Battle of Belle Vue
25 Jan 2007
“I tried to help someone up who was on the floor, he was at the feet of a policeman with a dog snapping right at him, and was holding his leg and screaming. I went to help him out of the way of the dog and got hit from behind by a truncheon in the side of the knee and back of my leg 4 times before I could get out of reach.” Alex – would be party goer.Last night (21st Jan)about two thousand party goers were attacked by police whilst attempting to attend a free party in the Manchester area. The A57 was closed for about 2 hrs when police forced party goers out of a warehouse and on to the streets. According to one first hand report the rave was already filling up by around 11pm, nearly half an hour before the police arrived, and the premises were protected under section 6 “squatters rights” due to it being the permanent residence of a small number of people.The police upon entry ignored this warning and proceeded to use extreme force on people who were showing no resistance and breaking no laws. This behaviour was carried out under supervision and instruction of the attending Detective Inspector. Several accounts confirm that people were beaten with police batons, bitten by Dog units for not moving fast enough and/or were thrown around by the police.Outside the venue a large crowd of about 800 people had gathered outside in anticipation of the rave. It response the police saw necessary to form a line complete with riot units, and rush the crowd with both dogs and batons, again attacking people who were unfortunate enough to either not have moved fast enough, or fallen down in the road.Reports and comments

A Tale of Two Climate Change Conferences
25 Jan 2007
Cooling the Planet is said to be “undoubtedly one of the most important environmental conferences being held in the world over the next 12 months”. Nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend and it’s happening in Sheffield, at the Octagon Centre on February 7th. But what are its aims, whose behind it and why are the Sheffield Campaign Against Climate Change organising their own conference in the same week?Sheffield is My Planet is a week of events on climate change in Sheffield from the 5th to the 9th February. The highlight of the week is a lecture by former US Presidential candidate Al Gore at Sheffield University. It’s part of Wednesday afternoon’s “global climate change conference” Cooling the Planet. Al Gore’s lecture was the main substance of his recent film on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth. But access is by strict invite only and it’s not a conference for campaign groups, environmentalists or even climate change scientists. Cooling the Planet is a conference for business leaders.

2007 Is The Year To Shut EDO Down
24 Jan 2007
On Tuesday 15 masked activists entered the car park and loading bay of EDO MBM, Brighton warmongers manufacturing arms for the UK, US and Israel blowing claxon horns and sounding sirens to signify that the Smash EDO campaign is not going away until EDO closes down 1 | .Smash EDO plan to step up their campaign this year with weekly noise demonstrations at the factory, phone blockades, direct action and a week long protest camp this August. 2007 is the year to close EDO down.

Get Down to Your Local Indy
24 Jan 2007
Local Indymedia groups (IMCs) exist all over the UK. Some have existed longer than others and some are more active than others, but they all have one thing in common: they need your help. If you’re interested in working on independent media on a local level, or if you have technical skills, why not become involved? Help organise film screenings, benefit events, or report on local issues, compile features and do admin work on the websites. There is a lot to be done!Another interesting development is the setting up of a new Indymedia collective in Wales. The collective will have its first meeting on Saturday 3rd February and anyone interested is invited. The meeting starts at 1pm at The Vic (previously Victoria Youth Centre), Hill Street in Wrexham. Ideas include the setting up of bi-lingual website to cover news related to Wales. Other collectives that are meeting up in the near future are:Birmingham: Thursday 8th Feb, 7:30pm at The Midlands Arts Centre (mac)Bristol: Monday 19th Feb, 8pm at the Hillgrove Pub, Kingsdown, BristolLondon: Wednesday 31 Jan, 8 pm at London Action Resource Centre, see MapNottinghamshire: Wednesday 7th Feb, 7pm at the Malt Cross, St. James’ Street, NottinghamWales: Saturday 3rd Feb, 1pm at The Vic (previously Victoria Youth Centre), Hill Street, WrexhamLinks: United Kollektives Groups and Contacts | Volunteering with the Independent Media Centers | Indymedia’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (global) | From Indymedia UK to the United Kollektives (article) | Indymedia at the Camp for Climate Action 2006 (article) | http://history.indymedia.org.uk/ (a history of Indymedia UK)

Eco-camp supporters to march on police station
23 Jan 2007
A PROTEST march on Worthing Police Station has been called for Saturday February 17 in the face of police intimidation of Titnore Woods campaigners.Meanwhile, rumours have been circulating that the authorities will shortly attempt an eviction of the West Sussex eco-camp, set up on May 28 2006 to try and stop precious ancient woodland being bulldozed to make way for yet more urban sprawl.

