Disruption and Intimidation in Carterton, Oxfordshire
Simon | 24.04.2005 13:33 | Anti-militarism | Repression | Oxford
Brize Norton Peace Camp banner
Not old enough to vote but old enough to die in an illegal war
Breach of the Peace samba band
Dancing man – very popular with the kids
Local teenagers walk alongside the march
Send your own children to war Mr Blair
When the rich wage war it’s the poor that die
Local teenagers watch statue toppling, police watch me
Police filming and photographing everyone
… but you want to keep the price of oil low don’t you?
Local teenagers reading peace camp information board
This peace camp respects nature
Has this plane refuelled at Brize Norton?
There was a huge statue of Tony Blair, complete with manic grin and Pinocchio-style nose, but surely they didn’t think we were going to burn it? It was far too good to burn in my opinion, and toppling statues is far more fun, with the advantage that you get to keep the statue to topple another day.
Somehow, I don’t think the police had done their research on this event and had missed the point completely. If they’d read the publicity for the peace camp which has been circulating on Indymedia and open e-groups for some months, they’d have seen phrases like this:
“We don't want to accuse and condemn - rather to try and enter into some kind of dialogue with anyone willing to talk with us. At Brize, we will mainly be dealing with RAF personnel - 60 per cent of whom are said to have been opposed to the 2003 assault on Iraq, in the first place. But we may also get the chance to talk directly with soldiers bound for Basra.”
and
“We would want to discuss our opposition to Blair's collusion with the present regime in the United States, and how British troops have been drawn into doing its dirty work.”
That isn’t the sort of language used by someone who’s planning to intimidate people.
As the assembling marchers from Oxford, Bristol, Swindon, Faringdon and more were called to order, and were reminded that Carterton had never seen a demonstration before, it became clear that this event was attracting some interest from the locals. Some teenagers were hanging about nearby, and occasionally took the mickey, as teenagers are liable to do, but I sensed no hostility from them, more a feeling that they’d never seen anything like this before and were watching to see if anything exciting happened.
I have no idea what intimidating behaviour the residents of Carterton were expecting that day, but what they saw as the march left the Recreation Ground and turned onto Alverston Road certainly wasn’t the rampaging mob of thugs and vandals that might be implied from the police conditions. Instead, they saw colourful peace flags, placards speaking out against the Iraq war, and a long banner carried at the edge of the march reading “Illegal War – Illegal Orders”. Breach of the Peace samba band and the Red Notes choir took turns to provide entertainment, and the giant Tony Blair statue marked the back of the march.
You could tell that these intimidation tactics were working by the way that the locals lined the pavements, or pressed their faces against the insides of windows, to watch us as we walked past. There were probably as many locals just watching the march as there were marchers.
There were quite a few cameras around to record the day, some wielded by marchers and marshals, some by police, one TV camera, and a few of those cameras with really serious-looking lenses which are normally seen in the hands of newspaper photographers. But most of the cameras were in the hands of the local onlookers – middle-aged people standing at their front gates, shoppers and workers in the town centre, and a growing group of teenagers who were walking alongside the march with their camera phones. A dancing man wearing only a body stocking, a strategically-placed bag and a bearded mask, was especially popular with the onlookers.
This is where the point of one of the police conditions became clear – no leafleting.
The peace camp is part of an outreach programme to make sure military personnel know their rights regarding conscientious objection. They don’t need to be a pacifist to conscientiously object, nor have any specific religious objections to war. They can object to serving in a war if they believe that that war is wrong, which becomes essential in the light of the current Iraq war, when taken in context with the ruling of the Nuremburg trials that “only following orders” is not a valid defence against a charge of war crimes.
But the armed forces don’t go out of their way to tell the personnel about their rights in this respect, or about their right to have a declined application for CO status referred to the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objection. In fact they don’t tend to even tell the personnel that this committee exists – how can you appeal to something when you don’t it exists?
When I spotted a policeman having a stern word with a lady holding a bundle of leaflets, it became clear that this particular condition on the march was to prevent this sort of information leaking into the community.
