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Strength in diversity
Kat Barton
Wednesday 6 July marked the first day of the G8 summit, so on Tuesday night, while eight men in suits
were preparing to sit down to a meal of Marrbury smoked salmon and roast fillet of Glenarm lamb, thousands of activists
were finalising their plans for three days of direct action against the G8.
At the Stirling camp, where many of those planning to take action were based, people were leaving in droves, in anticipation
of being blocked in by police if they left too late. By 3am Wednesday morning, the hills between Stirling and Gleneagles
were teaming with small groups of - somewhat cold and wet - activists hoping to reach the A9 by 7am when blockades would
begin.
The police presence was incredible. Activists were totally outnumbered. Police from up and down the country patrolled
the Scottish hills using their powers of "stop and search" to hinder people as much as possible. However, despite the
excessive police presence, while some of us were busy detaining police officers, others were able to get on with the real
business at hand.
Blockades, blockades,blockades
Overall, three out of the four roads to Gleneagles were blocked by 8am. The A9 motorway - the major route into
Gleneagles - was blockaded at several points between Stirling and Perth. The result of which was polie having to constantly
move from one blockade to another and the A9 remaining shut for most of the day. The M9 near Stirling was closed both
north and southbound for at least six hours from 7am.
One of the most successful actions of the day was a blockade on the bridge of the A823 over the A9 motorway by the
Kids' Block. Around 300 protestors, including kids, clowns, a samba band portable sound systems and 30 vehicles, blockaded
the road, within walking distance of the gate to the hotel.
In Edinburgh, a spontaneous demo of around 700 people took place when protestors were told that the official
Auchterarder to Gleneagles march would no longer be taking place and hundreds were prevented from leaving on buses from the
start point.
Edinburgh actions
Earlier in the day, a planned bloackade of the Sheridan Hotel in Edinburgh, where Japanese delegates were staying, failed
to get started when activists arriving at 6am were greeted by rows of riot police. Their efforts were not in vain though,
as at around 8.30am a group of 20 people managed to delay three buses leaving the hotel - two of which were full of
delegates.
At Auchterarder the official march set off at 2.15pm after the G8 Alternatives group (organisers of the march)
threatened to call a demo outside the US consulate in Edinburgh in the event of the planned march being cancelled. When
they neared the fence, about 700 of the 5,000 people marching moved into a nearby field towards the fence, where 100 people
held a sit down protest until police forced them to move on.
So, all in all, an eventful day of direct action! A day in which the success of our combined efforts illustrated that
our strength lies in the diversity and autonomy of our actions ... even if some of us spent far too much time wandering the
Scottish highlands!
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