Hundreds of Margaret Thatcher’s contestants gathered Saturday night in Trafalgar Square in London to celebrate in the rain the death last Monday of former British prime minister whose funeral will take place on April 17. Former miners who participated in the year-long strike against the British Government in the 80s joined left-wing militants and students.
An important police contingent was mobilized after disturbances that occurred during several events organized after Margaret Thatcher’s death at the age of 87.
But the atmosphere was rather like a carnival than a riot, as people of all ages were dancing, playing the drums and whistling. They were chanting “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead.” A boy named Jack was heard yelling: “Thatcher’s dead,” and this is not brainwashing, according to Howard, a man from London: “It is just learnt behaviour.”
However there were several confrontations with police and nine people were arrested, five of them for drinking, said a Scotland Yard. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, warned protesters against possible degeneration of the demonstration.
Present in Trafalgar Square, David Douglas, a former miner and member of the National Union of Mineworkers in Yorkshire, said he was “very pleased” to learn about Thatcher’s death, a “horrible woman,” according to him. “We are absolutely furious because the images shown on television that the whole country would be in mourning,” he added.
Sigrid Holmwood, a 34-year-old Scottish artist who lives in London, was holding an umbrella that says “Ding Dong”, a reference to the song “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead” sung by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz, which became this week the power play of Thatcher’s critics. “I came here today, I wouldn’t say to celebrate, but protesting against millions of public money being spent on her funeral when there are (government spending) cuts that affect the sick or the disabled,” he said.
Trafalgar Square, the famous place in the heart of the British capital, was the site of clashes between protesters and police on “Poll tax,” which led to the resignation of Margaret Thatcher in 1990, after 11 years in power.
The funeral of former Prime Minister, where the Queen Elizabeth II and nearly 2,000 guests are expected, including many international political figures will take place in three days. Religious service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London will not be officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but he will say the last prayer, said a spokeswoman for the archdiocese. All living former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and John Major, have confirmed their presence at the funeral.
Prime Minister David Cameron would have to read an excerpt from the Gospels, John 14.1: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
The list of famous absentees include the last president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, aged 82, and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, aged 87, who can not come for health reasons. Neither Nancy Reagan, 91, wife of deceased American president will not attend the funeral. According to British media, George Bush and George W. Bush will not attend the funeral.
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