From 10am Saturday, London: Extinction Rebellion activists to pour ‘blood’ at gates of Downing Street - Extinction Rebellion UK

From 10am Saturday, London: Extinction Rebellion activists to pour ‘blood’ at gates of Downing Street

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Climate Factsheet for Rebels https://rebellion.earth/the-climate-factsheet-for-rebels/

From 10am Saturday, London: Extinction Rebellion activists to pour ‘blood’ at gates of Downing Street

    • 10am meeting points at both Parliament Square & Trafalgar Square. 11am Processions towards Downing Street begin. The groups will meet at around 11.15am at Downing Street
    • Rebels – who are willing to be arrested – will pour 200+ litres of ‘blood’ on the ground outside Downing Street to “make viscerally clear” the reality of our children’s futures
    • Protest is part of the build up to International Rebellion beginning Monday 15 April – come to stay and get time of work
    • Other upcoming events include International Women’s Day (Friday 8 March), Extinction Rebellion’s first festival over the weekend of 16/17 March in Bristol where music meets activism with up to 1000 people being trained in civil disobedience at a time; plus Paint the Streets which will see mass flyposting begin around the world from 1 April.

 

This Saturday 9 March in London, young and old will process to Downing Street to engage in a dramatic act of peaceful nonviolent civil disobedience in order to make it ‘viscerally clear’ the seriousness of the ecological collapse we face and the criminal inaction of the British Government.  Facebook event is here.

“There is no point in my education if my future cannot be upheld to support it,” said Ella Eastburn, 15, student.

Carrying buckets of ‘blood’ to Downing Street, Extinction Rebellion activists will simultaneously empty more than 200 litres of ‘blood’ onto the road to create a sea of red outside. They will then sit down on the pavement and await arrest.

This ‘blood’ represents the violent fate which faces today’s children unless radical action is taken on the environment. Many parents will be bringing their children, to bear witness to this symbolic recognition of the future.

“I have children and I want them to have a future. My daughter is 29 and getting married this year. I choked up when she asked whether I thought she should have children. Her choice, of course, but a bleak one. I have been trying the polite approach for a couple of decades to no avail,” said Eleanor Hill, 64, Bookkeeper.

With daily news about climate breakdown across the world, this protest is one of a number of protests in the run up to International Rebellion which begins Monday 15 April.

“The science is done. We are in a climate and ecological emergency. We’re on course to send our children to an early death likely to involve mental breakdown, starvation and war,” said parent Jayne Forbes. “There are no words to describe the horrors we risk if we do not make governments act immediately. Every parent, every adult, everyone has a responsibility and duty to take action. That now means breaking of the law.”

Lesley Rowan, who is 52 and a voice coach, commented: “It seems that only drastic action from the highest number of people will force the governments of the world to take climate change and environmental ruin seriously. I can’t, in good conscience, sit by any longer as the clock runs down and just grumble. It’s time to stand up and be counted.”

Also coming up!

    • Friday 9 March – International Women’s Day: Extinction Rebellion activists will be on the streets and send their support to the women of the world as they celebrate and strike on International Women’s Day. In London, we will be supporting strike events including  Global Women’s Strike who will be doing a ‘walking/rolling picket, speak-out, breastfeeding sit-in’ from 12 noon at the Royal Courts of Justice and Women’s Strike (London) are planning a strike protest which will see hundreds gathering at 5pm at the Bank of England
    • Weekend 16 to 17 March, Bristol – Extinction’s Rebellion’s first festival, Spring Uprising . Extinction Rebellion is throwing a large indoor festival at Motion Bristol with live music, non violent direct action training for up 1000 people at a time, art exhibitions, workshops and a solution zone showcasing local and national solutions to the crisis. Let’s get together, get trained, get organised and have a damn good time doing it!
  • 1 April Paint the Streets Worldwide: Disobey to Tell the Truth Global. Calling rebels willing to join a week of mass flyposting, using non-violent civil disobedience to tell the truth on climate breakdown and ecological collapse. We will use stickers, posters, banners and more, covering the streets with our messages, to shake awake our fellow human beings who are sleepwalking into disaster.
  • 15 April – International Rebellion – Extinction Rebellion activists in the UK and around the world are calling for a full-scale international rebellion: to demand decisive action on the climate and ecological collapse from governments around the world. Come to stay and book time off work. Facebook event here.
  • Lots more protests and events! There are many other actions and events happening now in London and around the UK due to Extinction Rebellion’s decentralised structure (too many to list here). For the latest news, see the website https://rebellion.earth/events/ plus also check out the facebook https://www.facebook.com/ExtinctionRebellion/events/.

Notes to editors

  1. International Rebellion begins 15 April – https://www.facebook.com/events/126622414898833/
  2. Climate Factsheet for Rebels https://rebellion.earth/the-climate-factsheet-for-rebels/
  3. About Extinction Rebellion:

Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.

Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by its Government.

Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:

  1. The Government must tell the truth about the ecological emergency, reverse inconsistent policies and work alongside the media to communicate with citizens
  2. The Government must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels
  3. A national Citizens’ Assembly to oversee the changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for purpose.

Get involved in Extinction Rebellion’s other events

UK website: https://rebellion.earth/

International website: https://xrebellion.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExtinctionRebellion/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExtinctionR hashtag #ExtinctionRebellion

Declaration of Rebellion: https://rebellion.earth/declaration/

About Rising Up!

Extinction Rebellion is an initiative of the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion; whilst the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.

Website http://www.risingup.org.uk/;

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RisingUpUK/;

Twitter https://twitter.com/RisingUpUK

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