From: "Dave Coull" <coull2-AT-btinternet.com> Subject: YOUNG ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS ATTACK DUNDEE SCHOOL BUSES Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 12:32:50 -0000 "The Courier", Friday 21st March YOUNG ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS ATTACK DUNDEE SCHOOL BUSES ANTI-WAR protesters took to the streets throughout Scotland yesterday to demonstrate against military action in Iraq. Traffic was disrupted in Dundee, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Police in Aberdeen had to deal with an impromptu demo that got out of hand while in Edinburgh police said adults were "irresponsible" for encouraging children to skip school to take part in a demonstration that paralysed the city centre. In Dundee one person was arrested as a protest involving hundreds of city pupils caused chaos. A bus window and bus stops were smashed when some of the youths involved went on the rampage, forcing people to seek refuge in nearby offices. Traffic on the inner-city ring road was brought to a standstill during a march that culminated in a brief stand-off between protest leaders and police officers on the Tay Road Bridge. Last night it emerged that one adult had been charged. It is understood the charge relates to an allegation of incitement. A day of campaigning began soon after 11 am when hundreds of pupils abandoned their classrooms and converged on the city centre. There they were met by a heavy police presence, including a mobile CCTV unit and a cordon preventing them from gaining access to City Square. At one point, it appeared a speaker encouraged the crowd to rush the barrier, but police prevented them from reaching a "sterile" area for the Scottish Labour Party Conference. There were problems with youths near the rally, which angered passers-by, including the throwing of coins and other missiles. Meanwhile some pupils were said to have "gone on the rampage", attacking buses carrying Dundee High School pupils. The group, believed to be schoolchildren heading for the city centre to join the anti-war demo, caused such alarm that people sought safety in nearby offices until the group, perhaps 30 to 40-strong, moved on. Alerted by people coming into the offices, a witness said he looked out and saw the group, some wearing school uniforms he could not make out, shouting and swearing at the Dundee High pupils. "They were going along the side of the buses banging on the metal with their hands, I saw schoolbags, holdalls, being swung up at the windows and when they moved on, I could see one window was broken." Another witness said he saw one of the mob grab a hockey stick from a Dundee High pupil and swing it against a window and break it before running off. The buses drove off as soon as the way was clear. A High School spokes-person said, "It was a very frightening experience but fortunately no one was injured. We are reporting the incident to Tayside Police." The proprietor of a nearby business hit out at the education authorities and police for allowing the events to take place, claiming that children were allowed to "run amok." "It was absolute pandemonium," recalled Ian Beattie, proprietor of the Bread Basket in Meadowside. "We had a lot of Dundee High pupils in the shop along with other customers when kids from another school started shouting abuse at them. "They then started grabbing books from the charity shop next door and running into our shop and throwing them about. One missed an elderly gentleman by inches. These are just gangs of thugs and it’s a disgrace." During the rampage, a Canadian teenager on a rugby tour of Scotland was punched in the face as he boarded a bus outside Dundee High School. A High School pupil aged 14 was chased back from a shop in Reform Street by an older man after saying he was not against the war when he asked his view. Police later said "minor damage" had been caused in the city centre and it appeared some adults within the crowd had been aggravating the situation. Other pupils marched through Craigiebank into the city centre, at times spilling onto the carriageway, causing vehicles to take avoiding action. Several bus stops on Arbroath Road were damaged and council workmen had to clean up broken glass from the pavement and roadway. Shortly after 1 pm the crowds gathered for a brief rally near City Square, then pupils, students, lecturers and others began an ad-hoc march through the centre of town. Several hundred strong, the majority of them in school uniforms, they set off along the Nethergate for a brief sit-down protest at the Marketgait junction. Bringing traffic to a standstill, they then snaked down Marketgait and on to the Tay Road Bridge, prompting police to close the top of the access ramp, citing safety concerns. After negotiations between protest leaders and senior officers, the demonstrators returned to Boots corner and dispersed at 2.30 pm, three hours after the protest began. The Scottish Socialists refused to criticise the pupils who rampaged through the city centre, claiming the coalition forces fighting in Iraq would be causing more damage. A party spokesman said, "I think it is very good they are protesting against the war. Obviously we are in favour of a peaceful protest and we would encourage those participating in demonstrations to behave responsibly. However, I am sure they are not causing as much damage as the military are in Baghdad." A further demonstration was attended by around 80 people in the City Square at 5 pm last night. There was a heavy police presence but the protest passed off peacefully. Around 30 of the protesters were of school age. Edith Constable of the Dundee Coalition for Justice Not War urged protesters to reassemble in the city centre today to demonstrate as Scottish Labour Party Conference delegates began arriving at the Caird Hall. She said, "I think this is a terrible disaster. Bush has planned this for years. The US wants to be the supreme power in the world and if they get their hands on Iraqi oil they will be the premier power. We don’t want any lives lost in this disaster. We will continue to fight this."
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