Photos from Student National Day of Action : Melbourne Indymedia

A report will be posted later on. To add on that comment, it was reported police had removed their name tags.

good. i look forward to seeing the photos of the cops without tags. for once we'll have proof that they take them off.

or not.

hi all. i came across the protest in the city today and alerted all to the facts police had removed their badge
No digital cam but i had a disposable which ill get developed tomorrow.

yes they had no badges, and their sergeant standing nearby knew, but did nothing to address this

Police 'special events group' officers are the ones removing their badges

all media i saw were alerted also but they really didnt care. the heraldsun photographer said she got some shots too

ill also forward pics to the police ombudsman as he has acted on pics ive sent him before....

goodluck over night

"To add on that comment, it was reported police had removed their name tags."

i was they "lost" them.
or
"protesters pulled them off, there is nothing we can do".

but the cops in the above photo have their tags on...?

1,500 turned up to today's march/protest/group wank.

Out of a state tertiary education population of over 45,000.

More people turned up for the nurses' march, nobody smashed anything and they'll probably get essentially what they're after.

The relatively small number at today's kiddy march (over 5,000 was antiipated by organsisers) might indicate that these imbeciles don't necessarily represent the views of a majority of students.

Food for thought.

hi
the police in this pic (all 12 or so) were just std police
and you cant really see from this pic
the remainder 50+ or so were heavily photographed today
my pics will be up in the morn
also emailed to ombudsman and ethical stds.

so the pic really doesnt show the full story

In reply to Clavell H:

I fail to see how such negativity contributes to the issue. If you're going to critique the demonstration, at least give people something positive...

The nurses didn't smash things? Unless I missed something, neither did the people involved in the student protest. I can say this because I was there for several hours. Were you there at all?

So, out of the 45,000 or so state tertiary students, only 1,500 or so attended the rally. There are reasons for this, one of which is that many university students don't attend rallies. In fact, the public in general are not confortable at rallies, for whatever reason.

Roughly half a million people out of a population of 19 million or so took to the streets in February 2003 to protest the war on Iraq.

About 500,000 people out of 19 million. However, don't try telling me those 500,000 didn't represent the majority of the nation.

As for the student rally, those who DID attend (and I feel the protest/occupation was handled in a fine manner overall) deserve praise for their efforts...not to be called "imbeciles" as you say.

Maybe, just maybe, the remaining 43,500 students who didn't/couldn't show shall thank them later.

On a different note, yes, the police force's excuses over the badges issue are laughable. They lost them? They got pulled off by rally-goers? Those coppers, they make you laugh sometimes...

MV: You hit the nail right on the head.

Nothing was smashed at all, furniture was reorganised to form a blockade (but not damaged) all the computers were left in tact. Folders were removed and placed onto desks in order to obtain other funiture. If paper was used, it came out of the rubbish bin or the printer to preserve the Universities work and files. Water & food was used for humanitarian purposes and not wasted. It was a completely calm, organised, democratic protest. Despite what the corporate media might say.

The media have a vested interest in ensuring population struggles are demonised in order to protect state and corporate power. The media, the majority of the government and corporations rely on each others support for their survival.

I was in the middle of the struggles, I saw the police removing their name badges. I was in the middle of resistance, hearing the police officer next to me jeer on one of the protestors if he wanted to 'have a go'. The police referred to people as 'morons' and 'losers' in order to spark reaction - this is hardly objective policing. The police make me laugh and the media has to pick an enemy or a scapegoat in order to make the story interesting. It was good to see that ABC attempted to give a balance side to the story, Channel 7 & 10 was just tabloid trash. I didn't catch Channel 9.

Anyway, it was overall a success and those who criticise who weren't there - I'm sorry but you can't make up information.

Education should not become a commodity!

Well done to all!!

Hey MitH

please put up ya photos as you promised last night of the cops not wearing their name tags

thanx

While I graduated from university 10 years ago I am not in favour of the increase of student fees and in fact I believe that there should be none of this HECS ( and yes I've paid it too) business I am sure the major issue here is not the wearing or not wearing of police name tags. By raising this issue you denegrate your main cause and could easily be slotted into the "anarchist" classification. I am also sure that if you are unfortunate enough to run into trouble one night on the way home from a late study session you would be most pleased to see the police..name tags or not. Please don't veer from the main issue of student fees here as this is what the demonstration was about in the first place. It just seems like common sense to me.

Cool - thanks a lot for the pix!

In reply to Karma:

Indeed, the main issue is hikes in tertiary fees. However, the name tags issue is a constant one, and very relevant.

Certain members of the police force routinely remove their ID badges at demonstrations. Why is this so? Obviously, because it allows them to get away with questionable behaviour without being identified.

It's easy for the coppers to nab/identify certain rally-goers for whatever reason, because each rally-goer wears distinguishing clothes etc. If a policeperson is guilty of unjustifiable behaviour, what hope has one of identifying the offending officer if he/she isn't wearing a name tag? Seems elementary to me.

Try asking a police officer why he/she is not wearing a name tag. They'll either remain silent or change the subject. Why do they play coy? Why do you think? They KNOW what they're doing is wrong.

