GENERAL SCOTLAND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Scotland has a rich tradition of resistance against capitalism, and offers
a unique combination of advantages and disadvantages to
the anti-G8 mobilisation. The anti-globalisation movement has never had a
large presence in Scotland. Yet, most Scottish people are
sympathetic to the problems caused by neo-liberalism and openly
hostile towards Blair and Bush. Parts of Scotland are very international
in character.
However, Scotland is geographically isolated, and world leaders
hope that travelling to Scotland for a mobilisation will be out
of the question for many Europeans.
The G8 is having their meeting in Gleneagles, a golf-course in the middle
of Scotland off the A9 highway (one of the only two major highways in
Scotland) between Perth and Stirling. It is about an hour away from the
two major cities in Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Gleneagles is not an
urban environment, but a golf course in the middle of a rural glen next to
the village of Auchterarder.
It should be clear that Scotland is not England, and although Scotland is
politically part of Britain, culturally and historically it is different.
Scottish people in general should never be called English or British, and
flaunting unionist (Scotland is just a part of Britain) politics, even
unconsciously, can spark a negative reaction.
Scotland is has a population of about five million.
The infamous "enclosures" that took common land from the people were
extremely brutal in Scotland, such as the infamous "Highland
Clearances" and "Lowland Clearances".
Most of the natural wealth of Scotland was pillaged to support the
government in London, and almost all the land is owned by giant
absentee
estate owners, such as the families that own much of the land around
Gleneagles. The "Highland clearances" in turn has led to ancient laws
against squatting in Scotland (in order to keep the farmers from
returning to their land) that are much more severe than in England the
the
rest of Europe, though perhaps not as much as in South Africa.
Squatting is a criminal, not civil offence, and squatters
have no rights. However, recent land reform laws have thrown this into
question, and these laws will likely be challenged during the G8
summit.
Also, Scottish people have a great fondness for the land, and this has
led
to legally questionable but popular rumours of "common land" (land
bequeathed to the Scottish people) and "the right to roam" laws that
make
wandering through the countryside through private property legal.
Scottish
Politics
Scotland,
once being a separate nation, historically has had always had separate
legislation from the rest of Britain as regards housing,
demonstrations, and squatting among other things. Currently Dissent
legal teams are working to understand Scottish law, and a comprehensive
guide will be available for protesters on the Internet.
In
1997 the Scottish Parliament was formed to have oversight over cultural
and domestic policy in Scotland, and to appease the resentment many
Scottish people towards the government in London. However, it is even
in Scotland regarded as a joke and expensive bureaucratic nightmare,
and cannot pass laws about foreign policy and defence matters. However,
many people who would otherwise be involved in revolutionary politics
believe that due to the small size of Scotland reformism is a practical
route for change. The illusion of Scottish autonomy will be revealed
during the G8 summit as a sham as English police come in and the
American government tries to take over security for the summit. This
may lead to some latent antiEnglish
and anti-American feelings to
surface, although this may be counteracted with pride that the world
leaders have chosen Scotland to host their meeting.
Currently,
Scotland is run by a coalition between Labour and the Liberal
Democrats. The current Scottish Labour government, despite it's name,
is rightwing and authoritarian. It has dominated Scottish politics
since the end of World War II, and mostly maintains control of the
trades unions. One large difference between the G8 mobilisation and
others in Europe is that it is highly unlikely that there will be any
material support, such as a free convergence space, from the
government.
Like
any small country, politics in Scotland is corruptly run by nepotism in
a very small circle through the large power centres of Glasgow and
Edinburgh, and is tightly integrated into the media, business world,
and universities. The media, especially the more popular daily papers,
blur the line between reality and fiction, and have already started
painting Dissent as a group of bloodthirsty anarchists intent on
senselessly rioting and destroying small businesses and family homes.
An atmosphere of fear is already descending upon Scotland. However,
there is a natural distrust of the government which may lead to
sympathy for the antiG8 mobilisation.
