Author: Sonja Francis

HADDENHAM Local History Forum held a planning meeting on October 20. Following the great success of the lecture on the Black Death by Julian Hunt on September 30, there will be another talk on November 24 (8pm) when George Lamb will speak about the Civil War in Bucks. On December 1, Forum members will consider an outline of Haddenham history and look at evidence on Haddenham buildings, including listed buildings. Everyone will be welcome at these meetings.
The Forum also plans to develop a library of documents, provide items for the quarterly Haddenham Village News and prepare a leaflet for local schools. The eventual aim is to write an official history of the parish. For further information call the Forum’s chairman, Stephen Sharp, on 290597.

OVER 40 people enjoyed an evening of Pizza and Politics with Evan Harris M.P. at the Thame’s Barns centre on Friday 15th October. Arriving in time to dig into a large slice of Pizza from the Pizza House, Evan Harris enjoyed meeting local supporters.
He then gave a engaging and insightful outline of Liberal Democrat policy including an explanation of their plans to replace the unpopular Council Tax with a fairer Local Income Tax. A question from the floor from David Laver, Oxfordshire County Councillor, about housing issues in the South East, led to a lively discussion of the issue. “It was so refreshing to hear a politician speak his mind openly and honestly, and who also made me laugh.” commented Karen Dauncey, who had come along as an interested sceptic.

Dear Editor
The idea of Thame going for a record woolly scarf is a wonderful one but since the publication of the plan in the last edition of the Thame Gazette the Christmas Committee has asked me to clarify the knitting details of the project.
1. Double knitting wool should be used – preferably wool or any other natural fibre rather than synthetic blends.
2. Knitters should use size 8 (4mm) needles.
3. Knitters should cast on 70 stitches.
4. Knit exclusively in garter stitch thus allowing any standard of knitter to lend a hand.

If everyone who wants to partake in the great project follows these simple guidelines then the scarf should end up a uniform size and texture throughout.

Your
Catherine Jones

(Subsequent versions will be in English)
N

Greetings Card Campaign 2004
Charities’ Fair
UK Government’s Human Rights Report 2004
Dates for your Diary
Next Meeting – Greetings Card Campaign 2004
Our next meeting on the Wednesday, the 24th November (8PM) is the last meeting before Christmas, so we will take the opportunity to take part in Amnesty’s Greetings Card Campaign. This campaign takes place annually, over the Christmas period and is one of the few times when Amnesty asks us to send messages of hope and support directly to the victims of human rights violations, and to the people who defend them. Our aim is to send as many greetings cards as possible in the next meeting, so we will have the details of several cases featured by Amnesty this year, along with the addresses where they should be sent. We will have some cards available in which to write your messages, but it would be great if you could bring along any Christmas cards you have to spare (no Amnesty cards, however, as these messages should not be seen to come ‘from’ Amnesty). Hope to see you then!
More information is available from the AIUK site; http://www.amnesty.org.uk/gcc/2004/

Charities’ Fair
A big thank you to everyone who donated cakes, books, Christmas decorations, etc to the Amnesty Stall at the Charities’ Fair last Saturday. Also, thank you to everyone who donated their time to set-up and ‘man’ the stall during the morning and afternoon, with particular thanks to Owen who organised the event. Overall we did very well, raising

I would like to know if anyone in Thame is interested in re-starting Thame LETS (Local Exchange Trading System).Names and enquiries to Jane Kipling, 217216.

I would also like to know if anyone is interested in starting a theatre group to hire a taxi/minibus/coach to Oxford for theatres and/or concerts occasionally. Name as above

BARLEY Hill Primary School?s newly extended hall and new music and drama studio, which were officially opened by rugby player Paul Volley in June, has now hosted a highly successful ?Ball for the Hall?. After months of planning, on 2nd October Susie Shott, co-ordinating parent, and her team of helpers transformed the hall into a glittering and romantic ballroom. 180 parents and guests arrived dressed in dinner jackets and gowns to complete the festive scene! ?After the opening ceremony attended by all the children in the summer, it is wonderful to have an adult event to celebrate all that the parents and local community have achieved for the school,? said John Hulett, Headteacher. ?Our new hall and studio are already transforming the teaching of P.E., music, drama and assemblies at the school.?
At the ball a full three course dinner was served and then the floor was cleared for dancing with the ?Movie Stars? band. Everyone had a great time and over

THIS month has been quite a challenge with a host of different issues being presented to officers and staff. These have included squatters in Chinnor, a wide variety of burglaries and thefts from vehicles and public order issues at Thame fair.
The squatters in Chinnor were arrested and the property re-secured. Cars were stolen from people?s driveways in two of the burglaries. The tracker device in one of the cars was activated resulting in the Force helicopter tracking it to a street in Hertfordshire. Unfortunately the thieves had made off, but the fact the car was recovered in Hertfordshire is evidence of the close working partnership we have with the Force.
A number of burglaries were committed on properties such as farm buildings, sheds and commercial premises. The targets of these crimes were tools and electrical equipment. One premise lost a number of chainsaws and strimmers, another lost a mini digger, chain saw, generator and trailer.
Several vehicles were broken into and property taken. The most targeted item at the moment is the lap-top computer, but everything is susceptible especially as the evenings are darker and opportunities to steal are therefore increasing.
Have you noticed how oblivious you become to the outside world once you draw the curtains and settle down to your evening at home? The criminals have, and if you don?t want to lose your property please act now and make sure that everything you cherish is out of sight and locked away.
Why not take advantage of the crime reduction events we are hosting in Watlington on the Monday 25 October underneath the Town Hall and Wheatley on Saturday 30 October. You can bring items with you for security marking or just ask for general crime reduction advice. For further details of these events please contact crime reduction adviser, Lesley Nesbitt, via 0845 8 505 505.

