Free Palestine Coalition Demand A Ceasefire Now: Final Saturday, sixth January 2024, like many others I used to be watching on Twitter/X for the announcement by the Free Palestine Coalition of the start line for his or her Gaza protest at 10am.
It was with some shock that I learn it was to be on the consuming fountain in St James’ Park, considered one of London’s Royal Parks, a feudal remnant with bylaws in opposition to virtually all the pieces, however at the least it was simple to get to, and I had loads of time to make it by the beginning time of midday, and arrived round 1 / 4 of an hour early.
The protest was organised and backed by Black Lives Matter UK, NMEE, Sisters Uncut, East and South East Asian Sisters, Copwatch Community, Well being Staff For a Free Palestine, Queers For Palestine, London Marketing campaign Towards Police & State Violence, Palestinian Youth Motion and London Palestine Motion.
It made three clear calls for; a full unconditional ceasefire NOW, the UK to cease arming Israel and an finish to the Israeli Occupation of Gaza and Palestine. It had clearly been deliberate as a peaceable protest, though one that will trigger some disruption to site visitors in central London as many different occasions together with different protests do.
There was solely a small group there once I arrived, however numbers grew quickly by the point the rally started and continued to develop for a while, maybe growing to a few thousand by the tip of the occasion. Shortly after the rally started police approached the speaker and instructed her that she couldn’t use a megaphone because it was in opposition to the Park bylaws. After a brief delay she continued with out it, although now the gang was so giant many couldn’t hear. A couple of minutes later a public tackle system arrived and the audio system started to make use of this. After one other warning by police they wheeled this out onto the pavement of Birdcage Stroll.
Right here the audio system continued, with a very transferring account by a health care provider from Well being Staff For a Free Palestine in regards to the horrific situations confronted by her colleagues working in Gaza, the place virtually all hospitals have been bombed by Israeli forces and solely three stay in a position to proceed, going through horrible shortages which have meant amputations with no anaesthetics out there and a complete lack of medicines, clear dressings and antiseptics taking medical situations again into the darkish ages.
After the rally had continued for some minutes, a squad of police rushed in and seized the PA system from the pavement, forcefully pushing all these shut out of their approach. I used to be thrown apart and kicked within the shin onerous sufficient to trigger some bleeding and though not significantly injured definitely affected by shock. I’m uncertain about what occurred for the following couple of minutes and it was virtually ten minutes earlier than I’d recovered sufficient to {photograph} significantly once more.
The police appeared to have been intentionally attempting to impress the protesters and had a really giant presence for what was anticipated to be a comparatively small protest. Finally the organisers known as on the protesters who had been shouting angrily on the police for some minutes to maneuver off and the march slowly made its approach in the direction of Westminster Bridge.
Because the entrance of the march got here to Bridge Avenue along side the Homes of Parliament there was a halt for pictures and when the march moved off a line of police throughout the highway tried to cease them. However there have been far too few officers to type a correct cordon, and I and round a few hundred protesters moved previous and onto the beginning of Westminster Bridge earlier than reinforcements arrived.
There have been extra police on the bridge and a line of police vans behind them, in addition to extra on the Embankment. Had the protesters been allowed to march onto the bridge and protest there the bridge would have been closed till the protest ended, however site visitors might have continued to move on each the Embankment and Bridge Avenue, which have been nonetheless blocked once I left later. Protests continued on Westminster Bridge, although a lot of the protesters have been nonetheless held on Bridge Avenue behind a police line. Round half an hour later police did resolve to permit them to hitch the others, in all probability to make it simpler for them to kettle the protest in a single block fairly than two.
On the bridge there have been some noisy protests which pressured police liaison officers to withdraw from the gang. A few of them complained to the occasion stewards in regards to the leaflets which have been being distributed to the numerous vacationer additionally being blocked by the police from leaving in the direction of Parliament Sq., suggesting that these distributing them may be committing an offence. I learn one rigorously and will discover nothing anti-Semitic, nothing which I had not heard or learn within the mainstream press regardless of their failures in reporting.
At one level individuals let off smoke flares within the pink, inexperienced and white of the Palestinian flag. Later there was a interval of silence for the victims in Palestine and people in Israel, and plenty of sat or lay down on the roadway. A gaggle in entrance of the police cordon wore masks exhibiting Rishi Sunak, sporting tops with the messages ‘STOP ARMING ISRAEL’ ‘CEASEFIRE NOW!’holding up their arms pink with faux blood which dripped down their arms.
I left because the police allowed the protesters to all be part of collectively, kettling each teams. I used to be drained and nonetheless slightly shaken from the sooner assault by police and wanted to sit down down and relaxation on a seat on the Embankment. Consuming my sandwiches for a late lunch and consuming some water helped too.
As I walked again to Waterloo the blue lights have been nonetheless flashing on Westminster Bridge, and an hour later at 3.32 the Met posted “All protesters have now left the realm round Westminster Bridge. Officers stay on-duty in central London and are prepared to reply to any additional demonstrations.” I felt their response to this one had been detrimental within the excessive and had made the state of affairs worse than if that they had stayed away utterly. Their presence was an enormous waste of public cash and London actually doesn’t want police who behave as they did at this occasion.
The police had arrested various individuals on Westminster Bridge however later Black Lives Matter UK, one of many organisers, made the next submit: “All arrestees have been launched with no additional motion. Due to all who’ve supported the protests and brought outing to look after all these made susceptible by the police.“
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