Local politics in
the area near Gleneagles area such as Perth and Stirling is very much
excluded from the circles of power, although the local councils are
conservative. The local government is very worried about a riot in the
region, and also feels their power being overridden during the G8
summit.
Most people in Scotland are sympathetic to
leftleaning politics, including issues of fair trade and a general
feeling of hostility towards Bush and Blair. However, like everywhere
in Britain, very few people participate in politics and consider the
possibility of change remote. People involved in oppositional politics
usually know each other, and like many Scottish people, tend to focus
more on practical rather than theoretical issues. In general
there is still some sense of workingclass
solidarity, and there is a
growing and popular ecological movement. Due to Faslane, there is also
an antimilitarist and sometimes nonviolent sentiment. All of this means
that good working relationships develop between political groups that
would not be possible in the power centres. Please be sensitive to this
situation and don't prejudge individuals or groups.
CITIES IN SCOTLAND
Perth
Lies
on the River Tay and several key road junctions, Perth is an affluent
town and voted for the right wing Conservative Party in until 1997.
There are many large companies with offices in Perth. However, it is
still viewed as off the map and does not have a large activist scene.
Groups of locals interested in antiG8 activities have been having
irregular gatherings in Perth for months.
Stirling
Stirling
is also positioned near several key road junctions. It is site of
Stirling Castle and historic battles that established Scotland as a
nation state, as in Braveheart. Stirling has a large rural university
campus that is being used by the G8 to house their media centre.
Stirling Council is controlled by the Labour party and will likely not
aid the protest in any way. The Prudential Plc (a huge insurance
corporation) has its biggest office in Stirling. However, otherwise
Stirling is a workingclass town and not a power or financial centre,
and so direct action within Stirling should be discouraged. There are
students and locals in Stirling who are organising against the G8,
although they are just starting their activities.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
is the financial and political power centre of Scotland, the "capital"
of Scotland, home of Scottish Parliament, and major Scottish banks. It
is an international tourist centre, with Prince's St. being the focus
of consumerist capitalism in town. It is also a hub of artistic and
cultural events, featuring one of Europe's largest art festivals every
August, and as a city is full of international visitors. It also has a
history of Scottish workingclass revolt, as the infamous Poll Tax
revolt that helped bring down Margaret Thatcher started here. Outside
the more corporate areas of the city, the city centre of the town is
ancient and gothic, and a point of pride for many citizens. There is a
longstanding social centre here called ACE that will serve as an
infopoint for incoming protesters. Edinburgh has hosted very large and
successful anticapitalist street parties before, and may do so again.
The reformist NGO group "Make Poverty History" is planning on holding
the largest march in Scottish history in Edinburgh before the G8. The
Dissent affiliated Reshape
Edinburgh is very international in character.
Glasgow
Glasgow
is the industrial centre of Scotland and its largest city. Glasgow is
traditionally the home of radical workingclass politics in Scotland,
and the "Red Clydeside" rentstrikes earlier in the century led, like
the G8 summit, to English police having to come to quell the
revolutionary struggle. Glasgow is also one of the poorest cities in
all of Britain, with large areas being devastated by neoliberal
policies, although currently the downtown is being heavily gentrified
and "revitalised". Hour and a half south of Glasgow is home of the
infamous and unpopular Dungavel Detention centre, where many asylum
seekers are being held under brutal and harsh conditions. There is
currently no social centre, but two under development, and the G42
collective hopes to open a social centre in time for the G8. Reshape
Glasgow is an active antiG8 group that participates in the Dissent
network. Glasgow is also the nearest major city to the decadesold
Faslane Peace Camp, and CND and Trident Ploughshares holds annual
nonviolent blockades of Faslane Military Base, and a special blockade
of Faslane will be held before the summit.
Gleneagles and Auchterarder
Gleneagles
is not even a town, but just a large golfcourse and expensive hotel.
