convoy

[COBLEY A (on DUNDEE DEC-10) <A.Cobley%dundee.ac.uk@Cs.Ucl.AC.UK>]

	1984 revisited
	you lot out there in the states may not have heard about the
	state of human rights in good old great britain today, how its 
	ok for the police to chase 200 hippies across 3 counties, 
	how its ok for police to 'steal' 200 peoples homes,
	how its ok for the press to abuse a group of people just
	cause they live there own life style, how being yourself
	is suddenly very out of favour in england, so here is the 
	story.

	It goes back 10 or 12 years when a group of 'hippies' started
	off a traveling alternative lifestyle called green avalon, they
	traveled round the country in beat up vans and bus's from 
	free festival to free festival and had a really good time.
	Now the convoy grew and so did the main festival, stonehenge
	until there were over 200 people in the now called
	peace convoy and 70000 people at a free fesitival every year
	where you could see groups like 'hawkwind', 'inner city unit '
	'crass ' 'here and now' 'the enid' 'misty in roots' and so
	on for FREE, and do just about what you like.

	enter 1985
	The govement got fed up with all these 'young' people haveing
	a good time for free and smoking pot, and whats worse the 
	peace convoy claimed social security AND sold drugs so it
	was decided to smash the convoy and ban the festival.  So
 	the battle lines where drawn and inevitable the police won
	200 arresets and vans and busses smashed to pieces 'looking
	for drugs'. end of peace convoy ?

	enter 1986
	The peace convoy having paid its fines and fixed its transport
	tries once again to hold the stonehenge free festival and once
	again is bared from the site, so on it moves to somewhere else
	again to be moved allong and so on until it comes to somewhere
	where the law is a little bit slower.  after three days 500
	police (in full riot gear) move on to the site to move 200
	men, women, children and babies off the site BUT they also
	impound all their vehicles.  This was monday.

	The peace convoy is now homeless, with out transport
	and walking the 60 miles or so to glastonbery CND festival.
	they say they will not be split up and will return next year
	I believe them.

	On top of all this the press and tv have shown the most
	predudiced set of views I have ever come across, if you 
	substituted jew or black for hippy in the headlines  and
	articles we would be back in nazi germany.

	Now i hear that you have n't been told about it.
	Do we live a free democracy?

	enough of this.

	love and peace
	
	andy c

cobley%dundee.micro%dundee@ucl.cs