At 12pm tomorrow (Saturday 28 May), Edinburgh Campaign Against Arms Trade (Edinburgh CAAT), alongside several other groups, will be holding a demonstration outside the Leonardo offices on 2 Crewe Rd North.
Leonardo is one of the world’s biggest arms companies and has a long and shameful history of arming and supporting human rights abusing regimes across the world. In 2021 it posted revenues of €14.1bn, which included a year-on-year net profit increase over 142%.
It is one of the main manufacturers of the Typhoon jet that has been used by Saudi Arabian forces in the bombardment of Yemen.
Likewise, the T-129 attack helicopter – which was jointly developed by Leonardo and Turkish Aerospace Industries – has been extensively used by Turkish forces in its military operations against Kurdish groups.
Leonardo has provided arms and support for the Israeli government, despite the decades of abuses that it has inflicted on Palestinians.Only last month the company secured a $29 million contract to provide military helicopters to Israel.
Protesters will gather for speeches and performances by the San-Ghanny choir, which has been to Palestine, and the ZarifAtToul dance troupe who will be teaching Palestinian dances.
Melanie Scott, a spokesperson for Edinburgh CAAT, said: “Leonardo is one of the biggest arms companies in the world and has armed, supported and profited from human rights abuses around the world.
“It has backed dictatorships like the one in Saudi Arabia and fuelled repression against people in Palestine and beyond.
“Despite its devastating global impact, a lot of people in Edinburgh pass Leonardo’s arms factory every day and are totally unaware of the weapons that are being made inside or who those weapons are being sold to.
“That is why we are bringing people together in unity to shine a light on Leonardo’s complicity in these abuses.”
Almost 500 young cyclists in Edinburgh and Inverness took to the streets at the weekend to demand action is taken to make the streets safer for cycling.
The events, run by campaign group Kidical Mass, were just two of the hundreds that took place around Europe to raise awareness of the need to make space for the next generation with measures like cycle lanes that are separated from roads.
There are currently 12 Kidical Mass groups in the UK, with Inverness and Edinburgh leading the way in Scotland. The groups organise regular cycle rides, to give young people visibility and help them make their voice heard.
Ewen Maclean was one of the organisers of the Edinburgh Kidical Mass ride. He said: “The Kidical Mass movement is about demonstrating the need and demand to allow kids the freedom and safety to move around our cities in a healthy and sustainable way. Very shortly these kids will be independent young adults and the benefits of encouraging active travel are clear and societal.
“Not only is incorporating active travel into your lives good for your mental and physical well-being, helping to address the inactivity crisis, and the climate crisis, but it reduces traffic volume, pollution and accidents and damage to our roads – which benefits those who need to drive as well as those that don’t.
“The children on the ride were able to chat and laugh and be outside interacting with their community, feeling safe enough to get around.
“These kids were the lucky ones: many, many more would have loved to have joined from Leith, Portobello and other areas further afield but there is no safe route for them to access the ride.
“This is why we need to fight for safe routes across the city for all residents, but this ride was about giving a voice to kids, who can’t vote or participate in consultations – we need to listen to what is important for them for the future.”
Elspeth, aged 6, joined in the ride in Edinburgh. She said: “I loved riding with my friends and waving at people – it was really fun and I felt safe. I loved the music too.”
Bridie Barnett, hospital doctor and mum of 2 from Inverness, said: “It was amazing to see so many kids out on their bikes this weekend – we really see a difference in their confidence when we do these cycles because they aren’t worried about the cars coming close to them – it gives us a real insight into how good things could be if we had proper segregated cycle lanes.”
This Friday (25/3/22), for the first time since COP26, young people will take to Scotland’s streets by striking from their schools, colleges and universities.
In November, over 35,000 young people marched in Glasgow to demand climate justice, setting the tone for the next day when 100,000 people from all over the world would do the same. This global climate strike will keep the pressure up on politicians to take action, instead of making empty promises.
