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Activists clash with police in battle of the ghetto blaster

Officers accused of over reaction as riot police clear drinkers from pub


From top: Police in Holloway Road after the pub is cleared; a man is held; the anarchists' book fair.
Pictures courtesy of indymedia.org.uk

MISSILES were thrown at police when anarchists were ejected from a Holloway pub for playing a ghetto-blaster on Saturday.
Traffic in busy Holloway Road was halted as trouble erupted after the anarchists attending a book fair at the London Voluntary Resource Centre were asked to leave the nearby Coronet pub. Several arrests were made and two police officers were injured.
Pub regulars and Arsenal supporters found themselves caught up in the confrontation when more than 100 drinkers were pushed onto the street after managers decided to shut the Wetherspoon-owned pub.
They had repeatedly asked customers to adhere to the pub’s strict no-music policy.
Holloway Road was blocked for some time as police attempted to control the situation.
Some customers have since criticised police for what they say was a “disproportionate” response to an incident which they say had already been resolved.
Pat Cassidy, a member of left-wing activist movement Class War, said: “The police turned up tooled up. At least one arrested man was trussed up and hooded, like the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
“The calm situation became highly charged when riot police appeared at the scene.
“They then cleared the area, forcing people up the road with scant concern for who they shoved.
“In fact, they vied with each other to see who could push people the hardest up Holloway Road.”
He added: “There’s never been anything like this before at the book fair, which has been going on for 20 years.”
Green Party worker Jon Nott witnessed the trouble when he went for a drink after canvassing residents.
He said: “Some people who didn’t like the pub’s no-music policy had got their ghetto blaster out.
“They were being a bit irritating but they weren’t being violent.”
Mr Nott added: “What started off with a minor dispute ended up with a stand-off in Holloway Road. The police probably overreacted. They came in with riot shields and started hemming people in and when you have a large crowd it escalates.”
A police spokeswoman confirmed several people were arrested for public order offences.
She said: “Police attempted to eject the crowd, believed to be approximately 100 people. As the crowd spilled outside the pub a number of missiles were thrown at police and it is believed two officers received minor injuries.
“Holloway Road southbound was blocked for a time during the incident.”



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