published in today’s Guardian newspaper, which also gives some background to the issues that the Camp’s all about.
Of course, there’s a subtext to this recent escapade by the cops. Quite aside from any “legitimate” reason they may claim to have for such heavy-handed policing, one can’t help but wonder whether part of their ploy is not just to “assert their authority” but also to deter others from coming to the Camp.
That motivation (i.e., the suppression of political dissent and activism) quite clearly has a large part to play in their deployment of FIT officers at “political” events, so its reasonable to suppose that such motivation may well have informed this recent “raid”.
So when are they gonna wake up and realise that if anything it just makes the committed activist even more determined to act, as much in protest against the repression as against the issue at hand.
And talking of FIT, fitwatch have today circulated a callout for fitwatchers to come to the Camp. I quote:
“please forward x
Celebrate Fitwatch’s 1st Birthday at Climate Camp
This year’s Climate Camp will also celebrate Fitwatch’s first outing to a major protest. Since then we have gone from strength to strength.
Use Fitwatch tactics all week, and join us to celebrate our anniversary on the day of mass action (9th August). Together we can render the FIT ineffective, and you too can experience the pleasure of forcing a cameraman to retreat.During the year, we have received criticism on our blog for being “professional protesters”. However, we agree. We take protest seriously. We want to be effective, and to do this we need reclaim our anonymity.
Fitwatch – bring the professional back into protesting!”
Needless to say, this heightened cop activity right from the off won’t deter me from my plans, as I suspect goes for a lot of other folk as well.
So there you have it. Blogging silence from me for at least a week or so (who was that who just said “Phew, thank heaven for that”?).
Oh, almost forgot to mention… the Climate Camp website’s here!
As always I will dutifully check out all the links you have provided.
In addition, I wish you and your comrades the best of luck with everything.
And finally, when you’re arrested be certain to give them only your name, rank and serial number!
Thanks forkboy
ha ha! Please, don’t get arrested.
I too wish you guys the best of luck! You will be missed while you are away.
There are times when I want to participate in actions such as this. I sometimes want to, then I remember the level of violence the police are allowed (expected?) to employ with the smallest of provocation or reason and I let go of the idea.
I know it’s exactly what they want. I know it’s the wrong conclusion to come to. I know I should do my bit. Sadly, I don’t want to be hurt. I am not very good at being in pain, it doesn’t suit me. I also don’t want the police to knock down my door and rummage through my flat. Not that I have anything to hide, I just don’t relish the idea.
Sad? I know.
I know exactly what you mean Matthew. In fairness it has to be said that it tends to be the more hardened activist, and those committed to “direct action” who receive most of the attention from the cops.
The majority of folk who turn up at these events, particularly ones as large as this promises to be, remain relatively unscathed and free of any subsequent repercussions. Possibly the worst thing they’d have to face is a cursory stop & search.
The other point is, the more people that attend the more difficult it becomes for the cops to be heavy-handed.
So, whilst sympathising with the trepidation, I’d still encourage even the most timid of folk to attend this sort of event.
Thanks for the reply Fotdmike!
There is a part of me that really wishes I had the guts to attend these mass actions. However, the risk is still to great and scares me too much. I know that the police have power because we allow them to, and that there are far more of us than there are of them, so that mass actions are, by and large, safer for those who take part than small actions, but I am a whuss.
I guess the reason I started this blog is to start on the road of actually doing something. Anything. I went along to an anarchist community centre before last years climate camp and I really enjoyed it. It made a change that I could say things that were on my mind without getting a funny look, a degrading comment or ignored. I haven’t been since and the community centre has in fact closed since I went to it, which makes me sad.
Anyway, I’m rambling now. Thanks for the post, I enjoyed reading it, and thanks for the reply.
Hiya. I was just having a quick root around to see where I could dig up some more insights into camp life when I see you’ve already responded. Neverthless, you might like to check this page out.
If you change your mind and fancy coming along, even if only for a day, feel free to track me down. I’m supposed to be one of the Camp Photographers Pool (attached to the media team), and I’ll prob’ly be camped in the Eastside neighbourhood.
- mike
Since we don’t have a car we’d have to use public transport, which at this short notice would cost over £80. Since that represents around one week’s household income, it’s not viable.
Interesting page though, thanks. I didn’t have time to check out the IndyMedia page earlier, but did just now. If I hadn’t just spent three years studying and paying attention to the legal situation in this country I’d say it was unbelieveable. Since I have though, I’ll just nod sadly along.
Watching Taking Liberties, directed by Chris Atkins, was a real eye-opener for me, I’d advise watching it if you haven’t already!
Well Matthew, the way things turned out at the Camp it was probably just as well you couldn’t make it there. It was… um… how shall I put it… occasionally stressful!
I’ll be doing a blogpost about it shortly.
Welcome back. When I saw the BBC coverage of the invasion before the camp was even up and running I knew you guys down there were in for a bad time. The BBC did their usual, report the Police line as fact and make sure to add “the protesters claim…” before anything which isn’t the party line.
Glad you got back in one piece and am looking forward to your camp entry!
Pingback: Spooky! (Alternative title: Product plug!) « Adventures of an Idiot - occasional ramblings of a photography freak