G20 Protests- Windows smashed, buildings stormed

Here’s a slideshow of what I saw:

At least 4,000 people gathered outside the Bank of England on Wednesday April 1st to protest for causes ranging from climate change to curbing capitalism.

By midday police had encircled the crowd. I was told I could join the protest but would not be allowed out until it ended. The problem was that no one knew when it would end. I was outraged that as a citizen in a democracy I was not allowed to go and show my support for the amount of time I chose. Due to the policy employed by the police hundreds of people like me who felt strongly, but did not want to spend all day there, were deterred from adding their support to the protest.

As it was so many people gathered behind the police that they were stuck in the middle of two seething crowds. There was so much pushing and shoving that the police were forced back way beyond where I was standing and I found myself the protest side of the line anyway.

Red smoke bombs were let off, the windows of RBS were smashed and some people invaded a branch of RBS and the Bank of England.

What people want from the G20

People share their reasons for why they joined the Put People First march that took place on Saturday and how they would like to see world leaders respond.

Protestors urge G20 to Put People First

An estimated 35,000 protestors joined a march from Embankment to Hyde Park to campaign for fairness for the poor, workers and the climate ahead of the G20 summit due to take place on Thursday.

The march was organised by the Put People First Alliance made up of 150 charities and unions.

There was a disparate array of groups: local and national workers unions, political parties, faith groups, charities, stop the war protestors and freedom for Palestine campaigners.

The march culminated in a rally in Hyde Park which featured a variety of speakers including: Tony Juniper, an environmental campaigner and the Green Party’s General Election candidate for Cambridge; Brendan Barber, the General Secretary of Trades Union Congress (TUC); and Susan George, an author of many books concerning global justice.

The parade was certainly peaceful, and in fact, glib. People nipped off to the pub along the way. In Hyde park it started to rain and crowds left the stage area in droves to shelter under the café awnings or to get the tube home.

At best, the march showed that people feel they want change. It highlighted the wave of sentiment that people are being reawakened to. Capitalism is not fair, vested interests are frequently served by governments when they make decisions on international affairs and climate change and this should not be the case.

The problem is that the march was a medley of groups with a vast range of grievances and only nebulous ideas of how to address them, that is, if they had any answers at all.

The Put People First website states “Our message is clear: we must put people first”. This is not a clear message. It poses a myriad questions, which people? And how? Being the first two, and themselves difficult to answer.

Given that the single issue protest march against the Iraq war which was attended by a million people failed to sway the Government’s actions, there is little chance that this march will impact decisions made at the G20.