with the demand that orchestrated vigorousty calorce A the law".
deliberate vio- Lee Jasper, Livingstone's lence by thou- adviser on poncing, praisis the Met's "professionalism" ROS SERSAC rent-a-mob thugs. and called on the police to summarily arrest protesters. describe the police actions in Bizarrely commenting on detaining the anti-capitalist on May Day could changed But despite the bysteria before and after May Dav Jasper put forward despite the demoralisation of Livingstone's message- do many on the day, cold tired and hungry alter being tion. penned in Oxford Circus for I'he fact is that none of this Tony worked. Blair denouncing our "spuri• cant on the day was that. ous cause", the anti-capitalist this ofensive, and the deliberate disorganisathe agenda. message was pur traiy ou tion of May Day For once the media was thousands of new, forced to debate our views of how capitalism is strangling prepared to come out onto the streets to planet. It is ironic that some of the Whilst official trade union May Day demonstration wended its way through ing of the London May Day events could be found in the again a respectable size only because of the large presence Safely sandwiched between the usual culogies to "our AUTOS activists, in London's West magnificent bobbies" they May have published articles from End a BICW Day was being born. present inside the police cordons at Oxford Circus. line with otber actions around the been forced into the open - world, May Day is right and being proper a sad Stalinist imprison without charge, for reflection on past glories, Kca square march pasts and several hours. conditions, so on, but as part of over a peaceful demonstrators on century of struggle and international solidarity. the off chance that one two of them might be consid- The May Day Monopoly their ering doing something somevery nature, made it hard to what unlawful?
focus to the day. M onths nevertheless organised parts of the day the betterplans were put into place by In particular the Globalise Resistance picket of the politicians to whip up a hysterical camreal focus. It was these paign to try to prevent any demonstrators who were to Two messages were sent our: that our COTE trapped by the police at cause was "Spurious that our activity would be Oxford Circus.
Despite being held in the crushed by massive police intimidation. cold and rain for seven hours While, of course, we should Tive vi good-humoured. With only one or two examples of fruspolice tried to suppress the right to treedom of expres justification for the police sion, up against the demonstrators actions in keeping everyone were quite breathtaking. "detained to prevent a breach Aligned Daily of the peace".
and every other How can we build on the national daily. Tony Blair Day was a success in shownot understand "the right ing that the anti-capitalist movement exists in Britain as firmly as it does elsewhere Presumably one has to ask his permission first.
myst put real Lord Harris. New Labour Chair of the London police inte developing authority called for the use of Globalise Resistance conferLivingstone weighed in too, ence later this month 1s a vital starting point in this Presos The state suppression of right demonstrate needs to be taken up. Liberty and others are talking of launching legal challenges to These should be supported and other direct campaigning activity to defend he right to protest encouraged.
And the way in which the May Day actions were disorganised needs to be critically assessed. ] The police were able to trap thouSane because no demonstration leadership had been built. involved on the day cannot #HOW be manocuvred into this position again by anarchist forces who, were down, were not interested in what happened to the people they had Cacourca attend. May Day, London: copr in cahoots with media, Mayor and ministers in defence of capitalism