2015 | >Re-PHOTO

State Opening of Parliament 2015

State Opening of Parliament: I wasn’t of course attending the Queen’s Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 27 May 2015, but it was a day for protests in Westminster. Class War had come to protest against the monarchy and the political system and were hounded by police, Compassion in Care protested in support of whistle-blowers, students in the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts had organised a rally and march and others including Disco Boy and Ahwazi protesters came to join in. The day ended with a People’s Assembly rally at Downing Street but I was too tired to cover this properly and went home. I wrote about all these in My London Dairy and uploaded quite a few pictures – you can read and view more by following the links in the brief introductions below.

Class War protest Queen’s speech

Parliament Square

Class War only managed to display their ‘political leaders’ banner on the corner of Parliament briefly before police forced them to put it away. Around 50 officers then followed most of them as they went to a nearby pub and continued to watch them from the opposite side of the street for several hours.

Police arrested two other men for simply standing in the square, one holding a video camera and the other a rolled up poster. They were released without chanrge some hours later.

More at Class War protest Queen’s speech.

I am Edna’ – protect whistle-blowers

Downing St

*A woman holds a photograph of her husband who died because of his mistreatment in a care home*

A line of people held up posters and shouted ‘I am Edna’ at Downing St calling for a law which would make it an offence not to act on the genuine concerns of a whistleblower and to protect those revealing scandals in social care and other sectors.

More at ‘I am Edna’ – protect whistle-blowers.

Police arrest man in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

As people gathered for the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts a police squad rushed in and arrested a man. They were surrounded by a crowd who grew angry when police refused to give them any explanation for the arrest and pushed some away roughly

Police pushed a young man standing on the pavement near the police van roughly out of their way, and when he complained, he was assaulted by an officer then arrested for assault.

Later police announced that the arrest in the square was in no way related to the gathering protest but to an earlier offence. Had they made that clear to the crowd when they made the arrest the problems could have been avoided.

More pictures Police arrest man in Trafalgar Square.

Disco Boy plays Trafalgar Square

*Disco Boy at the mike with his mobile rig and crew in Trafalgar Square*

Disco Boy’ Lee Marshall from Kent who runs discos at local events and carries out stunts to be videod and posted on social media brought a mobile rig to Trafalgar Square before the NCAFC protest there and had people dancing around the square before going on to perform elsewhere, including outside Downing St.

Disco Boy plays Trafalgar Square

NCAFC rally in Trafalgar Square

*Class War’s controvesial banner got loud cheers from the crowd*

Students and other supporters of the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts met in Trafalgar Square, and there were a few short speeches before they set off on a march.

A banner points out that less than a quarter of the population had voted for the Tory government and called for proportional representation.

Protesting with them were Class War, with several banners including a replacement for their ‘Political Leaders’ banner’ which had been taken by Bethnal Green Police the previous month (and police ‘lost’ it) and also the Hashem Shabani group of Ahwazi Arabs, who later held their own protest

NCAFC rally in Trafalgar Square.

NCAFC March against ‘undemocratic’ government

The National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts set off down Whitehall with police making ineffectual attempts to stop them, arresting several forcefully.

The rest of the protesters remained peaceful and simply walked through the huge gaps in the police line, made larger as they made the few arrests. There seemed to be no reason for the police attempting to stop them.

The protesters complained to police about the violent attacks and arrests. They went to protest outside the DWP and then marched past the now heavily protected Tory Party HQ back to a People’s Assembly rally opposite Downing Street. Some stayed there, others marched on and I went home. It had been a long day.

More pictures at NCAFC March against ‘undemocracy’.

Ahwazi Arabs protest Iran’s war on them

*Our Pens Are Our Swords. Our Voices Are Our Bombs*

Ahwazi protesters joined the mainly student anti-austerity National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts protesters in London to call for an end to the Iranian attacks on their heritage and identity. Their homeland, which includes most of Iran’s oil, was occupied by Iran in 1925

I photographed them in Trafalgar Square with the NCAFC and later when they left the march as it went through Parliament Square to hold a separate protest there.

More pictures: Ahwazi Arabs protest Iran’s war

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Waiters Day, Monsanto, White Pride & The Line – 2015

Waiters Day, Monsanto, White Pride & The Line: Saturday 23rd May 2015 was a busy day, beginning with Unite Hotel Worker, moving on to the global March Against Monsanto, then an extreme right White Pride protest and finally going to the opening of the world-class sculpture walk roughly along the Greenwich Meridian, The Line.

