UK: Unions hail peaceful march a success

[marmar]

Anti-cuts protest: Police arrest more than 200 after outbreaks of violence
Union leaders condemn actions of several hundred not associated with main rally who caused damage and clashed with police in parts of central London

Caroline Davies and Polly Curtis
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 27 March 2011 19.40 BST


More than 200 protesters are in police custody and a clean-up operation is under way after anti-cuts activists smashed shop windows in London's West End and clashed with riot police following Saturday's peaceful TUC Hyde Park rally.

Union leaders condemned the actions of several hundred people not associated with the main rally who wreaked havoc along Oxford Street, Regent Street and Piccadilly, targeting shops and banks, cracking windows, throwing paint and hurling missiles including, said police, lightbulbs filled with ammonia.

At least 84 people were injured, including 31 officers, 12 of whom required hospital treatment for "relatively minor injuries". The day ended with late-night confrontations between police and around 300 demonstrators, who converged on Trafalgar Square where they were contained until the early hours.

The TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said he "bitterly regretted" the violence that occurred away from the main march and rally, which had been attended by "between 250,000 and 500,000" and was hailed a "fantastic success". ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/27/anti-cuts-protest-police-arrest-200

[Mojeoux]

1. Somehow, your OP Headline does not match the story.

You can do better. IMOP

[movonne]

2. with 250,000 to 500.000 and only that many arrests I think is a pretty

peaceful march...

[marmar]

3. Umm, it's the headline from the Guardian homepage.....

...... surely you can click links.

[Mojeoux]

4. Yea, got that, I mean the Main OP Title Headline

I think those numbers make the march a success as well. It's just, the real story is more about how great it actually was and that everybody still has to comment on the shit-disturbers.

Also, these kind of shit disturbers are sometimes paid provocateurs. That's also an issue worth exploring.