By Ben O'Neil

An illicit rave billed as the biggest ever free party planned at Stonehenge to coincide with next years summer solstice, is causing increasing fears of violence.


There are strong indications that Stonehenge 2000, as the event is being advertised on the Internet, could jeopardize even further the last few years' attempts to bring Stonehenge back into the public domain.

What might have been seen as a naive effort at bringing together a gathering of travelers, free party-goers and solstice revelers is now being given increasing credence in the wake of last month's riots.

The perimeter fence around Stonehenge was broken down and up to 400 people stormed the stone circle hours before dawn on June 21, provoking a three hour police operation - often in the face of violent antagonism - to evict them and restore order.

That invasion - now believed to have been planned by a hard core of trouble makers - is feared to have been a precursor to possible events next year.

Concern is growing because of the specific nature of the Internet advertisement. The detailed time of the party is given as 2.45 a.m. on June 21, above the ominous instruction 'Reclaim Our Culture', which is being seen possibly a thinly coded invitation for a mass breach of the security cordon.

The advertisement also appears in a high-resolution format so that it can be printed off in full colour, copied and used as a fly-poster.

Next year's summer solstice will be the most significant in living memory as midsummer's day in the millennial year, and is likely to attract thousands of revelers to the monument.

The potential for violence and disorder will be incalculable, police fear.

Already a dedicated intelligence team covering the south of England and based in Devises is monitoring all forms of underground communication, in particular the Internet, to try to stay one step of those planning to pose a threat to peace at Stonehenge.

In the light of this year's trouble following the relaxation of a four mile exclusion zone around Stonehenge for the duration of the Solstice, exclusion measures may need to be reintroduced, although police plans are in very early stages.

"It may be that we carry on doing the same thing as in previous years - it's too early to say yet," said Salisbury's police chief, Supr. Andy Hollingshead.

Salisbury MP Robert Key vowed to keep pressure on the Government to re-establish legal powers for police to impose exclusion zones, lost after a House of Lords ruling in March.

He said it could be possible to make the necessary amendments to the Criminal Justice Act before next years solstice.

"I believe it would be possible - the police have already been talking to the Home Office officials," he said, "but the Government will have to step on it."

He said a form of exclusion zone would be vital to prevent ugly scenes recurring.

"The police must have adequate powers to prevent a tiny minority ruining it for everyone else." said Mr. Key.

Article from The Salisbury Journal 08-Jul-99


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