Waiters Day call for fair contracts and union rights

Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane

*Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union President Ian Hodson*

The Hotel Workers branch of Unite protested outside the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, the birthplace of Zero Hours Contracts, on National Waiters Day, calling for an end to poor conditions, poverty wages, zero hours contracts and management stealing of tips.

Some of the protesters wore masks and placards with names of leading company bosses using zero hours contracts and exploiting workers and took part in a short ‘waiters race’ along the pavement in front of the hotel. The race was of course fixed

Back in 1979 waiters at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane were sacked when they tried to organise a trade union branch there. The case eventually went to court where it was decided their sacking was legal. It was this case, O’Kelly v Trusthouse Forte plc, that opened to door to Zero Hours Contracts in the UK. Previously employment law had been based on “mutuality of obligation” with employers obliged to offer hours of work, and employees to work those hours.

Until 2012 less than 1% of employees were on zero hours contracts, but their use then rocketed, and by 2015 had increased to 2.5%. By 2021, roughly half of the organisations in hospitality and entertainment were using them.

National Waiters Day seems to have been invented in the USA in the early years of this century and is generally observed on May 21st. A UK Waiters Day was begun by restaurant manager Fred Sirieix in 2013 and is on October 20th.

Waiters Day – fair contracts and union rights

March Against Monsanto

Downing St

In London the annual Global March Against Monsanto by over 3.5 million people across 600 cities was marked by a small static protest opposite Downing St.

Monsanto and other companies which profit from GMOs claim they are playing an important part in feeding the world, but are actually attempting to monopolise food production for their own profit, patenting existing species, trying to prevent farmers from saving and using their own seed, encouraging the use of highly toxic chemicals and practices that degrade the soil.

As the protesters say, we need to plant our own seed, to grow local and to eat sustainable food, and to do so in our own ways in countries across the world.

March Against Monsanto

White pride protest for David Lane

US Embassy

*The end of the banner reading Töten für Wotan (Kill for Wotan) was rolled up as I moved to photograph it*

A group of around 30 ultra-right neo-Nazi protesters at the US Embassy remembered David Eden Lane, a convicted criminal and author of the ‘14 words’ statement used by extreme right groups about securing a future for white children. A small group of anti-fascists had come to oppose them.

*One of the right-wing protesters makes a Nazi salute for my camera*

Lane was a co-foounder of ‘The Order‘ a rabidly antisemitic group which bombed theatres and synagogues and he was convicted as the getaway driver after they murdered liberal Jewish Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg in 1984 when he was the second on their long death list. The group also carried out violent robberies to finance their activities. He died in prison in 2007.

His 14 words, a close quotation from Mein Kampf, is often referred to in extreme right circles as ’14/88′, where 88 stands for the repeated 8th letter of the alphabet, HH, shorthand for ‘Heil Hitler’.

*Peter Rushton of the England First Party waits to speak*

Inside jail, Lane, a former Ku Klux Klan and the ‘White Christian Separatist’ group ‘Aryan Nation’ member, was one of the founders of a new pagan religion, ‘Wotanism‘, named after the Germanic god Odin, also know as Wotan, which serves as an acronym for ‘Will Of The Aryan Nation’.

White pride protest for David Lane

Cody Dock Opening for ‘The Line’

Bow Creek, West Ham

It was good to get away to something much more pleasant, the official opening of the world-class sculpture walk, ‘The Line‘ with works by distinguished sculptors going north from Greenwich across the Thames and on to the Olympic Park.

I’d visited the festivities at Cody Dock in the morning when few people were around to photograph the site and walk a short stretch of the trail.

One piece I found particularly interesting was DNA SL90 (2003) made by Abigail Fallis from 22 shopping trolleys for a supermarket chain to mark the 50th anniversary of Crick & Watson’s discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA. It’s location on the edge of Bow Creek next to a major distribution centre, seemed particularly appropriate, and it is an impressive piece.

*A Cody Dock volunteer snips the ribbon and ‘The Line’ is open*

I returned from central London just in time for the opening ceremony when a fair sized crowd had gathered.

Since 2015 new stairs down from the bridge at have removed the awkward detour alongside the busy Blackwall Tunnel Approach, but I think we are still waiting for the opening of the riverside path along Bow Creek south of Cody Dock.

Cody Dock Opening f or ‘The Line’

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A Day with Class War – 2015

A Day with Class War: On Saturday 14th March I spent much of the day with Class War who had registered as a political party to stand a handful of candidates in the May 2015 General Election. Of course they didn’t expect to gain any MPs but it had seemed a good way to attract some publicity to their views – and to have a little fun. They began at Chingford with an election campaign launch for Lisa McKenzie who was standing against Tory minister Iain Duncan Smith.

