Fortress West Swindon

The De Vere Hotel at the Shaw Ridge Leisure Park on Whitehill Way in West Swindon has been transformed into a high security area ready for VIP's attending the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at Fairford over the weekend of 19 and 20 July.

The hotel has been surrounded by a high wire security fence and there is a highly visible police presence within the perimeter and no doubt specialist units on standby to repel any terrorist threat.

It is rumoured by members of the Jordanian royal family and undisclosed top military personnel will stay at the 156 room 4 star hotel located in the middle of a residential estates and schools. A hundred yards across the car park the 7 screen UGC multiplex cinema is showing this summer's block buster monster movie Hulk, Jim Carey's wannabe God movie Bruce Almighty and Charlie's Angels.

The RIAT charity is picking up the lions share of the operational costs of keeping the important people safe and separate from the ordinary mortals living closeby.

Photo: ŠCalyx Multimedia. www.calyxpix.com



Protest at Fairford Air Tattoo 19th July

Damacio Lopez, a leading Depleted Uranium (DU) Expert will speak on Saturday 19 July, 12noon to 2pm at of the Royal International Arms Traders Tattoo! Venue: Fairford Community Centre - the building to the south of St Mary's Church in the centre of Fairford, on the High Street, just above the market place & the Bull Hotel.

Damacio Lopez is the author of "Friendly Fire: The Link between Depleted Uranium Munitions & Human Health Risks" & co-author of "Uranium Battlefields Home & Abroad: Depleted Uranium Use by the US Dept of Defence".

He is a US Air Force veteran who led a sucessful campaign to prevent DU shells being used near his home town of Socorro, New Mexico.

On Saturday 19th there will be several different peace protests at Fairford, including the "Purple Pixies" who collect money for Iraq children's charities. Protesters will be assembling outside Fairford Church on the HIgh Street at 12 noon.

http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com/purplepixies.html

Statement by the Swindon Stop the War Coalition: "The peace protests are targetting the International Arms dealers and the people who make profit out of death.

We don't want to cause any inconvenience or distress to members of the public attending the event. Most people attend just for the spectacle and to marvel at the technology, without realising that these same planes are used to maim and kill civilians. Many of the people attending will agree with us that the attack on Iraq was wrong, and we hope that the protests will start some friendly debate. "