Tuesday 16 December 2008

Police violence and deception at the Climate Camp

After yesterday's admission that the police and government gave the misleading impression that 70 officers had been injured in contact with Climate Camp protestors, its interesting to look back at other ways in which they tried to smear the camp, and at some of the beatings they meted out. Bear in mind the reality, now agreed on by all sides, was that over one thousand protesters interacted with the same number of police for a week without a single officer being injured. (Sadly the same can't be said for the protesters.)

The following extract from the BBC News on 5th August 2008 contains points of interest:

1. The BBC anchor's reference to 'violent clashes' (0'27") - sorry to have to correct you BBC, but 'clashes' are where two sides are fighting!

2. The display by the police of items actually taken from the camp (see also, entertainingly, HERE), confusingly intermingled with items found 'nearby', including the famous throwing star, and kitchen knife block (1'26"). Now, it seems quite a leap to assume, as the police and BBC do, that these items were abandoned by people from the Camp, when there are 1.6 million other people in the immediate vicinity of Kent and Medway. Given the apparent willingness of the police to tell other lies in this case, is it too much to suppose that they planted the items? (The thug making the presentation, by the way, is Chief Superintendent Gary Beautridge.)

3. Violence. Look at the man struck in the face at 2'19": his head flies backwards and forwards like a rag doll. Look at the girl stuck in the crush at 2'26": though she can hardly move the cop lashes out viciously and strikes her with his club.

Film HERE.

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