Occupy protestors to move location

Anti-capitalist protestors say they will move on from their camp at a Zurich church which was offered to them after police removed them from their original site.

The demonstrators said that although central, the area at the Protestant church of St Jakob was simply too small and they would have to find another location.

They added in a statement quoted on the Swiss news agency that they regretted that some members of the congregation, including a local politician, had left the church as a result of the group being allowed to stay in its grounds.

The demonstrators, who see themselves as part of the global Occupy movement against financial excesses, were cleared by police from the Lindenhof area in Zurich’s old town on November 15 after deadline to leave ran out on two days beforehand. They had been there for almost a month.

The highpoint of the Zurich protest was an around 1,000-strong gathering at Zurich’s Paradeplatz, the symbolic heart of the Swiss banking industry, on October 15. There were also demonstrations on that day in Geneva, Basel and the capital Bern.
 
Two days later, following police intervention, a group of around 100 protestors relocated to the Lindenhof square, where they camped out and made regular forays to Paradeplatz.

On Saturday around 50 protestors again gathered on Paradeplatz. Police intervened after somebody tried to start a fire, otherwise the event was reported to be peaceful.