By ANGIE BROWN
POLICE ejected two MSPs from the Edinburgh Military Tattoo last night after foiling an attempt by about 20 pro-Tibet campaigners to disrupt the spectacle from the stands.
Mike Pringle and Chris Ballance were among an organised group of protesters who were taken out of the arena at the castle esplanade after police stepped in to prevent their protest going ahead.
Demonstrators had been ready to unfurl banners protesting at the presence of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army at the tattoo after buying seats for the performance.
Police had information that the demonstration was planned and ten plain-clothed police officers planted in the audience moved to prevent disruption to the event which was attended by a sell-out audience of 8,000 people.
Last night, a police source revealed how officers had moved to stop the demonstration from taking place inside the arena.
“When we realised the Free Tibet Campaign group were going to be at the show, we moved the people sitting in the row in front of them, for their own safety, to other seats around the stand and replaced them with ten plain-clothed officers who we drafted in specially,” the source said.
“We could also monitor their behaviour using CCTV cameras and knew they would strike about 30 minutes into the show, as that’s when the PLA come on.
“We mounted this operation because we were concerned for public safety due to the temporary structure of the seating at the Tattoo. It is very difficult to control a crowd when people are trying to come off the raised seating quickly.”
Police feared they would be accused of preventing freedom of speech if they took action to stop the campaign group attending the event despite learning of the campaigners’ plan in advance.
Last night, Mr Pringle, the Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh South, and vice-convener of the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party working group on Tibet, said he was surprised by the police action.
“We expected the police to pounce but we were surprised how quickly. The police intelligence was very good and all I can think is that maybe they spotted me when I came in.
“This is the first time ever that such a protest has been staged at the Tattoo and we will continue protesting in Edinburgh against China’s repressive regime.”
Mr Ballance, Green MSP for the South of Scotland, said: “We were disappointed that we were not allowed to show the banner within the Tattoo for long, because people ought to have the right to protest. I am sad that our protest was stopped so soon but still feel the mission was accomplished.”
Anne Callaghan, campaign manager of the Free Tibet Campaign, said the fight for justice in China would continue throughout the Tattoo.
“We are very happy that we successfully managed to unfurl one of the banners which read: ‘Don’t applaud China’s genocide.’ There were about 20 protesters in the crowd and the police pounced very quickly. We don’t know how they knew we were there.”
Tattoo producer Brigadier Mel Jameson, who defended his PLA invitation, believing change in China is most likely to come by engagement with the country, said: “I am sad that despite having three meetings with the protesters to say we were happy for demonstrations to happen outside the arena that they chose to break this agreement.
“The police did a fantastic job at the Tattoo tonight and conducted themselves in a very discreet manner so that hardly anybody in the crowd noticed what was happening. The audience gave China a tremendous accolade when they came on and the whole night was a success.”
Steve Cardownie, the deputy Lord Provost of Edinburgh and the city council’s Festival overseer, said: “It was a pity that the demonstrators broke the agreement by entering the arena.”
Supporters of the campaign to free Tibet, which was overrun by 40,000 members of the PLA in 1950 and is still under military rule, vowed to protest when they learned earlier this year that a Chinese army band had been invited to the Tattoo.
Earlier this month, two demonstrators were detained and fined £250 each after trying to abseil down Edinburgh Castle to hang a 28ft-long banner from north-facing walls.