Due to its small size, it is unlikely to be able to hold the entire
staff of the G8 Summit, and so staff will travel from one of the nearby
towns (Stirling, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh) to Gleneagles. Gleneagles
is right next to a highway, and surrounded by uninhabited hills. There
is a village near Gleneagles called Auchterarder is a small, Scottish
village whose inhabitants mostly work in Gleneagles. While most of the
villagers who are associated with Gleneagles are hostile to the
protesters, many are sympathetic. The "Red Zone" will likely encompass
only Gleneagles and Auchterarder, although there is talk of a ten mile
radius of checkpoints as well. ID cards are being given to all the
locals of Auchterarder, and this scheme has been met with hostility,
with locals believing this summit is disturbing their rural
tranquility. Also, the hotel employees themselves are being relocated
to another village directly north of Gleneagles called Crieff.
Dunblane:
Although
this town is near several crossroads, any direct action in Dunblane is
highly discouraged. There was a violent shooting of
schoolchildren by a madman here years ago, and the town is still
recovering. It is also the home of the Church of Scotland.
TRAVEL TO SCOTLAND
Police
are already talking about restricting travel to Scotland, so the best
policy is to come as early as possible and travel in an inconspicuous
manner. It is easy from most places in Europe to get to London, and the
lowcost bus system Megabus (15 euros) goes to Edinburgh and Glasgow. In
general, public transport is very expensive from England to the UK
(typical train tickets costing 80 Euros and typical bus tickets costing
40 Euros from London to Edinburgh). Groups in London will probably be
booking their own trains or buses or possibly seizing them. Hitchhiking
is possible in the UK, although crossing the Chunnel (Tunnel between
Calais France and Dover England) often results in long waits and an
actual passport check, and unless a sympathetic driver lets you in
their car, and thirtysome Euro fee. There is also a ferry from Zeebrugge
to Rosyth (near Edinburgh). Although they are
very ecologically
unsound, and a large part of the Dissent
network would rather people did not travel this way,
there are also a number of lowcost airlines that go direct to
Scotland, with prices if booked ahead of time around twenty or thirty
Euros. In particular, Ryanair has their main base in Glasgow Prestwick,
about an hour south of Glasgow, and regular flights from all over
Western Europe go there, including Stockholm, Athens, Barcelona, Milan
and FranfurtHahn. Easyjet (www.easyet.com) goes to
Glasgow and
Edinburgh direct from Amsterdam. Germanwings goes directly to
CologneBonn.
WEATHER IN SCOTLAND
The
weather in Scotland is one of extremes, and during the summer months it
is warm and pleasant but very rainy. Due to the proximity to the sea,
weather in Scotland is milder than its latitude would have one guess,
but also very unpredictable, so be prepared for anything. It will
likely rain frequently so bring waterresistant clothing and boots that
can handle mud. In July, there may be sunlight till nearly midnight and
only a few hours of darkness before dawn.
CONVERGENCE SPACE IN SCOTLAND
Land
and building space are at a premium in Scotland. Although vast unused
landed estates and abandoned buildings exist, these are owned by
superrich and absentee landlords who have no wish to rent them. Even
when spaces are owned, such as by artist groups and churches, land and
space is worth a lot and not cheap, especially in Edinburgh, Perth, and
Stirling. However, Reshape has been searching for a convergence centre
and hopes to have legal and safe housing for the protesters setup, and
may have to cooperate with other groups in order to do so. The main
deciding factor if a legal convergence space happens will be money, and
Dissent needs the help fundraising from all across Europe. If there is
no legal convergence centre, Dissent has made a consensus decision to
squat land. Ideally, there will be at least one urban convergence space
and a rural one near Gleneagles in either Stirling or Perth.
More
information on progress towards these goals will be distributed as the
dates of the protest approach. Information on suitable buildings and
land for squatting will be distributed at infopoints in Glasgow and
Edinburgh before the protest begins.
