114 campaigners arrested for planning protests

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/7997598.stm

Anyone else think this is worrying?

Obviously if people commit criminal damage, etc then yes they should be arrested. I accept there's a liklihood that some of the people involved may have gone on to commit criminal damage but surely not all of them? I'm sure there is a good chance that some of the people arrested would have done nothing more than stand outside the gates with a placard.

200 police involved in the operation

I thought it was worrying too stripey. I wanted to know more though.

You'd think in the wake of Ian Tomlinson and the woman who was allegedly hit by a police baton, that the forces would be keeping a low profile at the moment when it comes to policing protests.

I heard on radio that there was very good reson to suspect that they were going to break into the power station take it over and attempt to shut it down, this power station covers most of the east midlands for power, if that had been allowed to happen then the results would have been catastrophic.
As usual the police are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I think I'd want to know more too before judging -

"large amounts of equipment had been found, including food and various devices used for climbing, cutting and locking on to machinery."

ok the food doesn't really indiciate anything (apart from they were planning a long protest) but the other items do sounds rather odd for a normal peaceful protest outside a power plant.

also the fact that some of them were obviously holding a meeting in a school at which they had no authority to be using - doesn't sound like 100% genuine run of the mill protesters to me.

I thought they were allowed to hire the school.

I agree that some of them amybe were planning on trying to close down the power station. But what if I had heard there was a meeting to discuss a protest, thought a protest about crappy, inefficient power stations sounded good. Went along to the meeting thinking we'd be making banners and then got arrested?

I wouldn't be very happy - plus I'd probably lose my job. It worried me some people may have been in that situation. Would have been quite happy to go to a meeting but then would have backed out when they realised what the protest entailed.

Oh and some of the protestors have done it before, one of the women had previously tied herself to the power station converyor belt. Well I live not too far from there and don't rememebr it so I'm guessing the effect of the demonstration couldn't have been too bad and its unliekly it would have beeen this time. Someone does this, the police cut them away and arrest them = everyone is happy.

If the meeting was to discuss those things why try to hide that it was happening? why have time and place on a need to know basis? Why not have a story in the local paper inviting people along? I read that it was all very hush hush

according to the article

"The school said it was distressed at the disruption and damage caused, and the group had had no permission or authority to meet there."

so I would take that as meaning that they were there without having formally hired it?

and in a previous report on it (linked to on the left of the OP's linked article)

" City councillor David Mellen said the police raided the privately-run school as a result of "an intelligence-led operation".
The scene of the arrests
The operation is understood to have been "intelligence-led"

He said: "I don't know whether it was the school itself being used or the car park.

"Neighbours reported a lot of noise after midnight. It seems to have been used as a rendezvous for people from a wide area." "

lots of noise after midnight? funny time to hold a run of the mill planning meeting for a run of the mill protest isn't it??