At the end of Brize Norton Road, we assembled for a rally outside the gates of RAF Brize Norton. Marchers and local teenagers alike mixed and listened to speeches, while police on horseback stood guard outside the base, and a camera mounted on an aerial platform within the walls of the base filmed us all from on high.
Once the speeches had been made, willing volunteers seized ropes attached to the statue of Tony Blair, and pulled it to the ground in mimicry of the stage-managed toppling of the statue of Saddam in Baghdad two years ago, whilst the local teenagers hungrily captured the scenes on their camera phones.
We made ready to set off on the second part of the march, back the way we had came through Carterton and to the peace camp, but apparently the police didn’t think it was time for the march to start yet. So the samba band and the choir again took turns to entertain the waiting crowd, which was by now so mixed that you couldn’t possibly draw a line between marchers and locals. Despite the restrictions, I’m sure a few leaflets made their way into the locals’ pockets during this time, some no doubt to be thrown away, but others to be taken home and discussed with friends, family and colleagues.
I spotted two ladies carrying boards with the names of Iraqi children killed between March 2003 and August 2004 and got talking to them about media coverage of demonstrations, and about Indymedia. One of them told me how disappointed she was with the lack of coverage of the 19th March demo in the corporate media. I told them I was planning to publish my photos and report to Indymedia and tried to explain how open publishing works. They seemed very pleased to learn that they would be able to re-use coverage of this event from Indymedia in their church newsletter (providing they check whether individual authors have placed their own conditions on their work).
Finally the march set off again, back through Carterton town centre. The locals were still there, lining the street to watch us as if we were some kind of royal procession, and the teenagers were still with us all the way to the peace camp.
Although page five of the police conditions stated that the final assembly of the day would take place on a public footpath, we actually ended up in a field which had been claimed by the peace campers as their home under section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 (as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994). The police, who had been sticking to the marchers like glue up till this point, didn’t follow us into the field. I did spot two small groups patrolling part of the field later, one on foot and another on horseback, but they stayed away from the part of the field where the tents and marchers were, paying more attention to the hedgerow marking the perimeter of the air base.
Volunteers served tea, coffee, cakes and soup to the marchers and teenagers, in exchange for donations. A large display lay on the ground, providing information about RAF Brize Norton, its location, pages from the RAF web site, news reports and more to draw the link between this air base and the crimes being carried out in the name of the “war on terror”. Many of the local teenagers stood reading the display for a while.
There were a few more speeches at the peace camp, followed by an open mic session, and a music workshop later in the evening. The feeling amongst the marchers and peace campers as the locals were drifting back into Carterton was one of annoyance at the last-minute and excessive restrictions imposed by the police, but also a sense of achievement which could not be damped by the light rain which had been falling on us all day.
We had held our march, most of the town had seen us, and they could see that far from being something to be feared or hated, we were a diverse group of people channelling our anger at the world’s wrongs into a colourful, noisy, and non-threatening spectacle. Now they know that we’re not two-headed commie traitors, they’ll be more open to the ideas and support being offered by groups like Military Families Against War.
It should also raise questions about the need for excessive police restrictions on events such as these. A comparison of the restriction notices with the nature of the march itself as recorded by the cameras and phones of the people of Carterton, can only show that the approach taken by the police was well over the top.
There is much more work to be done on this front, but this event can be counted as a small victory in the ongoing campaign.
More information:
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See also
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Quote: “The marchers were a terrifying assortment of toddlers, grannies, idealistic youth, old hippies, and, most scarily, very normal looking people. The anarchist black bloc & other fence trashers have clearly perfected their disguise. Accompanied by a small but rhythmic samba band, they paraded through town, and the town came out too….to gawp, heckle a bit, take photos, sometimes join in, but most of all to disrupt the normal life of the community by walking alongside blocking footpaths, swelling numbers, AND NOT SHOPPING. Local youth were particularly excited by this new phenomenon, with the irony that those who joined in also found themselves subject to the Sections 12 & 14.”