DIRECT ACTION IN SCOTLAND
Scotland
has a history of direct action. The neoliberal agenda was first\
implemented in Britain by Margaret Thatcher, and in colonial tradition
unpopular laws are tried in Scotland before England. The privatisation
of industry in Scotland led to an immense Britainwide Miners strike in
1987 that was strong in Scotland, and this led into wildcat strikes up
until the late 90s by post office workers. The community "antipoll tax"
movement of 1987 began in Scotland and inspired a similar movement
throughout Britain, leading to the abolition of the poll tax and the
downfall of Thatcher. In Scotland, nonpayment of the poll tax was at
over eighty percent. After the poll tax movement, the Council
evicted the Unemployed Worker's Centre (later known as ACE, the
Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh) only after a large and popular
occupation of the building. There was also the well known Pollock Free
State that resisted the building of the M77 highway in Glasgow, which
received popular support form local council schemes and school strikes.
Ecological direct action continues with the destruction of GM crops in
the Black Isle, Aberdeenshire, and Fife in recent years.
Britain
keeps all of their nuclear weapons in Scotland, against the will of
many Scottish people. This has led to the current dominance of
antimilitarism direct action in Scotland, and the predominance of
nonviolent tactics. Faslane Peace Camp and Trident Ploughshares, and
some sections of SCND are involved in nonviolent direct action. Over
the last five years, direct action at Faslane has resulted in over two
thousand people being arrested, making them the the largest protests in
Scotland currently. Through these types of direct action workshops
activists have become familiar with affinity groups. One famous action
was damage costing 25 million pounds to a warplane by Trident
Ploughshares activist Ulla Roder.
The largest recent
movement in Scotland was the antiwar movement. The war was even more
unpopular in Scotland than in England, with virtually no support for
the war. On the day war broke out and on the following Saturday there
were unprecedented scenes in both Edinburgh and Glasgow when hundreds
ofschool students went on strike and blockaded roads and then thousands
gathered in the city centres and closed roads, and school children and
anarchists even stormed Edinburgh Castle.
Direct action in
Scotland has the potential to be very popular and to involve the local
communities. With the exception of the antiwar protests and the annual
blockades of Faslane, there has not been truly large popular direct
action in a while. Also, the antiglobalisation movement has never come
to Scotland in force before for a major demonstration, and most
Scottish people do not know much about the various summit protests in
the past. Dissent is in general viewed as a primarily English or
international group of anarchists, although local groups in Scotland
under the name Reshape have been working on outreach and networking.
This summit protest will definitely be a new thing for Scotland, and
whether it can mobilise successfully and shut down the Summit may
depend crucially on local support. The population of Scotland is
leftleaning and generally libertarian, if nonideological and not
politically active, so outreach and an understanding of the local
context may be crucial to the success to the antiG8 mobilisation.
OPPOSITIONAL POLITICAL GROUPS IN SCOTLAND
Anarchists and the Autonomous
Left
Historically,
Scotland has had a large anarchist workingclass tradition, and the
ideas of libertarian socialism have been more popular than Leninism.
While the current number of anarchists in Scotland is quite small (a
few hundred at most), there are a number of multigenerational groups
that maintain this tradition. This includes the Glasgow Autonomous
Project (GAP), the
Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh (ACE),
G42 group
(Glasgow), GAIA, Aberdeen Anarchist Resistance, Wimmin Against the G8,
and the Dissent Network affiliated Reshape groups in Edinburgh,
Glasgow and
to limited extent in Perth. There are individual members of the
Anarchist Federation and the
anarchosyndicalist Solidarity Federation (SolFed). The largest English
language anarchist book distribution company, AK Press, was founded in
Stirling and currently maintains operations in Edinburgh. Longrunning
anarchist periodicals like Counterinformation come from Scotland, and
Black Flag was at one time based in Scotland. Recently, Scotland based
media activists has setup their own Indymedia Centre (www.scotland.indymedia.org)
and have an active video activist group in Glasgow called the
"Camcorder Guerillas" (www.camcorderguerillas.net).
