Update 13/1/11 – another EMA demonstration is going ahead Saturday – Market Square at 12 noon until 2pm : http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=119710288094364
See inspiring photos from todays protest against the cut to Educational Maintenance Allowance that will affect 16-18 year olds, that can be found on the Nottingham Students Against Fees and Cuts (NSAFC) website: http://nsafc.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/ema-demo/.
The protest was supported by university students and also focused on the increase of fees to £9000 a year due to begin 2012 that was passed in the House of Lords in December.
More photos can be found on Nottingham Indymedia: http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/articles/875
Central TV footage: http://www.itv.com/central-east/student-protests98684/
Also today, the courts jailed Edward Woollard, the 18 year old student who dropped a fire extinguisher from the roof of the Tory HQ, for 32 months for the public order offence of ‘Violent Disorder’: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/01/471869.html. Many other cases are due from the same day. For their support see Stop the hunt on the Millbank protestors (Facebook) and We need unity – defend the Millbank protestors. Also (support statement immediately after protest): Sign this statement to stand with the Millbank protesters against victimisation!
Clearly if you are going down to the next demo it’s a good idea to have some legal knowledge. If you don’t have local legal support on your coach, the ‘Bust Card’ of the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group in London is a very good resource worth taking with you. LDMG are very experienced with police repression, coming as they did out of the anti-Poll Tax ‘Trafalgar Square Defence Campaign’, whose http://www.ldmg.org.uk/ members of have recently supported the anti-fees demos and occupations.
To take part in a large-scale action planned for next Wednesday (26 Jan 2011) against the banks, please send out the following tweet:
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Hit back at the banks: BANK RUN on Revenge Wednesday, 26 Jan 2011. Info at: tinyurl.com/bankrun2011 PLEASE FORWARD THIS
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…and circulate the following info by any means possible…
BANK RUN ON REVENGE WEDNESDAY, 26 JAN
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On Wednesday 26 January 2011, thousands of people in the UK will try to cause a bank run by withdrawing money from their bank accounts, in person, at high street bank branches.
The hope is that the movement will snowball.
Everyone is welcome. Just print out the form below, fill in your details, and take it to your bank, preferably around lunchtime, e.g. about 1pm. Even better, print out multiple copies and hand them round. Use email, Twitter, Facebook too.
When the first bank branch says it won’t pay out people’s money, let everyone know, using every means possible. Take photos. Use mobile phones, send tweets, get the journalists in on the picture. This movement is decentralised. It is what you and we make it.
Note that this idea was tried last December, after being suggested by Eric Cantona. Unfortunately it didn’t go very far, mainly because the organisers asked people to “sign up” online. We’re not asking you to sign up to anything. In particular, you do NOT have to give any personal details to anyone. The form below is just for giving to your BANK.
If you can only afford to withdraw 10 pounds, please do it. If you can afford to withdraw thousands of pounds, do that too. EVERY LITTLE HELPS. Banks cannot withstand everyone withdrawing even a tenth of what they’ve got in the bank. LET’S SEND THESE PARASITES A MESSAGE THEY’LL NEVER FORGET. It’s an open secret that they’re holding the country to ransom. Let’s kick ’em where it hurts.
This is the financial system’s MAJOR WEAK SPOT. That’s why the Dutch government is considering making it illegal to call for a bank run. Because they’re SCARED. In 2009 there was a bank run against a Dutch bank. This was considered to be a particularly unpleasant bank, which had been encouraging millions od Dutch people to get into debt who couldn’t afford it. People did a run against it, and it went bankrupt. How sad.
In Britain, you’d be hard pushed to name a bank which DIDN’T try to get people into massive debt they can’t really afford.
Here’s the bottom line: THE BANKS HAVE GOT IT COMING TO THEM.
So please take part. Spread the news. Distribute this leaflet. Print your own. Just do a little bit to help, and we’ll be strong and we’ll blast the damn banks like they’ve never been blasted before.
Please print the following, complete the details, and hand it to your bank around 1pm on 26 Jan 2011.
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NAME: _________________________ _
ADDRESS:_________________ ____________
_________________________ _______
ACCOUNT NUMBER: ___________________
SORT CODE:____________________ __
NAME OF BANK:____________________ _
To: the Branch Manager
Dear Sir,
I wish to withdraw ____________ pounds from my account in cash, immediately.
Yours sincerely,
__________________ (signed)
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