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Second Complaint Against Sussex Police Upheld Over Lebanon Demonstration 2006

Tony Greenstein | 20.12.2007 23:11 | Anti-racism | Palestine | Repression | South Coast

Those with long memories, going back to the Brighton/Hove demonstration against the bombing of Lebanon in the summer of 2006 will remember that the Police swamped the demonstration, with as many police as demonstrators. They even hired a bus so their intelligence gathering teams could capture every demonstrator from every angle, including children. Particularly targetted were Arab looking people and Muslims.





The Independent Police Complaints Commission has now upheld a second complaint against the rambo Chief Supt. Kevin Moore, ex-Divisional Commander of Brighton Police, who branded the decision of the demonstrators to start the march in Palmeira Square 'anti-Semitic' because of the apparently large no. of Jewish residents nearby.

This pig-ignorant pig was oblivious to the fact that the suggestion to start off at Palmeira Square had, in 2002-3 been that of the Police themselves! When I put this to Moore in a conversation I secretly tape-recorded, his response was that he hadn't been in Brighton at the time! Presumably Police computer records don't extend 4-5 years back.

In fact the last thing on the organisers of the march's mind was the ethnic/religious complexion of Palmeira Square and its environs (which incidentally is also the centre of an equally large if not larger Arab community). It's more a question of imperial politics hiding behind 'anti-racist' justifications. As the IPCC has noted, the demonstration was marching away from the local synagogues not towards them.

In my assault claim against Sussex Police, 7 police witnesses still stick to the 'anti-Semitic' line, which is going to be interesting when they get into the witness box! The same police witnesses also refer constantly to the demonstrators at EDO-MBM, the bomb factory that disfigures Brighton, associating them with the pro-Palestinian/Lebanese demonstrators.
We believe Sussex Police should apologise for their behaviour on the demonstration, and not only Sussex Police. Former Brighton & Hove Council Leader Ken Bodfish and ex-Chair of the Police Committee, as well as being the author of the New Labour wipe-out at the last local elections, instructed his PA at a Police-Public meeting at the Brighthelm in 2006 to remove leaflets we had placed on chairs condemning Sussex Police's behaviour owes us an apology. That is if he can remember the time of day it is.

Tony Greenstein
Brighton & Hove Unemployed Workers Centre
4 Crestway Parade, The Crestway, Brighton BN1 7BL
Tel: 01273-540717 Fax 01273-540797

Tony Greenstein
- e-mail: tonygreenstein@yahoo.com
- Homepage: http://www.bhuwc.org.uk

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  1. Well done! — Princess Diana