May Day rioters train at U.S. camps

by JUSTIN DAVENPORT and NIGEL ROSSER, Evening Standard

Anarchists plotting May Day riots in London have been trained at action camps in the US.

The camps, run by a group which has Body Shop founder Anita Roddick as a director, have staged courses attended by members of anarchist factions such as Reclaim the Streets, who are among people involved in planning unrest for the anti-capitalist protests on 1 May.

A Californian-based group called the Ruckus Society, which says it advocates non-violent civil disobedience, according to police intelligence, is behind the courses.

The group, which is publicly supported by Ms Roddick, runs courses on "direct action" protests with training schemes on climbing buildings, monitoring police radio frequencies, disabling video cameras and blocking roads, trains and ships with mass demonstrations.

Ruckus insists it advocates non-violent action but its training methods and volunteers were a crucial element in the anti-World Bank and IMF riots in Seattle in 1999 and Washington last year.

Activists trained at Ruckus courses were also part of the recent highly successful German protests against the transport of radioactive nuclear waste.

Last week, Scotland Yard said a hard core of 1,000 activists was planning to bring London to a standstill on 1 May, which is a working day.

Police are planning their toughest approach to a civil protest in London and have warned of a "zero tolerance" stand against any criminal acts.

On its internet site, the Ruckus Society, formed in 1995, says it provides training in the skills of non-violent civil disobedience to help environmental and human rights organisations achieve their goals with training at "action camps" across the US.

Its courses are entitled Scouting For Direct Action and How To Hang Yourself From An Urban Structure, and include details of managing the media, tips on posing as TV cameramen and advice on using special knots to tie oneself to buildings.

Body Shop owner Ms Roddick, who backs a number of human rights, fair trade and environmental protection issues, said in a statement: "All the great advances in human rights and environmental protests have been made by ordinary citizens taking it personally and through acts of peaceful civil disobedience. However, I deplore any form of violence.

"The Ruckus Society is an officially recognised and open organisation with offices and full-time staff. Its emphasis is on training citizens in non-violent protest. I have no problem in supporting that.

"As an international businesswoman, I'm certainly not anti-capitalist but I am for progressive, socially responsible business that respects human rights."

May Day protesters are using a version of the Monopoly board game to plot this year's trouble with plans for attacks on a wide range of targets.

These include companies in the City, government buildings, hotels, chains such as McDonald's and the headquarters of privatised railways and utilities, such as gas and electricity.

Mayor Ken Livingstone has urged protesters to stay away from the capital and called for any trouble makers to be prosecuted.

The Mayor, who was accused last year of encour-aging the riots, issued a strongly worded statement calling on people to avoid London on May Day.

"I support the cancellation of Third World debt and the eradication of poverty, oppose the privatisation of the Tube and want to defend the environment against pollution. So do many others.

"But these demonstrations will set back these causes. I want to urge everyone who has the slightest sympathy with any of the stated objectives of the 'May Day Monopoly' protesters not to attend this action on 1 May."