After a public meeting on the street there the group retired to a nearby pub to celebrate the election launch before I travelled with Chingford and Purley candidates and a few supporters to visit and show solidarity with people on the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark who had occupied a flat there to highlight the shameful treatment by Southwark Council of residents whose homes are being demolished and are being forced out of the area.

Class War Chingford Election Launch

Chingford, London

A Day with Class War - 2015 — *Police seized Class War’s ‘Political Leaders’ banner two days earlier but they still had posters from the 2010 election with the same message*

Lisa McKenzie came to Chingford with a small group of Class War supporters to announce she was giving electors there a chance to kick out Tory minister Iain Duncan Smith and the evil policies he represented, which inflict misery on the poor and disabled.

From the station they marched behind the ‘Lucy Parsons’ banner “We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live” past the Conservative Association offices and the Assembly Hall to the end of Station Rd. Unfortunately police had seized their even more appropriate banner calling the main political leaders (as I put it) ‘f***ing wankers‘ at the Poor Doors protest two days earlier, but they still had plenty of posters with the same message.

They were followed down the street by a van full of police officers who were obviously taking this first official visit by the Class War candidate for the Chingford constituency very seriously.

At the end of the street Class War turned around and walked back to a convenient place to hold a meeting where candidate Lisa McKensie, then a research fellow at the LSE whose study of the St Ann’s Estate in Nottingham where she lived for many years was recently published as Getting By: Estates, Class and Culture in Austerity Britain and several others made speeches.

Police stood and watched from the opposite side of the road and after 10 minutes an officer walked across the road and ordered Stan who was one of those holding the ‘wanker’ posters to put it away or be arrested. There was some argument but eventually Stan rolled it up and the sergeant walked back across the road, standing with arms folded staring at the group – with several others still holding similar posters.

Most of those who walked past ignored the group, but some took the Class War election leaflets and were clearly amused, though one elderly man on a passing bus made his opinion clear in an appropriately Churchillian fashion.

After around half an hour the launch ended and the group walked back towards the station, with Lisa stopping off briefly to put one of her election leaflets through the door of the Conservative Association. When they went inside the pub opposite the station the police van drove off, but several police remained watching the pub.

Class War Chingford Election Launch

Class War Celebrate Election Launch

Station House, Chingford

The media summary with my pictures from inside the Station House pub stated:

“After a march and street rally in Station Rd, Chingford, Class War cadres adjourned with their candidate Lisa Mckenzie, who is opposing controversial Tory minister Iain Duncan Smith, to discus their forthcoming election campaign in the constituency.“

There was some talk about the campaign and Jane Nicholl got out a few ‘Iain Duncan Smith‘ masks for people to buy and wear – and I commented “the pub seems likely to become an unofficial campaign headquarters for Class War.”

I was pleased to buy a pint and have a drink with them, something I seldom do after protests as I’m usually rushing away to get home and file my pictures. Most photographers now carry a laptop and file on the spot, but I’ve resisted doing so – few of the events I cover are breaking news.

But while we were there a phone call came from the occupiers on the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark calling for support and I decided to go with them.

Class War celebrate Election Launch

Class War go to Aylesbury Estate

Walworth, Southwark

I was waiting in the pub to travel with two Class War election candidates, Lisa McKenzie standing for Chingford and Jon Bigger for South Croydon, along with several supporters, across London to the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark where people had occupied a flat in solidarity with occupiers who are being forced out from the large council estate which is being re-developed.

*Police watched us until the train left*

Some families were still living on this block of the estate which was now surrounded with high fences and anti-climb barriers with police and bailiffs severely restricting access to the estate by residents and visitors.

As I wrote then: “Southwark Council, having neglected the estate for many years, has decided to hand it over to developers who will knock it down and redevelop the area mainly for sale or rent at inflated London prices. The residents are being forced to move out against their wishes – clearly expressed in a council organised ballot in 2001 – to stay, and most will have to move out of the area and into more expensive privately rented accomodation with little or no security of tenure.”

*The fence makes this part of the Aylesbury look like a prison camp*

Police followed us to the station and watched us until the train left. It was a long journey by Overground, Underground and bus, with much banter and playing with the IDS masks but fortunately I knew the right bus stop to get off.

*Security men guard the entrance to the flats where 12 families are still officially in residence*

*Swinging up from one set of stairs to another*

As we walked towards the estate we met a group of activists who led us to the only way still not blocked into the sector of the estate with occupied flat. It involved a lengthy detour on the estates elevated walkways into Chiltern House. The lift was still working – there were still a dozen families living there, but after we got off at the eight floor we still had to walk up some stairs and then swing though a narrow gap onto another set of stairs that led to the occupied flat. It was something of a challenge to me carrying my heavy camera bag.

