road protests 1997
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Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 13:12:04 +0100
From: Road Alert!
To: roadalert@gn.apc.org
Subject: RECLAIM THE STREETS - HELSINKI
> RECLAIM THE STREETS in HELSINKI, FINLAND on 17 of May
> - TOTAL SUCCESS!!!
>
> On Saturday 17th of May 11.30am (+2 GWT) people gathered
> to the statue of Aleksis Kivi in front of the Helsinki
> Railway station. The party had been planned up several
> months earlier by Friends of the Earth Finland [1].
>
> 400 people showed up to the statue and where led to
> destination X, which was at the center of Pohjoinen-Esplanadi.
> A van with 5000 Watts of speakers and DJ-equipment was driven
> sideways to the street to block it. Sounds of traffic where
> covered when the system got power. You could feel the rumbling
> of the ground couple of blocks away.
> The rave had begun and the street was OURS!
>
> The cops showedup too late - what we where doing was a total
> surprise to them even when there had been posters all over
> the town for weeks now. Someone went to police to negotiate
> and after we promised that we wouldn't damage any property
> the police gave up and let us have our party...
>
> Huge banderoles where put across the street: "Less Cars More Parties",
> "Street Party", "Streets Back To People", "Reclaim the Streets"...
> People started coming attracted by the music and by 2 pm there was
> more then 700 people there - because the police was not trying to
> stop us ordinary people where also joining the party. The day was
> perfect - sun was shining and the tempeature was up to +25 Celsius.
> The Party lasted till noon 17.30 when the two aggregats which where
> giving power to the sound system ran out of gas but by that time there
> had been 3000 people visiting and dancing at the party and more then
> 10000 cars had had to go around the place.
>
> Just when we thought the party was over couple of dancers started to
> dance on another street with much heavier traffic then the one we had
> already taken over. The police got up there to try to stop us but
> again it was too late. About 200 people spontaniously blocked
> the 600metre street with full of cars by dancing on it and
> the police was forced to clear the street and shutdown the traffic
> lights. Only public busses where let through. You imagine the
> atmosphere when the sound system was shotdown people started to make
> their own music by clapping their hands togethor and singing.
> When I left 18.30 there the street was still blocked by over
> a hundred people sitting on it.
>
> Photographes will be available a soon as possible (Monday-Tuesday)
> at
http://www.sci.fi/~ransu/party.html
>
> Refences:
> 1. FoE Finland -
http://www.kaapeli.fi/~maanyst/
>
> You can contact the party-peoply from
jp56048@uta.fi
>
> Disclaimer: This is a VERY UNOFFICIAL version
> cause I'm just a participant and not an orginizer.
>
> - Ransu, EF! Finland
> | Miikka Raninen E-mail:
ransu@sci.fi
road protests 1997
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