From cogs.susx.ac.uk!andrewho Wed Oct 26 17:38:11 1994
Date: Wed, 26 Oct 94 17:38 GMT
From: andrewho@cogs.susx.ac.uk (Andrew Holland)
To: ronc@cogs.susx.ac.uk
Subject: Hyde Park Report
Content-Length: 1569


HYDE PARK REPORT

I will not go into why the trouble started. I think it is now clear
that the Police were responsible, as they did not let Sound systems
into the park. They then charged indiscriminately into the crowd,
which of course provoked trouble.

As everyone knows the trouble settled down, with protesters inside the
fence, and the demonstrators in the park. Despite, the police blocking
the exits, the number of demonstrators was always decreasing while
more police vans were pulling up all the time.

Most of the demonstrators were standing back, watching to see what
would happen, and running from police raids into the park; very few
were involved in direct confrontation with the police.

By the time the police force everyone out the park, they certainly
outnumbered the demonstrators, in force, if not in numbers. The
important thing is that THE POLICE MADE NO ATTEMPT TO STOP THE ANGRY
CROWD GETTING INTO HYDE PARK. I HEARD ONE LONE POLICEMAN SAYING TO A
GROUP OF HIS COLLEAGUES, `AREN'T WE GOING TO STOP THEM THEN'. HIS
COLLEAGUES JUST STOOD THERE AS IF THEY HAD BEEN TOLD NOT TO DO
ANYTHING.

The police then gave the angry crowd a lot of time in Oxford Street to
cause damage, before the charged with horses and broke up crowd. This
was despite the fact they had enough officers to stop people going
into Oxford Street in the first place. It appears that the police
wanted people to go to the nearest place where the most damage could
be committed (i.e. Oxford Street), in order to discredit the growing
movement against the Criminal Justice Bill.

Andrew Holland