London G20 protests details in full
The Bank of England is expected to be at the centre of today's protests
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Wednesday, 01, Apr 2009 09:28
Yesterday saw demonstrators take to the streets of London to protest ahead of the G20 summit, here inthenews outlines the different events that took place across the capital.
Bank of England:
The epicentre of today's demonstrations is expected to be around the Bank of England.
In an event named G20 Meltdown, a coalition of anarchists and anti-capitalists will join members of the public who are angry at the government's response to the financial crisis.
Demonstrators will be asking why so much government action has been directed at bankers - the very men who created the problem - while so little has been directed towards helping the public itself.
Four separate marches will congregate around the Bank of England, starting their demonstration at 11:00 BST in Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Moorgate and Cannon Street.
US embassy:
The Stop the War campaign will march on the US embassy in Grosvenor Square later.
Police are also expecting more direct action from anti-war activists, including attempts to block streets, enter and occupy buildings, and simultaneous marches splintering off in several directions.
"The G20 will meet at a time of world slump but they are spending more and more on war," said a statement on Stop the War's website.
Echoing the 'Yes We Can' rhetoric of US president Barack Obama - who is making his first visit to Britain as president to attend the G20 summit - the organisation says its message will be: 'Yes We Can'.
"Yes we can end the siege of Gaza and free Palestine, yes we can get the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, yes we can make jobs not bombs, yes we can abolish nukes, yes we can stop arming Israel," the website reads.
The demonstration will bring together protestors from the Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, The British Muslim Initiative, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Excel centre:
Protestors will push a giant 'iceberg' to the Excel centre in Docklands today as part of a demonstration against climate change ahead of the G20 summit.
Campaign Against Climate Change (CACC), the group who have organised 'Fossil Fools Day', are encouraging people to dress in white and bring their own, smaller ice cubes to highlight melting ice caps caused by global warming.
Campaigners say the aim of Fossil Fools Day is to "speed up the end of the fossil fuel empire, and the beginnings of a more just and sustainable world."
Last year on April 1st, people took part in office occupations, banner drops, street theatre, and city centre parades across four continents.
This year, organisers promise the event will be "bigger, better and bolder."
The gathering at the Excel centre is the sister protest to a demonstration planned today at the Climate Exchange in Bishopsgate, where activists will attempt to occupy the road in front of the building.
Climate Exchange in Bishopsgate:
Climate activists will "swoop" on London's financial district today to highlight the impact on the environment of current global economic systems.
On the eve of the G20 meeting, Camp for Climate Action (CCA) will try to occupy the road outside the European Climate Exchange in Bishopsgate to urge leaders to address the issue of climate change.
On their Facebook page they criticise the "foolishness" of current financial practices.
Its website states: "First the city traders speculated with our homes, jobs and money - with disastrous results. Now they are speculating with our climate and the very future of life on earth - and once again our governments are cheering them on."
Three thousand people are expected to attend the event, which organisers hope will last 24 hours through to 12:30 BST on Thursday.
Two-and-half thousand extra police officers have been drafted in to the capital to manage crowds at protests across London amidst safety fears.
But Kevin Smith, a climate change policy researcher from north London and lead member of Camp For Climate Action, defended peaceful protestors: "There has been a lot of over sensationalisation in the media. We are not going there to antagonise the police."
The camp will be one of a series of protests around London on what is being dubbed "Financial Fools Day".