Don’t forget those students and youth arrested so far!
Hot on the heels of the effective mass protests on 24 November across the UK, a further ‘national day of action’ against students fees increases & cuts across public services has been announced – Tuesday 30 November, meet 11am at College Green. Details here, here, and on Yuk-Facebook (for Bristol).
Revolting youth take central Bristol
Here is a fine report on the 24 November Bristol protest, and here a statement from the successful occupation of Bristol Uni student union. Meanwhile the occupation at UWE continues. Here is an interesting comment on the violence on demos debate. Here is a good article on the recent history of the policing of protests.
Are cops stupid? Their kids and their jobs face the same cuts!
Whilst the brilliant protests so far have rocked the government and left the cops with more than egg on their faces, there are mounting numbers of people arrested (around 120 so far, mainly in London). We can be certain that if protests continue then the cops will set out to clampdown harder on young people and their supporters (see for example this report from London). In that situation, solidarity with each other is the key, and knowledge is power. So we gather here from a number of sources a small number of links and documents useful for students, schoolkids and workers participating in protests of various kinds:
Occupations-practical_info(pdf)
Short-student-legal-check-list(pdf)
GBC_student bustcard(pdf)
These 3 docs came from ‘The Third Estate’ an amusing website. However some of the info given regards legal support and solicitors is very London-focused. In Bristol people need to sort out our own arrestee and legal support, pronto. However if you need a solicitor in Bristol you could try these:
Sansbury Douglas, 116 Grosvenor Road, St Pauls, Bristol, BS2 8YA
Tel: 0117 955 2663 (Also offices in Knowle and central Bristol).
Kelcey & Hall, Fosters Chambers, 17 Small Street, Bristol, BS1 1DE
Tel: 0117 927 9604
Nile Arnall Solicitors, 34 Frogmore St, Bristol BS1 5NA
Tel: 0117 909 8898 (this firm is the one whose number is on the bust cards circulating in Bristol)
Here is some more useful info:
Advice on preparing for protests, including clothing, food etc.
Guide to public order situations
November 10 Defence Campaign
London’s Green&BlackCross occupation advice on possession orders & injunctions
Fitwatch’s tips for staying safe on protests
and lastly we have the notorious Fitwatch advice on what to do if you fear arrest after a protest.
We will shortly be publishing a full new page on ‘security and legal info for campaigners’. But in the meantime, have fun but stay safe and free out there – prison sucks!