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About 40/50 cyclists & one skater turned out for the ‘Bikes Not Bombs’ critical mass in Belfast to draw connections between our oil driven economy & the war in Iraq. The cycle ride went on for an hour around the city. Many cyclists wore hand painted t-shirts & banners with messages such as ‘bikes not bombs’, ‘not in my name’, ‘no war’ & ‘no blood for oil’.   

There was a heavy but relatively chilled out police presence (you could perhaps call it an escort), consisting at some stages of 5 motorcycles, 2 land rovers & one of the fancy new PSNI vans. As with yesterdays Shell Blockade the police seemed a little baffled with how to deal with a large group of people acting autonomously, & without a liaison officer or leader. PSNI traffic officers waved cars through pedestrian crossings when the green light was showing, motorcycled on the pavement, blocked the entrance to the Westlink on Clifton Street a & police land rover blocked the entrance to Shell on Great Victoria Street (I don’t know what sort of example they think their setting for the kids). Several cyclists were threatened with arrest and/or £20 spot fines (an exact charge was not specified). An independent filmmaker was threatened with having his videocassette removed if he didn’t erase the conversation he had with one police officer. Towards the end of the cycle the police continually tried to ensure cyclists cycled in only one or two lanes whilst trying to wave traffic past, which in my view is pretty stupid & potentially dangerous.

Even with the very conspicuous police presence the cycle ride was very relaxed & empowering for cyclists, many commenting on how safe & fun it is riding with a large group compared to the usual cycle in Belfast. Many pedestrians cheered & applauded as we cycled past, the lack of irate drivers was very noticeable & appreciated & plenty of cars honked their support for the anti-war message.

Same time next month…

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