G20 Meltdown will see a coalition of anti-capitalist, anarchist and single-issue protest groups converge on the Bank of England.
Four groups will walk to the Bank from separate tube stations. At 2pm, Stop the War Coalition is leading a separate march from the US embassy in Grosvener Square to Trafalgar Square, to demand that US President Barack Obama pull US troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Small bands of protesters have also indicated they may convene at the ExCel Centre in Docklands, where the summit will take place tomorrow.
The British Liberal Democrat MP David Howarth, who yesterday mediated last-minute talks between protesters and police, warned there was still “mutual misunderstanding” between the sides. He said the meeting between Climate Camp organizers and Scotland Yard’s Commander Bob Broadhurst and chief superintendent Ian Thomas had been “businesslike,” and both sides had exchanged contact numbers. But he was concerned that police appeared to believe that causing disruption to commuters would warrant intervening to stop a demonstration.
“I still think the two sides have different views on what’s proportional,” he said. “Police still seemed to think that any disruption of traffic is worth stopping a demonstration for. It’s a shame this meeting did not happen earlier — there are points of mutual misunderstanding and the police really don’t like the way Climate Camp is a non-hierarchical organization.”
Police have still not met with the organizers of G20 Meltdown, although the coordinator, Marina Pepper, has said she would “talk about plans” with police.
Confrontations, she said, would only occur if police tried to prevent the protesters from reaching their destination.
“When you’ve got the side of right on your side, you won’t be stopped, will you?” she said, adding that protesters would be bringing pillows. “And yes, we are prepared to fight truncheon with pillow.”
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