Join the Anti-Capitalist Week of Action in London Against the G8

I just have time to throw out a quick reminder that tomorrow, Tuesday June 11, there’s a Carnival Against Capitalism taking place in London’s West End, beginning at 12 noon, at the start of a week of action against the G8, which takes place on June 17-18 in Northern Ireland. There are two suggested meeting points — one at Oxford Circus and one at Piccadilly Circus — and this is what Milena Olwan, a social worker, told the Guardian about the protests against the G8, echoing what many people think, as politicians meet, who, at best, are deluded, and at worst, like the Tories, are revelling in the opportunity to impose savage austerity cuts on the most vulnerable members of society.

“The G8 are anti-democratic, unaccountable, and they represent an extinct world order,” she said, adding, They embody the old ways of protectionism, imperialism and greed … [W]e will show them that ordinary people coming together taking action can forge alternatives that do not destroy lives but create a life beyond capitalism.”

This is how the organisers describe the Carnival Against Capitalism:

This action will only be as effective as the people participating in it. We have not negotiated with the police and we will not be controlled. If we look after each other, stay mobile, don’t get caught in kettles and are ready to make quick decisions about what to do next we can make the most of the day.

They also write:

Their London?

London is right at the heart of global capitalism. And the West End of London, including elite areas like Piccadilly, Mayfair and Knightsbridge, is where power and greed are most concentrated. The West End is home to:

Corporations. Many of the world’s most brutal and polluting companies,  including oil and mining giants, arms dealers, and the businesses profiting from cuts and privatisation.
Vulture funds. Global base of the “hedge fund” and “private equity” industries, laundering the world’s blood money to invest in war, food speculation and debt slavery.
Tyrants. Government offices, embassies, cultural and commercial fronts of  colonial powers and murderous regimes.
Playground of the mega-rich. Middle Eastern dictators, Russian mafia oligarchs, and home-grown parasites all see London as a “safe” place to hide and spend their loot.

Our Carnival.

Traditionally, carnival is the time where the people take over the streets, the bosses run and hide, and the world gets turned upside down. It is a time to celebrate our resistance and our dreams, to bring music and colour to the streets. And also to show our strength and our anger.

The powerful feel safe in London so long as they go unchallenged. But the people looting our planet have names and addresses. On #J11 we will party in the streets, point out the hiding places of power, and take back the heart of our city for a day. Our streets. Our world.

Join us.

Like any good carnival, everyone’s invited: this will be an open, inclusive, and lively event. There will be a main route with sound systems and public meeting points. Bring music, costumes, banners, friends, ideas. We also encourage independent actions, and will publish soon a detailed map of the area to help you make your own plans. The Green and Black Cross group will provide experienced medical and legal support.

That detailed map is here, and it is something of a masterpiece, a guide to 100 “hiding places of power in the West End,” including banks, hedge funds, private equity offices, arms dealers, courts and police stations, “Dens of the rich,” and the headquarters of corporations involved in energy, mining, pharmaceuticals, property  and security, as well as representatives of foreign governments, and those involved in PR, communications and the media.

A street party at an undisclosed location will end the day at 5.30pm. For the latest updates join (and share) the Facebook page, and follow @stopg8uk on Twitter or visit the Network 23 website which contains listings of all the week’s events. You can also Tweet using the hashtag #j11.

On Wednesday June 12, there will be an anti-militarist action in the West End, with protesters meeting at 2pm. For more info visit the Disarm DSEI website.

On Thursday June 13, a solidarity action is planned in support of prisoners in the criminal justice system and migrants in detention centres, although details have not yet been announced.

On Friday June 14 there will be a day of creative direct action at Canary Wharf involving UK Uncut, Occupy and other groups. Meet at Jubilee Plaza outside the west exit of Canary Wharf tube station at 12.30. Join the Facebook page for the latest details or check the website at They Owe Us (Shift the Debt), where the following information is provided:

In response to the combined crises of cuts and climate chaos, and the call for a week of action against the G8, we have come together to organise a gathering of those who want to stop the assault on people and planet. In the penthouse suite of global capitalism, in front of the eyes of the financial elite we will demand that They Owe Us.

Canary Wharf is the epicentre of the economic crash and a stronghold of the 1 per cent. This is the home of many of the big financiers and corporations that are doing the damage, whose interests will be defended at the G8 and whose influence most needs to be curbed.

We plan to appear in Canary Wharf to reclaim and transform a space, bringing beauty and hope to the soulless heart of Capitalism.

A SPACE TO RESIST: We will speak out about the debt that is owed, and celebrate our resistance in speech, music and performance.
A SPACE TO CREATE: We will build a symbol of their debt to us – right under the noses of the banks and corporations that both fund and profit from these crises.
A SPACE TO IMAGINE: We will share the alternatives that we know can be created when we empower people rather than crush them.

And finally, via Johnny Void, who reminded me about this week’s actions on Twitter, here, “to get everyone in the mood [is] a video of the Carnival Against Capitalism held on June 18th, 1999, spotted via urban75“:

Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist, activist, author, photographer and film-maker. He is the co-founder of the “Close Guantánamo” campaign, and the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. He is also the co-director (with Polly Nash) of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (available on DVD here – or here for the US).

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