More about the peace camp on Bristol Indymedia -
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Simon
Comments
Hide the following 8 comments
Legal Questions
24.04.2005 16:30
Couple of questions regarding the Police handing out a 5 page restriction document. What if one refuses to accept these documents. Is it a criminal offence? Is one legal obliged to accept such documents?
Also, what would have happened if 420 people turned-up. Would the surplus 20 get arrested? Who decides what 20 to ‘lift’? Seems crazy to me…..
Perhaps someone could clarify.
<-><->
Sections 12 and 14
25.04.2005 04:59
SECTIONS 12 & 14 of the Public Order Act:
If you engage in regular protest you will inevitably encounter the police’s use of Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986.
13.1 Section 12 - Public Processions
This confers power on the senior officer to impose conditions on processions, which he reasonably believes are necessary to prevent serious public disorder, serious criminal damage or serious disruption to the life of the community. He may also impose such conditions if he believes that the purpose of the persons organising it is the intimidation of others with the view to compelling them not to do an act they have a right to do, or to do an act they have a right not to do.
If he reasonably believes any of the above, then he may impose conditions on persons taking part in the procession as are reasonably necessary to prevent the above, including conditions as to the route of the procession or prohibiting it from entering any public place specified in the directions.
Anyone who knowingly fails to comply with a condition is guilty of an offence.
13.2 Section 14 - Public Assemblies
As with Section 12, the senior officer may impose conditions on public assemblies, which he considers are reasonably necessary to prevent serious public disorder etc. But unlike Section 12, the conditions he may reasonably impose are in this case limited to specifying:
a) the numbers of people who may take part,
b) the location of the assembly, and
c) its maximum duration.
On most big animal rights demos these days there is a Section 14 notice in place, which gives the location where the assembly may and may not take place, and the time at which it must finish.
An assembly is defined by Section 16 of the Act as consisting of two people or more.
Anyone who knowingly fails to comply with a condition is guilty of an offence.
MY NOTES:
The thing is that you have to KNOWINGLY break the imposed conditions, therefore the police have to prove you knew that these restrictions were in place - so don't take anything given to you by police, don't read any police notice, to get a conviction then they'd have to have a policeman warn you verbally - of course if they nicked you they could lie!
As for handing out leaflets, i don't see why this is necessary to prevent disorder, you have a right to free speech (HA HA - we wish), so it is probably illegal under the Human Rights Act (unless of course the leaflets were themselves intimidatory).
If i were handing out leaflets and were warned not to i'd continue to do so, even if it means getting arrested. We have a right to free speech, we must defend this and not be bullied into not voicing our opinions.
Legal Eagle
Homepage:
http://www.freebeagles.org/articles/Legal_Booklet_4/lb4-13.html
accepting documents
25.04.2005 15:43
Regardingaccepting documents handed to you. You do not have to take them. However, if the police can show that they took reasonable steps to provide you with the restrictions in place then they can say that you knew that conditions had been imposed and that you had the intention of breaking them, whatever they were. It is all to do with reasonable steps to inform...
fredrico
e-mail:
musteatvegan@yahoo.co.uk
More pics and full text of restrictions
25.04.2005 16:39
And for your information and amusement, here is the text of those 5-page programmes the police were handing out. I noticed that it includes incomplete sentences ("... intimidate others to do or not to do something they have a right." - surely it should say "to do" after that?) and phrases which could be ambiguous due to lack of punctutation. I wonder whether that would have an effect on any attempt at prosecution?
=====
Section 14 Public Order Act 1986
Imposing conditions on public assemblies
I, Assistant Chief Constable John Donlon of Thames Valley Police impose the following conditions under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. I have had regard to the time and place at which, and the circumstances in which any public assembly is intended to be held at The Recreation Ground, Alvescot Road, Carterton, Oxfordshire on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
I reasonably believe that it may result in serious disruption to the life of the community or that the purpose of the persons organising the public assembly is intended to intimidate others to do or not to do something they have a right.
I therefore impose the following conditions on the organisers and persons taking part in this assembly to prevent disruption and intimidation.
