SPEAK had a demo at Oxford on Saturday (14th Jan) at which they claimed there was an ‘unprovoked police attack’. According to SPEAK, their protesters showed ‘discipline and self-restraint’ –
despite provocation on many occasions by Thames Valley Police officers, who were clearly looking for a confrontation.
SPEAK
Strangely, independent articles in The Guardian, The Oxford Mail and The Oxford Student (the latter two being well placed to comment knowledgeably on local happenings) didn’t have quite the same slant on SPEAK’s behaviour:
... the builders roll an empty wheelbarrow directly in front of the protesters, who hurl abuse at them with the aid of a megaphone.
The Guardian, 14th January 2006Violent clashes at an animal rights demonstration in Oxford saw protesters break through metal barricades and hurl missiles at riot police…
The Oxford Mail, 16th January 2006The demonstration did not pass without incident. Individuals hurled abuse at police, accusing them of traumatizing police horses.
The Oxford Student, 17th January 2006
The police officer who oversaw the demonstration also noted that a lawful protest (as had been discussed with the organisers) should not involve participants wearing masks to conceal their identity and the removal of barriers put there to ensure public safety.
Nor should they include unsettling words such as those heard from SPEAK’s main man:
Mel Broughton, spokesman for animal rights group Speak, told the crowd: “Now it is time to fight. We must take this chance, we must do what is necessary – and if that means some of us being arrested, then so be it.
“The time has come for fighting, not talking. If we need to, we have got to tear that place down with our bare hands.
“You have got every opportunity to enter this city any time of day or night and they won’t stop you. They are going to have to worry about what will happen next.”
Mr Broughton told police: “Everybody who works at this university has made a fundamental mistake and you really are going to regret what you have done today.
“If we have to go to prison, then so be it. We are going to fight like we have never fought before.”
The Oxford Mail, 16th January 2006
SPEAK also claim to have two audio clips that:
finally explode the myth that Thames Valley Police are an impartial police force. The audio clips clearly illustrate that the confrontation that ensued on Saturday can be blamed solely on the disgraceful behaviour of Thames Valley Police and that Thames Valley Police are a force exclusively under the influence of Oxford University!
SPEAK
If anyone manages to make out what the muffled and mumbling (and unattributed) voice is actually saying then please let us know!
