Sun 22nd August: Essex - Protest against the persecution of Travellers

[Mark Brown]

Unfortunately, this Sunday's TLIO meeting is clashing with the Paynes Lane 
Rally (details below) in support of travellers who are facing eviction from 
their home in Paynes Lane, Epping, on the grounds that they have not been 
granted planning permission (as usual). This is on top of the fact that the 
families at this site have been subjected to a racist-hate campaign from 
some locals, in an area where 3 BNP candidates won seats on the local 
council at the last local elections a few months ago.

Travellers from all over the country will be coming to support the 
travellers of Paynes Lane.
Recently, a travellers site at Bulkington in Warwickshire (where the 
travellers concerned also owned their own land) have been evicted, after 
having been unsuccessful in pursuing a high court injunction in appealing an 
eviction from them. Howvere, travellers from the site are now squatting a 
site very near their own piece of land, while they consider further legal 
moves. Worringly, the remaining travellers at the Woodside site in 
Buckinghamshire are now also facing eviction.

In the mid 1990s, travellers up and down the country were actively 
encouraged to buy their own parcel of Britain's Green and nimbyist-colonised 
land by the Tory Government after many Council Traveller sites were closed 
after Local councils' obligation to provide traveller sites was no longer 
deemed necessary after the Caravan Sites Act was repealed with the passing 
into law of the Criminal Justice Bill.

The wife of Peter Robb will also be at Sunday's rally. Peter was sent to 
prison for 28 days, last week, for resisting eviction from land he and his 
family own in Colney Hatch, Hertfordshire, on the grounds that (yet again) 
they have been refused planning permission for caravans and a shed. Peter's 
wife and family have vowed that they are also prepared to go to prison to 
stand up for their right to live on their own land. The vast majority of 
neighbours in the area are not opposed to the family's perfectly acceptable 
living arrangements. Yet no doubt this coldly executed, unwavering judgement 
(veraciously applied to the letter of the law) was made by some 
Eton-educated Judge who discriminates against a way of life which is clearly 
the antithesis of his own. How very commensurate and upstanding in the 
truest English tradition to the avowed traditions of the upper class of 
these islands, in keeping with it's wretched history against those deemed 
lower in the cultural pecking order.

Of course, none of that is a surprise. Nor the real villian - local planners 
whose discrimination obviously has a more-direct bearing on travellers 
lives, hopes and dreams.

Let us take the fight to the planners of this country!

Mark (tlio)

Essex - Protest against the persecution of Travellers; commemorate Roma 
victims of Fascism.
Sun 22nd August, 2004 11am Paynes Lane, Lower Nazeing, Epping Forrest, 
nearest rail - Broxbourne Station.
Roma Federation  Grattan Puxom 01206 523 528

Harry and Linda Smith have owned and lived on their land at Paynes Lane at 
Epping for over 15 years! Now the council will try to evict them on the 23rd 
Aug. The council are stepping up their persecution of Travellers after the 
fascist BNP won 3 seats on the council. This solidarity protest will 
therefore also commemorate the Roma victims of fascism and racism over the 
years.

The commemoration will see the burning of a bender-tent and dedication of 
Memorial Field
to the Romani victims of the Holocaust and present-day neo-facist groups.

The Commemoration is worldwide, marking the 60th anniversary of the 
liquidation -after a desperate fight - of the Gypsy Camp at Auschwitz in 
August l944.

A field of several hundred black binbags, each with the name of a victim on 
it, will be laid out like a cemetery - and a service conducted by Baptist 
Minister dedicating the ground to the memory of the 600,000 Roma dead. There 
will also be an Expo about the Holocaust and current neo-Nazi murders - 300 
documented such killings since l989.

Protesters are also welcome to stay in tents until Monday to help protest 
against the eviction. These evictions are part of an intensification of the 
persecution of Travellers in Essex as the climate of racism, intolerance and 
scapegoating gets worse, whipped up by the media barons, politicians and 
fascists.
************************************
Paynes Lane is at Lower Nazeing, in Epping area, near M25. Nearest station 
Broxbourne -which is 1/2 mile walk away from Paynes Lane. Broxbourne is the 
first stop on the train after Cheshunt, on the line from Liverpool Street, 
London.

More info call 01206 523 528
Grattan Puxon
Roma Federation
************************************

Travellers lose court fight
Wed Nov 6, 2002
http://www.harlowcitizen.co.uk/news/display.var.646494.index.0.html

TRAVELLERS have failed in a High Court bid to be allowed to stay on
land in Paynes Lane, Nazeing.o

The travellers were ordered to leave in July, but stayed pending the outcome 
of their appeal.

Most of the travellers were given two months to leave, although one family 
where the mother was pregnant was given an additional two months to vacate 
the site.

The travellers appealed against the judgement on the grounds that their 
human rights had not been taken into account by the court when it reached 
its decision.

Nazeing MP Bill Rammell said: "This is a wholly justified decision which 
will bring enormous relief to the residents of Paynes Lane whose lives have 
been blighted by the anti-social behaviour of a minority of travellers.

"It is a great result and one that I have been lobbying for and working with 
residents, Epping Forest Council and their legal team to achieve."

He added: "I hope this result will help the residents of Paynes Lane return 
to some sort of normality and restore some of their faith in the legal 
system.

"In the last few months the Government has already listened to our concerns 
and announced tougher eviction powers for the police to act against 
unauthorised encampments.

"I will now be lobbying the Government to ensure that further changes are 
made so that cases like this cannot be prolonged through the courts in 
future."

Epping Forest Council's planning and economic development portfolio holder 
Dorothy Paddon welcomed the decision adding: "The message from the courts is 
clear and the travellers should leave Paynes Lane now."

She added: "The case has highlighted weaknesses in the system which allow 
illegally camped travellers to use the court process to delay judgements to 
move them on.

"The judge has supported the view of the council and local residents and 
refused to allow the appeal to go forward.

"I hope this means we are now approaching the final chapter of a long and 
frustrating case. The residents of Paynes Lane have suffered enough and the 
travellers should go.

"We have lobbied for a change in the law to prevent these kind of delays. 
With the help of our MPs, I hope the Government will listen and the rights 
of residents of the district are protected as
vigorously as the rights of the travellers in future."

A council spokesman said a letter would be delivered to the travellers 
giving them 14 days to leave.

He added: "If they do not leave within the deadline we will return to court 
for committal proceedings to seek their imprisonment."



In diggers350 at yahoogroups.com, "Gerrard Winstanley" <evnuk at g...> wrote:
    The Land Is Ours is meeting at 2pm this Sunday (22nd August) near Yeovil 
in Somerset. Everyone is invited but please contact either Simon on 01460 
249204 or Tony on 0117 944 6219 or mobile 07786 952037 first to sort out 
travel arrangements.

We'll be reviewing the success or otherwise of the support for Tony's 
roundhouse and looking at plans for this Autumn and beyond. We'll also be 
considering having a presence at the European Social Forum from 14 - 17 
October.

www.fse-esf.org/
www.esf2004.net/
www.esf.org/

If you have any land rights related proposals or ideas do bring them along 
with you.


Thanks

Tony

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