The assembly will be held at The Recreation Ground, Alvescot Road, Carterton, Oxfordshire.
The assembly will not commence before 1000hrs and disperse by 1300hrs on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
Only 400 persons will be permitted to assemble.
Persons who fail to comply or incite others to fail to comply with these directions commit an offence and may be liable to arrest.
-----
Section 12 Public Order Act 1986
Imposing conditions on a procession
I, Assistant Chief Constable John Donlon of Thames Valley Police impose the following conditions under Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986. I have had regard to the time and place at which, and the circumstances in which any public procession is intended to be held in Carterton, Oxfordshire on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
I reasonably believe that the intended route may result in serious disruption to the life of the community or that the purpose of the persons organising this public assembly is intended to intimidate others to do or not to do something they have a right.
I therefore impose the following conditions on the organisers and persons taking part in this procession to prevent disruption and intimidation.
1) The procession route will be as follows from the Recreation Ground, Alvescot Road, Carterton, Oxfordshire. On leaving the recreation ground turn left into Alvescot Road continuing straight over the crossroads onto Brize Norton Road and continue along this road to the area known as 'The Copse' adjacent to the Main Entrance of RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire.
2) No leafleting or money collection will take place.
3) No burning of efficies or other structures will take place.
No offensive placards will be carried or displayed.
The procession will only take up one carriageway as dictated by the Senior Officer present.
6) The procession will end by 1400hours on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
Persons who fail to comply or who incite others to fail to comply with these directions commit an offence and may be liable to arrest.
-----
Section 14 Public Order Act 1986
Imposing conditions on public assemblies
I, Assistant Chief Constable John Donlon of Thames Valley Police impose the following conditions under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. I have had regard to the time and place at which, and the circumstances in which any public assembly is intended to be held at The Copse, adjacent to the Main Entrance of RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
I reasonably believe that it may result in serious disruption to the life of the community or that the purpose of the persons organising the public assembly is intended to intimidate others to do or not to do something they have a right.
I therefore impose the following conditions on the organisers and persons taking part in this assembly to prevent disruption and intimidation.
The assembly will be held at The Copse, adjacent to the Main Entrance, RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire.
The assembly will not commence prior to 1330hrs and disperse by 1430hrs on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
Only 400 persons will be permitted to assemble.
Persons who fail to comply or who incide others to fail to comply with these directions commit an offence and may be liable to arrest.
-----
Section 12 Public Order Act 1986
Imposing conditions on a procession
I, Assistant Chief Constable John Donlon of Thames Valley Police impose the following conditions under Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986. I have had regard to the time and place at which, and the circumstances in which any public procession is intended to be held in Carterton, Oxfordshire on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
I reasonably believe that the intended route may result in serious disruption to the life of the community or that the purpose of the persons organising this public assembly is intended to intimidate others to do or not to do something they have a right.
I therefore impose the following conditions on the organisers and persons taking part in this procession to prevent disruption and intimidation.
1) The procession route will be as follows from the 'The Copse' adjacent to the Main Entrance of RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire. Onto Brize Norton Road at the cross roads onto Alvescot Road and continuing on this road into the area known as Willow Meadows.
2) No leafleting or money collection will take place.
3) No burning of efficies or other structures will take place.
No offensive placards will be carried or displayed.
The procession will only take up one carriageway as dictated by the Senior Officer present.
6) The procession will end by 1600hours on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
Persons who fail to comply or who incite others to fail to comply with these directions commit an offence and may be liable to arrest.
-----
Section 14 Public Order Act 1986
Imposing conditions on public assemblies
I, Assistant Chief Constable John Donlon of Thames Valley Police impose the following conditions under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. I have had regard to the time and place at which, and the circumstances in which any public assembly is intended to be held at the public footpath at Willow Meadows within sight of the runway RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
I reasonably believe that it may result in serious disruption to the life of the community or that the purpose of the persons organising the public assembly is intended to intimidate others to do or not to do something they have a right.
