Two days ago I decided to visit The Occupation camped at the base of the stony mass of St Paul’s Cathedral. The threat of eviction by the City of London Authority has been temporarily suspended so the atmosphere under a blue sky and the shining dome of St Paul’s was relaxed and mild like the weather. Only the posters and graffiti proclaim the mighty issues that created this tent city in the middle of London city, centre of global finance.
I spoke to a woman from Hastings, not a resident but a frequent
visitor to the camp, who informed me that many different opinions are represented but people are united by a common perception of issues that need to be addressed. These issues cover a wide range like poverty, joblessness, the illegality of wars, the violation of human rights and the concentration of power in financial and corporate establishments. Peace was also represented and because of the gravity of the problems I looked for some revolutionary ardour exposing the whole system so that a new world could be born. I found it in the Tent City University marquee where a group were listening to the passionate description of the devious politics of the US and UK in Uzbekistan.
There systematic torture and the total abuse of human rights are ignored by the west for political and economic advantages while at the same time intervention in other Muslim countries has the aim that they embrace democracy and freedom etc. I had missed the introduction but recognized the speaker as the former British ambassador in Uzbekistan who was dismissed by his government because of his exposure of the rot in the local regime and of the complicity and duplicity of the West. Craig Murray maintained that invitations to him by the media to take part in programmes were systematically cancelled, often at the last moment, by some power he assumed was the Foreign Office. As one who ‘had been in the belly of the beast’ (to quote a member of the audience) Craig was looked to as one who had answers.
It seems to me that the experience of the beast’s belly is not in itself enough either to diagnose and heal its gastric ailment or to tame it. But the experience needs to be said and heard.I hang one of my paintings, No title, but it could be about centring while at the same time being part of an environment of powerful forces with nothing to stand on!
