Protesters plan to ‘occupy’ London Stock Exchange

Focus switches from Wall Street to London as thousands plan to demonstrate against global banking industry After four weeks of focus on Wall Street , the fast-moving campaign against the global banking industry is coming to the UK this weekend, with the biggest event aiming to “occupy” the London Stock Exchange. Organised by Facebook and Twitter pages which between them have picked up more than 15,000 followers, campaigners are to gather outside St Paul’s Cathedral at midday on Saturday before marching the short distance to Paternoster Square , the business development housing the London Stock Exchange, as well as the UK HQ of investment bank Goldman Sachs. It is one of a series of planned events around the UK, which are in turn part of a wider global day of action spanning a thus far promised 800-plus protests . It remains to be seen how many of the online supporters will turn up in London, with estimates ranging from a few hundred to a couple of thousand. It is also unclear whether City police, the small force which operates in London’s financial district, will permit activists to mimic the Wall Street protests by pitching their tents. Paternoster Square is a private development, giving police more powers to remove activists. Among its tenants are a number of high-end shops and restaurants which may take a dim view of having trade disrupted by a semi-permanent encampment. A City police spokesman refused to discuss whether protesters would be moved on, saying only that “appropriate policing preparations are in place”. The Stock Exchange and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. While the roots of the current wave of protests, which combine anger at the bail-out of the financial sector with disquiet at the faltering global economy and increased inequality, has its roots in mass marches earlier this year in Spain, it attracted global attention with the camp in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, which is scheduled to be cleared by authorities on Friday . The first UK event took place in Manchester earlier this month, timed to coincide with the Conservative Party conference in the city. Up to 30 people remain in tents in the city’s Peace Gardens square . Around a dozen other events are officially planned for Saturday around the UK, including Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Norwich, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Among events in other countries, 1,300 people have pledged via Facebook to occupy a central plaza in Sydney, with similar events planned for Saturday in Melbourne, Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong, among others. The global movement has issued a manifesto, endorsed by Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, among others, calling for a democratisation of the global finance system and mentioning the Arab spring as an inspiration for mass action. One protester planning to take part in London said the campaign, which is not allied to any political party, began with a series of Facebook pages in early September. Once people gathered at the Stock Exchange there would be mass votes to decide the next course of action, said Spyro Van Leemnen, 28. “All decisions on the occupation, and how we’re going to take it forward, will happen then. If people decide they don’t want to stay then that’s it, we won’t stay,” he said, adding that he was bringing a tent in the expectation of staying for some time. “The idea is to stay there as long as it takes to see some substantial change. No one said it would be easy,” he said. “Since 2008 these ideas have been building up, and I think people realise there will be no governments who will represents their interests against the banks, unless the people themselves raise their voices.” Another activist planning to go to St Paul’s, Peter Vaughn, 24, said the aim was to set up a “rolling camp” of protesters as a permanent symbol of people’s concerns. “When the crisis began I think people were patient. They were told, ‘We need to bail out the banks, this is the only way to save our economy’. And now the whole European economy is in crisis, while banks continue to pay bonuses. The situation is untenable.” Vaughn said he hoped police would permit them to remain but was aware that TV footage of protesters being dragged away could publicise the campaign: “We’re not going there for a fight with the police. This is about legitimate concerns that we have.” A history and politics graduate who had worked for two years as a bicycle courier because of a lack of better options, Vaughn said there was also a personal element to his participation: “I feel like graduates were sold a lie. We’re not the ones that are suffering the most, but from a personal view, we were told, ‘You take on this debt but you’ll get a job and pay it off.’ I’m still more than £10,000 in debt.” There has been little response thus far from the global finance industry, although the US-based chief executive of Citigroup, Vikram Pandit, said this week he would meet the Wall Street occupiers, calling their views “completely understandable”. Brian Mairs of the British Banking Association said he knew of no similar plans in the UK. However, he said his organisation did not rule out engaging with protesters: “If there is a forum to have a sensible discussion we would be happy to do it.” Protest London Stock Exchange Global recession Economics Global economy Banking Peter Walker Shiv Malik guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.