guardian.co.uk,
Peter Walker, Sunday 23 October 2011
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| Occupy protesters outside St Paul's Cathedral. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images |
An impasse
between St Paul's Cathedral and the protest camp that has spent eight days at
its walls remains deadlocked, with activists saying they will not consider
church officials' request for them to move elsewhere until they receive a
fuller explanation as to why this is necessary.
On a usual
Sunday the 400-year-old London landmark would be full of worshippers and
visitors. But the doors have been bolted since Friday evening when the dean,
the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, announced that the cathedral would remain
shut until further notice because the 200 or so tents and marquees along its
western edge posed a fire and safety risk.
A scheduled
wedding took place on Saturday, with the celebrants using a side door, but
worshippers for morning services on Sunday were faced with a notice directing
them to the nearby church of St Vedast. A special evensong involving visiting
choirs to mark the 150th anniversary of the Hymns Ancient and Modern
publication has been moved to Southwark Cathedral, south of the Thames.
Some
would-be worshippers were caught out. "We didn't know, so we're very
disappointed," said a woman from a visiting American family forced to
revise their plans for the day. But most tourists remained largely positive
about the Occupy the London Stock Exchange camp, a protest against the
perceived excesses of the global financial system.
"I
suppose you could say we're part of the 99% as well," said Levin Brunner,
an IT consultant from Munich, using the term coined by activists for the bulk
of people who do not enjoy stellar salaries and annual bonuses. "We have
similar protests in Germany, so we knew this was taking place and we have a lot
of sympathy for it. It's very interesting for tourists to see, anyway."
On Saturday
the activists set up a second base at Finsbury Square, a grassed area on the
fringes of London's financial district, now home to about 60 tents. The
movement says this is not intended to be a replacement for the camp at St
Paul's, but more of an overspill as the first site is too full to accept more
tents.
Activists
face intense pressure to reconsider the St Paul's camp, not least for the
resonance of being seen as responsible for the closure of a national landmark
for the first time since the second world war. Church officials say the closure
is costing St Paul's about £20,000 a day in lost revenue.
The
protesters are deeply reluctant, strongly hinting that they believe the
Corporation of London, which governs the City district, has joined financial
institutions to place at least implicit pressure on St Paul's to take action.
The Occupy the London Stock Exchange movement says it has spoken to both the
fire service and local health and safety officials and has been told there are
no safety issues.
"Until
the cathedral was shut we were in regular contact with them and relations were
good. But since Friday they haven't talked to us," said one protester,
Sean, acting as a media spokesman. "We've asked for details about the fire
and health and safety issues, but we've heard nothing."
The
cathedral remains resolute. On Saturday its canon chancellor, the Reverend Dr
Giles Fraser, who a week before had welcomed what he described as a legitimate
protest, issued a statement urging the protesters to leave.
He said:
"I remain firmly supportive of the right of people peacefully to protest.
But given the strong advice that we have received that the camp is making the
cathedral and its occupants unsafe then this right has to be balanced against
other rights and responsibilities too."
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