Police at Excel wary despite peaceful G20 action

Several officers are also patrolling the route between Canning Town and Royal Victoria, where a group of about 400 protesters are gathered with megaphones and colourful banners.

An officer who searched me next to the ticket barrier to the station was not ruling out any clashes despite largely-good-natured action this afternoon.

He said: "It's early days yet. This time yesterday we were having bottles thrown at us."

The brightly-dressed throng is far too far away to make out from the Excel without a helicopter and a long lens. But the only mild disturbance so far was when demonstrators shooed away a British National Party representative who strode into the crowd.

Groups including Stop the War, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Revolution workers power group and Justice for Ethiopia milled around the dockside space, unfurling flags and chanting.

Pauline Fraser, a member of the Redbridge section of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: "It's an incredibly varied group. I've been amazed to see so many groups coming together, feeling so passionately about the same issues and many more."

Events from inside the G20 have filtered out to protesters outside, including the agreement between the US and Russia to dramatically slash their nuclear weapon stockpiles.

Ms Fraser said: "It's a good first step. But we want an end to the nonsense of the UK's desire to purchase new Trident missiles with £76billion of the taxpayer's money. It's a useless weapon, and all it can do is cause massive destruction and kill millions of people across the world.

"I'd like to see a complete nationalisation of all the banks and see them immediately pay off the debts of people that can't afford to pay their mortgages.

"Every time people are out on the streets, it sends a message to world leaders, no matter how little or how much media attention we get. People are out there doing something, not just sitting back taking everything for granted."

Other demonstrators also had a wish-list to pass on to world leaders, including Alan Britt, who goes by the tribal name Way Owl.

He said: 'We want the G20 to wake up and stop spending this corrupted money on dirty organisations and give it more to people in need in the third world, and to everyone in this world who is suffering.

"We want to stop spending on the military and weapons of mass destruction. We want more money for hospitals, charities, green issues, trees and the environment.

"We want people to use bikes, horses and carts and walk more. We want to abolish all the planes flying in the atmosphere, causing pollution. People should only use wind-sail boats and ships to travel around.

"We want to bring back hemp because hemp will save the world. You can use it for paper, cardboard, clothes, hemp bricks for eco-friendly houses, and people can smoke the stuff if they want.

"I think it would be better if they get rid of the multi-national companies like McDonalds, Burger King and KFC. I'd like to see the high street banks suffer, fall down to the ground and become bankrupt and help us deliver a peaceful world."

Mohammed Ali was out raising awareness of the plight of Ethiopians under prime minister Meles Zenawi. Fellow protesters were chanting rythmically, surrounded by large flags and banners reading, 'Meles Zenawi is a war criminal' and 'Free Birtukan Mideska", referencing the opposition party leader imprisoned in December last year.

Mr Ali, who originates from Ogaden but has lived in London for five years, said: "We want to raise awareness of the Ethiopian government which is torturing and killing Somali people.

"We want to show the problem to the world. We want to let people know that western governments are giving a lot of money to the Ethiopian regime, and they're using this money to kill their people.

"It's totally unacceptable. There's torture and hunger because of the Ethiopian regime. We're doing this as a peaceful demonstration, to help people see the truth that the way Melez is behaving to his own people is wrong.

"I still have family back there and I hope they're alright. My people are suffering, and they will try to get to my family and punish them for something like me talking to you."

Gwyn Gwyntopher arrived with a peace flag and a T-shirt advertising East London Against The Arms Fair.

The organisation regularly protests against the arrival of the DSEi international arms fair at Excel every two years.

At the last protest in 2007, she was arrested and dragged into a van by police for wearing a sign reading, 'Remember the victims of the arms trade'.

She was later charged with trespassing on Custom House DLR station, but the case was thrown out.

The East London group will stage Saturday musical protests at the Excel on April 25, May 30, June 13, August 1 and September 5, the week before the 2009 show arrives in Royal Docks. For more information, go to elaaf.org or call 07513 792705.

She said: "A lot of the people here don't realise that this is the site of an international arms fair. The most important thing to us today is to make contact with other demonstrators.

"We're rather sad that people turn up when the arms fair is on and not before, as it's like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. We feel the previous demonstrations are important as they keep up the pressure of cancellation.

"It's making an impact. We've just got to keep on trying.

"Apart from 2005, the arms fair has taken place on 9/11, and this is happening again this year.

"It was pretty awful when it happened in 2001 because they carried on regardless and had a banquet that night. You could argue that that time they were taken aback, but two years later they were not only selling arms on that day, but scheduling the banquet for that day as well. It was in really poor taste.

"The whole G20 summit is a little undignified. It's the most unsuitable place to stage this, as there are residential areas on both sides.

"I think the demonstration in the City was very imaginative. I was at the peaceful march from Grosvenor Square to Trafalgar Square, which was practically ignored by the media.

"There was a small amount of violence and the press tend to focus on that. I was shocked by the photos of police violence against some people that weren't even fighting back. I think that's pretty frightening.

"All the protests here are related because everyone is here protesting against the oppression of people, particularly the economic oppression which is taking place. And the arms fair here and the arms trade in general is symbolic of the worst kind of global capitalism and international materialism."