The Edinburgh demonstration for the 25^th March Global Climate Strike was inspiring. Hundreds of school students – many very young – took strike action and gathered at the Scottish Parliament. The entire demonstration then set off on an unauthorised march through the city.

The demo passed through the east end of Princes Street and culminated on the Royal Mile outside the Council City Chambers. Demonstrators took over the road, chanting, singing and giving talks. A contingent of strikers from Edinburgh University marched to join the demo here, with chants of Workers Rights, Climate Justice, One Struggle One Fight.

The slogan for the Global Strike was “People not Profit” and this was well reflected in the different speeches, several given by school students. Speakers were clear that the culprit for the climate crisis was capitalism. Big business’ drive for profit at all costs was endangering the future of humanity and all species on the earth. The speaker from the Uni strikers described how Universities were run more and more on a business model.

The same system that was destroying the planet was responsible for austerity and poverty both in Britain and world-wide. In the global south poor and indigenous people are the most affected and are on the front line of resistance. A Palestinian activist spoke eloquently about the struggle to protect the land there.

Think Global Act Local – flyers were distributed from Save Our Silverlea urging resistance to the Edinburgh Council’s planned destruction of the Silverlea woodland site in north Edinburgh. Speakers stressed that all oppression was interlinked and we needed to resist everything that kept us down. The speeches culminated in a call to support the demonstration for Trans Health Care at the Scottish Parliament on 8 April, 11am.

A small contingent from ACE and ECAP participated with the ACE banner. We feel that, in dark times, the direct action and revolutionary awareness of the global Fridays for Future movement gives hope, and we urge everyone to join, give solidarity to and link up with this inspiring movement.

https://fridaysforfuture.org/March25/ More than 700 actions took place world-wide on 25 March.

https://www.facebook.com/edinburghyouthstrikes

https://www.facebook.com/Save-Our-Silverlea-102735022385723

#peoplenotprofit

#FridaysForFuture