St Paul’s Camp Cleared – Eviction Marks End of the Beginning for OccupyLSX

Bailiffs, assisted by police, launched the action to clear the long-standing Occupy London camp at St. Paul’s this week. Shortly before midnight on Monday, 27th February, bailiffs, officers in riot gear and police vans began to draw together to enforce the eviction order sought by the City of London Corporation – the archaic governing body of London’s financial district – that had been upheld in court last week. As this enforcement was underway, the nearby ‘School of Ideas’ community centre was also evicted, in violation of ongoing court proceedings, with the building later razed to the ground.

 

Since the rejection of the appeals case before the Royal Court of Justice on February 22nd, most valuable items and a number of tents had already been removed by protesters from the site at St. Paul’s in anticipation of police action and based on fears about the disregard for protesters’ property. Since Friday night, occupiers had held a permanent and peaceful vigil on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral in anticipation of the eviction. Through the camp’s General Assembly it was decided to endorse individual responses to the eviction, and legal guidelines were distributed throughout the camp and online to inform protesters of the possible legal ramifications of various forms of resistance.

 

On Monday afternoon, Occupy London received an anonymous phone call from someone claiming to work for the City of London, who warned of preparations for an imminent eviction. Shortly after midnight, activists alerted through phone trees and tweets began to arrive at St. Paul’s. City of London police set up a cordon around the perimeter of St. Paul’s preventing anyone from entering the area after 12:30 a.m. At the site of the camp, most occupiers had gathered on the Cathedral steps – considered by many a safe zone, since the church’s land was not covered by the eviction order – while around 20 protesters gathered on top of a wooden structure that had been erected from pallets and kitchen shelves in front of the cathedral. Shielded by police in full riot gear, bailiffs began clearing and breaking up tents while some protesters prayed, sang, danced and broadcast the eviction via several mobile livestreams. At around 2 a.m., and without any verbal warning, police and bailiffs tightened the kettle around the wooden structure and began to dismantle it. According to legal observers that were present at the scene, the police acted with “too much haste and not enough caution”. Several protesters were forcibly pulled to the ground and stepped on by riot police for acts of peaceful resistance. By 3:20 a.m., the last remaining protesters had been dragged from the structure. When questioned about the disproportionate show of force, representatives for the City of London Corporation and the City of London Police had “no comment” for the Occupied Times. Legal observers reported that while there were around 20 arrests for obstruction of police work, the majority of activists on site complied peacefully with the eviction order. The last of the occupiers chained himself to a tree; it took an hour and a half to remove him.

 

Protesters who had withdrawn to the steps of St. Paul’s also found themselves confronted by police. Officers claimed that church officials had asked them to clear the front of the cathedral under Section 14 of the Public Order Act – the threat of “serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community”. While several police observers watched from the upper balcony of St. Paul’s, units in riot gear dragged protesters off the church steps. Occupiers who wanted to collect their personal belongings were sometimes refused access, and saw their bags trashed by bailiffs and city workers. Around 3:30 a.m. the last protesters were removed while chanting “Shame on you!” and “You work for us!” to police officers.

 

No church officials were visibly present to witness the forcible eviction of peaceful protesters from the cathedral steps, and Giles Fraser, the former canon chancellor who resigned in protest against church chapter’s decisions regarding the camp, was prevented from entering the site. Fraser described the eviction as “a terrible sight” and “a sad day for the Church of England”. Tammy Samede, a supporter of Occupy London and litigant-in-person before the High Court agreed. “I am religious. To see the police sweeping across God’s doorstep is very upsetting. Even during a war, churches are sanctuaries, priests are always able to move between opposing sides – but apparently not here.” According to Anon, another Occupy LSX supporter, “Maybe we should seek sanctury from a Mosque, because the Christian church totally let its own followers down”.

 

To many, the camp at St. Paul’s had become a real home over the past four months. According to a statement released through the Occupy London website, “We’ll miss Occupy London Stock Exchange but not because of the tents, or even the kitchen shelves: it was a makeshift, loosely cooperative, occasionally quarrelling and fiercely idealistic group of people who came together to achieve something extraordinary. The relationships forged during these strange and beautiful four and a half months still have much further to run.” Says Tammy Samede, “I had nothing but my tent, a change of clothes and a few books. But over the past months I have been happier that I had been in many years.” Ronan McNern, a member of the media working group, agreed: “This is where we built a community, of occupiers, homeless people and others. People lived here, people came for weekends. Their homes are now being destroyed, their tents are being taken. It is demoralising. What happens to the right to assemble? Will we be allowed to express our views here again, or is that right reserved for the Queen and the privileged?”

 

By 6 a.m., around 70 protesters were left without shelter. While the City of London Corporation promised to provide accommodation on the night of the eviction, they failed to demonstrate taking steps to ensure that vulnerable individuals had access to shelter, counselling, and food.

 

At the nearby School of Ideas, around 15 occupiers were evicted, despite the fact that court proceedings were still underway and the building – which had been established in the name of Occupy to serve as a community centre – was considered a legal squat. By 6 a.m., bulldozers had arrived at the scene. Two hours later, the demolition of the abandoned school was underway. Reports later suggested that the possession order for occupiers at the School of Ideas had been signed by Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke.

 

While the eviction of the St. Paul’s camp was an emotional moment for many occupiers and ended the world’s longest occupation (and one of the largest), many supporters expressed optimism about the weeks and months ahead. Tammy Samede said: “This eviction is about tents, not people. They can remove our camp but they cannot silence us.” According to Ronan McNern, ongoing projects such as Occupation Records, Working Group initiatives and the two weeks of protest that are planned around May Day will carry the momentum forward and signal that the movement has outgrown its initial “camp stage”. Jamie Kelsey-Fry, a member of the media and citizenship Working Groups, agreed: “Movements move. This was the first step, but Occupy is about so much more than a single camp. If anything, this is the end of the beginning.”