* Zimbabwe now has it's own Indy Media Centre http://zimbabwe.indymedia.org * Two presidents resigned on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean rather than give the green light to a new Prevention of Terrorism Act. Mass protests complained that the law was an infringement of human rights and an attack on the country's sovereignty, because it allows the CIA to interfere in national affairs. The law was eventually passed when the Chief Justice became president. Inside SchNEWS Ever wondered why anti-capitalist protesters always get over the top sentences for minor offences? Well, the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group (LDMG) have uncovered secret documents that tell judges to come down hard on activists. These documents were being passed to Crown and Youth Court judges after both May Day 2000 and May Day Monopoly 2001 festivities. The document titled "Mayhem" came to the attention of LDMG in June 2001 at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court. The defence barrister Ed Rees QC asked to look at the document, but the court refused this on the grounds that it was secret! Sentencing in England and Wales is supposedly based on individual circumstances and the seriousness of the offence, but clearly in the case of anti-capitalists this is not the case. Glaring examples of over the top prison terms are Roger Davis who got 3 months for threatening words and behaviour, which results in a fine at worst; Karl Hodgkinson got 15 months for affray; and another person received a #1000 fine for common assault (the lowest form of assault). Paul Jones, spokesperson for LDMG told SchNEWS "The police have spent millions of pounds preventing the May Day actions from proceeding peacefully and in prosecuting people for minor offences. Now we discover that the judiciary is instructed to send those convicted to prison. Even the pretence of justice has been abandoned. We demand an amnesty for all May Day protestors." LDMG 07949 061 333 e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *All sorts of pranks and actions are being planned for this year's May Day. For more info check out www.ourmayday.org.uk * Brighton Anarchist Black Cross are hosting a Mark Barnsley info/debate night upstairs at the Albert, Trafalgar St. Monday 18th at 7.30pm. Mark has spent seven years inside after being attacked by 15 drunken students whilst out with his baby and a friend. Mark has spent all his time in maximum and high security prisons and has been denied parole as punishment for protesting his innocence. www.freemarkbarnsley.com * Emily Apple the activist that "society needs a break from" didn't go to prison as feared (SchNEWS 345) but got a fine instead for locking onto a train carrying arms dealers to last year's arms fair in East London. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE UN-DAMMED Just 24 hours before a campaign was due to be launched against AMEC, for their participation in the controversial Yusufeli Dam in Turkey, the company announced its withdrawal from the project. The dam would displace 30,000 people, destroy many old churches, fortresses and a citadel aswell as displacing endangered red vultures and brown bears. The withdrawal of AMEC now casts doubt over the future of the whole project. Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director, Kurdish Human Rights Project said "We are delighted that AMEC has withdrawn from this project. For minorities on the ground whose homes, livelihood and ways of life are threatened by this project this a huge victory." www.khrp.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Positive SchNEWS At Taurus Crafts in Lydney, Gloucestershire, peddlers will be connecting their own pedal generator to the national grid via a plug socket from 2nd-30th April. Tom from 'Power of the People' told SchNEWS "The paperwork I have generated dealing with the natural grid, power supply companies, and planning department is enormous... In the Netherlands these same panels can be stuck on the roof, plugged in at a wall socket, and your meter will run backwards corresponding to the number of units produced. No paperwork required." Info: 01594-836546 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...and finally... "The Corporation took over your country and proceeded to impose its strict rules on an unsuspecting public. Questioning this new authority led to unrest. Unrest led to full scale rioting." - So goes the blurb for a new Sony Playstation 2 game where armed with molotovs, grenades and AK47s you fight the corporation. The company backing it, Take-Two, will profit greatly from this anti-capitalist bestseller at a time when it is in financial woes. Yet another example of a capitalist company selling the anti-capitalist idea. SchNEWS reckons its more fun (and risky) to get out on the streets and demonstrate than sit and smash things up on a TV screen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer SchNEWS warns all readers if there's any seed of doubt go for the best of the crop. Honest -------------------------------------------------------------------------