THAME police are linking two burglaries that took place overnight, last Thursday/Friday, in Thame.
In the first incident, in Glenham Road, Thame, thieves entered a house through an insecure door and took a set of vehicle keys and a handbag. Two males, one wearing a dark blue top and the other a baseball cap, made off from a police constable who pursued them, and stolen property was recovered.
Around about the same time, between 11pm and 02.50am, burglars entered a house in Langdale Road, Thame, through patio doors, searched the house and property was taken.
Anyone with any information about either of the above, is asked to contact the Police Enquiry Line 0845 850555111, or anonymously on 0800 555111.
A spokesman for Thame police said: ?Householders should make sure that all doors are secure before retiring for the night and that vehicle keys are not on view. Side gates should be locked because 90% of break-ins take place by entering through the rear doors of properties.?
Following a recent incident in the national press where a man was killed by an intruder when he went downstairs to investigate a noise during the night, the police spokesman added the warning that anybody who may hear such a disturbance, should telephone the police from an upstairs telephone or mobile phone and not tackle intruders.

Thame Amnesty – October Newsletter (11/10)

o Charities’ Fair – Saturday 6th November
o AIUK Policy Review
 ‘War against terrorism’
 Colombia
 Asylum
o Next Meeting – Wednesday 27th October
o Other Dates for your Diary
Charities’ Fair – Saturday 6th November
THE Thame Charities’ Fair is on Saturday the 6th of November, from 10am to 2:30pm. We need some volunteers to man the stall during this time, and (ideally) to help with the set-up and clearing -up afterwards. On the stall, we want to sell some home-produced goods (cakes, biscuits, jams etc…), but if you have any ideas of other goods to sell, we would like to hear from you! Please get in touch with Owen Davies on 214466. Similar to the stall on our summer street collection, there will be some Amnesty leaflets and info, and a petition to sign for any interested parties.

AIUK Policy Review
We’ve had a copy of the AI policy review from the UK headquarters this month. The policy review covers Amnesty’s stance on a variety of topics, starting with the main campaigns for the year (Stop Violence Against Women & Arms Control), but also including summaries on topics such as the ‘War against Terrorism’, Asylum, Colombia, and the situation in Darfur. The policy review is aimed at summarising the position that AI takes on these issues, and clarifies the requests that AI makes of the UK government in respect of these topics.
‘War against terrorism’
Amnesty condemns in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks such as the Bali and Madrid bombings, but finds itself devoting an increasing amount of time to resisting the backlash against human rights resulting from the pursuit of the ‘War against terrorism’. Terrorist acts are already prohibited by national and international law, and the addition of sweeping national security powers has lead to a destabilisation in the human rights situation in many countries. The new powers being allowed in the name of the ‘War on Terrorism’ commonly include detention without charge, or on the basis of secret evidence, and provisions for prolonged incommunicado detention; well known to facilitate torture.
For example, in India, the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (2002), gives immunity from prosecution for officials ‘acting in good faith’ against terrorists. In the UK, under Part 4 of the 2001 Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCSA) 2001 foreign nationals can be detained indefinitely without charge. As of July 2004, there were 13 individuals being held under this act.
AI is calling on the UK government to ensure that evidence which may have been obtained under torture cannot be used in legal proceedings, and to repeal Part 4 of the ATCSA.
Colombia
AI is very concerned about the situation in Colombia, partially due to the impact of legislative changes on human rights in the country as a result of the ‘War against terrorism’. Since the implementation of President Alvaro Uribe’s ‘democratic security’ suite of policies, there has been a systematic undermining of the Colombian citizens’ human rights, but the conflict between the government, the FARC guerrillas and the right-wing paramilitaries continues. The weakening of key institutions such as the Constitutional Court has added to the general climate of impunity in the Country. In December 2003 congress granted police powers to the armed forces, allowing them to detain individuals and raid homes without judicial authorisation.
In the Policy Review, AI calls on the UK government to cease transfers of military and security items and to urge the Colombian government to amend or draft legislation to end the climate of impunity in Colombia.
Asylum
AI’s main concern regarding the UK’s implementation of Asylum policy is that the quality of the initial asylum decision for an individual is not sufficiently high. In 2003 more than 16,000 asylum decisions were overturned on appeal. Resources should be focussed on getting good-quality, defensibly asylum decisions and to ensure that asylum seekers have early access to good-quality legal advice. Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 allowed the Home Secretary to deny state support to adults who apply for asylum after arriving in the UK, but could not convince the Home Office that they did so ‘as soon as reasonably practical after … arrival in the UK’. AIUK calls on the government to ensure that every asylum seeker has fair and satisfactory access to the asylum procedure, and that there is independent judicial oversight on any decision to detain asylum seekers.
At the Swan Inn, Upper High Street, Thame.
We will take part in an action regarding the military commissions set up by the US government for the Guantanamo Bay detainees. There will also be actions focussing on Guatemala and Iraq as part of the Stop Violence Against Women Campaign, and an update on the Arms Control campaign.
Other Dates for your Diary
Saturday February 5th: Amnesty’s Regional Conference in Aylesbury (… and Wales v England in the Six Nations)

We meet on the fourth Wednesday of every month (except August and December) at 8.00pm in the room above the Swan Inn on the Upper High Street . For more details contact John Evans 01844-291424, john@haddenhamduckpond.org.uk