Eco-camp supporters to march on police station
23 Jan 2007
A PROTEST march on Worthing Police Station has been called for Saturday February 17 in the face of police intimidation of Titnore Woods campaigners.Meanwhile, rumours have been circulating that the authorities will shortly attempt an eviction of the West Sussex eco-camp, set up on May 28 2006 to try and stop precious ancient woodland being bulldozed to make way for yet more urban sprawl.

Eco-camp supporters to march on police station
23 Jan 2007
A PROTEST march on Worthing Police Station has been called for Saturday February 17 in the face of police intimidation of Titnore Woods campaigners.Meanwhile, rumours have been circulating that the authorities will shortly attempt an eviction of the West Sussex eco-camp, set up on May 28 2006 to try and stop precious ancient woodland being bulldozed to make way for yet more urban sprawl.

No Deportations to Unsafe Iraq
23 Jan 2007
A number of Iraqi-Kurdish asylum seekers have been detained across the UK this month as the Home Office is planning to deport more ‘failed’ asylum seekers to unsafe Iraqi Kurdistan. The move follows two previous deportations in September 2006 and November 2005, which sparked a lot of anger and protest [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6].The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees and the Coalition to Stop Deportation to Iraq have called for a demonstration on January 24th in front of the Home Office in Westminster, London, to “put pressure on policy makers to stop their plans”. There will also be another demo, called by the Campaign to Close Campsfield at the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire, from where the ‘charter flight’ is supposed to leave (date not fixed yet).Related: Kurdish family snatched and face deportation | Hundreds demonstrate in Leeds against Zimbabwean deportations | EU co-ordinated deportation of Afghani refugees | A More Fortress Europe | The Discriminatory Asylum Vouchers | Asylum Statistics: Q3 2006 | The truth behind the deportation statistics | Continuing conflicts that create refugees, November 2006 | Why campaign against deportation

Work Starts On M1 Widening As Protests Continue
22 Jan 2007
The work to widen the M1 has started today near Sheffield. The M1 is due to be widened from Luton along Nottingham and Sheffield to Leeds, costing a total of £3.74 billion. Many people believe the widening will allow traffic to grow and cause more CO2 emissions. Road transport currently accounts for 21% of emissions in the UK and rises every year. The work started today is to widen a 2km stretch to four lanes between junction 31-32 near Sheffield. The contractors, Jacksons Civil Engineering, expect that the work will last for a year. Work on a stretch around Nottingham is due to start this summer.The No Widening M1 Alliance has been rallying local residents and local groups currently exist in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Sheffield. Ever since the campaign launch and the first bannerdrop on motorway bridges around Sheffield it has been busy. Various promotional exhibitions by the Highways Agency have been picketed and distrupted by activists in Long Eaton (reports: 1 | 2 ), Kegworth, Selston and Sheffield (reports: 1 | 2 ) Various public meetings and benefit gigs have been organised and at the end of October a mass bannerdrop from Luton to Sheffield coincided with the publication of the Government’s ‘Stern Report’ on Climate Change.Links: No Widening M1 Alliance | The Highway Agency | Jackson Civils EngineeringArticles: Sheffield M1 widening starts! | M1 widening contract announced | Banner drops along M1 link roads to climate chaos | No M1 Widening Protest | The reality of M1 Motorway noise | Anti M1 campaign gains momentum | M1 widening opposition | No M1 widening visit Kegworth | Anti M1 widening group visit Selston | No M1 widening visit Long Eaton | M1 Widening? Multi occupational bridges! | No Widening M1 Campaign Launch

Trolleybus to return to Nottingham?
21 Jan 2007
Nottingham used to run a vast network of trolleybusses. The first trolley was introduced in 1927 and in 1930 it had the largest fleet in the country. The last trolley bus operated in Nottingham until June 1966. Recently a new book was launched on the history of Nottingham’s Trolleybusses, and it does raise the question if bringing them back might become the way forward in making our public transport system ready in the face of climate catastrophy. Some cities in Europe are upgrading their trolley bus networks and some are even planning the construction of new ones. With Britain having such as vast history on the ‘old trolley’, wouldn’t it be worth looking into the possibility of returning to this potential zero-emission way of transport?

