http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/08/320508.html
Hit The Decks :: From SchNews 509
26.08.2005 12:49
Hit The Decks
In case you thought it was just corporate-sanitised festivals that were turning all 1984, don’t worry. Underground parties abroad are proving they can attract even more brutal Big Brother tactics.
Last Saturday Versus II, a 1,500-strong legal rave in Utah (home of bigamy), USA (home of the free), was closed in a huge raid involving SWAT teams and the Utah National Guard as well as large numbers of police. Soldiers with assault rifles stormed the stage to get the music off, and tear gas, dogs, stun guns and a low-flying helicopter were used to disperse the crowd. Ravers were kicked to the ground and beaten with batons and rifle butts.
People who tried to film the bust had their cameras taken or smashed. And just to prove that cops do have a sense of humour, they nicked all the bouncers for possession of drugs they’d
confiscated from people on the door. The organisers of the party have set up a website – www.music-versus-guns.org to publish personal reports and footage that didn’t get confiscated.
Meanwhile in the Czech Republic there has been a wave of anti-police demonstrations across the country this month, after riot cops were used to break up the CzechTek free festival on July 31. 1,300 police waded into the teknival in Mlynec with water cannons, batons, lashings of tear gas and a tank, claiming that they needed to act to stop people trespassing to get to the party. Ravers fought back with bottles and sticks.
Explaining why he authorised the raid, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said: “These were no dancing children [but] dangerous people with anarchist proclivities and international links,” who “provoke massive demonstrations against the peaceful society” and are likely to spread “AIDS, jaundice and salmonella”. The ‘peaceful’ Czech society didn’t buy it, and Paroubek has seen his popularity cut in half with dozens of angry protests. The Czech
government are now considering passing a new CJA-style law allowing local authorities to ban raves if they think they’re a threat to “peace, property, or state security”. For more Czech
out: http://en.policejnistat.cz/Uvodni
and …..
regarding control of events ,,,, this is how far we’ve got in the uk
Face The Muzak
Cuddly venture capitalist Richard Branson likes a laugh, and making loads of money. And he did both at the V Festival last weekend.
The festival has a noble tradition of trying out fun new surveillance techniques on punters, and this year was no exception. In order to keep festie-goers safe from terrorists and the great unwashed, CCTV cameras were stuck all over the place and wired up to face recognition software to scan for known troublemakers. Letters were sent to 250 undesirables asking them not to come.
In previous years they have used Automatic Number Plate Recognition to target known offenders, as well as using palm-wipe drug testing kits on attendees. Although anyone asked to be drug tested has the right to refuse, the police can regard the refusal as reasonable suspicion of possession of drugs and conduct a full
search.
SchNEWS commends the V organisers on their bold ‘Brave New World’ theme and we look forward to visiting next year’s Ambient Cavity Search Tent.
Less and less hope ……
