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| Demonstrators scuffle with police during a protest by the Occupy movement in London May 12, 2012. (Reuters Photo) |
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Occupy
protesters Saturday took to the streets of the City of London, Europe’s
financial capital, calling for an end to “predatory capitalism” and joining the
global movement’s day of action.
On the
continent, the biggest wave of protest was in crisis-hit Spain where thousands
of “indignants” marched in some 80 towns around the country against economic
injustice.
In the
heart of London’s financial center, anti-capitalist protesters said they
pitched around a dozen tents outside the Bank of England.
Earlier,
the group of around 300 demonstrators went on a tour of the City’s banking
institutions before stopping outside the central bank, scene of the G20
protests in April 2009.
“The Bank
of England stands right at the intersection of finance and government,” said
Occupy London supporter David Lincoln.
“In the
light of Bank governor Mervyn King’s recent comments about ‘vested interests’
standing in the way of reform of the financial sector, it is clear that that
balance in the UK is fundamentally skewed.
“Hundreds
of people gathering by the Bank of England is a powerful symbol of how things
have to change.”
The
demonstrators, some waving the Occupy movement’s trademark tents or wearing
white “V for Vendetta” masks, held banners declaring “normal predatory
capitalism”, “we expect political democracy” and “shut down the 1 percent”.
They
gathered outside Saint Paul’s Cathedral in spring sunshine for a “teach-out”
from a series of speakers.
James
Meadway, senior economist at the New Economics Foundation, told AFP: “This is a
good turnout. The issues haven’t gone away. The crisis is getting worse.”
Norwegian
student Ragnhild Freng Dale said the main achievement of the movement —
galvanized by anger over social inequality in the economic downturn — was to
attract people who did not normally see themselves as activists.
“The
movement has made a big impact,” she said.
Minor
skirmishes broke out between protesters and police who briefly encircled the
demonstration. Four people were arrested over public order offenses.
Occupy
organizers said in a statement: “Nowhere in Europe is the unequal distribution
of wealth as striking as in the UK.
“The
richest 1,000 persons, just 0.005 percent of the adult population, increased
their wealth by £155 billion ($249 billion, 193 billion euros) over the last
three years.
“That is
enough for themselves alone to pay off the entire budget deficit and still
leave them with £30 billion to spare.”
Inspired by
the Occupy Wall Street protesters who pitched tents in New York’s Zuccotti Park
last September, protest camps sprang up in dozens of countries worldwide, but
the movement has since lost momentum.
In London,
an Occupy camp outside St Paul’s was evicted by police in February after four
and a half months.
And in
Madrid Saturday, authorities have vowed to stop protesters from camping out
again in the city’s central Puerta del Sol, the cradle of the “indignants”
popular movement against spending cuts, inequality, bankers and sky-high
unemployment.
The marches
on Saturday launch a four-day protest that will end on May 15, the anniversary
of the movement’s birth.
In Belgrade
on Saturday, several dozen supporters of what they call the 99 percent movement
demonstrated without incident in the city center.
Organizers
handed out anti-globalization leaflets with slogans such as “Stop NATO”, “The
bosses have won the elections again”, and had anti-capitalist banners.
Agence France-Presse
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