How are we, by bringing up this issue, risking being hit with the "anarchist" tag? Nevermind the fact that some are happy to be called "anarchists" and such, but I fail to see the connection. Being university educated, perhaps you can tell me why we are all "anarchists" for simply questioning the tactics of the force.

Happy to see police late at night, whether they are wearing badges or not? I don't know about you, but just about every time a police car passes me during the small hours, I'm badgered simply for going about my business. I even get this during broad daylight. Haven't they anything better to do on the job?

MV makes some good points.

The police, however, allege that name tags are routinely lost in scuffles with protestors who, on occasion, try to 'souvenir' them. From the footage I saw on the news, it is not beyond belief that this might be true. The tags are affixed to their shirts, apparently, only by velcrove which is not designed to be particulalry resistant.

Students are known to take items from protests as trophies. Nothing particulalrly sinister with that. It's just that a police name tag, as readily obtainable in close quarters contact as it is, may be regared as a prize 'capture'.

I see in the photos posted elsewhere on this site that some police are wearing them, a few are not. It does not appear, from the photos, to be the case of all the police removing their tags as part of some form of collective disobedience. Unlike the occupiers. So it's likely that their claim has some validity to it, in some cases at least.

Melbourne has had its fair share of protests over the past year. Anti-Iraq war, pro-Medicare, teachers, nurses, buiders labourers outside the Melbourne Magistrates' Court etc..

At none of these events has the issue of missing name tags been raised. And none of these events featured scuffles with the police.

Do you see a pattern? No physical contact with police, no missing name tags. Physical contact with police, some tags are gone. Kind of supports the police claims in a way.

It's a little ironic that a group of people who are openly resolute on disobeying the rules in suport of what they see as a good cause shou;ld be so pre-occupied with alleged instances of whathas to be regarded as minor infractions of regulations by others. I guess it gives you someinsight into the type of frustration police must feel when confronts by people who openly and brazenly break the rules.

PS If the police are always pulling you up in the street and talking to you, MV, I'd invest in a mirror and try to identify what they hell is drawing their attenton to you in the first place out of a city of three million.

All the best.

“Try asking a police officer why he/she is not wearing a name tag. They'll either remain silent or change the subject.”

Well, either one of the above or they'll give you one of their feeble excuses (wink, wink) as stated earlier.

sorry to cross post but there is pics here too
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/65844.php

Okay, I know this isn't supposed to be the main issue, however...

Riley, I agree with you that it's not unthinkable for police to lose the name tags during a scuffle. I'm also not naive enough to believe this is always the reason (and I'm sure you don't always believe this is the reason either, and you do raise points which are valid in some cases).

I have observed, at certain rallies, the name tags are absent even before any physical confrontations.

If they are always legitimately lost (and again, I do not buy into this, although in theory it is a possibilty), again, why do so many police play coy? The "naughty school child" looks of guilt, pretending they can't hear you and "answering questions with questions" should tell you all you need to know.

Yes, the velcro tags are easily removed. Hence, if this is a constant problem for police, I would've guessed the rocket scientists in the police force would produce a better way of securing the badges (they can come up with capsicum spray, but not secure name tags? What about tags that slip into a plastic sheath? Badge pins? Is it so complicated?).

I have observed the most hostile police are the ones sans identification, whereas the identifiable ones are not so hostile (hence it not being a universal lack of obedience). However, I admit this is my observation; others may have different experiences.

Riley makes an intelligent correlation with particular protests, such as demonstrations with nurses and teachers, not producing scuffles, ergo the issue of missing badges not being raised.

However, I argue the ANTICIPATION of a scuffle is what causes police to remove badges, moreso than an honest accident (see my point about tags being absent even before a single scuffle has happened).

Scuffles didn't occur (from what I saw) at the (larger) anti-war rallies because 1) the police were hopelessly outnumbered and 2) these tended to attract more than just the usual "core" of rally-goers. However, during some of smaller "spot rallies/actions" this time last year, the police were hostile as usual.

Nurse and teacher rallies don't usually attract the "sort" of people willing to take "drastic measures" to get across their point. Again, it's identifying a certain "crowd" of regulars and anticipating the means they are willing to take.

Finally, I too, would be interested to know what's drawing attention to me when the police are around!
To clarify, I mean when I am walking home on my lonesome, not being picked out of a crowd of many.
Granted, it doesn't always happen, but it happens often enough for it to be annoying. Apart from the fact I've longhair and am male...but it was the same when I had short hair. If I were twelve, I could understand, but being twice that age and responsible, well, it makes one wonder.

Perhaps instead of investing in a mirror (which I already own!), a suit and tie might be in demand...

"If I were twelve, I could understand, but being twice that age and responsible, well, it makes one wonder."

Supposed to read "more than twice that age." The problem was not my math, just cleaned up some errors and forget to reinsert the words!

MV, I whole-heartedly agree with your observation that the ANTICIPATION of a scuffle is what causes police to remove badges, moreso than an honest accident (see my point about tags being absent even before a single scuffle has happened).