Resistance Builds up Against Welsh Gas Pipeline
19 Jan 2007
National Grid is attempting to construct a high pressure, high volume gas pipeline right across South Wales to connect two new liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals at Milford Haven with the existing national gas distribution network at Tirley, Gloucestershire. Local people have campaigned against the project on environmental, ecological and safety grounds, as well as complaining about the lack of proper consultation. The ‘official’ routes for their many objections having been exhausted, protesters launched a campaign of direct action against the pipeline at the end of last year, with several protest camps set up along the proposed route [Reports: 1 | 2].January has seen new camps and more direct action, which have successfully held up construction work at various points along the pipeline route. Activists from across the country are supporting local efforts to protect the beautiful Welsh countryside from this impending environmental disaster.Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Photos: 1 | Video: 1.

Crucial Evidence ‘Mislaid’ in Genoa G8 Diaz Trial
17 Jan 2007
On Wednesday, 17 January 2007, it emerged that important evidence against the police officers who raided the Diaz school has been ‘mislaid’ by the police. The evidence concerned is two ‘Molotov cocktails’ which were supposedly found during the raid back in 2001, and were then used by police to justify the raid. It later transpired that they had in fact been planted in the Diaz building by police. The two bottles should have been produced in court yesterday during the questioning of police officer Donnini, who was in charge of the unit that transported the bottles.On Thursday the 19th, however, Judge Barroni said the trial will continue with other evidence as the search for the missing evidence progresses. All other charges against the various high-ranking police officers still stand.Links: Witnesses Give Evidence in Genoa Diaz Trial | G8: Genoa: Police on Trial for Brutal Diaz Raid | Police, Lies, and Video Tape | UK IMC Genova Topicpage

Resistance At The Fence And Beyond
16 Jan 2007
From 6-8 June 2007 the G8 summit 2007 will take place in a hotel in Heiligendamm next to Rostock at the Baltic Sea, Germany. 6 month before the resistace is taking shape: Several alliances prepare carawans, blockades and other forms of direct action.Last August about 1000 people allready gathered close to Heiligendamm in a first protest camp for 10 days. Since then numerous direct actions all over Germany. 4 numbers of a newsletter have been released in more than 8 languages. More than 400 people from NGOs to anti-authoritarian groups attended the second “G8 Action Conference” in Rostock while hundreds of people gathered at several dissent+x network meetings.Activists sucessfully used the Nuclear Waste Transport in November as a start into the protest season.In the UK the mobilisation starts with an Info night in London and a first UK-wide meeting in Nottingham on January 28th. Dissent! Belgium started with an action week in gent last december. The international mobilisation will continue with a gathering in Warsaw, Poland from February 10-11th.Freedom of movement will become one of the main issues of the protest (First Call | working group at Action Conference Other issues will be global agriculture ( working group at Action Conference | Calls ) and anti-militarism (Call).Meanwhile the authorities, who want to secure the summit with at least 16.000 police raided several places in munich while starting to build the 13km long fence around the hotel.Websites: dissentnetwork.org | g8-2007.de | Revolutionary Alliance | Action Conference | Newsletter: News From The Fields And Beyond | Convergence Center Hamburg | Camp 2006 | NGO Mobilisation | gipfelsoli | moving europe | outofaction (de) | NoLager | Topic on de.indymedia.og | Dissent! UK | Wombles/G8 | input paper: Antiracist Perspectives in regard to G-8 Summit 2007

Tackle Guantanamo Shackles
16 Jan 2007
Some 70-80 people gathered today in Perry Barr, Birmingham, in front of Hiatt, a UK company that makes shackles and other torture equipment, to ‘celebrate’ the 5th anniversary of the notorious US-run prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where 10 British residents and 400 other prisoners are held illegally. The protest was part of a UK-wide day of action and was called by the Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign, Reprieve, Save Omar Campaign and Amnesty International.call-out | press release | photo report | videoPrevious protests: 2005 demo: tackle the shackles | June 2006 vigil | Airport vigil | Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign and police at Starbucks | petition | public meeting

Monday Love Continues..
14 Jan 2007
MONDAY LOVE is a free weekly film & music night at The Good Ship on Kilburn High Road, NW6.Every Monday, Monday Love brings a heady mix of conscious cinema and live music to The Good Ship, welcoming those who still believe in something more than money and fear.. to watch, listen, chat and chill.

