G8 Alternatives

Last updated
Protester holding a G8 Alternatives placard G8 alternatives Placard.jpg
Protester holding a G8 Alternatives placard

G8 Alternatives was a coalition of activist groups set up to co-ordinate actions around the 31st G8 summit held at Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland.

Contents

Supporters of the coalition included Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Iraq Occupation Focus, Muslim Association of Britain, Scottish Socialist Party, Stop the War Coalition and various trade union branches. Individual supporters included author and academic Noam Chomsky, journalist John Pilger and comedian Mark Thomas.

Activities

Counter Summit

G8 Alternatives organised a counter-summit on July 3 which was addressed by a wide range of speakers. Among those in attendance were writer George Monbiot, South African anti-privatisation activist Trevor Ngwane and Philippine anti-globalisation activist Walden Bello. Nonetheless, the coalition's demonstration in Auchterarder on the day the G8 summit began was perhaps their most significant action.

Protest by SSP MSPs

The coalition had considerable difficulty getting permission for the march and just days before the G8 it looked likely that permission would be denied, despite a prior agreement by the Scottish Executive that the right to protest at Gleneagles would be upheld. In response to this, Scottish Socialist Party MSPs made a silent protest in the chamber at Holyrood. They were debarred from the parliament for a month for refusing to leave the chamber when instructed to do so by the Speaker. Permission was eventually granted only days before the protest was to take place.

March on Gleneagles

On the day itself, police did call the march off for a time, and there was a level of confusion among the public about whether or not the march would be going ahead, however they eventually relented when the organisers said they would go ahead anyway and when a number of protesters started to head toward Edinburgh as an alternative protest site. Despite this a number of coaches were turned back or temporarily detained.

The march attracted considerable media attention when a number of participants broke away from the main demonstration across a field where they proceeded to bring down a section of the fence surrounding the hotel where the summit was being held. The police responded by bringing in additional riot police using Chinook helicopters and were soon able to clear the field.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protests against the Iraq War</span> Demonstrations by opponents of the Iraq War

Beginning in late 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world. After the biggest series of demonstrations, on February 15, 2003, New York Times writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were two superpowers on the planet: the United States and worldwide public opinion.

Rosemary "Rosie" Kane is a Scottish Socialist Party politician. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow Region from 2003 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Curran</span>

Frances Curran is a former co-chair of the Scottish Socialist Party. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 2003 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J26 G8 Protests</span>

J26 was a smaller-size convergence in what is commonly called the anti-globalization movement. It took place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in June 2002 during the Group of Eight summit in nearby Kananaskis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socialist Alternative (Australia)</span> Political party in Australia

Socialist Alternative (SA) is a Trotskyist organisation in Australia. As a revolutionary socialist group, it describes itself as aiming to organise collective struggles against oppression and inequality, while promoting the need for a revolutionary movement that could one day overthrow capitalism. Its members have been involved in organising numerous protest campaigns around issues such as LGBT rights, climate change, racism and refugee rights. The organisation also intervenes into the trade union and student union movements. It has branches and student clubs in most major Australian cities, and publishes the fortnightly newspaper Red Flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissent!</span>

Dissent! was the name taken for an international network of local groups, which came together to organise opposition to the G8 summit held in Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland in July 2005. Most groups shared an anti-capitalist orientation and anti-authoritarian organizing methods and the network declares itself to be open to anyone prepared to work within the Hallmarks of Peoples' Global Action, an international co-ordination of radical social movements and grassroots campaigns. Dissent acted as a networking tool and created infrastructure which was used by groups with methods of protest ranging from anti-border city tours and street parties to road blockades, graffiti and confrontations with the police.

Young Scottish Socialists (YSS) is the youth wing of the Scottish Socialist Party. They are an anti-capitalist, anti-racist and anti-globalisation organisation which stands for the creation of an independent, socialist Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">31st G8 summit</span> 2005 meeting of the G8 countries in Auchterarder, Scotland

The 31st G8 summit was held on 6–8 July 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland and hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The locations of previous G8 summits to have been hosted by the UK include: London ; and Birmingham (1998). It is the first G8 summit to be held in Scotland. A sixth UK summit was held in Lough Erne in 2013; and a seventh UK summit was held in Carbis Bay in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army</span>

The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army is an anti-authoritarian left-wing activist group that uses clowning and non-violent tactics to act against corporate globalisation, war, and on other issues. The group originated circa 2003 in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">15 February 2003 anti-war protests</span> Coordinated day of protests in over 600 cities against the War in Iraq

On 15 February 2003, a coordinated day of protests was held across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent Iraq War. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the invasion, war, and occupation took place. The day was described by social movement researchers as "the largest protest event in human history".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protests against the war in Afghanistan</span>

The proposed invasion of Afghanistan prompted protests with mass demonstrations in the days leading up to the official launch of the war on October 7, 2001. The continuation of the war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 lead to further protest and opposition to hostilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">33rd G8 summit</span> 2007 international leaders meeting

The 33rd G8 summit was held at Kempinski Grand Hotel, 6–8 June 2007. The summit took place in Heiligendamm in the Northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the Baltic Coast. The locations of previous G8 summits to have been hosted by Germany include Bonn, Munich (1992) and Cologne (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">34th G8 summit</span> 2008 international leaders meeting

The 34th G8 summit was held in the town of Tōyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits hosted by Japan include Tokyo and Nago, Okinawa (2000). The G8 Summit has evolved beyond being a gathering of world political leaders to become an occasion for a wide variety of non-governmental organizations, activists and civic groups to congregate and discuss a multitude of issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop the War Coalition (Australia)</span> Australian peace advocacy group (2003-)

Stop the War Coalition (StWC) is an Australian anti-war group initially formed in Sydney in 2003 in response to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the general "War on Terror" of which the Australian Government has been a strong ally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 G20 London summit protests</span>

The 2009 G20 London summit protests occurred in the days around the 2 April 2009 G20 London summit. The summit was the focus of protests from a number of groups over various long-standing and topical issues. These ranged from disquiet over economic policy, anger at the banking system and bankers' remuneration and bonuses, the continued war on terror and concerns over climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-austerity movement in the United Kingdom</span> Early 2011 series of major demonstrations

The anti-austerity movement in the United Kingdom saw major demonstrations throughout the 2010s in response to Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's austerity measures which saw significant reductions in local council budgets, increasing of university tuition fees and reduction of public spending on welfare, education, health and policing, among others. Anti-austerity protests became a prominent part of popular demonstrations across the 2010s, particularly the first half of the decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 London anti-cuts protest</span> Anti-austerity demonstration in central London on 26 March 2011

The 2011 anti-cuts protest in London, also known as the March for the Alternative, was a demonstration held in central London on 26 March 2011. Organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it was a protest march against planned public spending cuts by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that was formed in May 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th G8 summit</span> 2013 international leaders meeting

The 39th G8 summit was held on 17–18 June 2013, at the Lough Erne Resort, a five-star hotel and golf resort on the shore of Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It was the sixth G8 summit to be held in the United Kingdom and the first to be held in Northern Ireland. The earlier G8 summits hosted by the United Kingdom were held in London, Birmingham (1998) and Gleneagles (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unite Against Fascism</span> British anti-fascist group

Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British anti-fascist group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop the War Coalition</span> British anti-war group

The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars.

References