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Siege tensions eased with film show

Jason N. Parkinson | 08.07.2005 09:58 | G8 2005

After several hours of drums and dancing from the Childrens Block, riot police were called in to support a wall of police yellow-coats. Tensions increased and things began to look ugly . In response members of the European Cretive Forum helped organise a film show for the police officers.

About 7pm the Childrens Block marched and danced their way to the police blockade with an entourage of drummers.
The Stirling Peace Camp had been under siege, surrounded by police officers since 3am the previous morning, an attempt to prevent political actions like Wednesdays early morning expeditions.
For one hour the protestors danced, cheered and marched in front of the police line with the "Children R Revolting" banner.
The calm atmosphere was increased by jugglers, acrobats and cheeky clowns that lightened up the police attitude.
The 500 protestors then formed a large circle, incorporating the police line, and called for three minutes silence for those killed in London that morning, and all those killed in violent acts across the world that day.
Police and protestors stood shoulder-to--shoulder to remember the dead and why these people had travelled across the world to converge on Stirling at the Peace Camp.
The silence was broken with a bout of the hokey-cokey and the merriment continued for another hour.
As dusk fell over the Stirling camp and the drummers incesantly beat out increasingly frantic rythmns the tension began to rise. The police line started looking nervous. Superior officers looked strained as endless orders bleeted out their radios.
Upto 100 extra police in riot gear, helmets, batons and shields, marched in from the left and formed a strong line behind the 60 yellow=coat officers. This simple act incresed tensions in the protestors immediately, especially in local groups who were worse for wear on copious amounts of alcohol consumed over the day.
Immediate action was taken to try and calm the situation in the locals, the police, and the very small minority of protestors who seemed very aggitated at the police response to adults and children singing and dancing.
Musician The Rub stepped in, sat down on a grass verge and began playing chilled-out accoustic guitar tunes, while other members of the European Creative Forum (ECF) rushed around the camp collecting equipment and wires to assist a film maker to set a film show, in the hope it would ease the police tension and distract anyone else from escalating the situation, thus giving the police force a reason the raid the camp.
A large screen was erected by the stadium wall and the plan was put into action. The film was Koyaniskatzi (spelt to the best of my knowledge and a lack of sleep induced brain), music by Phillip Glass.
Within the hour, the riot police were slowly pulled out. Most protestors returned to the camp, even the few remaining - some heavily down on booze - all calmed down.
The movie of mankinds destruction of the planet flickered on through the night till the early hours of the morning.
As the film finished, police asked for another movie. The film maker answered questions from the police about the movie, where they could get a copy, what it was about, what the name of the movie meant, then planned to put another movie on. But the generator ran out of petrol and there was no more petrol to run it.
As the projector and screen was taken away, a lone protestor wandered along the police line and around the car park playing a soothing tune on his accordian.
The police thanked members of the ECF and the film maker for the show. The plan had worked, tensions eased and threat of another possible camp raid ceased.
One superior officer was reported as saying the police knew the camp was full of peaceful people and they didn't want to harm anyone, then added if any individuls needed to be "taken out", just point them in the direction of the police line.

Jason N. Parkinson

Comments

Display the following 5 comments

  1. Powaqqatsi — Alex (Lexicon Smith)
  2. Well done — Virginia Moffatt
  3. Grass On Your Arse! — Who Cares?
  4. like Wednesdays early morning expeditions — censored Scot
  5. oh really? — censored twat
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