Home | 7th July 1995 | Issue 30 | PDF

Justice? Brighton's Campaign in Defiance of the Criminal Injustice Act

SchNEWS

BOOM!

THE MOTHER OF FREE FESTIVALS IS KICKING OFF NOW!

IT'S ON! THE EVENT OF THE SUMMER! The biggest FREE FESTIVAL ever, will be somewhere in England this weekend in direct defiance of the Criminal Justice Act. A vast number of Travellers, Sound Systems, Party People, as well as anti-CJA disorganisations are gathering for the UK Free Festival aka 'The Mother'. More SoundSystems that you can powerfully imagine are playing non-stop sounds wholly or predominately characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats. Bring face paints, drums, water, love, peace and unity!

SECRET LOCATION
TEL FROM 12 NOON FRIDAY
* 0171 652 4602 * 0378 774 575 * 0171 501 9253 * 01273 685 913

YOUR FREEDOM HAS A PRICE - THAT PRICE IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

FREE FESTIVAL GUIDE

1. Be prepared to be self- sufficient. Facilities could be minimal.
2. On arrival, park sensibly. Keep site roads clear.
3. Be friendly to local residents, ramblers etc. Smile - you're at a free festival
4. Bury your shit (take along a gardening trowel)
5. Fires - use dead not live wood (it doesn't burn in any case)
6. Don't trash the site - take a binbag
7. Enjoy yourself!

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT

RAVES Sections 63-67
If an outdoor festival or rave has not been licensed the police can stop it. It is a criminal offence (with a maximum sentence of three months) if a person refuses to leave the site of such an event. New powers enable the police to confiscate Sound Systems equipment. Police can also arrest someone whom they 'believe' is going within a 5 mile radius.

BAN ON ASSEMBLIES Section 71
The Act bans assemblies which are held on land without the permission of the owner and gives the police the power to stop people they suspect of travelling to such an assembly.

If you are unlucky enough to be arrested
1.Try to keep calm. Try to make sure someone knows you have been arrested, they know your name and where you are being taken to.
2. Despite the CJA removing the right to silence you don't have to say anything - tell the arresting officer "I will say nothing until I have been advised to do so by a fully qualified legal advisor."
3. You have a right to pen and paper - write down details as soon as possible.
4. Don't make a statement without legal advice. Avoid the duty solicitor.

EMERGENCY SOLICITOR tel no 01459 127 774. When you're released ask for a copy of your custody record - you have a right to it

* For nine months 'the drumming' has created a free festival vibe by the sea attracting hundreds at Brighton's West Pier every Sunday. Beginning with just three drummers it has grown organically by word of-mouth to feature fire-breathers, jugglers, dancers and street artists. Loved by passers-by, party-heads and percussionists alike ... but not the Council. After noise complaints (despite a major road between beach and houses -'but that's natural noise' commented a police officer) the Council are threatening to slap a section 80 noise order to stop the party and confiscate instruments this Sunday - so get down there and join the carnival! Two summers ago the Council stopped the 11-yr-old Brighton Urban Free Festival (BUFF) on the Level after a grand total of two complaints, yet every year allow a commercial travelling circus to coin it in 'til midnight.

. '95 HAVIN' IT! For a Free Festivals list (6xA4!) send A5 sae to Stone 2, 45 Westwood Hill, London, SE26 6NS

DISCLAIMER - Wot party? SchNEWS advises you not to attend any illegal gatherings. This article is not necessarily the views of SchNEWS. This piece of paper is for entertainment purposes only. In fact it doesn't exist - you are hallucinating.

DRUID NICKED!

Four people, including a druid, were arrested in June at Stonehenge - the first under the Draconian 'trespassory assembly' sections of the CJA which prohibits gatherings of more than 20 people on private land.

