"A burning rage": Analysis from 10 January 2009 Gaza solidarity demo in London

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from lasthours, 13 January 2009:

"Yesterday (10 January 2009) we watched everything change. We have never seen the level of militancy that we saw yesterday on the streets of London before. By all accounts the last time the police lost such complete control of the streets was almost ten years ago at J18. The following is a collection of eyewitness accounts, and analysis of the events..."

Frozen tundra underfoot, burning rage in the heart

Crowds streamed into Hyde Park, the temperature nudging below freezing, to be confronted by an hour and a half of largely pointless speeches. Clearly the Stop the War coalition has decided the only way to get anyone to listen to their pointless messages is to have the speeches before the march.

The exception to the rule was Lowkey, a London-based rap artist, who spoke last and with such passion and eloquence that we were left wondering how he had been let on the stage.

Those that rioted yesterday were part of the generation that were betrayed by the failure to effectively organise against the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. They witnessed two million march through London to no effect because of the Stop the War Coaition’s pathetic strategy.

A strategy that seemed to revolve around ever diminishing numbers marching from A to B, going home, and perhaps writing to an MP. Not only that the Coalition actively tried to undermine other anti-militarist campaigns. Hence why when it was announced that the Saturday after the invasion of Iraq had started people would invade Fairford (to stop the B54 bombers) the Stop the War Coalition called a march for London.

At anti-war demonstrations any dissent from the prescribed A to B marching was pounced on; be it people sitting in the road or a samba band marching too slowly. Coalition stewards did the police’s job for them and each march saw fewer people attending. It has always been recognised in the anti-authoritarian community that this strategy was doomed to failure.

Yesterday, for the first, it seemed that the majority of the march felt the same way, and even if they didn’t engage in militant action there was a palpable sense of support for those who were actively engaged in resisting the police.
Kensington Palace Garden fireworks

The crowd finally started moving from Hyde Park at 2pm. As the crowd weaved out of the park it became clear that the demonstration was larger than expected – police cones and tape to divide the road lied pathetically on the floor as people filled the whole road – but also that it was on a scale not seen since 2003. Those of us reporting for Last Hours there consider that the estimate of 100,000 demonstrators is perhaps a little conservative.

About an hour into the march we all heard an explosion. In the distance a plume of smoke rose, and to my right a line of police started running towards it. We followed with cameras. When we arrived a fire had been started, and smoke bombs launched. People had made an attempt to get down Kensington Palace Garden to the back of the embassy.

According to other reports online, a heavy, ten foot, wrought-iron gate, had also been ripped off in the process. When we arrived there was a stand-off between police and people on the march. Sticks, shoes and bottles littered the floor and flew through the air. Young Muslims screamed at the police, with white kids joining in.

More from this article here

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See also
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/417914.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/417992.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/417998.html

Here is an Al Jazeera round up of world protests:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200919123947912684.html

Round up of demonstrations around the world:

Here is an Israeli Indymedia report of a demo in Tel Aviv:
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10203/index.php

Here is the Israeli Indymedia report from Jaffa:
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10202/index.php

Photos from London, UK demo:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/417810.html?c=on#c212089

Photos from Indymedia Norway:
http://www.indymedia.no/

From Indymedia Chicago news of a large and lively demo:
http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/85403/index.php

From New York City:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2009/01/102737.html

From Portland, Oregon:
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2009/01/384768.shtml

From Washington DC:
http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/145222/index.php

List of protests in Canada:
http://www.cmaq.net/node/31854

Images from Quebec protests:
http://www.cmaq.net/taxonomy/term/15

From Italy:
http://lombardia.indymedia.org/node/12380

From Liguria (Italy near the border with France):
http://lombardia.indymedia.org/node/12380

From Barcelona, Spain:
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/362322/index.php

From Sydney, Australia:
http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/...

From Auckland, New Zealand:
http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/76693/index.php

From Wellington, New Zealand:
http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/76650/index.php

From Athens, Greece:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/417790.html

From Cork, Ireland:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/90528

From Switzerland:
http://switzerland.indymedia.org/demix/2009/01/66122.shtml

From Perth, Western Australia:
http://perth.indymedia.org/

From Jakarta, Indonesia:
http://jakarta.indymedia.org/newswire.php?story_id=2075

From Argentina:
http://argentina.indymedia.org/

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