Photos form todays anti-nato protest in Edinburgh

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/filkaler/

A very brief summary of the day

The Smash NATO protest, timed to coincide with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Edinburgh, had been planned to start with a text message notification of the starting point of the march. Unfortunately technical problems prevented this from going out to people, so those marginally in-the-know assembled at the west end of the meadows unsure of what was going on, and anyone less clued in simply didn't get there.

At around 10:50am perhaps 30 people had gathered at the west end of the meadows. We were approached by two people who identified themselves as plain clothes police officers. So, rumbled already, we exchanged pleasantries with the plain clothes officers, a third of which arrived shortly after the first two.

Predictably the friendly 'facilitate your demo' plain clothes officers were followed around 10 minutes later by three vans full of the regular yellow shiny jacket police mob. Their phalanx filed towards us and surrounded the masked ninja faction (which was the overwhelming majority of our by then 40 or 50). After this the ninjas suffered a predictable martyrdom, with affronts to personal space, barely provoked destruction of the sound system, and all that accompanies this game.

Eventually, perhaps fearing being kettled, perhaps seeing the futility of these scuffles in a situation where we were practically outnumbered, the demo dispersed across the Meadows in a disorderly retreat. Perhaps five or ten went to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), where the Parliamentary Assembly was taking place, and held banners. Over the next hour and a half those who had dispersed in the other direction across the meadows made their way in dribs and drabs to the EICC.

 A new convergence point has been announced for Smash NATO via their texting system: The Edinburgh International Conference Centre at 1:30 PM. Protesters have already started going in small groups to the centre, and protesters are still in front of the conference centre with their banner. 

 The police are now engaged in excessive and extreme brutality against the Smash NATO sound system, ripping it apart and tearing its cables to defend innocent bystanders against the heavy bass-lines of "Rage Against the Machine."

The Smash NATO protest has dispersed, with some going back to the convergence centre for lunch and around a dozen gathering outside the conference centre itself.

The police kettle has now loosened and is no longer effective, so the Smash NATO demo has dispersed. Currently people are moving the sound-system out and dispersing in small groups, with some going for the conference centre. It does not appear particular activists are being actively gone after

 The Smash NATO Demo was kettled in the Meadows and was treated fairly heavy by the police. They were given a Section 60 and people with masks were being detained and searched. Some people have gotten out of the kettle and are re-assembling elsewhere.

 In a quick update, around 50 protesters have gathered in the Meadows, and the police have arrived, and are trying to contain them as other protesters arrive. Some protesters have also made it to the conference centre, where with an anti-NATO banner they are refusing to enter the "official and approved" protest-zone.

 The location for the mass demo is the West Corner of The Meadows, between Melville Drive, Coronation Walk and Londsdale Terrace. Be there at 11am sharp!

See you on the streets!

MAP: http://natowc.noflag.org.uk/2009/11/13/demo-location-announced/