*Aysen Dennis, a campaigner from the Aylesbury Estate*

We were rewarded by extensive views over most of South London both through the windows and from the balcony – which as I commented made estates like these rich pickings for developers. Southwark had made a huge loss on selling off the neighbouring Heygate Estate, selling of off for a small fraction of its market valuation and seemed to be doing the same with the Aylesbury Estate. As I commented it is “Hard to see why local councils of any hue should commit treason against their local population in this way.”

Some people inside the occupied flat were very hostile to photographers and I took few pictures there, mainly of the people I had come with. I think a couple of those present and most vocal against having their pictures taken were almost certainly undercover police who had infiltrated the campaign to save the estate.

*Jenny and Stan hold the Class War banner next to the lifts in Chiltern House*

I left with some of Class War, again making the slightly tricky and tortuous route out we had got in by to avoid the security men at the official gate in the tall fence around the block.

Class War go to Aylesbury Estate

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Police Farce at Poor Doors – 2015

Police Farce at Poor Doors: The protest outside the ‘rich’ door of One Commercial St on Thursday 26th February 2015 was just another in the regular series of weekly protests by Class War against the separate entrances to the building – one into a spacious foyer with a reception desk, comfortable seating, flowers and works of art on the walls for those in the privately owned flats and the other a long empty corridor from a door down a side alley for those in social housing.

But a larger contingent of police had turned up than usual and they had come determined to show they were in charge.

As soon as Class War arrived and unrolled their banners a police officer, Sergeant C, came to tell them that the ‘Party Leaders’ banner was offensive and they must remove it.

They were told that nobody had objected to it and so according to the law it was not an offence to display it, and it remained on display. Sergeant C and a woman police officer then began stopping people passing by and entering and leaving through the rich door and trying to get them to say it was offensive.

It seemed to me unacceptable behaviour for police to try and manufacture an offence in this way, and I was pleased when person after person responded with either ‘No’ or ‘Not particularly’ or words to that effect or said they found it amusing rather than offensive. But eventually after around ten minutes of asking people they found three young men going into the rich door who were willing to be prompted to agree that they found it offensive, and came back to the protesters.

Triumphant, Sergeant C then returned to those holding the banner and told them that unless they put the banner away they would be arrested. The protesters rolled it up and continued the protest.

The police should have known better. In 2010 police had raided the home of a photographer a mile of so away for displaying the posters the banner was based on in the windows of his house, forcing him to take them down. He did, then replaced them with the word ‘wanker’ replaced by ‘onanist’. Later the police apologised for their action, upholding the right to to freedom of expression under the Human Rights Act and paid compensation for the raid on his home.

*For some reason police don’t find the Lucy Parsons banner offensive*

Sergeant C also warned Ian Bone he would be arrested if he continued to use offensive language, in particular the ‘f’ word. As Bone told him, this this was now commonly heard in almost all situations, but perhaps his contributions became just a little more muted.

But Martin Wright took up the challenge, giving a spirited discourse on the words he found offensive such as ‘poverty’ and ‘war’ and using various terms related to sex and bodily functions which were not. The police took no action.

Class War had brought out their posters with the message ‘YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALDGATE’ and they invited the police to leave, offering them safe conduct out of the PRA. The police failed to take up the offer.

As the protest was coming to an end there was “a moment of pure farce after an orange flare had been set off, when Sergeant C and another officer tried to put it out in a puddle.

Unsurprisingly this had little effect. It was burning out fairly harmlessly in the puddle on the pavement, the red smoke mainly blowing along the pavement parallel to the road when the sergeant decided to pick it up and carry it to a bin at the side of the traffic lights.

Red smoke continued to pour out of the bin, now being blown into the traffic, and some of the rubbish in the bin appeared to catch fire, though fortunately it went out.”

One of the protesters then mime the police action in dealing with the flare in the puddle and the others were soon in stitches, along with the security man; some of the police were unable to hide their amusement, trying desperately hard not to laugh.

It was time to go home, and I left with the impression that Class War had rather decisively beaten the police on this occasion.

But clearly the local police had an obsession with the ‘Political Leaders’ banner – and a few months later – as I wrote here in Police nick Class War banner – seized it at another Poor Doors protest, arresting one of those holding it. They took the banner back to the police station and then ‘lost‘ it.

More pictures on My London Diary at People’s Republic Of Aldgate Free Speech Fight.

