London Protesters Threaten Bankers, Evoke Executions

Mark Barrett, a professional tour guide, spent last Saturday painting Barack Obama’s election catchphrase “yes we can” on a banner that protesters will carry as they try to occupy London’s financial district April 1.

Barrett is helping organize a protest outside the Bank of England, one of several called to express anger against banks and bankers and mark the arrival in London of leaders of the Group of 20 nations -- including Obama, now president.

“We want a very English revolution,” he says from a café near his home in north London. “The first English revolution in 1649 was about winning sovereignty for parliament over the king.” Now, protesters are campaigning for sovereignty for everyone.

All police leave has been canceled to increase security and financial workers have been told to wear casual clothes amid warnings that protests could turn violent.

“There are a lot of hacked-off people,” said Mike Bowron, commander of the City of London Police. “There’s potential for disruption and certain individual groups see violence as their raison d’etre.”

The global economic slump has raised unemployment to more than 2 million in the U.K., with more people joining jobless rolls last month than at any time since 1971. The economy shrank 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, the most since 1980, and there is growing anger at the more than 40 billion pounds ($58 billion) the government has injected into ailing banks while insuring 585 billion pounds more in risky assets.

Beheading Charles I

Class War, an anarchist newspaper, has produced a special edition to promote the protest with an image of former Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc CEO Fred Goodwin, whose house was vandalized this week, on a guillotine under the headline “Ready to Riot.” Another shows people dancing around a fire with the slogan “How to keep warm in the credit crunch -- Burn a Banker!” Public anger erupted at Goodwin’s 703,000 pounds annual pension after RBS was bailed out by the government.

The English Revolution culminated with the beheading of Charles I in 1649, ending the so-called divine right of kings in England. Today’s protesters say they draw inspiration from 17th century radicalism.

Four marches will converge on the Bank of England at midday on April 1 for a protest the organizers call “Financial Fools Day.” At the same time, there are plans for a blockade of the European Climate Exchange, in Bishopsgate, to protest against the market in carbon emissions.

Clog Up the Roads

“There’s an avowed intention on their behalf on the 1st of April to stop the City either by just clogging up the roads and preventing people getting into work or, if they’re allowed to, getting into some of those institutions,” said Commander Bob Broadhurst of the Metropolitan Police, who is in charge of the policing operation.

“What we’re seeing is unprecedented planning amongst protest groups,” he told reporters on March 21. “There are some clever, innovative people with lots of ideas.”

Police, who are detailed to provide security for the world leaders attending the April 2 G20 summit at the Excel Conference Centre in east London, will also have to deal with a labor union-organized protest march to Hyde Park tomorrow, demonstrations at the conference center itself and an anti-war march on the U.S. Embassy.

Around 10,500 officers will be available during the week and policing costs will be around 7.2 million pounds, Broadhurst said.

Tighter Security

City of London authorities are advising businesses to beef up security and protect building entrances and loading bays to thwart protesters who may attempt to break into buildings. The City district has around 300,000 workers, mostly in financial services, and contains JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s and Merrill Lynch & Co.’s European headquarters as well as large buildings of RBS and Deutsche Bank AG.

The organizers of the demonstrations in the financial district, who are expecting “several thousand” people to turn up, say they want them to be non-violent protests.

“We are organizing a peaceful creative demonstration with music, a carnival, parades and theater,” Barrett said. “I’ll be amazed if some individuals don’t act in ways considered to be violent, but it’s not something organizers are encouraging.”

Stewards will tell protesters to sit down if violence breaks out to show that it is only a minority involved, Barrett said. “We see the state and the finance system as being the violent part of this in the way that economic policy affects people around the world, dislocates them from the land and damages the environment,” he said.

Climate Exchange

The group planning to protest at the Climate Exchange say they will arrive outside its building at 62 Bishopsgate on April 1, pitch tents, string up bunting and set up a “climate camp,” which they expect to block the road. They hope to stay for 24 hours and there will be workshops, games and a farmers market, spokeswoman Mel Evans said.

“We want a space to discuss these issues and to take action to see some changes being made for the benefit of people across the world, not just a couple of bankers,” Evans said.

Sara Stahl, the exchange’s marketing manager, said it was company policy not to comment on the protests.



Spoof FT

A group of protesters have produced a spoof edition of the Financial Times newspaper, which was handed out at railway stations today. It imagines the headlines in 2020 and how the events of the G20 summit will be viewed in the future.

Chris Knight, a professor of anthropology at the University of East London, was suspended from his job yesterday after he told the British Broadcasting Corp. that “we’re going to be hanging a lot of people from lampposts” on April 1 “and I can only say let’s hope they are just effigies.”

Knight was suspended “pending investigation,” the university said. Knight didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail message.

The Bank of England, founded in 1694, has been the target of demonstrators before, according to the Bank’s Web site. In 1780 the bank, known as the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, was provided with a military guard after it was threatened by a mob during anti-government riots. This was only discontinued in 1973.

There is also a history of protest at the Excel Centre, where the G20 leaders will meet, and campaigners believe it was chosen in place of the palaces and historic buildings of central London because it is easier to protect.

“It’s privately owned land and it’s very, very easy to close off so it’s easy to impose the sort of security which you can’t in central London,” said Kaye Stearman, of the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, which opposes the arms fairs held at the center. “It’s very difficult to protest.”

Some campaigners are traveling from mainland Europe for the demonstrations and, after London, plan to head for Strasbourg, France, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization conference. “It’s the beginning of the season,” Barrett said.