Right To Reply

Over 1000 people marched through Oxford City Centre on Saturday 23rd July to protest against Oxford University's vivisection expansion. Many had travelled from distant parts of the country and beyond, from around the world, with large numbers from countries such Finland, Germany, Spain, Italy, the U.S and others joining forces with UK campaigners showing just how International the movement has become.

This strength of feeling, however, appears not to have been considered newsworthy. Instead, the local newspaper's headline following the demonstration read: "Police blast at lab protest". Obviously, the intention of Thames Valley Police - and in particular Superintendent Sullivan, to whom the comments are attributed - was to divert attention away from the reasons for the peaceful protest.

The idea of impartial policing seems an anathema to Thames Valley Police and SPEAK campaigners have come to expect no fairness from a force, which appears to be providing an exclusive protection service to Oxford University, whose senior vivisectors have broken countless animal welfare laws and whose builders employed at the new lab site - when building work was in progress - attacked a 70 year old woman, resulting in her being taken to hospital. There have never been any prosecutions, and we have always argued that there is serial nepotism at work here, not least because Thames Valley Police Authority has as its Vice-chairs two individuals who also hold key positions at Oxford University.

Superintendent Sullivan is quoted as saying that he was: "disappointed that Thames Valley Police had to deploy significant numbers of officers to the march to ensure it passed peacefully, with minimal disruption to the city and to others. Our officer's time could have been better spent carrying out their usual duties and reassurance especially with the current national security situation". At SPEAK we are appalled by such comments, like most people in the UK, we were shocked by the attacks on London's streets and underground system, and by the suffering of those caught up in the terrorists attacks. We take strong exception to the use of this tragedy by a senior officer of Thames Valley Police to make political capital out of it and to try to score points against a campaign that has been conducted throughout in an appropriate fashion, and with due consideration to the people of Oxford. Superintendent Sullivan should remember that there were many Londoners at the demonstration, who use the public transport system on a daily basis, and who may very well have known people injured or killed by the bombs. He would do well to consider the appropriateness of using the national security situation against us, and indeed should apologise to the victims of the bombings and their families for using their suffering to promote Oxford University's agenda in attempting to discredit the animal rights movement.

On the 7th July when news began to filter through that the London transport system had been attacked by suicide bombers, SPEAK took the immediate decision to cancel that week's demonstration outside the site of the proposed lab in Oxford. We did so not only out of respect for the victims of the bombings, but also because we felt it was appropriate that the Police should be freed up from other responsibilities, in the event that their help might be needed in connection with the London incident. At no time did we ever consider making capital out of the tragedy.

But Superintendent Sullivan evidently didn't feel that just using the London bombings would suffice in pressing home the case of the vivisection industry, against those dastardly animal rights campaigners, who are a blot on the P.R landscape of Oxford University. Early on in his press release he is quoted as saying: "Most of the demonstrators were peaceful and complied with the conditions we imposed on the demonstration and the assembly; although it is disappointing that we have had to make two arrests".

Fact: the demonstration was peaceful across the board on Saturday; fact: the arrests were for non-violent offences, one of which we know to have been the distribution of leaflets! Hardly the crime of the century, Superintendent Sullivan...

Just for the record, SPEAK have had at least 6 major demonstrations in Oxford over the last 16 months all which have passed off peacefully and as far as we are aware, no arrests have been made - unless of course you take Saturdays incident of 'intent with a deadly leaflet'. . If that the worst SPEAK have been responsible for, then instead of attempting to smear the name of animal rights campaigners by making cheap remarks, then perhaps we should be congratulated, unfortunately we all know that's not going to happen.

And here's another question: If police resources are so stretched, why were there at least a half dozen Metropolitan police officers present? If resources were really so scarce because of the national security situation, then why deploy officers from the London area? If national security in the capital were really the issue, then its officers would not have been spared, and officers from another force would have been used. Please, Mr Sullivan, stop treating the public as idiots, Oxford University tried it and look where that got them?

The Government have proclaimed that if we don't carry on with our normal lives, terrorism has won. So what would Superintendent Sullivan have us do? Perhaps every peaceful demonstration, every cricket and football match, every event, which might require a police presence should be cancelled until "the war on terror" is won. So what if it's two, three, or four years down the line and what happens if the present situation goes on indefinitely? Using the Superintendent's flawed logic, let's just cancel everything, stay at home in front of the TV and watch the politicians tell us how they are protecting us.

At SPEAK we believe in fighting terror wherever it rears its ugly head, and we have no intention of being cowed by those that use violence against sentient beings, be it against humans or non-human animals. We suggest Thames Valley Police adopt a similar policy, then perhaps we will have a world where our children and our children's children can grow up, where compassion is the norm, not violence, surely that's something worth fighting for, something worth marching for, and something worth demonstrating for, but then again, perhaps Thames Valley Police think otherwise?

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