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Democracy, Greece & Pakistan – 2015

Democracy, Greece & Pakistan: Events I covered on Sunday 15th February 2015.

Occupy Democracy Return

Parliament Square

I hadn’t been at Parliament Square the previous evening when Occupy Democracy had returned to take up residence and hold a protest and workshops there, but had heard about the arrests. Police following instructions from Boris Johnson’s Greater London Authority private security wardens arrested five of the protesters including Donnachadh McCarthy, along with the white cardboard coffin he was holding with the message ‘UK Democracy R.I.P. Killed by Corporate Billionaires‘ which was returned in a rather damaged condition.

On Sunday morning my first call was to the square where Occupy Democracy talks and workshops were continuing on the pavement area around Churchill’s statue.

While I was there George Barda spoke introducing the ‘Love Activists’ and Danny talked about their plans for future activities.

Another event in the square was led by Frances Scott of the 50:50 Parliament campaign to get equal numbers of men and women in Parliament, arguing that this would lead to much better government.

Although I agree there should be better representation of women, I feel that it’s more important that we have politicians who better represent the needs of the people and the country. More Thatchers, Trusses and Badenochs would hardly be an advance on Kinnochs, Blairs and Mandelsons. We need a far more radical system change.

I left to cover the other events, but returned on my way home in the afternoon when the workshops were continuing. Police and GLA security watched but did not interfere. As I commented, “They prefer to take action when fewer press are around and it is dark.”

More at Occupy Democracy return.

Let Greece Breathe!

Trafalgar Square

A large crowd had come to the North Terrace of Trafalgar Square for a rally to celebrate the victory of the anti-austerity Syriza party in the Greek General Election in January and to support them in resisting the imposed austerity programme.

Greek voters had decisively rejected the the EU’s austerity plans, largely pushed by Germany and backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) but the new government was having to revise its plans, facing stiff opposition and was having to compromise on many of its promises.

Speakers at the rally, including Jeremy Corby, Owen Jones, CWU’s Billy Hayes, Paul Mackney, Green Party’s Romayne Phoenix and John Sinha from Occupy Democracy, praised the Greek struggle against austerity, but their pleas for the country to be let to breathe fell on deaf ears in Germany and the financial institutions.

Many in Syriza felt betrayed by its actions and some left the party, but in a snap election in September 2015 the party polled well enough to remain as the leading party in the coalition. They did badly in the 2019 election, becoming a part of the opposition.

More pictures at Let Greece Breathe!

Deport Altaf Hussain

Downing St

Pakistanis from Imran Khan’s PTI party called on the UK government to arrest and deport Altaf Hussain, the founder of the rival rival MQM party who fled to the UK in 1991 following an attack on his life in advance of a police crackdown of his party and was granted asylum here in 1992.

The protesters say Hussain and his party have an armed mafia wing in Karachi which indulges in extortion, blackmail and murder and were behind the Baldia Town factory fire in which at least 258 workers died, the Karachi Massacre of May 2007, as well as the murder of PTI leader Zahra Shahid in her driveway in Karachi in 2013 and many other crimes.

Since 2015 he has been a wanted man in Pakistan on charges of ‘murder, targeted killing, treason, inciting violence and hate speech‘. In the UK he was tried in 2022 charged with ‘promoting terrorism and unrest through hate speech in Pakistan‘ but was acquitted.

More at Deport Altaf Hussain.

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The Gambia & No Fracking – 2015

The Gambia & No Fracking: Two protests on Monday 26th January 2015 were both taking place at lunchtime in Old Palace Yard opposite the Houses of Parliament. One was by Gambians against the brutal repression in The Gambia and the other a protest against government support for fracking.

Gambians protest brutal repression

Old Palace Yard

The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa, a long strip around 10 miles on each bank of the Gambia River for around 200 miles inland from its Atlantic mouth, surrounded on land by Senegal. Originally colonised by the Portuguese traders it later became a part of the British Empire, while inland from the river was under French control. After the UK 1807 act to abolish the slave trade, ships from the Royal Navy brought slaves from ships they intercepted to settle on the river. The Gambia became independent in 1965.

A military coup in 1994 led to Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh becoming President, and under his dictatorship any opposition “faced exile, harassment, arbitrary imprisonment, murder, and forced disappearance.”

The protest in January 2015 took place after the arbitrary arrests, detentions, tortures and summary executions of those who took part in the 30th Dec uprising against dictator Yahya Jammeh – and their innocent family and friends.

Despite the severe repression in the country in the following year Jammeh lost the December 2016 presidential election; his reluctance to leave the post led to military intervention which resulted in the victor Adama Barrow assuming power.