It is the risk of losing the tag which probably occupies the mind of the police who believe a fight is imminent rather than a deliberate attempt to avoid identification. Let's get serious. With the presence of so much electronic media and protestors' cameras recording the incident, the issue of identification of misbehaving police is rendered somewhat redundant. What will a name tag tell you that footage won't? The cops seem to be able to identify people from video footage who aren't wearing tags.

Cops also appear to remove their caps and other pieces of their gear preparatory to an anticipated physical confrontation. Not as politically contentious an act, but consistent with the mindset you argue exists.

Greetings to you all protesters.

I don`t want to take you down on your mood
but a reminder that Ironfisted Imperialism can not be defeated by words only. The protest looks good. Solidarity to you.

By the way, take a look at those caps the police
is wearing. And notice that black and white pattern,
a row of black and white squares. That is exactly the
same appearing in England and elsewhere too.
It`s a sign of masonry. This is a distinguishable
pattern that is repeated over and over again
if you pay attention to it.
Sometimes it appears in advertising, it appears on
surfaces in buildings, like a chessboard.

There is a listed company in Finland
named Elisa plc. Just have a look at their
advertising spot/slideshow on their website.
The company is controlled by freemasonry.
http://www.elisa.fi/

Also check out this important website:
http://www.davidicke.com/
And go to the left column and click on
symbolism...take a close look at that!

The biggest battles still ahead...
The enemy is within.

Here some pictures of signs and symbols I
picked for you to study:

http://www.davidicke.net/symbolism/jclicker/images/George-Washington-Masonic-Apron.jpg

http://www.davidicke.net/symbolism/jclicker/images/MI-5.jpg

http://www.davidicke.net/symbolism/jclicker/images/Rennes-le-Chateau.jpg

http://www.davidicke.net/symbolism/jclicker/images/Double-Square.jpg

Just as a matter of interest, can anyone update us on the progress of civil claims against the cops arising from the WEF demonstrations of 2000? A lot of ranting etc back then about suing the cops. What's the wash up?

Are you trying to argue that most students would love to pay 25% more HECS? Are you a complete moron? Yes the number of people at the march was lower than hoped for but i think that it is more of a reflection of the powerlessness that students feel when it comes to being able to fight these changes. (Once again thanks Meg!! GRRRRR)
Feelings of Disempowerment does not equate to apathy and certainly does not equate to support of these changes to the tertiary education sector!

Look i can't help but have a comment on this myself. As a responsible citizen who works in an office and wears business suits, who also happens to care about the future of our world, and thus has attended numourous rallys here are my observations.
At rallies full of 'everyday folks' who have some influence and authority in society, police officers act in a legal fashion, at protests with protestors that have little influence and authority in society the police do numorous illegal things and the media without fail supports them in this, demonising the protestors and doing everything that it (the media) can, to distract from the message and to make the general public to affraid to go to rallies.
A really good example of this was last years refugee rally/protest that was suppose to go past Rudick's house. The police tried to stop the rally but the court ruled that it was a LEGAL protest and that the protestors had the legal right to march down ruddick's street.
Now when people arrived for this LEGAL protest there were rows of POLICE blocking the road. The POLICE were deliberately breaking the law!
Now you've got to question what the hell is going on here when the people who are paid to uphold the law are following orders to break it!
This to me is the most pertinent example of how much of a police state we are living in. THis would have been a great headline POLICE ORDERED TO BREAK THE LAW
but was it in the corperate media, NO, How surprizing!

But Xena, don't you see the irony in people who openly break the law in support of their cause (radical students) being so precious about other parties (police) apparently doing the same?

If it's OK for some in society to break the law in the name of what they regard as a just cause, then surely others in society (police) are as equally entitled to break the law in the name of a cause they regard as just.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Solution? NOBODY break the law. Protestors and police alike.

And in the vast majortiy of protsts, that's exactly what happens.

In response to the comments of Jim regarding why we break the law.

Expressions of dissatisfaction with the government and society have been repressed for the centuries by the ruling clases. This is predominantly performed through the mecinism of the state, who act via the police and the courts.

The rules are written so the state has all the power and the people have none.

Examples of people recently breaking the law include approximately 1 million in the US when the war on Iraq started. These people simply marched on the streets, with no intention of violence or civil disrest, at the prohabition of the Bush Administration.

To condemn those who were willing to break the law to stand up for their actions in this instance also results by implication in condemning those who took to the streets in opposition to the war.

Jim, you are critisising the foundations of the protest movement, build on traditions going back to ending slavery, sexism and homophobia. In each of these instances people have had to break the law to be heard by the masses.

Jim, the rules are written by the rich for the rich. The principle is that we do what is best for the masses of people, the workers.

We resist those who use the most violence against us, and this is completely principled.

Jim you also forget that the police break the laws every day, even though they are written for them. They repress our indigenous friends daily, beating and incacerating them for no reason. Our society uses our laws for extreme violence, including locking up refugees.

Before you defend the rules of the system, it may be useful to examine the reasons we break them.