This global strike will see more than 700 protests globally, with 8 strikes taking place in Scotland alone.
COP26 failed us – not that we ever expected it to deliver.
Across the globe, the planet burns while wealth and power grows yet more concentrated in the hands of the few. Decision makers sit back, choosing to not to protect people and planet but to exacerbate the climate crisis.
Young people all around the world are standing against this dereliction of duty.
On March 25th, we will demand our government’s put People Before Profit.
Cerys Gough, 18, from Langholm, said: ”The science is clear. We’ve already seen irreversible damage caused by the climate crisis, and the recent IPCC Report declared a Code Red situation.
“We cannot afford to delay anymore, which is why we’re taking to the streets again”.
Cora Gibson, 15, from Edinburgh, said: “We don’t need to wait for the next COP to act on the climate crisis.
“Governments could be investing in renewable energy, phasing out fossil fuels, improving public transport, making our houses less reliant on fossil fuels, and so much more.”
Saoi O’Connor, 19, from Glasgow, said: “The UK Government has subsidised over £13.6 billion into fossil fuel companies since the Paris Agreement was signed. In 2021, just 24 oil companies made £131.3 billion in profit.
“Meanwhile, people on the lowest incomes are being forced into fuel poverty, being forced into choosing between heating their homes or feeding their families. That is a complete failure, we must prioritise people over profit.”
Climate Strike Locations:
Edinburgh – 11am, Scottish Parliament to Edinburgh City Chambers Glasgow – 12pm, George Square Dumfries – 11am, Council Headquarters Falkirk – 11am, Highstreet Bandstand Inverness – 11am, Falcon Square Stirling – 2pm, Town Centre, Port Street Ullapool – 8:30am, Clocktower
The cost of living crisis is going to cause hardship for millions of people. Huge rises in energy prices will see oil companies make vast profits whilst people struggle to heat their homes.
Protests will take place across the UK this weekend.
Speakers from lots of organisations making demands for a fairer society.
Call comes ahead of protests in Clarks Village today (Saturday)
TUC says Johnny Chen should urgently get around the table with union representing striking workers
The TUC has called on the new CEO of Clarks Shoes Johnny Chen to “get around the table” with union leaders and end the dispute over the company’s controversial use of ‘fire and rehire’ tactics.
The TUC says Johnny Chen should meet urgently with the general secretary of Community Roy Rickhuss to come to a fair agreement.
The call comes ahead of protests today (Saturday). Workers currently on strike, their families and their supporters will march through the iconic Clarks Village to protest the usage of fire-and-rehire by Clarks and ask them to reconsider.
Members of Community union – working at Clarks warehouse in Street, Somerset –have been on strike since October 4th after the company threatened to dismiss them and rehire them on worse terms.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Nobody wants to see this dispute drag on – least of all Clarks’ workers.
“We urge the new CEO to urgently get around the table with the general secretary of Community and come to a fair agreement.”
TUC Deputy General Secretary Paul Nowak, who will join the march and protest in Clarks Village today, said: “Generations of families have worked for and contributed to the success of Clarks shoes. All they want is for is staff to be treated with dignity at work.
“A company with Clarks’ proud tradition and history should not be using ‘fire and rehire’ tactics to drive down pay and conditions.”
Community General Secretary Roy Rickhuss said: “Over the past month, workers at Clarks have been overwhelmed by the outpouring support that people from across the country have given them. Fire-and-rehire is cruel and wrong, and everyone is aware of this. Sadly, this has led to no progress with Clarks and their plans will be continuing.
“Clarks is a staple brand on the British high street, with a history dating back over a century. Their roots in their local community go even deeper. There once was a time where Clarks built schools, libraries and theatres for their workers and their families in Somerset. This is a betrayal of their roots, and everything Clarks once stood for.