Media events
such as movie showings tend to be very popular in Scotland. There has
also been lots of interest in the Zapatistas, with Edinburgh twinning
with the Zapatista community the 16 de Febrero. There is a small but
active anarchist punk scene, with long standing bands such as Oi Polloi
hailing from Scotland. The large free party network in Scotland that is
interested in holding a giant free party during or before the G8
summit. Anarchists and libertarian socialism in general have
historically been important in Scotland, and hopefully the G8 can help
build the movement here. Scottish anarchists and autonomists have
consistently told internationals and people outside Scotland that there
is just not enough radicals in Scotland to pull off the
mobilisation by themselves. Many local activists are very busy with
long running projects of their own, and do not want to abandon these
projects to focus on the G8. There are local groups in Scotland that
participate in Dissent under the Reshape banner. Internationals are
needed to come early to help organise convergence spaces, actions, and
should be as well prepared and self sufficient as
possible.
Make Poverty
History (www.makepovertyhistory.org)
This
is one of the largest conglomerations of NGO (NonGovernmental
Organisations) ever, who plan to protest the G8 by marching the weekend
before in Edinburgh in hope of lobbying the G8 to take on poverty
issues in the "Third World". It is led by groups like Oxfam, their
organisers are estimating 100,000 people will march. The current media
focus seems to be on groups of anarchists disrupting the march and
attacking the Scottish Parliament, which as a tactic has never been
mentioned by anyone in Dissent. The march organisers are quite afraid
of this possibility as well. Already the media is casting "Make Poverty
History" as the "good protesters" and Dissent as the "bad
protesters".
G8 Alternatives (G8A)
(www.g8alternatives.org.uk)
This
organisation is campaigning against the G8 in Scotland. The media
primarily contacts them for interviews, and comments. G8A only
organises in Scotland. They have monthly meetings that anyone can
attend, and have attracted attention from locals in places in Scotland
where Dissent has not. Although their numbers are small, the Trotskyist
Socialist Workers Party dominates the socalled consensus meetings,
making all decisions behind closed doors in an antidemocratic manner
while pretending to have consensus. The Scottish Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament (SCND) is affiliated, as are various SWP dominated fronts
organisations such as Globalise Resistance, and individual trade union
branches, as well as Free Party people. The G8A currently plans to go
directly to the Gleneagles train station for a peaceful demonstration.
However, most of their energy is invested in holding a dubious
corporate rock concert near Gleneagles, and an alternative summit in
Edinburgh. Despite being controlled by the SWP, many individuals and
groups within G8Alternatives hates the SWP and wish to participate in
direct action. When participants in Dissent showed up to talk about the
plans for action, many members of G8Alternatives were very friendly and
expressed interest in action. With proper networking and careful
distinguishment between G8A members and the SWP, it is possible most of
G8A will join in whatever protests or events Dissent helps
organise.
The Scottish
Socialist Party (SSP) (www.scottishsocialistparty.org)
The
largest group on the left. Claims 3000 members, but few are politically
active. Many parties legally operate inside the SSP as platforms, such
as the SWP. With the charismatic leader of the Scottish Socialist
Party, Tommy Sheridan, stepping down, a party power struggle is now
starting, and with elections near the time of the G8 Summit, they are
unlikely to try to make much of an effort at the antiG8 mobilisation.
While the SWP are officially a part of the SSP, they are disliked by
many in the SSP do not get the two groups confused. Many grassroots SSP
members are in favour of direct action and an open and honest politics,
and may join the antiG8 mobilisation.
Socialist Worker Party (SWP) (www.swp.org.uk)
This
is the biggest so called revolutionary party in the UK, but small in
Scotland (200 members as Socialist Workers Platform within the SSP). An
authoritarian top down Trotskyist party,
known for manipulation on the left. In particular, they dominated the
recent London European Social Forum, not allowing groups like Indymedia
and the Wombles to participate, and earlier at Prague were part of the
socialist group that cowardly left the Pink march for the Yellow march.