Gambians protest brutal repression

No Fracking Anywhere!

Old Palace Yard

Hundreds of campaigners from across the country protested as MPs were due to vote on a proposal to ban fracking and also on a controversial proposal to allow fracking under people’s homes without permission in the Government’s Infrastructure Bill.

*Tina-Louise Rothery with a Frack Free Lancashire poster*

The protest was two days before Lancashire County Council were due to decide on whether to give the go ahead for Cuadrilla to frack in Lancashire which would set a precedent for the rest of the UK. Tina-Louise Rothery from Frack Free Lancashire was one of those who had come to speak at the protest.

There were many other speakers too, including Bianca Jagger, Vivienne Westwood and Caroline Lucas MP, Vanessa Vine, the Founder of Frack Free Sussex and BIFF! (Britain & Ireland Frack Free), John Ashton, the Former UK Government Special Representative for Climate Change, Hannah Martin of Reclaim the Power, Norman Baker MP amd Labour MP Joan Walley, chair of parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee which that morning had come out against fracking .

*Norman Baker, Bianca Jagger, Caroline Lucas and John Ashton with the ‘Frack-free Home’*

Greenpeace had come with their model ‘Frack-free Home’ and a petition with 361,736 signatures to Parliament.

*Puppet monster Mr Frackhead in front of Parliament*

Despite the widespread opposition t it took several more years of campaigning before the UK government finally announced a moratorium on fracking in November 2019.

More at No Fracking Anywhere!

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Dolphin Massacre & Irish Famine – 2015

Dolphin Massacre & Irish Famine: On Saturday 17th January 2015 I photographed two very different protests. More than a thousand had come to Cavendish Square in the late morning for a march to protest against the bloody annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji cove, Japan and the cruelty of keeping captured dolphins in visitor attractions. I left as they went through Oxford Circus marching to a rally in Trafalgar Square to cover a much smaller protest outside the Channel 4 building on Horseferry Road by people outraged at their plans to produce a comedy series based on the 1840s Irish famine.

Carnival March to End Taiji Dolphin Massacre

Cavendish Square

This had been planned as a carnival march and many of those taking part had obviously take considerable time and effort to dress up and make placards for the event. Some had brought model dolphins and many of the placards featured them.

Obviously those taking part felt very strongly about the cruelty both of the annual slaughter in Taiji Cove, where the dolphins are trapped in the shallow water and killed, their blood turning the sea red, and of the cruelty of keeping captured dolphins in visitor attractions where they have little space to swim and cannot enjoy any natural life.

Having seen the films of the killing I’m also very much opposed to it, and I’ve never liked the caging of animals for entertainment. But when photographing events like this I do often think how good it would be if these people would also put the same kind of effort into protesting over the wars and genocides that are killing millions of our own species.

But the protesters enthusiasm for the cause and the effort they put into visuals do make protests such as this easy and rewarding to photograph – and very different from more political protests which are often rather more soberly dressed and dominated by mass-produced placards.

Another difference is the much greater proportion of women taking part than in most protests, though of course women play a very important part in many of the events I photograph and in my pictures.

*Vanessa Hudson, leader of the UK Animal Welfare Party which has stood candidates in local and European elections*

I was surprised when the march set off from the square that they walked on the pavements rather than taking to the road.

A march this size doesn’t really fit on the pavements of the West End which are crowded with shoppers, and it made photographing the actual march more difficult, fragmented by tourists and often slowly wandering shoppers. I found myself continually bumping into people and spent more time apologising than taking pictures as well as finding it very difficult to get a clear view.

More pictures at Carnival March to End Taiji Dolphin Massacre.

Irish Famine is no laughing matter

Channel 4, Horseferry Rd

Outside Channel 4 around 50 people had come to protest against a proposed comedy series on the Irish famine, potato blight exploited in 1845-9 as a deliberate genocide by the English establishment, wiping out a million Irish, and forcing more into poverty, starvation and immigration.

The Great Famine or Irish Potato Famine led to the deaths by starvation of around a million Irish people, and also during it and in the next few years to around two million leaving the country, many for America. Roughly one in eight of the country’s inhabitants starved to death, and about a quarter of them emigrated, said by Wikipedia to be “one of the greatest exoduses from a single island in history.”

*‘Famine Not Funny’, ‘1m Starved’, ‘to Death’, ‘C4’, ‘Genocide’ ‘is Not Funny’. ‘Chasing English Ratings – Chasing Irish Coffins’.*

The UK government knew what was happening – and also knew that they could have avoided most of the deaths by simply stopping the export of large amounts of food from Ireland – as they had during previous times of famine in Ireland – but they decided not to do so. They even stopped ships carrying wheat from reaching the country. The interests of major landlords – mostly absentee landlords – were prioritised over the lives of poor Irish who were said to lack ‘moral fibre’ and some in England regarded the deaths as a ‘divine judgement’.