Nineteen people stood peacefully outside the Stonehenge perimeter fence commemorating ten years since the Battle of the Beanfield - when riot police trashed travellers and their vehicles to stop the Stonehenge Free Festival and carried out the largest mass arrest of civilians for centuries. Two officers inside the fence accused the vigil-holders of "obstructing the highway". Margaret Jones, one of those arrested told the SchNEWS: "We weren't obstructing and the three Australian tourists who were there agreed we weren't. I was counting the people saying - 'There are only 19 people!". More police arrived and three who refused to 'disperse' were nicked. One of the visiting Hussies commented "It was disgraceful, a complete breach of civil liberties. It's a grave injustice. If I were a UK resident I'd be fighting this miscarriage".

Druid Arthur Pendragon was arrested on Summer Solstice at the Stones under very similar circumstances. His trial will be on Sept 13th. Chief constable of Wiltshire, Walter R Girven, had applied for the exclusion order back in January stating in his letter to the Council: "The Criminal Justice Act is tailor made for the policing of the Summer Solstice".

CURFEW!

ELECTRONIC BALL & CHAIN ARRIVES...
People as young as 16 face the prospect of leaving court today with an electronic tag around their ankles. Trials of the US-made tags have been launched in Manchester, Reading and Norfolk. Violating the order- confining people to their homes for a max 12hrs a day for six months- will be dealt with by private security companies like Securicor who, as operators, are to be given powers to prosecute offenders as well as organise and supervise their sentences for the first time in the history of British criminal 'justice'.

DIY MEDIA FRENZY!

Journalism is the first draft of history

To break down our dependence on disinformation and white noise of the official media, we need ways of communicating news, ideas, inspirations that are under our own control. The mainstream miss it, ignore it, subvert it, censor by omission or are censored by the State (D-notices) - so we do it ourselves. As New York Times editor John Swainton said to his staff on retirement: ''There is no such thing as a free press, you know it and I know it. There is not one of you who would dare to write his honest opinion. The business of a journalist is to destroy truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fall at the feet of Mammon and sell himself, his country, his race for his daily bread. We are tools, vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are jumping jacks. They pull the strings, we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are the properties of these men. We are intellectual prostitutes." What follows is the DIY media of a free movement - by the people for the people - and it's exploding!

DO IT YOURSELF! Some tips ...

PRINT MEDIA
- Use a community printer (there's always one - 'scan-printers' are the cheapest and fastest). Remember - it always takes you longer than you think. Don't use red or blue (it doesn't photocopy). Sort your distribution out early. Produce flyers to advertise and mail to networkers in bulk. Need help? Call SchNEWS 01273 685913

VIDEO MEDIA
- Film on Hi-8 if possible (TV friendly). Always take spare tapes and batteries. Keep framing wide and get into the middle of the action. If possible work with a partner who can get completed tapes outta there! When finished call Conscious Cinema (new monthly direct action video) Tel: 0585 312488 / 01273 679 544 PO Box 2679 Brighton BN2 1UJ or Camcorder Action Network (for Small World's Undercurrents) Tel: 0171 272 5255

ELECTRONIC MEDIA
..the cheapest way imaginable - whether mailing to 30, 300 or 3000 people costs just one local phone call. You can network with people sharing your interests whether they are 6 or 6000 miles away. To get internetted you will need a relatively good PC (486 if you want to use the World Wide Web) or Macintosh, a pretty good modem (above 9600 speed is best), an Internet Point of Presence (ie a company that will connect you and your modem up), comms software and patience. Need help? Contact The Way Collective 01633 220501 / pHreak 0171 434 3315

free information network
FINS grew out of the free festival movement in the mid-80s. A loose and changing network they are a free participatory and self-creating media- approx. 20-strong across the country. A new Mobile FIN is touring Festivals - all 0585 620714. FIN details in Bypass and The Book (see below).

networks
No need to search! There are two new comprehensive and essential guides to DiY media and anti-CJA active collectives:

BYPASS 5
Nearly 400 reviews and details of fanzines, magazines, newsheets and FINs. 36 pages A4 @ PO Box 148, Hove BN3 3DQ. £130. chqs to 'Slab 'O' Concrete'

THE BOOK
(formerly known as the White Book) Lists 200 active collectives defying the Criminal Justice Act written by the groups themselves. 104 pages A5 @ PO Box 2600, Brighton, East Sussex.£4/£3 to listed collectives. chqs to The Book'

new this month!

