Occupy Edinburgh: We’re going nowhere, vow camp protesters

THEY sprang up in cities across the world in a flurry of righteous indignation, vowing to stay put until their demands for social justice were met.

But while protesters at Occupy camps in Glasgow, London, Bristol and Sheffield have been served with eviction notices, the tent-dwellers of St Andrew Square in Edinburgh have pledged to stay put.

In talks lasting more than four hours yesterday around 30 members of Occupy Edinburgh decided they would remain at their city-centre camp, set up three months ago, “for as long as gross inequalities exist”.

Their announcement came as authorities grow increasingly unhappy with the continued presence of the tented village and its protest placards.

In a sign of increasing insularity among the protesters, The Scotsman was barred from the crunch talks at St George’s West Church.

Afterwards, a spokesman for Occupy Edinburgh said: “We are glad to hear that Eton graduate David Cameron has at least started talking about limiting excessive executive pay, but talking is not good enough. Occupy Edinburgh plan to continue as long as these gross inequalities are allowed to exist.

“The meeting brought everyone back together following the holidays with a renewed enthusiasm for the movement. In order to make our message clearer we hope to create new policies and actions and will continue to develop St Andrew Square as a safe, welcoming and family space.”

This “renewed enthusiasm” puts the occupiers on a direct collision course with the man charged with running the square, Andy Neal, chief executive of Essential Edinburgh.

Mr Neal has called for Occupy Edinburgh’s eviction for the first time after months of tacit agreement, saying: “I have yet to hear directly from the Occupy protesters, but as the gardens were not designed for camps of this nature I think it is highly unlikely that a solution will be possible that involves them continuing to camp there. It is likely we will have to take the legal steps to evict them and give the square back to the rest of Edinburgh who are currently avoiding it.”

Mr Neal has waited in the wings for the right moment to announce a change in his organisation’s policy toward the occupiers, but it is thought that drunken antics, the destruction of a Jewish Menorah over the festival period and the anger of business owners in the vicinity are all factors.

For its part, Occupy Edinburgh still wants to work with Essential Edinburgh and businesses in the area surrounding St Andrew Square. Their spokesman added: “The corporations that own Essential Edinburgh have raised concerns which we are addressing

“However, we have found that most of our face-to-face interactions with businesses from around the square have been welcoming and positive.”

Edinburgh city councillor Joanna Mowat added her voice to the chorus of those calling time on the Occupy movement’s moment in the city.

“I think legitimate right is different to the right to occupy a piece of ground. They could have a static protest each day with no problem but the site is a bit of an eyesore. I’d like to see them leave in a very civilised way and I’d like to ensure that no damage has been done to the monument. I don’t think that will happen – they want to see someone spend £5,000 evicting them.”

While several camps in British cities are facing legal action to have the protesters evicted, authorities in New York and Los Angeles have already cleared their Occupy camps.