Thousands confront G20 leaders in London

More than 35,000 protesters marched in London on March 28 in advance of the G20 Summit held in that city on April 2. The G20 meeting brought together leaders of the world’s largest capitalist countries to discuss the global economic crisis. The “Put People First” march was organized by the Trades Union Council and 120 other groups to demand “jobs, justice and climate.”

Thousands of protesters in Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany, took to the streets with a message to the G20 leaders: “We won’t pay for your crisis.” (BBC, March 28) Demonstrations also occurred in Vienna, Geneva, Paris, Barcelona and other European cities.

On April 1, dubbed “Financial Fools Day,” several demonstrations involving thousands of protesters took place in London. They included the G20 Meltdown in front of the Bank of England; a Climate Camp that occupied the street outside the European Climate Exchange; marches and protests at the ExCel Center, site of the G20 meeting; and a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy organized by the Stop the War Coalition.

Photographs and videos of the demonstrations showed banners and signs with slogans such as “Capitalism isn’t working,” “Gaza: End the blockade,” “Climate Emergency,” “Planet before Profit,” “Jobs not Bombs,” and “We Won’t Pay for Their Crisis.”

Militant demonstrations outside the Bank of England and the Royal Bank of Scotland were met by hundreds of riot police who unsuccessfully attempted to break up the protests. Bank windows were smashed and a banker effigy was burned. “Built on blood” was written in chalk in front of the Bank of England while protesters spray painted “Class War” and “Thieves” on the building.

Protesters refused to back down as they repeatedly charged at the cops and hurled eggs, paint, fruit and other items at them. Cops arrested 85 protesters and tensions grew as police refused to allow demonstrators to leave the plaza in front of the bank. (Associated Press, April 2)

Many people sustained injuries as cops went wild with their clubs, indiscriminately beating both protesters and passersby. Ian Thomlinson, 47, was violently clubbed on the head by a cop on his way home from work and collapsed moments later outside the Bank of England. He died from a possible heart attack suffered minutes after the police attack. The Independent Police Complaints Commission received numerous eyewitness statements attributing Thomlinson’s death to the cops’ actions. A formal inquiry will likely take place. (Guardian, April 5)

Meanwhile, riot police on horseback used batons and dogs to violently break up the encampment at the Climate Camp. They used a tactic called “kettling” to pen in protestors for hours against their will. Many protesters were injured and cops destroyed tents, bicycles and personal items. Climate Camp participant Beth McGrath stated, “Despite our repeated requests to be searched and allowed to leave the space, we were held there for six hours with no access to water, food, toilets or medical care.” (Environment, April 3)

“When [the police] decided they wanted to break up the camp, they did it with a lot of aggression, snatching people who had protested peacefully,” said Climate Camp spokesperson Richard Bernard. “But that’s what we expected because we were not just challenging one element of economic policy but the whole system.” Bernard vowed, “This is not the end of it. We’re going to come back in August for Camp in the City Part Two.” (BBC News, April 3)

Other demonstrations against poverty, war and the capitalist system took place on April 2 outside the ExCel Center as well as around the Stock Exchange and the Bank of England. Cops arrested a total of 122 people at the anti-G20 protests. (Reuters, April 2)