A procession to various religious centres in Oxford ont eh evening of Saturday 22nd (mosque, synagogue, CofE cathedral, and Friends' Meeting House) attracted approx 700 participants, mainly the 'ordinary looking' people seen so rarely on demos. However, I am aware that the organisers were very heavily leant upon by the local constabulary and forced to submit to frankly ridiculous conditions - no banners, marching only on the pavement, separate groups marching to different destinations instead of a procession around all the various sites...I heard they even wanted no more than 50 people per group, though fortunately the large turnout rendered that unworkable. One group did tour all the locations anyway, but in conscious rebellion. It seems the organisers and hastily recruited stewards were subjected to the usual 'if anything criminal happens you as organisers will be legally responsible' blackmail.

I wasn't involved in organising this event, and haven't discussed it directly with the organisers (who I know only distantly) but have discussed it with some of the stewards and plan to get more involved with peace work here. Could anyone advise me on how to move people towards a less submissive relationship with the local police? In other circumstances I would simply be working outside these conventional 'corralled protest' channels, but at present co-operation with the mainstream peace groups seems like a good idea - the last thing we need is infighting when it looks like new people are becoming involved.
Any suggestions, either posted here or emailed to me, are most welcome, but please don't add my address to any lists - I'm swamped as it is.

Thanks.