All these publications are non-profit making, all run on energy and all in debt! If can help with money do. If you can't raise some! Blag office equipment. Spread the information - information not shared is information wasted. Send info/graphix/articles Enclose sae.

Squall 10
magazine for sorted itinerantsThe State It's In - cutting commentary; Compulsory reprogramming - the Job Seekers Allowance; Exodus; Nightmare on LWT S4 Squatter championed by Telegraph!; Roots on sustainable development; Roadways. 52 pages A3 @ c/o 2 St Paul's Rd, London, N1 2QN. Donation (£1.50?) chqs to Squall.

Undercurrents 3
essential video news service
Can u dig it? land rights; To Pollok With Love! anti-roads movie; No justice? No Peace! Blacks killed in police custody; Poetic Justice? Carry on squatting! Northern Ireland 122 mins @ 46 Rymers Lane, Oxford OX4 3LB. £9.50/£6.30 concs. chqs to 'Small World Media'

Pod 6
positivity from the undercurrents
Post-CJA. Where do we go from here?; Fluffy vs Spikey; Agenda 21; SchNEWS special 60 pages A4 @ PO Box 23, London SE4 1SW. £2.50. chqs to [leave blank]'

Do Or Die 5
A Voice of Earth First!Pollok; Cardiff Bay; Burning factories in India; Biological Meltdown; Bellamy Exposed; prisoner news; International action reports from 39 countries; Shoreham; Critical Mass; 100 pages A5 @ Dead Trees EF!, box 25, 52 Colston St, Bristol, BS1 5BB. 80p. chqs to 'Earth First!'

Open Eye 3
challenging media censorship
Who Bombed Earth First! ; Icke and the Nazis; Noam Chomsky on the Free Market Myth; Heretical Science - alternative medicine, AIDS and Duncan Cambell; Mi5 targets Greens. 50 pages A4 @ BM Open Eye, London, WC1N 3XX. £1.50. chqs to 'Open Eye'

Festival Eye 10
festivals guide

Beltaine with Quercus Tribe; Road Protest Reports; VE Day at Stonehenge; Beanfield Revisited; McLibel; comprehensive actions & contacts a list 24 pages A4 @ BCM 2002, London WCIN 3XX. £1.30.

Head 5
the magic issue
The secrets of microwave technology, population; interview with Ramsey Dukes, the non-religion of chaos; how to raise the dead! 96 pages A4 @ BM Uplift, London, WC1N 3XX. £3.30. chqs to 'head'

Aufheben 4
complex critique
Kill or Chill the Criminal Justice Bill; decline part 3: Radical Chains; Civilisation and its latest discontents. Are ravers ready for dialectics? 40 pages A4 @ c/o Priory House, 6 Tilbury Pl, Brighton, BN2 2GY. £2. chqs to 'Aufheben'

Frontline 1
for those who will change
First issue - CJA resistance; Travellers news; Slow to claim free land; Technivals; Anti-McDonalds 40 pages A4 @ Frontline Hse No. 53 London SW9 9JR. £2.20.

* prices inc p&p. Mention SchNEWS when ordering. Ta!

Originals
All the above are new issues of regular publications but defiance of the Criminal Justice Act has also inspired photographers, cartoonists and other artists to produce brilliant one-off originals. Here are a couple of examples:

A Federal of Resistance
Astounding and powerful photo record of the bizarre and exhilarating life on Claremont Rd, E11, site of the longest post-war eviction in Europe and highlights the No M11 Link Rd campaign. 36 pages A4 @ Reclaim The Streets 2 Cross Way, London, N16 8HX. £2.

