12 May Occupy Global Day of Action at the Bank of England

Today it was occupy global day of action in solidarity with other cities in the world including Athens, Moscow, New York, Barcelona and Madrid. The protest started in St Paul at 1pm, place of the original camp settlement from 15 October 2011 till his eviction by the bailiff on 27th February 2012.


 Spyro Van Leenen - Occupy London organiser talking at Canadian TV channel ctvnews.ca on May day. He explain the context in UK and announced the 12 May Occupy Global day of action.

During the day - From St Paul to the Bank of England

The group had to leave St Paul as the protest was not authorised and Police was threatening them of possible retaliation. Some of the protesters got kettled while trying to run away from the police but the majority still managed to head to the Bank of England, high simbole of capitalism, where the assembly was due to take place. At the Bank of England, the police encircled the all square and then infiltrated the crowd. From this point, I knew that we had to make a move if we did not want to be arrested. At 6pm 2/3 of the crowd had left and the core group remained but debilitated. According to the mainstream media, Police said they made 11 arrests while our observers recorded a higher number. Unfortunately the Occupy organisers did not have a back-up plan in case the Police took control of the square which exposed us to potential violence.
Action on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23occupylondon

Assembly at the Bank of England

At the Bank of England, few speakers from different campaigning groups across London (Jubilee debt, Climate Justice Coalition, UK Uncut....) came to the panel to voice what this day meant to them in the struggle for equality, a fair tax system and the protection of our welfare system, a stop to its erosion by neo-liberal government policies. Corporations dodge millions of pounds through tax evasion, loopholes and negotiation with the government while the 99% have seen their life style, access to health education and employment deteriorated since the beginning of the financial crisis created by the banks.  Till the 99% demands are not met, Occupy and other grassroots movements will continue using whatever tools they have to reach the masses and tell our politicians that we are not in this together. 

References:
http://occupylsx.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_London
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18049010
http://www.youandifilms.com/2012/01/occupation-records-the-99-per-cent-to-launch-a-record-label/

Jamie Kelsey-Fry, The new Internationanist and Occupy Activist taking for Russia Today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqco44bp19g

Take the space while we can at the Occupy LSX

Last night I finally went to the Occupy the London Stock Exchange camp in St Paul's churchyard after almost 2 weeks of occupation. So much has been said on the media about the occupy movement...that  discredited  the political effectiveness of  the camp in the middle of city that I thought it is time to go and judge by myself.

Climate Camp or the “do it yourself” approach

When I arrived at the camp in St Paul's I recognised the made of Climate Camp. I entered a "hot drink" tent, sit down with the people there and felt at home almost immediately.  One of the people in the tent confirms that climate camp was the force behind.... They have a long history of occupying fields across the country and therefore very practical skills he said. A Russian musician attracted by the sound of the piano gave us some news on other occupied places in Europe...reminded us that in UK with all  its repressions we can still speak out that's more than they can do in Russia. Later I asked a young guy in his twenties if people really leave their tent at night as the media was insinuating. He admitted that some did. Most people have a job to go to he said. 

Jesus was threatening the Temple income as much as the camp is today at St Paul’s

On Friday 28th November St Paul's cathedral reopened after citing health and safety reasons for its closure because of the Occupy London camp outside. According to some people I spoke to at the camp all the health and safety measures have been discuss with the council and addresses. So what was the real reason to remain close!? What the safety inside the church as to do with tents outside in the churchyard ? I wonder!  I know I am not a safety expert but it sounds absurd! From a PR perspective it looks pretty bad.  Charitable clergies expulsing unarmed and peaceful protestors! The fact that they are re-opening shows that they are losing the battle and acknowledge that the camp is here to stay. St Paul's lost £20,000 per day since its closure. Why did they close in the first place?

This current situation reminds me of when Jesus raided the Temple and attacked money-changers for defiling a holy place. The leaders of the Jewish establishment realise that he threatens their power, and so do the Romans, who fear that Jesus has the charisma to lead a guerrilla uprising against Imperial Rome.
The religious and political establishment at the time of Jesus are not much different from today's institutions that collude with power for some favours and obscure interests.  Jesus was threatening the temple income just as the camp is today. 

Conclusion:

Whether or not the cathedral authorities take court action to evict the camp, it will have a disastrous publicity on the church. Even if they manage to evict them it will take at least 3 months for a court order to be acted upon. In the meantime, the movement strengthens...