"Anarchists Plot to Storm the Palace"

Andy Gardner, Crime Reporter, Sunday Mirror [UK], Oct 19 2003

Thousands of protesters are planning to storm Buckingham
Palace in an attempt to humiliate President George W Bush
when he stays there during his State visit to Britain next
month.

Anarchist groups are secretly planning to swamp tight
security at the Palace by sending thousands of protesters
over the walls at the same time.They are using the Internet and text messages to organise
the attack on the Queen's residence -- where the US
President and his wife Laura will be staying.

The >Sunday Mirror has discovered that angry anti-war
protesters plan to besiege the Palace and then storm inside
to confront the President.

The stunt is being publicised as "non-violent", but there
are fears that a bid to breach security at the Palace will
spark violence between police and protesters.

The plan has been put together by a coalition of anti-war
and anti-capitalist groups, including Justice Not Vengeance,
Grass Roots Opposition to War (GROW) and Reclaim the Streets.

Milan Rai, a member of Justice Not Vengeance and one of the
organisers of the mass demonstrations, said: "We are
suggesting a day of action centred on Buckingham Palace.

"We are suggesting an open, mass action and, in parallel,
for autonomous groups to carry out direct action around and
inside Buckingham Palace."

He added: "We would stress that this is a call for
non-violent direct action."

The Palace protest has been set for November 19 -- the first
day of President Bush's controversial three-day visit to
meet Tony Blair.

Organisers say "hundreds of thousands" of protesters will
take to the streets and they have vowed to bring parts of
London to a standstill. Secret meetings have been held
across the country to plan the "Resist Bush" protests,
which
include roadblocks and huge rallies.

Protesters will also target other key buildings -- the US
Embassy in Grosvenor Square, Ministry of Defence offices
around Whitehall, Downing Street and airports.

Hundreds of anti-capitalist hardliners are expected to
travel from Paris to join the demonstrations.

They have been involved in violence across Europe and will
be at the European Social Forum prior to Mr Bush's visit.

The main demos are being organised by Stop the War, which
was behind the huge anti-war rally in London attended by one
million people in February this year.

It is spending £100,000 organising the civil disobedience,
including paying for coaches to bring thousands of
protesters to London from across Britain.

Lindsey German, of the Stop the War Coalition, said Mr
Bush's visit was a chance to mobilise mass support.

She told a packed meeting in London earlier this month that
"there are precedents for being able to cause huge
disruption across London -- and that is what we want to
achieve."

She added: "Everybody in the world will be in no doubt that
we do not want Bush here."

Protesters also plan to swamp London's streets to make it
impossible for Mr Bush to drive around.

Anti-capitalist Chris Nineham, from Globalise Resistance,
said: "We are calling for a blockade that will totally stop
the city."

A separate rally by CND and the Muslim Association of
Britain is also planned for the second day of Mr Bush's visit.

There will also be hundreds of smaller protest rallies in
cities throughout the UK.

Scotland Yard says it knows about the Buckingham Palace
protest and is preparing "appropriate" security.

A spokesman said: "We are aware of what is being planned but
at this stage we cannot go into any details of security.