Arms protest ends in riot (From The Argus)

Arms protest ends in riot

9:36am Thursday 5th June 2008 in News

Protestors rioted at the gates of an arms factory after a demonstration erupted into violence.

Hundreds of activists clashed with police while smashing windows and vandalising cars outside the EDO MBM Technology plant in Moulsecoomb yesterday in what onlookers described as a "full-blown riot".

Police used pepper spray, batons and dogs to force the protesters out of the firm's car park.

A dozen people were arrested for criminal damage, obstructing police and public order offences.

Each side blamed the other for the chaos that followed a peaceful demonstration and march from The Level.

Leaders of protest group Smash EDO said more than 600 people joined the march at its height. The police estimated 350 took part.

By the end of the protest it is thought 100 police officers were involved.

One officer was taken to hospital with an eye injury after he was hit by a missile, while several protesters were left bloodied and bruised.

The Smash EDO campaign has been running since the start of the Iraq war.

Protesters say EDO MBM makes components for weapons used in illegal acts of war.

Activists had travelled from as far away as Wales, Leeds and Glasgow to take part in the Carnival Against The Arms Trade.

The event started at about midday.

Families with young children enjoyed samba bands, sound systems and dancing.

The demonstrators then moved off up Lewes Road towards Home Farm Road where EDO is based.

Police said the move had been anticipated but organisers had not asked for permission. The A27 was closed and traffic brought to a standstill.

When the march arrived at Home Farm Road onlookers said the previously friendly atmosphere changed.

A hail of plastic bottles and bricks rained down on about 50 police officers trying to contain the marchers.

As whistles and shouts grew louder, the police line was repeatedly forced back.

Eventually scores of demonstrators broke through to continue their protest, banging drums and shouting outside the factory buildings. About ten windows were smashed and walls daubed with slogans.

Police used pepper spray and batons on protesters and sent in police dogs to clear the area.

By 3.30pm the crowd was starting to thin as people began to leave and police reinforcements began to pull out individuals from the crowd and arrest them.

One activist said police had snatched his bicycle and hurled it into bushes, while another complained that a riot van had reversed and narrowly missed her two-year-old son's pushchair.

Meanwhile protesters kicked police vehicles and hurled red paint at officers. Betty Clark, 72, watched events unfold from her house in Barcombe Road.

She said "I grew up in Brixton and I was there during the riots.

"I've not seen so many police vans and officers in one place since then. It was frightening."

Andrea Waddell, 27, from Brighton, was at the demonstration.

She said: "I'm a pacifist and there is no way I condone any violence.

I was at the front of the factory and was trying to mediate.

The next thing I know I was being hit with batons and forced back.

"There were people being crushed underfoot. It was so heavy-handed by the police."

Maizi Henderson, 25, of Brighton, said: "The march was very peaceful until it arrived at Home Farm Road, but people wanted to protest outside the factory and rightly so.

"The police were waiting and ambushed us. Someone pushed the factory gates open and they came charging round and laying into people. It was scary."

Tom Burchnall, 32, from Newhaven, said: "At times it was absolute anarchy. I've never seen anything on that scale before - it was a full-blown riot."

Chief Superintendent Paul Pearce, commander of Sussex Police's Brighton and Hove Division, condemned the violence by protesters.

He said: "As with previous causes that have resulted in demonstrations in the city, apparently lawful protest has been hijacked by people who are intent on committing violent criminal offences.

"However passionate people are about an issue it does not justify the level of violence that was seen today.

"My message to the people of Brighton and Hove is that the officers involved in policing violent demonstrations such as this are the same officers that I want to put on the streets to provide the local policing service that you want and expect from us."

Sussex Police refused to comment on whether blows dealt to protesters by police as they made arrests in the aftermath of the demonstration were a justifiable use of force.

Andrew Beckett, spokesman for the Smash EDO campaign, said the earlier part of the day was a success.

He said the trouble started when police tried to pen protesters into a small area outside the factory. But he declined to comment on the damage to cars and buildings and the throwing of missiles by some demonstrators.

He said: "Whatever the accusations of violence thrown in our direction they pale in comparison to the violence inflicted in Iraq, Palestine and Somalia by the products of EDO MBM."

Sarah Cobham, who said she was the official legal observer of the protest, said: "From what I have seen the police response has been over the top."

Councillor Ben Duncan, Green party parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown and a member of Sussex Police Authority, witnessed the march.

He said: "EDO MBM is making bits for bombs that have been unlawfully used to kill and maim civilians."

Earlier this year a screening of a film about the history of the Smash EDO campaign was controversially cancelled after a police officer notified Brighton and Hove City Council that it did not have a licence.

The intervention prompted claims that the group's freedom of speech was being infringed.

In April The Argus reported the Hove base of courier firm DHL had been vandalised with anti-EDO slogans but Smash EDO denied any links with the damage.

To see our video report of the protest, click here.