I therefore impose the following conditions on the organisers and persons taking part in this assembly to prevent disruption and intimidation.
The assembly will be held at the public footpath at Willow Meadows within sight of the runway RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
The assembly will disperse by 1700hrs on Saturday 23rd April 2005.
Only 200 persons will be permitted to assemble.
Persons who fail to comply or incite others to fail to comply with these directions commit an offence and may be liable to arrest.
Simon
leafletting
26.04.2005 13:43
And, strangely, we were able to leaflet and talk to people in Carterton without any hassle on Friday and Sunday. Many people took leaflets, and agreed or argued with us, there was very little outright hostility.
I think this camp made a real impact on Carterton...not everyone agreed with us, but everyone knew that we were there, and I bet the schools, pubs and workplaces (especially the base) are still full of debate about the issues we raised.
More photos at www.flickr.com/groups/brizenortonpeacecamp/pool/
P. Scamper
Corporate media coverage
26.04.2005 19:38
A noisy gang of teenagers was chased away from the site of a peace camp near the perimeter of RAF Brize Norton after they began shouting at anti-war protestors.
A group of police officers who were keeping surveillance on the camp in Willow Meadows chased the youngsters away from the scene to prevent a confrontation.
The protesters, who are members of the Bristol Stop the War Coalition, set up camp on Thursday to express their opposition to the "illegal occupation of Iraq", and calling for the withdrawal of British troops.
More:
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Dozens at anti-war demonstration
At Saturday's rally at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, an effigy of Tony Blair was pulled down, mimicking the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad. Organisers claimed about 100 people took part, but police said the number was about 60. A spokesman for RAF Brize Norton said: "It was a peaceful protest outside the gates that didn't cause any trouble."
More:
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That last bit - A spokesman for RAF Brize Norton said: "It was a peaceful protest outside the gates that didn't cause any trouble."
That's a bit different to "I reasonably believe that it may result in serious disruption to the life of the community or that the purpose of the persons organising the public assembly is intended to intimidate others to do or not to do something they have a right." isn't it?
Is the nice Assistant Chief Constable to be held accountable for his incorrect assessment of the threat posed by this march and rally?
Simon
Why all the fear before the march...
09.03.2006 11:08
I'm blending in well Sarge...
To quote the article: "I have no idea what intimidating behaviour the residents of Carterton were expecting that day, but what they saw as the march left the Recreation Ground and turned onto Alverston Road certainly wasn’t the rampaging mob of thugs and vandals that might be implied from the police conditions."
The 'intimidating behaviour' we were expecting had been described by the RAF, and although I cannot currently locate the piece of paper distributed to the personnel of the base at present, went something like this: It is expected that faeces will be pushed through the letter boxes of the families of those living in quarters near to the main entrance. These people are likely to use any impliment they can find to deface and or damage the property of the service families. They will try and engage you and your children in conversation. We advise you not to communicate or engage with them at all. And it went on and on about the physical danger to ourselves and our property.
I have been an activist all of my life and have never read a more dangerous and inflammatory piece of dis-information. The mood in the pubs the night before the march, when all military personnel were ordered to stay away from the bars in case the anachists tried talking to them (or worse still buying them a beer), was terrifying. All necks were very red and on more than one occassion we heard people organising attacks against the peace camp, or phone calls being made to the right-wing groups to come and cause trouble at the demo.
I'm glad it passed off peacefully, but have to ask, what took so long? When is the next one?
Start asking questions about Special Rendition.
Name withheld for security reasons.
W I Thheld
e-mail:
witneybloke@hotmail.com
Thank you witneybloke
11.03.2006 21:26
As for why it took so long, and when the next one is, I can't really comment. Stop-the-war nationally only seem to be interested in A to B demos in London, so more localised things like this event only happen when a few really determined people make it happen. I suspect that the way the police kept moving the goalposts and generally messing the peace camp about may have put the organisers off the idea of organising another one, although I hope I'm wrong on that count.
I still think this day was well worthwhile, even if we didn't get to reach out to and inform the military families as much as we'd have liked to.
Simon