(This article is written by a local activist based in Mickleover, the area under discussion).

Derbyshire police have started to use fascistic powers granted under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act to attack freedom of assembly in various areas of the county. Areas subject to the fascistic Section 30 orders (aka area ASBOs), which ban gatherings of over three people if a cop decides s/he doesn't like it, have mushroomed over the last few months. Previous targets have included sleepy upper-class dormitory towns such as Melbourne, and residents in the middle-class Ockbrook and Borrowash area have been refused an ASBO by the pigs because police resources are already overstretched. The city centre is also under a Section 30, leaving people who protest, go out with friends or otherwise socialise with other people vulnerable to being attacked and arrested as "anti-social". Ironically, the only way to avoid being "anti-social" is to avoid mixing with other people!

In previous incidents, area ASBOs have been used to attack protesters such as Caterpillar campaigners in Solihull, peace picketers in Camden and people peacefully leafleting against McDonald's in Leicester. In a recent interview, a Greek citizen describes the measures as "fascistic" and says that "these kinds of things do not happen in a democracy... It's the kind of law the military junta in Greece would have brought in, not the kind of law a democratic government would bring in".

Recently, Mickleover became the first residential area of Derby to be the victim of a Section 30. Although the law specifies that targeted areas must have a "significant and persistent anti-social behaviour problem", Mickleover is a suburban area with few real problems of any kind. For instance, last month there were only three recorded break-ins in the entire area. The reason for the Section 30 is perpetual whining from a vocal minority of Tory-supporting whiners and bigots based in the area, who take the mere presence of groups of young people to be threatening and criminal. They then whine to the police, inciting the police to harass local youths. Class prejudice is fuelling much of the bigotry, with youths from neighbouring Mackworth, a more solidly working-class area, blamed for everything which happens in Mickleover.

In response to this attack on basic liberties, local activists have carried out a campaign of stickering in the area, targeting lamp-posts, local shops and the area around the school, among other things. The stickers call for mass defiance of the fascistic laws, draw attention to the fact that ordinary people are subject to police violence at any time, and call for resistance against police-state measures.

In addition, persons unknown have ripped down almost all of the posters announcing the ASBOs. Defiance is likely to make the fascistic laws unworkable, as Mickleover is a large area and is covered by only a couple of pigs. Already the stickering campaign has probably caused enough fuss and bother to render the Section 30 counterproductive, in that it has generated more social deviance instead of reducing it.

At present, discussions are underway with other local activists and national anti-ASBO campaigners about the next step. With luck, the police will see sense and allow the fascistic law to lapse when it runs its course in July, instead of risking creating the momentum for sustained opposition and resistance.

Fuck social cleansing!
Defend basic liberties!
Viva la revolucion!
MICKLEOVER BLACK BLOCK