The Hillsborough
Justice Campaign
We were formed after the justice Smith stitch-up,
when substantial numbers of people involved in
the disaster decided a fresh approach was needed.
After 9 long years of 'quiet dignity' there was
a serious decline in public awareness and it was
decided that a rare pro-active approach was needed
to redress that situation. The HJC is determined
to seek the justice denied to all victims of Hillsborough
and we welcome all football supporters or otherwise
to join in our campaign for Justice. The following
is an account of our activities since our formation;
The first meeting of the HJC took place in February
1998, when some families decided to join with
'Survivors & Supporters of justice for all'.
Once the decision was made, we began to find that
the local communities backed a more pro-active
campaign and it wasn't long before we were able
to acquire premises on Oakfield Road. These serve
4 important functions; office/meeting place/advice
centre and outlet for selling suitable goods.
We are open Mon-Fri normal office hours and every
Liverpool home game at 134 Oakfield Road, Anfield
L14 OUG. Weekly meetings are on Monday at 7pm.
All are welcome. We can also be reached by phone
or fax on 0151 260 5262. Membership of the campaign
costs £2.
Public awareness of Hillsborough has certainly
improved with our efforts in keeping it in the
public domain and telling the truth about that
terrible day. Our campaign of raising public awareness
has taken several forms, including our leaflet
campaign producing and distributing over a dozen
different leaflets - each relating to some aspect
of Hillsborough. To date, we have issued well
in excess of 100,000 leaflets at football matches
in the UK and beyond. We have also produced and
issued over 100,000 'Justice' stickers and our
latest leaflets/stickers publicized our boycott
of "Hillsborough football ground on May 8th,
1999.
Many of our leaflets are distributed at Anfitld
and all away games. Visitors to Anfield are also
leafleted and given justice stickers. We have
also contacted every football fanzine in England,
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic
of Ireland (including non-league) in an attempt
to gain support from ALL fans. Nevertheless, we
look beyond football for support and we have received
it from sports personalities, stars from the entertainment
industry but most of all from the countless ordinary
individuals without whose support our campaign
would be certain to fail.
Fund-raising is a vital part of any campaign.
Our main avenue is a series of events, usually
nights out complete with local artists who are
playing for their 'petrol money' alone. A growing
number of top bands have supported us in one way
or another - to name them all would be unfair
on the many (currently) unknown artists who generously
play for free at our own fund-raising events.
We also sell a number of goods at our shop; T-shirts,
polo shirts, car stickers, books, framed photo's,
caps and our latest 'Boycott Hillsborough' T-shirts.
Our fund raising helps to keep the publicity machine
in smooth working order and fund other activities.
We will not shy away from entering the political
arena, based on the countless political interventions
carried out by successive Conservative and New
Labour governments concerning Hillsborough. The
political establishment has been instrumental
in covering up the disaster, and New Labour's
pre--election promises have materialised into
little or no support for the families or survivors.
People who say politics has nothing to do with
Hillsborough may care to recall that it was political
decisions which forced football supporters to
be caged - and it was politicians, many of whom
had never stood on terraces, who condemned us
as 'animals' and in many ways allowed Hillsborough
to happen. One recent incident may well illustrate
why we cannot avoid the political area.
Last year Merseyside's Chief Constable was retiring
and a replacement was receded. \Imagine the outrage
when we discovered that the man selected to become
our new Chief Constable was an officer who had
been part of a South Yorkshire Police liaison
unit, set up in 1989 to 'conduct a campaign of
black propaganda' against Liverpool supporters.
]he appointment was to be voted in at a meeting
of Merseyside Police Authority, a body made up
of local councilors. We then drew up a petition
in the short time available before a vote took
place. We raised over 15,000 signatures backing
our demands; despite our efforts, local politicians
voted 11-3 to appoint Norman Bettison, whose role
as a South Yorkshire police officer back in 1989
should have been spotted at the interview stage.
We plan to stand candidates at local elections
to oppose those politicians whose political interests
are purely self-serving and not acceptable to
the local community. If we have to, families will
eventually oppose MP's at the next general election
- New Labour could well expect a terrible upset
If they continue to deny us justice. Our move
into the political arena means we have already
begun to make links with many other justice campaign's
and we do so an a basis of solidarity with people
from all walks of life who have, like the Hillsborough
families, been kicked in the teeth on a regular
basis by an establishment whose concept of the
word 'justice' leaves a lot to be desired
Our legal campaign encompasses both survivors
and families of those who died, and we intend
to pursue our legal battle in Europe should Justice
be denied by the legal process in this country.
As well as South Yorkshire Police, we believe
Sheffield Wednesday FC and the Football Association
have yet to be brought to account for their part
in causing the deaths of 96 men, women and children,
and injuries to over 400 supporters. Recently,
a survivor won a high court judgment, which ruled
his solicitors 'Linskills' of Liverpool were negligent
in their actions back in 1989. We have plans to
help survivors get proper legal representation,
and have a number of case which will further expose
the negligence of many solicitors and help any
survivors of future disasters get proper legal,
medical and psychological counselling if they
need it. We have cases which are currently being
considered by some highly regarded solicitors
and barristers, and since our formation we have
gathered vital new evidence which we feel has
come to light because of our pro-active approach.
Hillsborough was an event wild forever changed
many lives on Merseyside and beyond, and to this
day we have seen justice denied to the families
and victims. The Hillsborough disaster still remains
in the memories of most football supporters, although
for a whole new generation it is an event from
another era. We need to reach out and teach this
new generation what happened 10 years ago - that
96 people went to a football game and never came
back alive. Even people old enough to remember
may have been misled by the tabloid gutter press
into believing that it was 'Scousers' who killed
the 96.
We have had to contend with these despicable
ties by printing and distributing our own account
of events. We will be silent no more. We hope
this article reflects our ability to conduct a
campaign for justice in a manner which best serves
the interests of the families and survivors. We
are an open democratic orgart6ation and if we
have missed out on some point, which you would
like to see, raised, then we welcome any suggestions
or question. We appeal to anyone, be they football
supporters or otherwise, to show solidarity with
our campaign by helping in whatever way they can.
Yours for justice,
Kevin Robinson and Gary Burns on behalf of the
Hillsborough justice Campaign
Click here
to visit the Hillsborough Justice Campaign's website
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