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28th September 2006
Reply to Jean Calder's Argus opinion piece (re: public order
act, police and protest)
Dear Editor,
As campaigners against the weapons factory EDO MBM on Home Farm
Rd , we read Jean Calder’s opinion piece on Saturday with interest.
Jean seems to feel that there’re has been ‘hurt and frustration’
on both sides, police and demonstrators. Much of what she reports
is accurate such as the difficulties encountered when people have
entered into negotiation with the police. However while criticising
demonstrators for not complying with the law she displays a certain
degree of ignorance over what the law is. Far from being under a
legal obligation to negotiate with police, Section 11 of the Public
Order Act 1986 only requires that demonstrators give written notice.
As the Argus itself carried an article by Andy Chiles on Friday
8th September concerning the route of the march printed from an
open letter to Sussex Police, it would appear that we fulfilled
our legal obligation.
The police have attempted to blur the distinction between notification
and negotiation. As we know Sussex police were intent on breaking
our campaign with every means at their disposal, such as the injunction
which saw many arrested and some imprisoned only for the cases to
collapse when police collusion with the arms-dealers looked as if
it was about to be exposed in open court. As a result of us standing
our ground, the police have been forced into a new round of negotiation,
promising campaigners to ‘draw a line under the past’.
Jean Calder gave a glowing description of the ‘sparkling eyed’
Superintendent Graham Bartlett’s desire to ‘deal with
difficulties’ in relations between the police and demonstrators.
However, the only reason that the police are anxious to enter into
negotiations with Smash EDO, and other campaigners, is that they
have failed to stifle our freedom of _expression.
Over the past three years Smash EDO campaigners have been subject
to an injunction stifling our basic right to protest under the European
Convention (ECHR), which was brought after collusion between EDO
MBM and Sussex Police, protesters have been arrested for participating
in peaceful demonstrations, followed and subjected to intrusive
police filming and surveillance. In March this year the injunction
finally crumbled after campaigners refused to back down.
Smash EDO marches have always been aggressively policed. On August
12th last year police dispersed a peaceful demonstration in North
Street and targeted known protesters for arrest. As a result, on
December 10th, Smash EDO called for people to march through Brighton
to defend freedom to protest. On that occasion hundreds of demonstrators
gathered to support the campaign and successfully marched despite
heavy-handed policing.
The police have only become interested in reasonable dialogue after
campaigners refused to back down, their prerogative in the past
has been to stifle freedom of speech and the right to free assembly.
They have no right to demand anything but notification for marches
and Smash EDO will not enter into any further negotiation with them
Andrew Beckett, Press Spokesman
Smash EDO
Notes for Journalists
Brighton & Hove
is a UN Peace Messenger City
EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole
UK subsidiary of huge U.S arms conglomerate EDO Corp, which was
recently named No. 10 in the Forbes list of 100
fastest growing companies. They supply bomb release
mechanisms to the US and UK armed forces amongst
others. They supply crucial components for Raytheon's Paveway
guided bomb system, widely used in the "Shock and Awe"
campaign in Iraq.
Campaign against EDO MBM.
EDO MBM makes electrical weapons components for
the
Israeli military. EDO MBM manufactures components to be incorporated
into the Hellfire missile, which the Israeli army has recently
used to attack the civilian population of Gaza. They have organised
conferences on the development of UCAVs, unmanned aircraft which
are widely used in aerial attacks on Gaza. EDO Corporation, of
which EDO MBM Brighton is a wholly owned trading unit, has a direct
contract with the Israeli Navy who murdered 10 civilians on a
beach near Beit Lahiya, Gaza, earlier this month.
People involved in the anti-EDO campaign include,
but are not limited to: local residents, the Brighton Quakers,
peace activists, anti-capitalists, Palestine Solidarity groups,
human rights groups, trade unionists, academics and students.
The campaign started in August 2004 with a peace
camp. It's avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their
complicity in war crimes and to remove them from
Brighton.
Contact Andrew Beckett or Sarah Johnson For more
Details
Email - smashedopress@yahoo.co.uk, tel 07875708873
http://www.smashedo.org.uk
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