London Protestor Johann Hoiby Vows to Continue Fight Against Government
Protestors in London have trashed streets, terrorized royals.
Dec. 13, 2010— -- The angry debate between Londoners, the police and the government over Parliament's plan to raise tuition doesn't appear to be waning less than a week after tens of thousands of angry protesters took to the streets.
Johann Hoiby, 22, has spent most of today protesting in Parliament Square. A member of the loosely organized National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, Hoiby said students like himself don't have a choice but to protest if they want to keep education affordable.
"What's the point in not protesting?" Hoiby, a third-year philosophy student at Middlesex University said.
"We feel like this movement can really take off," he said. "We can start making a difference."
Hoiby said there are more protests planned including a large-scale demonstration Tuesday at Scotland Yard and more in London after the first of the year when students return from their holiday break.
The protests had been ongoing since last month, but reached fever pitch on Thursday as Londoners clashed with police and attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, on their way to the theater. The royal couple was unharmed, but film of the protest showed police being pulled off their horses and flares being thrown by the angry mob. Police said the incident resulted in several injuries and arrests.
The BBC reported today that Metropolitan Police have arrested 36 people and have released 14 photos of the protests in hopes the public will help them identify more.
But Hoiby and his like-minded protesters are committed to their cause.
"Education, that's a social good," he said. "So I don't know why they're making it so tight for people to go to university."
Hoiby spoke with ABC's Linsey Davis for today's Conversation. We hope you'll watch to learn more.
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