Home > Press releases > Archived press releases > 1997 > Newbury Bypass Reunion Rally
13 January 1997
Commenting on the disturbances following the Newbury bypass Reunion Rally (Saturday 11 January 1997), Charles Secrett, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, said:
"We are saddened and depressed by the few malicious hotheads who ruined what had been a wholly peaceful rally, with around 2,000 people protesting against the Newbury bypass.
Burning contractors machinery is totally counter-productive, and Friends of the Earth condemns it. The criminal actions of a few idiots runs the risk of turning public opinion against the campaign. Scenes like those witnessed on Saturday night will do nothing to encourage the millions who are rightly concerned about the damage that is being inflicted on the UK environment.
The Newbury Reunion Rally was an opportunity to focus attention on the real issues behind this ill-conceived road:
We must not let the events of Saturday night obscure the fact that the campaign against the Newbury bypass has been over-whelmingly peaceful, involving thousands of people from all walks of life. Friends of the Earth continues to believe that the right to peaceful protest and responsible civil disobedience is important in a mature democracy, while condemning those who turn to violence. By doing so they hand a propaganda coup to those that would destroy our environment, and betray the values of the green movement."
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