“We are protesting on Saturday to send a message to Clarks that we stand strong and we will resist these changes at every turn. We do not want to be on strike, and we do not want to be protesting. We urge Clarks to call off the diminishing of terms and conditions and reconsider this move. We remain ready and waiting for productive discussions on how we can succeed together going forward when they are.”
Children’s Commissioner Bruce Adamson is urging police to treat young people peacefully protesting at COP-26 with respect and dignity – and has reminded them that children’s rights must be upheld for everyone under 18.
The guide has been used as part of Police Scotland’s training for COP-26 and was informed by children’s views and experiences.
Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner said: “I have written to Police Scotland and have received strong commitments that they will facilitate peaceful protest with human rights at the heart of their approach, and it is important that this happens.
“Police officers have a duty to uphold children’s human rights during COP-26, which include the rights to peaceful assembly and association, alongside their rights to expression, participation, information and protection.”
Climate justice has been consistently raised by children and young people as one of their biggest human rights concerns.
Emma, 16, a Young Adviser to the Commissioner, said: “The right to protest is important as it gives people the opportunity to create change. It gives us a voice and the ability to hold institutions accountable for their actions.
“It is one of the only ways young people can be heard and immediately have a connection with one another, creating a sense of unity. It promotes equality and allows for individuals and groups views to have a chance to be recognised. The information in this guide about our rights to protest is really useful as we make our voices heard at COP-26 and beyond.”
The Commissioner added: “Children have shown incredible leadership on the issue of climate justice and continue to act as human rights defenders for everyone’s rights across Scotland and internationally.
“They have led powerful, peaceful movements in the streets, for example during school strikes, online, and in court. It is essential that children and young people are empowered to participate and engage in their right to peaceful protest.”
The Commissioner’s guide includes rights information and support, in the event of a child under 18 being arrested or detained by police.
Mr Adamson said: “Arresting a child should always be a measure of last resort, however, it may happen, and children need to know their rights if it does. We’ve included information about children’s rights to contact their family, social worker and to speak to a lawyer, to complain and to ask for release. Any child arrested or detained must be treated with human dignity and respect.”
The Commissioner repeated his call that no child should be punished for taking part in peaceful protests: “There must be no reprisals or sanctions for children who peacefully protest during COP-26 and schools should support children to participate in the opportunities that COP-26 affords them.”
Police Scotland is ready to deliver one of the largest policing operations undertaken in Britain as extensive planning for the COP26 climate conference reaches the final stages.
Around 10,000 officers will be deployed each day to support the safety and security of the event in Glasgow next month, at which around 120 world leaders and heads of state are expected to attend.
The planning operation, which has been under way for almost two years, has been the largest undertaken by Police Scotland.
Officers will be drafted from every division and department in Police Scotland, supported by a substantial number of colleagues from other UK police services as part of mutual aid arrangements. Deployments will include specialist resources such as firearms officers, dog handlers, mounted branch, search teams and the marine unit.
COP26, the United Nations 26th Conference of the Parties, is an annual summit organised by the UN where world leaders and thousands of delegates come together to tackle climate change issues.
This year’s event takes place from 31 October to 12 November at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow.
Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr said: “Police Scotland is ready and well prepared to deliver this operation which will involve one of the biggest mobilisation of police assets the UK has ever seen.
“With around 120 world leaders and heads of state attending, along with thousands of delegates and those who wish to protest, the scale of the security operation cannot be overstated. It is a huge challenge but one we are ready to deal with.
“Police Scotland has an enviable reputation throughout the world for the policing of major events and I am confident that we will once again deliver a response which helps deliver a safe and secure conference.”
Police Scotland’s style and tone of policing will be friendly, fair and accommodating for anyone wishing to protest during the event.
All mutual aid officers will be under the command and control of the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and will receive detailed briefings on the style and tone of policing ahead of being deployed.
DCC Kerr said: “Police Scotland is a rights-based organisation and has a duty under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest or counter-protest, balanced against the rights of the wider community.
