RICHARD CARVER:
A free pop festival would seem to be a fairly harmless way of passing a Bank Holiday weekend. Not everyone's cup of tea perhaps, but a pleasant change from the money-spinning routines at Knebworth and Reading.
It is hardly a threat to the British way of life' either, but over the past few years the Peoples' Free Festival has driven police and no superstars, no entrance tee ana no Windsor two years ago, the police violently stop alleged broke up ine resuval to "breaches of the peace.
This year the reaction was similarly hysterical. An attempt to hold the festival at the disused Tangemere airfield was prevented by the reaction of RAF veterans. From there the organisers turned their attention to a site at Broad Oak, near Canterbury, at the suggestion of Lord Melchett, head of the Government's committee investigating pop festivals.
BANNISTER-the organiser of Knebworth.
He made a mint so he must be alright.
From the start, the press compared the between the two is not hard to find. Knebworth, with a line-up of superstars, was a "well-organised' festival, costing 14.00 a ume, wnien grossca mree quarterof a million pounds for its organiser Frederick Bannister. The free festival had estival untavourao ywidan profits. It was therefore, by definition, a tirea to Duone oract The facilities at Knebworth were favourably compared with the supposed lack of amenities at the free festival. In fact, the facilities at Knebworth were provided Dy the same organisation, Festival Welfare Services, which was prevented from entering the Broad Oak site.
Press, police and landowners all prophesied that it would be a dirty, insanitary affair. They then attempted to fulfil their prophecy by using a High Court injunction to deny the free festival the amenities which it wanted.
FLOOD The gallant defenders of Broad Oak were the Mid-Kent Water Authority. It was on its land, unused fields, that the festival was to have been held. For the Mid-Kent Water Authority, however, the whole exercise was a clever rubic kelatons Joo. in wisnes Lo flood the valley to form a reservoir, a plan opposed by local residents. By creaung hysteria over the festival it hopes to divert oppositon to tae seneme Not all the local residents have beer happy with the reaction to the festival. Of course, big landowners like Vincent St George Brealy have been seen all right by the Water Board and are only too happy to stir up opposition to the hippies. But Bill are far too many coppers here. There is nothing wrong with the few fans coming here. They don't want to fight and nor do we."
The most sinister aspect of the whole affair was the activity of the police. leave was cancelled, and at the end of the week there were 200 police in Broad Oak. Barricades had been set up all round the village to prevent anyone entering or leaving without proper identification, while police in an unmarked van were busy taking photographs.
CRIME The justification used was Section 58 of the Road Traffic Act, which allows the closing or roads in exceponal circunstan ces'. The exceptional circumstances here were the supposed fire risk.
This is the first ocasion where the police have shown such concern. Farmers (like Vincent St. George Brealy) are still allowed to burn stubble, the cause of innumerable tires in recent weeks. Ana, for some reason, the profit-making Knebworth and Reading festivals were not deemed to involve the same risk to life and limb.
The festival finally moved to a site at Seasalter. The only offence which the pop fans and organisers were committing was trespass, a civil offence beyond the jurisdiction of the police. But ominous threats were soon being made by the National Farmers 'Union' to remove the festival from its new site.
That is just desserts for the heinous crime of enjoying yourself and not making a Provisional Republican Movement. In past, Official Republican Movement, which is controlled by the CP, has had talks with the UDA and Ulster Volunteer Force to attempt that strategy, even leaking the names of members of another anti-imperialist organisation, i the Irish Republican Socialist Party, to the UVF.
Now the alliance is not so direct. Instead the CP, the UDA and all the rest pounce on the peace movement, painting it as a spontaneous working class outburst which will solve all of Ireland's problems - because for them the main problem is the ProvisMAIRE DRUMM lock her up. With or without the law Mr. Rees Not that the 'peace lovers can be entirely dismissed. But again, note how they are used. When one of the leaders had her home attacked, this was not explained as a 'spontaneous' outburst of the Catholic youth who saw the movement as puppets of the "Brits'; rather we were told that it was a Provisional plot to kill the woman.
Yet the Provisional Sinn Fein newspaper had already carried a statement saying: "The atitude of the Republic ans to genuine participants in the demonstrations organised by the peace women is not to insult them, not to try and intimidate them, not to act in any arrogant way towards them, not to react in triumphalism, but to meet them in sympathy, to listen to them, and to ask them to listen to us. • with Sinn Fein President, Rory O'Brady. Meryn Rees would like to
Red Weekly 2 September 1976
----- pull-quotes -----
*Everyone here is sick of it. People are saying, "Why spend all this money?" There