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Home | Friday 3rd April 2009 | Issue 671

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          G20 Summit Eyewitness Report          

STORMING THE RAMPARTS

Two London squat centres were raided yesterday (Thursday) as police took a swipe at the infrastructure of the G20. The long term squatted social centre Ramparts and the G20 convergence centre at Street in the City were both raided on Thursday at midday in coordinated operations.

The police had kept Earl Street residents awake for much of Wednesday night, banging on the doors and windows and switching their sirens on outside. In the morning they had been searching anyone coming or going and demanding people's names and addresses.
SchNEWS eyes on the ground at Earl St told us "At around midday I heard 'they're coming in, they're coming in,' we all ran upstairs to the second level, people were getting panicked, some people split to the front of the room, others of us stayed where we were and decided to sit down with our hands in the air."

As dozens of police battered their way through the door, 30-40 activists congregated on the top floor and "sat in a circle with our arms in the air to show the police our non-violent intentions" However, cops in full riot gear brandishing taser guns forced them face down with hands on the floor. People were brought out handcuffed one by one and sat on the pavement whilst police searched the building. Two were taken to hospital with head injuries inflicted by the police and two others were arrested.

Other cops cordoned off the street while supporters of the detainees kept up a lively protest denouncing the illegal police actions. They were released after giving their details two hours later. At hand during the raid was the cops' latest toy, the urban military-style armoured Ford F450 vehicle. Although police allowed people in one by one to get their possessions, they emptied the building and started ripping up the floorboards.

Meanwhile over at RampArts, it was party time for the FIT throughout Thursday morning as a large number of bobbies gathered to stop and search all traffic in and out of the well known London squat. Anyone leaving the building that morning were pressed for information and filmed with glee by the FIT eager to make ID's and arrests. Shortly after midday, as Earls Street was busted open, bobbies in balaclavas smashed their way in through the roof, assaulting everyone in their way as batons and tasers were drawn. With an embedded ITN camera team in tow, they screamed at everyone to get down on the ground, jumping on them and handcuffing them, firing off insults and taunts like "one of you croaked last night". After checking IDs four were arrested including two who had been injured during the raid. The others were released and the centre remains open, see www.therampart.wordpress.com

Keywords: convergence centre, direct action, earl st, fit team, g20 summit, london, ramparts, social centres, squatting


 

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