*Austin Hearney of CRAIC and PCS reads some facts about the Irish Famine*

My account on My London Dairy lists some of the speakers at the even, including its
“organiser Austin Harney, Chair of CRAIC, (Campaign for the Rights and Actions of Irish Communities), Pat Reynolds of IBRG, (Irish in Britain Representation Group), Helen O’Connor of the Socialist Party, Peter Middleton of the Wolfe Tone Society (Sinn Fein), Zita Holbourne from BARAC, (Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts) and Irish traveller Phien O’Reachtign of PAAD.”

More pictures at Irish Famine is no laughing matter.

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Bloody Murder at Ripper ‘Museum’ 2015

Bloody Murder at Ripper ‘Museum‘: Another of the series of protests by Class War at the so-called museum glorifying the gory murders of working-class women took place on Saturday 5th December 2015.

I photographed most if not all of the protests they organised in a campaign they kept up for some years, showing their disgust at this fake museum, which the owner, Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe got planning consent to open claiming it was to celebrate the powerful history of the women of London’s East end, not their bloody dismemberment by a homicidal maniac.

Class War were always interesting to photograph – and always fun to be with, as well as supporting important campaigns, particularly those around housing problems, bringing both a clear and informed anarchist perspective and a great deal of street theatre.

And their publications including the Class War magazine were always a good read, with often penetrating analysis as well as some distinctly black humour, truly black and red and read. You can see many earlier editions online at The Sparrow’s Nest.

Ian Bone’s autobiography, Bash the Rich: True Life Confessions of an Anarchist in the UK is certainly an interesting read and the 1991 Class War: A Decade of Disorder he edited comes with the ‘Publishers’ Warning! This book contains explicit language and illustration which may offend yuppies, police officers, members of the royal family and people who think the world can be changed by holding hands and singing “We shall overcome.” ‘

As I wrote back in 2015, “Class War re-enacted a murder outside the Jack the Ripper tourist attraction, women hacking and decapitating a dummy wearing the mask of owner Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe with a plastic scimitar and liberally spattering fake blood as others played kazoos“

Class War is more of a loose association of like-minded people than an organisation and its actions often gain support from many others, including on this occasion and others fourth-wave feminists.

After Jane others took their turn in attacking the dummy which proved remarkably resistant to the plastic scimitar, but finally Jane could triumphantly display the bloody severed head of Palmer-Edgecumbe,

and others came to kick its body.

Women showed their bloody hands,

and Ian Bone came carrying the rolled-up banner and his walking stick to inspect the corpse.

Police wanted Class Wat to remove the Palmer-Edgecumbe ‘guy’ but they declined, saying they were donating it to the museum as one of the few genuine exhibits for their display. Police followed Class War as they walked away to the pub, and it seemed for a moment they might make and arrest – perhaps for littering – but they thought better of it and walked back to guard the shop. They were still there when I left the pub around an hour later.

Ten years later the tacky tourist attraction remains open, though my conclusion to this protest had hoped for a different conclusion:

“Thanks at least in part to Class War’s publicity and vigorous protests over around five months others have taken up the fight against the so-called museum, and the fight to get a real museum celebrating the powerful history of the women of London’s East End. It’s a rich heritage with powerful and colourful figures in which the bloody murders by the Ripper are only an insignificant and entirely negative episode. Perhaps it’s now time for others to take up a long-term if probably lower-key campaign here and continue it until this bloody blot on our heritage is closed down.“

More of my thoughts about the ‘museum’ and about the protest – with many more pictures – on My London Diary at Bloody Murder at Ripper ‘museum’.

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Another Don’t Bomb Syria Protest – 2015

Another Don’t Bomb Syria Protest: On the evening of Tuesday 1st December 2015 a protest by Stop The War again called on MPs not to back David Cameron’s motion to bomb Syria.

There was a large crowd in Parliament Square who listened to speeches by a wide range from the British left including Andrew Murray, Lindsay German, Salma Yaqoob of Stop the War, Kate Hudson of CND, SNP MPs Philippa Whitford and Tommy Sheppard, Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas, Labour’s Richard Burgon and Imran Hussain, Weyman Bennett of Unite Against Fascism, Momentum organiser Adam Klug, George Galloway.

I photographed all of these speakers and you can see several pictures of most of them on My London Diary.

