Student protesters from Middlesex University in London demonstrated at several sites in London today to raise their voices against how they were treated by police last week during protest riots. The students urged others to join them but to remain peaceful. One of the injured protesters from last week was a student at Middlesex.
Tuition fee protests at the House of Parliament in London last week turned violent when student protesters were joined by other radical groups. Windows were smashed and other property damage was perpetrated in the area. The most dangerous incident occurred on Thursday when a group of protesters surrounded the royal car containing Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles, as they made their way to a play. Protesters rocked the car, broke windows and some reports claim that Parker-Bowles was poked with a stick.
The couple was unhurt but the incident raises questions about the security of the Royal Family in the face of some of the most violent protests London has experienced in decades.
Some of the protest groups have already indicated that they will target the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29 of next year. The couple is to marry at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres.
According to police intelligence reports, several websites have popped up on the Internet urging leftist sympathizers from around the world to descend on London for the royal wedding and riot. May Day on May 1 is a traditional day of protest for many groups, and several websites are recommending several days of rioting including the wedding day and May Day.
In 1981, police and contingents of Armed Forces kept over 600,000 onlookers under control during the wedding of William's parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. In total, several thousand officers were deployed to keep order along the route to St. Paul's Cathedral, the site of the ceremony.
Scotland Yard has not yet commented on what measures will be taken to identify or disseminate the protest groups before the event, but it is likely that security on the wedding day will be stepped up.




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