Tackle the Shackles, Close Guantanamo
13 Jan 2007
To mark the 5th anniversary of the transportation of the first prisoners to the US concentration camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, a series of demonstrations took place around the world.In London, Amnesty International organised a protest [Photos | Slide show | Video] and a vigil [Photos] outside the US embassy. Another vigil also took place in solidarity with 90 anti-Guantanamo US activists that were arrested in an occupation of the U.S. Federal Court House in Washington DC [Report | Photos]In Birmingham around 80 people gathered in front of Hiatt, a UK company that makes shackles and other torture equipment used by the US military in Guantánamo Bay over the last 5 years [Report and Photos]. In Edinburgh a protest outside the US Consulate, and a meeting in the Scottish Parliament took place [Report and Photos]For further reports and background information see the National Guantanamo Coalition website, and AI’s Close Guntanamo section.

Now Look Here, Sonae!
9 Jan 2007
Only two players have been produced by the Liverpool FC youth academy since they moved to Kirkby in 1998. That’s a shocking record! It can’t just be a coincidence that the academy is located near to a chipboard factory that pumps out tonnes of cancer-causing chemicals every year. A school, public playing fields and houses are also easily within range of Sonae’s pollution. The company have been in and out of Huyton Magistrates Court, but tiny fines and official indifference have left them free to cause all the death and disease they like.

Nottingham City Council Recycling .. .... Bottom of the Class again!
2 Jan 2007
In a recycling rate league table just released by the Government, Nottingham City Council came an embarrassing 339th out of 393 local authorities, with a combined recycling and composting rate of just 18.6 per cent for 2004-05. Nottingham’s Recycling rate is less that 3 per cent higher than the worst performing authority in the UK, Tower Hamlets. But it doesn’t have to be this way, if next door neibours Rushcliffe can achieved the second highest rate just short of 50 per cent why can’t Nottingham?

Left in the Desert: Hundreds of Refugees Arrested and Deported from Morocco
1 Jan 2007
Over 250 Sub-Saharan Africans have been arrested by the Moroccan authorities in raids that took place in different quarters of Rabat on December 23rd, 2006. Among the arrested were women and children refugees and asylum seekers. Six buses, accompanied by the army, then carried them to Oujda on the Algerian borders. At about 11pm, the buses crossed the border at 3 different points and the migrants were left in the middle of nowhere [see below for details]. Blockades by the Special Police prevented supporters from Oujda to reach the deportees and their mobile phones did not work, so they could not be contacted. There are fears that these arrests are only the beginning of a mass deportation campaign to Algeria, or even into the desert, similar to what happened in September-October 2005.On December 25, two more buses arrived in Oujda, at the police station, with Sub-Saharan Africans from Nador (another town in Morocco). This only confirms that the ‘operation’ was nation-wide and pre-planned by the authorities, during a time when most of the activists were on holiday.Reports: en & fr | fr with en summary [pdf] | es | fr | de | it | Attac Morocco statement [fr] | CEAR statement [pdf] | press release by the president of EU Parliament’s Human Rights Sub-Committee [fr, pdf]Related: Worldwide Protests Against Migration Controls | EU/Morocco: Deportation to Death [de] | European Caravan Against the Fence | Stop the Mediterranean recolonization! | Week-long Actions Against the Greek-Bulgarian Border | Links: Estrecho Indymedia | No Racism

Ipswich Reclaims the Night
29 Dec 2006
Five sex workers from Ipswich have been murdered in ten days. The leader of the County Council, Jeremy Pembroke, has urged women not to go out alone. But as a response local people are organising a “Reclaim the Night” event to assert their freedom to go out at night (Press Release).So on Friday the 29th of December, almost 300 people gathered outside Ipswich Town Hall, with candles on the steps. After two speakers there was a walk down to Handford Road (the red light district). In an adjacent park a minutes silence was observed and five white roses were laid in an adjacent park to commemorate those murdered. Chants ranged from “We’re marching for the right, to walk alone at night” to “We don’t need protection, we need a revolution”.More: Announcement of Reclaim the Night Ipswich | photos | more photos | blog report | EASF reportHerstory of Reclaim the Night | Reclaim the Night marches in 2006: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Reclaim the Night marches, 2005

Happy New SOCPA
26 Dec 2006
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) is a major piece of legislation, which established the Serious Organised Crime Agency, an FBI-like agency to tackle “serious organised crime”, as it says on the box.People-trafficking, drug wholesaling, violent armed robbery, torture, extortion and murder, is the kind of thing that might spring to mind. The bill, however, was used as an opportunity to deal with issues that might not be considered so serious. It introduced us to ASBO’s, for example; outlawed animal activists’ “interference with contractual arrangements” and, most pertinently, the right to protest in designated areas without prior permission.Below is a comprehensive ‘diary’, put together by IMC UK activists, of events related to SOCPA since it came into force on 1 August, 2005. See also the SOCPA topic page for full coverage.

