Free Tibet

22nd March, 2008 – Protest against China’s treatment of Tibetans in Tibet, London

Tibet supporters staged a demo through central London to protest against China’s occupation of the country.

These two are part of a group who have gone on hunger strike to make their voices heard. Hm, the man has an uncanny resemblance to the Dalai Lama, don’t you think?

The usual flurry of photographers were out in action, donning their huge lenses and numerous cameras each.

This time I wasn’t shoved by any of them – in fact, when I was in the way of one of them, he said very politely “lady, can you move please?” – a very nice change from the attitude I received at the Burma protest last year!

On the other side of the street, a group of cyclists were staging their own demo, with reggae music blaring from a stereo. I wish I could have somehow captured the contrast between the two. On one side, loud, angry protesters chanting, and on the other, reggae music, peace flags and cyclists, quietly observing the marchers.

The protesters stopped outside the Chinese Embassy, where a hunger strike had been taking place for the past couple of weeks.

They sang the Tibetan national anthem in front of the building.

They were all fixed on this guy:

They chanted “Chinese out!” and “Free Tibet!” amongst other things.

The march resumed, headed towards Oxford Street.

Bemused shoppers at Oxford Circus stopped to watch.

This lady moved away from the group, and handed out leaflets to people on the streets and in cars. Notice the policeman in the background with the cameras – a common sight here at protests.

I tried a few times to get a good shot of this guy below, but even when he stared right down the lens I managed to get the focus wrong – clever!

I’m not sure of my stance on the Beijing Olympic Games. On the one hand I think it’s a great opportunity for foreign journalists and foreigners in general to really get a feel for China, but on the other hand I’m not sure quite sure why Beijing was chosen as the host, considering China’s controversial policies on censorship and execution, among other things.

This man was shouting at some Chinese bystanders who appeared to have provoked the demonstrators. One guy even began yelling ‘Fuck off China!’ at the man below, but was soon stopped by his fellow protesters.

He seemed amused at the whole thing..

..unlike this guy:

I’m gutted I cut off the ‘Tibet’ from the top of this next shot.

The weather was very mixed – it was sunny, then snowing (first snow of the winter! Erm, except it’s not meant to be winter now..yay for global warming!), then raining, then sunny again.

I have no idea what the point of this is:

I mean, it wasn’t attached to his body, so I can’t see what the advantages of it are.

As the protest arrived at its destination, I spotted someone familiar..

Nigel!. He faced the protest as it came towards him and didn’t budge, making the demonstrators move around him.

This is the 4th time I’ve come across him. He said he’s given up playing tennis now.

A member of the Tibetan Parliament addressed the crowd..

.. as well as MP Kate Hoey, who urged people to lobby their MPs. She also urged Gordon Brown to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, and to refuse to speak to Chinese officials.

This lady spoke in Tibetan – she was kept captured and kept prisoner by the Chinese authorities.

The names of those who are on hunger strike were read out, and those present were handed white scarves.

So there we have it. You can read more about the Tibetan cause here: www.freetibetnow.org

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15th March, 2008 – Stop The War Protest, London

Last week was the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war, and the annual Stop The War demo took place.

There was also a separate protest on seals going on next to the main Stop The War rally. I guess it’s an ideal time to publicise other campaigns – might as well take advantage of it!

That’s about it. I didn’t spend much time here as the Anonymous protest was also on the same day.

London is protest central lately.

London is also anti-photography propaganda central lately:

Instilling fear in the public and making them paranoid of anyone with a camera.. great idea!

This video is a perfect example of the authorities attempting to make people fearful:

It really makes me annoyed. For the record, like it says in the video, there is no law preventing people from taking pictures in public places. It is not illegal!

Don’t let these kind of attitudes stop you from using your camera out on the streets. Just know you have the right to shoot there.