“We will provide a proportionate policing response to any protests and have been engaging with known protest groups for some time to ensure their rights to peaceful assembly and protest are met.
“Those wishing to protest have a responsibility to do so within the law and I would remind the small minority of people who may be intent on violent disorder or causing damage that we will deal with them swiftly and robustly.
“The policing of protests is a particularly difficult balancing act when they are non-violent and peaceful but highly disruptive or unlawful.
“People at protests sometimes break the law in a number of ways that aren’t linked to violence or disorder, such as blocking roads.
“Some disruption is inevitable during the event, if someone is causing significant disruption by wilfully obstructing a main traffic route then officers may move through the various stages of our graduated response more quickly than they would during instances which are causing minimum disruption.
“A considerable part of our planning for COP26 has been to ensure that the communities of Scotland continue to receive the same high standard of service from policing that they have come to expect.
“Policing, so often the service of first and last resort, will never step away from people in crisis.
“There are pressures which exist across many other services, agencies and sectors, and when the health service, local authorities and other key partners come under significant strain, demand is diverted to policing.
“However, Police Scotland prioritises emergency 999 calls and these are answered within less than 10 seconds, on average. Our non-emergency response times continue to be affected by high demand.
“While an event the size of COP26 places considerable demands on policing, we already have contingencies in place and are taking steps to boost those over the coming weeks.
“Although there is potential for further disruption should pressure on other agencies and services persist and become more acute, particularly as the country prepares for COP26, I can reassure the public that if they need an emergency response from us they will get it.”
Demonstrators gathered at High Riggs Jobcentre yesterday to demand the re-instatement of the £20 cut to Universal Credit. The protest was called by Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty in response to a call from Disabled People Against the Cuts for UK-wide protests.
Participants included disabled people, pensioners, workers and a group of school students.
Police attended but did not intervene.
The demonstrators denounced the UK government cut, due to be implemented from the end of this month. Protestors held placards with the hashtag #20MoreForAll, demanding the £20 increase be extended to “legacy benefits” like Job Seekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.
Campaigners have raised alarm at the hardship which a £20 cut will cause to the six million Universal Credit claimants, who include the low paid, unemployed, families and sick and disabled people.
Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty leaflets distributed at the protest quoted research by the Child Poverty Action Group.
The research reveals that over the last decade nearly 100 cuts have been made to social security entitlement and the value of payments has fallen as social security rates have been either frozen or increased by less than inflation.
Thus even with the £20 increase a typical Universal Credit claimant would be hundreds of pounds worse off in 2021 than in 2010.
Ethel MacDonald of Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty said: “The brutal cut in Universal Credit is yet another example of governments attacking the poor to benefit the rich.
“This is also an attack on wages and conditions, aiming to force people to accept insecure low paid jobs. Many on Universal Credit are of course already in such badly paid work, since 39% of Universal Credit claimants are in employment.”
The ECAP spokesperson urged people to organise: “ We need to organise at the grass-roots to resist the cut to Universal Credit, the entire austerity agenda, and the whole profit-based system.
“Claimants need to join together and support each other – for example by accompanying each other to appointments and assessments.”
ECAP stress: “After today’s protest, the struggle against the cut continues. What’s more, we are opposing the DWP’s reckless return to compulsory jobcentre appointments – this endangers both claimants and jobcentre workers, due to the continuing covid threat. We totally oppose all sanctions, and urge claimants to contact us for solidarity.”
While MSPs will debate the Universal Credit cut at Holyrood today, the decision lies with Westminister. The UK Government insists the UC uplift was always intended to be a temporary measure and that their focus is on getting people into work.
UNISON will be hosting a public demonstration outside the Edinburgh City Chambers on Tuesday 28th September from 9.30am as we continue to put pressure on decision makers to #SaveOurCareHomes.
Sat 12 Feb 1pm
Glasgow: 
