international news _ 12th April, 2007
UK Rave War Skirmishes Continue
Text by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
Seven vanloads of riot police blocked off London's Holloway Road last Saturday night (March 31) as they tried to break up a free party in an empty car showroom.
The Islington Gazette claimed revellers 'spat, swore and threw cans at the police', though party organizer 'Max' insisted the party they'd done all they could to minimize disruption and ensure safety at the party,
"We are reasonable people and we were not trying to piss anyone off. Our main concern was not to annoy the neighbours," he explained, "We turned off the music as soon as they asked us. Buildings like this are left to go to ruin - and that should be the crime," he added.
A police spokesmen told the paper they'd only 'monitored the situation' rather than entering the party 'due to safety implications' in marked contrast to the actions of Leeds police who in February fired clouds of CO2 gas into student club Dirty Disco before storming inside en masse. Mixmag described the raid as being part of a 'city-wide clubbing clampdown' (Fiber, Space, Mission and Glasshouse were also raided in recent weeks) and quoted Superintendent Peter Nicholson from City and Holbeck Police as saying 'we can and will do this again'.
"This has been an intense campaign which will have hit the night time economy hard," the Superintendent told student magazine Leeds Student, "It does not make us popular with many but that is a risk we have to take in ensuring their safety," he claimed.
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