NATO Summit in London,
England
Police Fail to Thwart No to Trump -- No to NATO Protest
- Terina Hine, Stop the War
Coalition (UK) -
London, December 3, 2019.
Thousands assembled on Tuesday evening [December
3] to join the No to
NATO protest as NATO leaders came together for the 70th
anniversary NATO summit. For a U.S. President to visit the UK in
the middle of a General Election campaign is unprecedented and
protesters came out in force on this cold December evening to
make their feelings known. Not only were anti-war protesters
braving the cold but also a large contingent of NHS workers along
with doctors and nurses, to make it clear that the NHS is not for
sale.
 Rousing speeches
were given as the crowd assembled in the late
afternoon. Reiner Braun from the International Peace Bureau and
Medea Benjamin from Code Pink gave an insight into how NATO is
perceived in Europe and the U.S.; representatives of the Kurds in
London protested against [Turkish President Recep Tayyip]
Erdogan's recent atrocities against the Kurds, while Tariq Ali
and Lindsey German of Stop the War spoke of Trump and the so-called
Special Relationship. Kate Hudson (Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament) told of the devastating impact and escalating cost
of nuclear weapons. Speaker after speaker made it clear how NATO
is a force for war not peace and how much Trump and all he stands
for is reviled by the British public.
The demonstration began in Trafalgar Square and
aimed to march
down the Mall to Buckingham Palace in time for the arrival of the
NATO leaders attending a reception with the Queen. At least that
was the plan. In reality, police action inhibited the march and
the assembly of the protest. By refusing to close the roads at
the assembly point at Trafalgar Square, and twice blocking the
route as thousands poured down the Mall, the police succeeded in
preventing the protesters from greeting the Queen's guests as
they arrived.
Held for forty minutes on the Mall, mounted police
announced
to the marchers that they were being kept back for their own
safety; in reality it was blatantly clear that crowd safety was
the last thing on the police's mind. The crowd was penned into a
small, narrow space, repeatedly told to 'stop pushing' although
it was hardly possible to move, and when one protester became
panicked she was jeered at and mocked by the police officer from whom
she sought assistance. Once the 'danger' of being in the line of
sight of passing dignitaries had passed, the protesters were
allowed to continue to the Palace, to be met by even more police
and the handful of Trump supporters who had been permitted to
greet their hero.
Not to be deterred, the protest continued and
protesters waited
for the reception to end so they could make their voices heard.
They may not have seen or heard the protest on their arrival at
the Palace, but with the drums, trumpets and whistles of the
protesters, the NATO leaders could not fail to [notice] it on their
departure.
Back at Trafalgar Square, the R3 Soundsystem --
Dance Music
Against Trump -- was in full swing with dancers blocking the road
and music echoing down Whitehall throughout the Trump-Boris
Johnson meeting at Downing Street. GloSticks, Dump Trump
and No to Nato placards were held high and thrust
in the
air in time to the beat. This was Trump's third visit to London
and the third London welcome he has received. Hopefully it will
be his last.
 
Glasgow, Scotland
Edinburgh, Scotland
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