But as in the previous Stop The War protest, there were “no speeches by Syrians or Kurds, and no real attempt to take their views into account. And while the speakers all condemned the UK plans to bomb in Syria, there was no condemnation of the Russian bombing of the Syrian opposition, perhaps a greater threat to the Syrian people than Daesh, and certainly than the handful of UK planes.“

Present in the crowd were a number of supporters of President Assad, with flags of his regime, though most of those present were opposed to the Assad regime and Daesh as well as to bombing by the UK.

As I commented, “It’s rather unfortunate that the only organisation promoting large-scale protests against the bombing is Stop the War rather than one clearly supporting the aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom.”

Hours after this protest, Stop the War issued an article ‘For the avoidance of doubt‘ by John Rees which began by stating “The STWC has never supported the Assad regime.” I commented: “Well, it’s good to make that clear, because there have been many protests by Stop the War which Assad supporters have attended and appeared to be welcome, and by refusing to let Syrians opposed to the regime speak at this and other protests STW have certainly given that impression.”

It had become clear by 2015 “that while our government has fulminated against ISIS/Daesh it has also been complicit in support for them through its support of Saudi Arabia which provides support for their Wahabi ideology and more materially, for Turkey which is deeply involved in their oil exports, refining much of their output as well as providing pipelines and ports, and Israel which is the major customer for the smuggled oil.”

The bombing which later took place was largely ineffectual, hypocritical and immoral. While inflicting “little damage on Assad’s military inflicting real damage on the economic and military capability of Daesh” it was as predicted “catastrophic in effect on the civilians” that were bombed either deliberately or by accident.

After the speeches, the protesters marched first to the Tory HQ and then to Labour to deliver letters before returning to Parliament Square where the official protest ended.

*A police officer tells Jasmin Stone that megaphones are not allowed to be used in Parliament Square*

Many stayed on in the square and there were minor incidents with police making a few who had climbed onto the plinth of Churchill’s statue come down and stopping some from using a megaphone. But after a few minutes I decided it was time to go home.

More about the protest and many more pictures at Don’t Bomb Syria.

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Don’t Bomb Syria – 2015

Several thousands had come to Downing St on Saturday 28th November 2015 to urge MPs not to support British air strikes on Syria and more arrived as the rally was beginning bring the number up to perhaps ten thousand.

Police who had tried to restrict the crowd to the wide pavement area were forced to stop traffic on the southbound carriageway, but put in a row of barriers so they could keep northbound traffic moving.

There were a long list of speeches – you can read a partial list and see photographs of most of them on My London Diary.

Don't Bomb Syria - 2015 Tariq Ali — *British Pakistani writer, journalist, and filmmaker Tariq Ali*

The speakers called for the need to take effective action against the Turkish complicity in Daesh oil exports, in which members of Erdogan’s family take a leading role, and against what Tariq Ali described as “the obscenity of the Wahabi regime in Saudi Arabia” which provides the fanatical religious basis and much funding for Daesh. And, always in the background, the continuing crisis over Palestine.

But there seemed to me to a glaring omission. As I wrote, I was there “with notebook poised ready to write down the names of the speakers representing the Syrians and the Syrian Kurds, who should surely have been at the forefront of this protest rather than so many old ‘Stop the War’ war-horses. None came, not because none were available or willing to speak, but because the politics of those most closely involved don’t accord with those of Stop the War.”

Throughout the speeches some protesters had been trying to move across onto the roadway directly in front of Downing Street. Eventually so many moved past the barriers that it became impossible for the police to force them back and keep the road clear for traffic.

Hundreds then sat done on the road and were still there chanting ‘Don’t Bomb Syria’ and other slogans well after the speeches had ended. After around an hour after police reinforcements arrived.

Previously police had been trying to persuade the protesters to stand up and leave the road with little success, but now they were warned they would be arrested if they failed to do so. Some were more reluctant than others to move, but I think eventually all did and I saw no arrests.

*People slowly decide to move rather than be arrested*

In September 2014 the UK Parliament had voted overwhelmingly in favour of British air strikes against ISIS in Iraq, but Parliament had also blocked the government’s plans for military action against Syria after the 2013 Ghouta chemical attack.

PM David Cameron had repeated calls for air strikes following a mass killing of tourists by an Islamist militant group in Tunisia, but it was only after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 that the House of Commons approved air strikes against ISIL in Syria – which began hours later in December 2015. In the next 15 months the RAF carried out 85 strikes – and there have been others since.

Many more pictures on My London Diary:
Don’t Bomb Syria
Speakers at Don’t Bomb Syria
Don’t Bomb Syria Blocks Whitehall

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