They are obsessed with parliamentary politics and cannot take
criticism. Worse, through front groups like Globalise Resistance, they
are trying to gain members by joining in antiglobalisation events. They
openly denounce anarchists. They use the rhetoric of direct action then
attempt to stop all direct action. Worse, they openly cooperate with
the police and have helped police arrest people involved in direct
action, including during the anti-Iraq war demonstrations in Scotland.
They are currently on the decline, recently been selling off their
infrastructure to support antiwar candidates for the next election. If
their G8 mobilization fails, they may fall apart.
Their
plans for the G8 mobilisation include trying to use G8 Alternatives as
a front group, using their official spokesperson, Gill Hubbard to
denounce direct action, and have struck a bizarre deal with a corporate
rock concert company to hold an alternative corporate rock concert
"against the G8". They are in negotiations with the Scottish government
for money for the concert. Even reformists fear that they will charge
high-ticket prices, fence in the concert, and try to trap protesters
there to prevent direct action. Even if the concert fails, the SWP are
planning a so called alternative summit to sell papers.
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament (CND) (www.banthebomb.org)
Long
standing single issue campaigning against the UKs nuclear weapons that
boasts a very broad coalition. CND has connections and officially
supports groups that take nonviolent direct action and civil
disobedience, such as Faslane Peace Camp and Trident PloughShares, and
usually has nonviolent and large protests. Their main focus is for a
nonviolent blockade to shut down Faslane nuclear base during the G8
Summit, and they are also willing to cooperate with people within G8
Alternatives and wider circles to setup a rural convergence centre.
Historic animosity to the SWP, and in general supportive of the entire
antiG8 mobilisation, including Dissent. SCND is the largest direct
action oriented protest movement in Scotland.
Scottish Green
Party (www.scottishgreens.org.uk)
Has
members in the Scottish Parliament and comes from a loose coalition of
Green grassroots groups and NGOs. The left of the party are sympathetic
to and participate in direct action and civil disobedience on
environmental and peace issues. Unlike many parties, officially support
nonviolent direct action as part of their party platform. While they
are likely not to get involved in the antiG8 mobilisation, they will
probably intercede with the police on behalf of the protesters to
defend the right to protest and civil liberties.
Scottish
Nationalist Party (SNP) (www.snp.org)
The
SNP supports Scottish nationalism, and gained support after large
amounts of oil was discovered off of Scotland and Scottish nationalism
usually has been viewed as a vast distraction used by the ruling class
to defuse the historically internationalist Scottish workingclass.
Historically a rightwing party, they have adopted some leftwing
policies recently, and Scottish nationalism currently stands a strange
"lefty" sort of nationalism, since immigrants are needed to help
Scotland's shrinking population. As the oil is running out and most of
its profits have been taken not by Scotland but by multinational
corporations, Scottish nationalism is on the wane. Recently they have
been aggravated by the disruption both the police and protesters will
cause at the G8 mobilisation.
The Scottish Trades Union Congress
(STUC) (www.stuc.org.uk)
The
umbrella organisation for UK Trade Unions in Scotland. This is a small
organisation separate from the larger UK Trade Unions Congress. The
STUC as yet (January 2005) has given no formal approval to the G8
Alternatives perhaps because of domination by the Trotskyist SWP. In
the past, the STUC has given verbal support to many campaigns such as
the movement against the second Iraq War.
People and Planet (P and P) (www.peopleandplanet.org)
The
largest leftwing student organisation in Scotland, being especially
large in Edinburgh and having a branch in Stirling. Although they are
openly reformist, they have succeeded at a number of "fair trade"
reforms in recent years. They are also planning a rural convergence
centre and are sympathetic to Dissent.
[wiki
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