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Stonehenge Campaign Newsletter
Spring Equinox 1997


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SPRING EQUINOX 1997   Newsletter

RIGHTS? WHAT RIGHTS?

In January, in a chilling reminder that we still live under a feudal system, the High Court gave what was widely described as a shock judgment in the 'Stonehenge Two' case. This referred to the arrests at the 10th anniversary of the 'Battle of the Beanfield' demo at the Stones in June '95. It was an appeal by the police against the quashing by the Crown Court of their original convictions for 'trespassory assembly' under the CJA (s14,PoA). The case was not about what happened on the day; everyone agreed the small gathering by the roadside was, peaceful, non-obstructive and not a nuisance. The judges resorted to the basic assumption under our (non-existent) constitution that the State can attack its subjects not just when they break the law, but when they do anything they cannot actually prove they have an absolute right to do. We have very few such rights, one of which is to 'pass and repass' on a public highway, (But not in Wiltshire!). Anything else we do there, however harmless, (such as chatting to a friend by the roadside) is not permitted, and only seems to be because the State "tolerates" it. Therefore, the judges said, any demonstration or gathering not approved of by the authorities is trespassing on any road it is on or beside. So, their argument goes, when a section 14 order is in force, any and every group (of 20 or more) on a road is a 'trespassory assembly' unless it is just 'passing or repassing' in the ordinary way. The victims are appealing to the House of Lords and, if necessary, to the European Court of Human Rights. An ironic result of the police winning at this stage is that they lose the 'loophole' they claimed was in the law when they were losing, and used to justify their having a processions order as well last year. So there will be no procession order this June. On the same day that the ruling was given, the same issue was being debated on the other side of the planet. CH Tung, new leader-to-be of Hong Kong, announced that there would be some reduction of Human Rights when the Chinese take over in July. (The old colonial laws were recently replaced by a Bill of Rights to avoid the opposite appearing to happen). A statement that he would require protesters to obtain police permission before taking to the streets (ie enact section 12 of our Public Order Act) provoked outraged protests from the UK & USA. The present Governor of the colony, Chris (Poll Tax) Patten, warned that this threatened basic freedoms and would unsettle the community. "People crushed by law have no hope. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies of the law." he said, quoting Edmund Burke. Tung reminded Patten that a licence was needed to hold a demo outside Parliament here, clearly unaware of the extent of the clampdown on freedoms here since that was the most severe restriction! A few days later, the Court of Appeal came to the opposite conclusion. Supporting the Chief Constable of Sussex's decision to restrict policing of live animal exports at Shoreham to two days a week in '95, the judges took into account "the right of animal protesters to protest peacefully (but not illegally)". Those demonstrations took place on the public highway, and could even be said to have caused something of an obstruction. So who's right? In the other recent case, 3 people got a conditional discharge for being an illegal procession last June. The Chief Constable did turn up to explain why he believed he had needed a ban on processions as well as assemblies, but the case was turned over to lawyers, and there were few hard questions for him. Case is under appeal.
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negativity

