CJB July 24 july 94.

[bumpkinbeans]

30 years ago today. Was a large turnout and very hot.Kicked off from hyde park and ended in trafalgar square.Back when we had a free party scene to fight for. Now just about all gone.Good demo though and fond memories of the day.

 

[DaveCinzano]

30 years ago today. Was a large turnout and very hot.Kicked off from hyde park and ended in trafalgar square.Back when we had a free party scene to fight for. Now just about all gone.Good demo though and fond memories of the day.

Didn't spot this when you posted it - you might be interested in some of these other related threads...

CJB - october 1994 london

with the calm before the storm tommorow, it got me reflecting on previous protests from the past that ive been at. the criminal justice bill 1994 was a cracking day/night down in london.. had a look at the urban write up from the day here.. http://www.urban75.org/photos/protest/cjb.html...

www.urban75.net

[Sun 19th Oct 2014] Revolt of the Ravers: The Movement Against the Criminal Justice... (London)

Looks good! "Twenty years ago, on 9 October 1994, a huge demonstration against the Government's Criminal Justice Act ended in London's Hyde Park with riotous clashes, police horses charging, and people dancing to sound systems. The Act brought in new police powers against raves, squatters...

www.urban75.net

The Criminalisation of Raves and Repetitive Beats

Woah, it was all more than 20 years ago, bloody hell. Anyway... Under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, the definition of music played at a rave was given as: "music includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats".[3]...

www.urban75.net

Reclaim the Streets - what happened??

Sorry for the ignorance. I'm reading No Logo by Naomi Klein and to my massive shock I learnt about the Reclaim the streets movement/parties that were so prolific in the late 90's! I'd never heard ANYTHING about these before?! What happened?! There are documented RTS parties from about 1996...

www.urban75.net

J18 comes of age...

HAPPY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY, J18! All growed up and everything. Looking at the youth and the community and the consciousness and the rage on the streets in North Kensington, it looks like a similar spirit lives on. It was never just about roads. http://bak.spc.org/j18/site/...

www.urban75.net

 

[DaveCinzano]

This may be of interest - a Special Branch report from the day...

THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM A SECRET AND RELIABLE SOURCE:

A generally very angry crowd assembled at Hyde Park from 1200hrs onwards. When the march finally got underway at about 1415hrs, the word throughout the crowd and especially amongst the left wing activists, of which only the SWP was in real evidence, suggested that trouble was brewing. Anarchist groups such as Class War, who numbered some 100 members and supporters were determined to ensure that it broke out.

The demonstration soon became drunk with its own power, especially when it was realised that it could move out of the cordoned area and take up the entire width of the Park Lane southbound carriageway. In fact, however, many major landmarks were not even recognised by the vast majority of the crowd, including New Scotland Yard and in the event only the gates at Downing Street were subjected to any real attack. Even here some decisive police action and a willingness of stewards to keep the demonstration moving, saved the day and prevented matters escalating totally out of control.

Hardline policing, i.e. showing the demonstrators that the police had the ability to deal with any eventuality, may have angered a small number hell bent on causing trouble come what may, but it caused numerous other demonstrators, who were game for a fight if it came to disorder, think twice before initiating it. Julie WATERSON is reported to have said that a conscious decision was made not to instigate a riot because the balance of forces was unfavourable.

Stewards were under very strict orders; indeed at one point Weyman BENNETT threatened to have a demonstrator arrested if he did not desist from attacking police lines. It was not until Trafalgar Square was reached that the stewards finally lost control, but even here the police tactic of letting the demonstrators exercise their power within the confines of the square, secure in the knowledge that sufficient forces were on hand to prevent serious mass violence, had the effect of promoting a carnival like atmosphere.

When anarchist high spirits caused the SWP recruitment table to be overturned, Julie WATERSON decided it was time for SWP party members to beat a hasty retreat, in the knowledge that some 400-500 new members had been recruited earlier in the day. For this reason alone the demonstration was considered an SWP success, even though its turnout had been totally eclipsed by the strength in numbers of the Advance Party and the ‘Crusties’, both immensely despised by the SWP leadership.

As anticipated, the ML/YRE contingent, little more than forty in number, confined its activities to raising money and promoting forthcoming events in connection with the rail strike, the Criminal Justice Bill and the YRE Summer Camp. Although one of the YRE branches from outside London had brought a banner, no attempt was made to march as a group behind it, since no ML/YRE stewarding had been arranged. Disappointed that the expected riot had not materialised, only a mere handful of supporters stayed to the bitter end.

Source: Event Proforma for a demonstration by the Coalition against the Criminal Justice Bill held 24th July 1994 - Undercover Policing Inquiry