Review from Last Hours

Shut them Down
The G8, Gleneagles 2005 and the movement of movements
V/a
ISBN 0-9552065-0-2/ £6

I was surprised and slightly impressed when I got this book. I had been one of those naysayers wondering what it was that we had to write a book about after our ‘adventures’ in Scotland. I had come away with bad experiences feeling that friends, and to a slightly lesser degree myself, had been left high and dry to put up and pack down the camp site in Edinburgh on our own, whilst also trying to run an info-point, dealing with the threat of locals who wanted to bash some Londoners’ heads in, and getting death-threats through the info-point phone. I left with bad feelings, which was a shame because some of what I experienced – the anarchist assembly (for all its faults), the Hori-Zone, much of the Carnival, and the events of the 6th – had been wonderful. Still, from my vantage point our mobilisation against the G8 had been a bit of a failure; too much control of the event was delegated to the structures of Dissent! and those of us in the South-East should have established our assembly a good deal earlier than we did. The fact that everything crumbled so dramatically on the 7th, with the bombs in London and the siege of the Hori-Zone, and in the months that followed (it felt slightly embarrassing being involved in organising protests against DSEi thanks to the lack of people who bothered to come) made me slightly jaded against anything that might be produced within the auspices of the ‘movement of movements’ and against the 2005 G8 summit specifically.

So as I said it was a surprise when I got my hands on this journal – ready to tear into it – and realised that I agreed with much of what people were talking about, and glad that I could read things from people that I didn't agree with. Many of the conversations and reflections that friends and I had discussed in the aftermath were outlined. There’s tales of bravado, and tales of despair. Thoughts around success and defeat. Most of the events are detailed, from the build-up of the anti-G7 finance ministers protests (Russia wasn’t invited) to the infrastructure for the Hori-Zone, the Make Poverty History March, the Carnival for Full-Enjoyment, the day of blockades, marching on Gleneagles and the Boogie on the Bridge anti-M74 party. As the back of the book notes though the articles go beyond our experiences in the run-up, and during, the G8 to talk about better ways to mobilise, communicate and fight against authoritarian structures. This fits in nicely with books like On Fire: The Battle of Genoa, and is a snapshot of our ever evolving movement during the summer of 2005.

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