This from Ben Seaside is quite right. Really saddening statement from NCAFC on the upcoming student demonstration. When the last major mobilisation of over 4000 students in London was *against* the Police - owing to their persistent violence, harassment and intimidation - its really troubling that the self-appointed leaders of the student movement with their necessary expertise have taken it upon themselves to yet again collaborate with the Police. 150 Stewards? Dispersal notices? If the annual trudge to parliament hadnt proven demobilising and disempowering enough, the organisers seem intent on doing the Polices work for them. Awful Politics. -------- A note from the organisers: National demonstration for free education (19/11/14): Logistics and safety We have produced this note to detail the logistics and planning information regarding the national demonstration on the 19th November. We hope that it is comprehensive, but if there are elements you would like to question, feel free to email: againstfeesandcuts@gmail We have met twice with the Metropolitan police, in the presence of local government agencies and TFL. We have negotiated a route, which has been agreed - and this is outlined below. We have also contacted Camden and Westminster Councils to inform them of the route. NCAFC is experienced in organising demonstrations, and while we are not an organisation with many resources, we have the necessary expertise to make the demonstration a success. This will be the fifth or sixth comparable demonstration which we have organised. 1. Timings for the demonstration Assembly: 12 pm. March sets off: 1pm. First marchers due at rally: 2:30 pm Start of Rally: 3pm End of rally: 4pm 2. Route of the demonstration We will assemble at Malet St, march around Russell Square, down Kingsway, Aldwych, along the Strand, into Trafalgar square, down Whitehall, through Parliament square, and end at Old Parliament Yard, which is adjacent to Parliament. The route can be viewed on googlemaps here: tinyurl/khrmcvp 3. Rally We will hold a modest rally with speakers. This will be in Old Parliament Yard at 3-4 pm. The rally will be chaired and controlled by members of the organising committee. There will be a small raised platform for speakers. 4. Stewarding There will be an appointed head steward who will organise 150 stewards into seven teams. One team will be the “lost child team”, and the other six teams will be in charge of different areas of the demonstration: two at the front of the demonstration, one at the back, and three flanking the middle. The chief steward will oversee all six teams, and will be linked to the team leaders by walky talkies (and mobile phones). Stewards will be identifiable through yellow bibs, and there will be a steward training day a week before the demonstration; the time/date/location will be announced shortly. There will also be a stewards briefing on the day, and a written briefing. If you want to help us steward, please get in touch to help out Email againstfeesandcuts@gmail 5. Safety of protesters and the police There will be a legal training hosted by Green and Black Cross (GBC) on the 11th of November in Brighton and the 15th of November in London which anyone can attend. GBC & the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group (LDMG) will have legal observers on the demonstration. We will will ensure that bust cards (with information and lawyers numbers) are distributed on the demonstration 6. Lost Child Policy We have a lost child policy, which you can view if you like - just get in touch. A team of stewards will be dedicated as the ‘lost child team’ on the day. 7. Dispersal at the end of the demonstration There will be an announcement over the PA as well as through stewards directing attendees to go to their coaches, which will be situated in a number of known locations. This is in order to ensure that the crowd does not move as a block to one location which should aid in the ease of dispersal. There is currently an after-party being organised at UCL which will be advertised to attendees in advance and will also be announced at the rally. Stewards will work with the police to ensure that the crowd is able to leave safely. It is anticipated that over the course of the rally people will leave of their own accord. 8. Leaving Points Pending discussions with the police (which we assume will be forthcoming), there will be three agreed leaving points for those who wish to leave the demonstration. We aim to have one near Holborn tube station, one on the Strand near Kings College London, and a third at Trafalgar Square. At the leaving points there will be stewards whose job it is to ensure the welfare of any participants needing to leave the march. 9. First Aid In each stewarding team there will a number of first aiders who will make themselves visible as such. We have also contacted external organisations with regard to providing assistance. 10 Communication on the demonstration We understand that it is vital that all participants know the basic information about the demonstration: route, times, steward contacts, lost child team cont, as well as the above mentioned legal information. Therefore we are currently producing a leaflet that has all the described information on it. It will be sent to campuses outside London beforehand and will be distributed by the organisers on the demonstration.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 11:25:16 +0000