Criminal Element
cartoons of peaceful sedition
SchNEWSreader Kate Evans' ubiquitous cartoons are brilliantly simple and profoundly telling. Featuring Tactical Support Group; Sparkly Boots; Greenham Common; Fluffy Tickling Sticks 24 pages A5 @ PO Box 2600, Brighton East Sussex. £1.80. chqs to Justice?

stay in touch!
The direct action movement is dynamic and evolving rapidly -huge changes can take place in days so it is vital to keep up to date to stay on top.

DONATIONS KEEP THESE FREE! FREE!

every week:
SchNEWS (subs details below);
Road Alert! Update PO Box 5544, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5FB e-mail roadalart@gn.apc.org

every month
NEW!! Direct action video from Conscious Cinema PO Box 2679 Brighton BN2 1UJ. Cost: Donation. On condition that video is publicly shown - not just home viewing! Info: 01273 679544/0585 312488
*** Guilfin PO Box 217, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 6FF (Fin-formation fax line 01483 203212)
*** EF! Action Update (chqs min. £4 to 'Earth First?) AU subs, c/o Dead Trees EF!, Box 25, 82 Colston St, Bristol BS1 5BB e-mail actionupdate@gn.apc.org
*** Freedom Network Events 372 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London, SW9 8PT

every two months.
ContraFLOW 56a Infoshop, 56 Crampton St, London SE17;
Stonehenge Campaign 99 Torriano Ave, London NW5 2RX.

SchNEWS IN BRIEF

CHILD JAILS IN COURT...Our favourite bit of the CJA - children's prisons for 12-14 year olds - is now being challenged in court. Three of the five planned 'detention centres' - to be run by private security companies like Premier Prisons and Tarmac - have already been denied planning permission after opposition from local residents. The Howard League for Penal Reform will try to use the Children's Act to stop a brick of these sick jails being built

*** SchOOOPS! SchNEWS shows its speedy journalistic ability by printing a story only 5 months late! Apparently 35 people were arrested at Coventry Airport for aggravated trespass trying to stop aircraft carrying live exports to the Continent in February. They were told that if they pleaded guilty to an obscure air traffic violation, the ag. trespass charges would be dropped. Five agreed to do so, and received £30 costs and a conditional discharge for a year. Six refused to do so, and were done for ag. trespass and received £20 costs and a 2 year conditional discharge! So don't plead guilty to the CJA, and you'll save money! More court cases follow, so watch this space and we'll try to report the next lot on time!

*** Good news from Maidstone where nearly half a Kent Defiance Alliance demo got nicked in January supporting three Hunt Serbs in Court. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have been dropping all the charges showing up the heavy-handed cop tactics - respect to the 34 for standing together and refusing deals

*** Complaints against the police are up 5% and those upheld are up 10%

*** First CJA arrest at WoMenwith Hill camp in Yorks. The camp, a long-standing protest at Europe's biggest secret spy base, was evicted in March to make way for A59 roadworks but was set up swiftly down the road

*** Friends and Families of Travellers report an eviction in Gloucestershire on a ten minute notice under section 61 of the CJA. Three vehicles were reported as being seized and sent to the crusher. No further details in Manchester, though, police are unhappy about travellers being evicted by the council from Hulme because they fear crime would rise!

*** Hampshire police raided Frontline books last Friday for stocking copies of Green Anarchist - themselves raided in April when police burnt all subscription details. Subscribe to GA who aim to 'create a free society in harmony with nature - by any means necessary' @ BCM 1715, London, WC1N 3XX

*** MONSTER BIKE POWER As the Tour de France takes over the streets across the water, over here Critical Mass is reaching critical mass! It's doubling in size every month as cyclists 'spontaneously' arrive together to dominate the traffic in 17 towns and cities across the UK. Usually held on the last Friday of the month, there were over 1,000 pedal pushers last time in London. Meanwhile in Brighton young BMX-ers blocked the Council's attempt to demolish their self-built ramp on the Level last week by lying down in the way of workers. Council officers were called and after negotiations were forced to back off!

and Finally

SchNEWS to fold? - SHOCK! We are desperately in need of money. Please help!

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Justice? meet every wednesday 7pm @ the prince albert, trafalgar st

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