Occupy Melbourne – Rally to retake our streets! Rally @ midday @ Federation Square tomorrow (Saturday, October 21) in response to the eviction.
“He will decide who comes to this City Square and the circumstances in which they come.”
Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has told Occupy Melbourne to fcuk off. The eviction takes place ahead of the visit of some foreigner called Elizabeth (the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth; her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary, and her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne) on October 26.
Click here to view Crikey’s Occupy Melbourne photo gallery. Also here. And video c/o AceKollective.
In other news, six people have been confirmed dead as Indonesian military and police officers stormed and shot the Third West Papuan People congress yesterday. A press conference was to be held today at 11am at the West Papua tent @ Occupy(ed) Melbourne to further explain the latest development.
Sadly, Robert Doyle had other plans.
Do you think there’s any chance the occupiers will be able to reoccupy the Square this arvo/evening?
I don’t know. I doubt it. But much depends on the number of people who attend in support. I would assume that the police, having erected barriers, will police them to prevent public access. I imagine that the plan is/was: a) evict the occupiers; b) secure the space; c) maintain a strong presence; d) await the dispersal of the crowd. The first 24 hours will likely be crucial, and I expect any attempt to re-occupy the Square in the next few days will be smashed immediately and with great force. Meaning a successful re-occupation will require v large numbers of participants. Basically, the police are under orders to re-establish control of the space in the not-unreasonable expectation that success in the short-term will be sufficient to discourage dissent, and things will return to Business As Usual.