A protest to 'reclaim the streets'

By Thomas Abraham

LONDON, MAY. 1. In an echo of the protests that rocked the Seattle World Trade Organisation conference and the recent International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, anti- capitalist demonstrators gathered in central London for the climax of a four-day rally against globalisation.

The police had mobilised in force to prevent a repetition of the violence that broke out during a similar protest in London last June. Then, property worth about œ2 million had been damaged when protestors attacked buildings, housing banks and financial institutions. The demonstrators, a loose coalition of environmentalists, socialists and anarchists, held low-key protests and demonstrations over the weekend. Police were prepared for more vigorous demonstrations on May Day, when activists planned a campaign of ``guerilla gardening'' to protest against urbanisation.

The protestors, who had banded together to ``Reclaim the streets'', were expected to bring seeds and compost into central London and symbolically try to return them to nature. A spokesman for ``Reclaim the streets'' said the protests were ``about taking back open spaces, taking back derelict open space and greening it.'' The protests were also intended to make the public aware of alternate, non-capitalist lifestyles.

Over the weekend, several hundred cyclists rode down one of London's busiest bridges, the Waterloo bridge, to protest against increasing congestion on the city's roads. A public meeting was also held to protest against a new anti-terrorism Bill. This weekend's protests are only a pale shadow of the demonstrations held in the U.S. and in London last year. The police, who were clearly taken by surprise when rioting swept through London's financial district last June, were better prepared this time and the demonstrators too seemed intent on avoiding a confrontation. One protestor said the demonstration was more a ``celebration of anti-capitalism,'' than a protest. ``We're trying to organise our lives locally and show that we can live without large multi- nationals.''

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Section  : International
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