Feminist Health Gathering January 2007 Leeds
19 Dec 2006
A weekend long gathering, looking at health in the broadest sense from a feminist angle will take place in Leeds jan 19th – 21st 2007.There are going to be loads of exciting and inspiring workshops including diy gynaecology, female ejaculation, mental health, queer health, first aid, self defence, autonomous health, working in the nhs, future after the NHS and alternatives too. For a full list of workshops see the website. There will also be social events – still to be decided, films, speed dating, gig or cabaret!!!For further information see the original callout for help

Court rejects ASBOS for airport activists
17 Dec 2006
On Friday, Loughborough Magistrates Court rejected calls from the Crown Prosecution Service to slap ASBOs on the 24 Plane Stupid activists who they described as “highly organised extremists” that were arrested in connection with the shut down of Nottingham East Midlands short haul airport in September. In an apparent move aimed to avoid having the case heard by a jury, the charge of public nuisance was dropped, as was the charge relating to an alleged breach of the aviation and security act.Plane Stupid lawyer, Mike Schwarz, described the action to the court as a “classic piece of civil disobedience” and reminded the court that “Tony Blair himself has described climate change as the greatest threat facing mankind.” Campaigner for Plane Stupid, Ellen Rickford, said, “The same day that we learn the government is pushing ahead with its airport expansion proposals, they try to use ASBOs to stamp out peaceful protest. Well, it seems their plans for that were as doomed as the aviation industry.”Feature articles: Protesters occupy runway at East Midlands Airport | Plane Stupid’s Day of ActionOn the newswire: Court rejects ASBOS for airport activists | Climate activists shut airport in taxiway occupationLinks: Plane Stupid website | East Midlands Airport (EMA) website | Climate Chaos topic page | Indymedia Climate | Wikipedia on Climate Change

Ipswich will Reclaim the Night
16 Dec 2006
Five sex workers from Ipswich have been murdered in ten days. The leader of the County Council, Jeremy Pembroke, has urged women not to go out alone. But as a response local people are organising a “Reclaim the Night” event to assert their freedom to go out at night. The event will take place on the 29th December, starting at 7pm outside Ipswich Town Hall. The organisers are inviting both women and men to join them in showing their “love and solidarity for the friends and families of the murdered women and all the people of Ipswich”.People are expected to come from all over the country to show their support. Coaches are being organised from Birmingham, Cambridge (details tbc) and maybe even Scotland.Links: [ Announcement of Reclaim the Night Ipswich | Reclaim the Night marches, 2005 | Herstory of Reclaim the Night ]Reclaim the Night marches in 2006: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]

Animal Rights wronged
16 Dec 2006
The animal rights movement has been extensively vilified in press, radio,TV and even by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The general claim is made that animal rights demonstrators use methods which are too extreme. Demonstrators might argue though that recent legislation which seeks to criminalise common law behaviour leaves them no other option. Also, State sanctioned animal cruelty and its means of protection are even more extreme.On December 19th Robert Cogswell and Mel Broughton are facing possible imprisonment, ‘not for what they have done but for what they have said’.In recent years the animal rights movement has had a number of successes in the UK, in its attempts to minimise animal suffering but this has provoked Goliath responses from government, corporations, police and the mainstream media. Of those successes was a ban on fur farming in 2003. Then there was the capitulation of Cambridge University in 2004 and its plans for a primate lab, despite strong backing for the lab from leading members of the government. The ban on fox hunting and the closure of the Newchurch Guinea Pig farm in 2005, following hundreds of demos. Finally, animal testing on cosmetics is slowly being brought to a close now. This still leaves other animal labs and their suppliers, food retailers and factory farming to mention a few. UK stores are allowed to sell fur from countries which skin animals alive and there are videos to show it. Despite the government ban on hunting, it still goes on while police continue to turn a blind eye to the hunters but not to the hunt sabs.