The annual cycle of negativity has resumed, with the Chief Constable asking the District Council for anther CJA 'trespassory assembly' s14A order for the summer solstice. (Part of his letter below.)(NOT ON WEBSITE). The Committee that advises the full Council on this discussed his 'request' this week. Members were given no report or account of the so-called 'review' of the situation held in November, other than a one-sentence summary of the bland statement issued at the time. [last issue] They of couse approved the ban, but it was interesting that both the police and council officers tried to explain to baffled councillors that there wasn't and never had been such a thing as an 'exclusion zone'. Now they no longer need it, they say it was always just a press invention. Councillors were told that groups of 12 or 18 people could not be stopped in the zone this year, only 'public assemblies' of 20 or more.
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~~~ LETTER FROM KARELIA 12march1997
~~~ Dear Stonehengers, ~
I'm voting from Wandsworth Eco Village - I want an open decentralised hung parliament at Westminster, with PR, EEC, UN, etc ~ I saw somewhere the exact date of Jesus' birth, a day around 7BC when the planets, comets and stars aligned in a special way, (I've lost the astronomological details). So his 2000th birthday, Millenium3, has been. ~ For me, that night up Glastonbury Tor, the 'Harmonic Convergence' was a 'New Age Party', the Mayan New Age, wasnt it? ~ Any excuse for a party. ~ I want to play my lightshow, (like New Years Eve in the Pilton Pyramid, (but without troublemakers spoiling it)) And I want to play flute and tin-whistle solo on Glastonbury Festival's Stage One for 23 minutes on Saturday afternoon (But I'm allegedly an introvert and a pessismist - it's their loss if I dont('want' not 'need'))) ~~~~~~~~~ (and in Stonehenge again) ~~~~~~~~~ ~~ That hundred yards of tarmac which ~~~ ~~ CUTS Stonehenge and its Avenue ~~~ ~~ should've been grassed up years ago ~~ Then we could carefully repair StonehengeI by putting new white shining chalk where the 3 or 4 banks were (with an entrance south by the Small Stone Eleven (whatever the builders called it in old Welsh)) (:} and now we've invented perspex for the roof :-} ~~~ your cousin ~~ george@dicenews.com ~~~~ PS anywhere I can park (or bury) an old bus please? (apart from cyberspace www.phreak.co.uk/stonehenge/psb/) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


bits

# The London Ecology Centre library and database on Agenda 21 etc. have gone to the Battlebridge Centre.
# Our main website is now at: http://www.phreak.co.uk/stonehenge/psb/stonegeo.htm
# NO M11 are still at it and need help. # The millenium fund application by English Heritage for their visitor centre has gone on to the next decision stage.
# If you were in the Halifax poster you are entitled to some sort of copy.
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Poisoned Electric Head

Dear People, Having attended a Poisoned Electrick Head Gig at St Helens on the last date of 'The Hanged Man' tour I managed to see the band after the show. I asked if the band would mind submitting a small piece for future publication in S-H-C Newsletters/and/or/ Festival Eye magazine. "Mind? No, we don't mind, cor's not mate"...etc. In the early hours of the first day of February I stumbled toward a street light and fumbled in my pocket for the piece of paper Pete had handed to me. I unfolded the paper and read it, it said;
#############################################
STATEMENT FROM POISONED ELECTRICK HEAD REGARDING STONEHENGE AND FREE FESTIVAL SITUATION: EVERYBODY IS RESTRICTED IN THIS COUNTRY. "TIED UP IN NOTS" NEGATIVE CONDITIONING RULES. ANY POSITIVE ATTITUDE SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. GET OUT THERE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
##############################################
P.S. The spelling of NOTS is not Knots but NOTS as quoted. Its a track on their new album. from Activate Eye Inside Of Us.
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Letter from stefan

Dear Stonehenge Campaign. Here's my envelopes for this years newsletters. I am also enclosing a donation to help you keep up the excellent work you do. I hope and pray that we can get some dialogue and progress over the next couple of years. The summer solstice 2000 celebrations would make an excellent opportunity to begin a new era, one where the rights of all of us who want access can be given it without any of the deceit, mistrust etc. that currently exists. The current concerns over the ludicrous costs of the police operations. should pave the way for progress. Good luck & thanks for the work you do! Love & peace,  - Steffan.
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Anti Nuclear Network

Dear Stonehenge Campaign. Yes, we still exist - but at the moment are not producing a newsletter. However we are still a contact point for information on nuclear power and nuclear weapons and opposition to them, so please keep our listing as it is. Some initial thoughts about the letter from "Stonehenge Peace Process"; I grew up around Salisbury and I can remember going to Stonehenge when there was nothing to keep you out. If all you want to do is to go to Stonehenge "in our lifetimes" then its easy - you pay English Heritage some money and you go - I did it a few years ago and a dismal experience it was. The reason thousands of people battled with cops during the eighties at Stonehenge, is because it had become a symbol of how " The land is not ours". The fact that you list all the campaigns you do in the magazine shows how you understand that. Now I'm not saying that we have to wait till the day of the revolution to settle this dispute - similar campaigns in the 30's led to the creation of the National Parks with significant free access for all. However that is not on the agenda at these talks. Sure the state can do limited deals with small groups who have only limited aims. The stones will still remain unfree for the rest of us, like the rest of this rotten society. No justice - no peace, Keep up the good work,  - Steve. (Anti-Nuclear Network)
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RING - A - RING ARISING

They say
their god is in
these stones; double now is
ring, far outside cops circle
to deter such prayer.
Cat-god, Mouse-god,
Old Ones

Play games
again in new human form through
uncut grain as a thousand times before
preparing sacrifice
of two coupling
in last

uncut sheaf soon when is
time of last harvesting
time when last crop's poisoning will
leave under safe stones just
dead men's
sperm to live on.

Steve Sneyd
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This is the end of the Stonehenge Campaign's
1997 Spring Equinox Newsletter webpage
,            ______      _________    _______            ,
,          /  Free  \   / The     \  / Stones \          ,
,          \________/   \_________/  \_______ /          ,
,       ____       ___           ___         ____        ,
,      /    \     /    \        /   \       /    \       ,
,     |      |   |      |   o  |     !     !      !      ,
,     |      |   |      |  m   |     !     !      !      ,

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