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Novartis finally flip, demos in Hampshire

Jane Dow | 24.08.2010 17:06 | SHAC | Animal Liberation | Repression | South Coast

Novartis demonstrations in Hampshire despite their new head of securities confusion and poor judgement.

Activists visited Ciba Vision, Novartis's, Hedge End Call Centre again several times last week.

Novartis are deeply involved in the disgusting Hunting Life Science and they are now trying to ban all demonstrations by claiming there is a new high court injunction:

A demostration was called and activists were told to arrive at the area designated by the previous high court injunction. The terms of the high court injunction were followed, the phonecall made to the police, 24 hours before etc. Activists were asked to meet at protest point A. Due to the general crapness of the "previous" injunction we have pretty much given up demonstrationing at the injunction areas anyway (you can't use megaphones and they can't see us) so we were then going to go to the edge of the injunction area (a really good location) and demo there as normal, outside the injunction area. But not everyone knows that location so we thought we would meet in the old location A and move on from there. When the first two activists arrived at injunction spot A they were welcomed by PC Martin Foster (Hamsphire Police's "special" animal rights/environmental and top football hooligan bod) he had apparently been there for half the day and look pretty pissed off. We pointed out the injunction had been carried out to the letter, but he then went into full flow, now wearing a silly camera.

The new defacto head of Novartis's Security PC Martin Foster (an officer already warned by his commanding officer after taking gifts from Ciba Vision in the past) then started to claim that a "new" injunction was in force, he was absolutely desperate to surve the "new" injunction on us. Legally however he couldn't "as he is not meant to be working for Novartis and as it is a civil matter surving it has to be done by a member of the Novartis staff and without it being surved he can't do anything. After activists told him of this he stated "i was only mythologically surving it on you" which did lead to some chuckles. He then phoned up Novartis and asked them to surve it (even though legally he can't get involved in surving it). He then stated "he hadn't seen the injunction himself" but did know we had to give our names and address to Novartis and even our car registration numbers!!. This sounded nuts so we asked him if we could look at a copy (which should have been on a lampost at the protest site). He then stated "oh there is one down there" pointing to the area outside Ciba Vision, where the previous (and expectedly the new one) bans activists from going to. So how can we read it?? After waiting a little time we saw no reason in talking to Fossy Foster any more so we walked back to meet the rest of the guys as they walked down from the station.

Amazingly enough then two cars from Novartis then came speeding out at high speed. With two people in each, one with a video camera hanging out of the side. They sped along the road following us, we split up at that point as they were getting increasingly erratic and insane. At one point the locals at a carpet centre offered to phone the police stating "they're mad they think they are in spooks or something". It is still unclear what they were trying to achieve by speeding on the local roads trying to stick cameras in our faces. We didn't run and they even drove slowly next to one of us. They didn't try and get out to try and surve the injunction. We are guessing this was a bizarre attempt at intimidating us, but really Novartis do you think that will work??

We of course soon lost them and met up with our friends to carry out the intended demonstration. This was as great as ever, hundreds of leafets given out and loads of people made aware of Ciba Vision Novartis's shame. Still no idea about the "new injunction", if there is one, but at least now we know it's far better to get around an injunction than go with it.

Oh and guess what we were back the next day and a couple of days after that. Injunctions work do they Fossy? think not.

See you sometime soon

SHAC Hedge End

Jane Dow

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Surve....

24.08.2010 17:49

I mean 'Surve' come on now.....

Oh Dear..


Congratulations..

24.08.2010 18:02

Great - you have struck a deadly blow and Novartis will soon collapse as a direct result!

Ha - take that Vassella !

on the closure of Novartis


Nice one

24.08.2010 18:58

Sounds like a good demo.

You know you've done something effective when the trolls come rolling out!

Bob


Awesome job

24.08.2010 19:49

I wonder how much Novartis spent on that?? The security would have had to have come down from Horsham and a new injunction that would costs 1,000s and you still did an effective demo. "on the closure of Novartis" are you calling on more extreme action? That would be illegal wouldn't it? Have you been to Switzerland recently?? Vassella is looking sad :( was that you then??

Dave


Information Commisioner should be told

24.08.2010 20:16

Please complain tot he Information Commisioners office about this new injunction which requires members of the public to inform a private company of their names and address just so they can perform what is a human right to demonstrate in a public place. that is illegal under Data Protection laws and European Human Rights Act.

I bet the Guardian won't bother to pick up this story as it's animal rights related and they suck up to Netcu when it comes to animal rights but strangely disbelieve everything the police says when it comes to middle class demostrations.

Data Protection Officer


Nice one

25.08.2010 07:35

Good to see people know their rights and do not cave in to intimidation. I like the Information Commissioner suggestion sounds like a good idea. Might be worth going to Hampshire Professional Standards about Foster (who is a FIT officer I believe) and making a complaint. Email FITwatch too. This is important to other activists in other movements so great that you posted up your experiences.
Sadly multinationals have been getting information off the police for a very long time. Sergeant 57 Smith of Cambridgeshire police retired and then ended up (mysteriously) as something terrifically important in HLS security. So this man who hates my guts (in fact hates everyone's guts), has arrested me on several occassions and been through my personal belongings in a raid can lounge about with his chum Brian Cass and tell him all sorts of things about me and countless other activists and I cannot prove a thing without bugging Brian's office, which I won't do because I will end up in very deep shit and hey I'm not Angelina Jolie. In the High Court it was quite funny to see Superintendant Steve Pearl acting as Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden's (the HLS lawyer) advisor. I doubt very much if a person being seriously stalked and seeking a High Court injunction would have a superintendant holding their hand, but then how many people fleeing abusive relationships have several hundred thousand pounds to spare? This law was made for the corporations and many injunctions have been smashed in the the High Court. I think that the behaviour of Novartis security should be brought to the attention of a High Court Judge.

Lynn Sawyer


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