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"GLA PULL THAT FENCE DOWN TODAY"!

I hope you find this helpful and supportive:

Respect press release - for immediate use 18/08/2007

What is happening to the right to protest?

Ken Livingstone and the Greater London Authority (GLA) have evicted peaceful protesters camping in Parliament Square. Brian Haw has been protesting against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 in Parliament Square, and his supporters have been there with him for more than a year.

The GLA erected a security fence around the Square today to prevent more protesters from setting up camp, saying that they did not want it to become an "illegal camp site" causing health risks to Londoners and the GLA itself.

The High Court recently ruled that government plans to restrict Brian Haw's right to protest were unlawful. It remains unclear then why Brian Haw is allowed to stay, while others who have been living there are being evicted.

Lindsey German, Respect's mayoral candidate, said "the real danger to public health is across the road from the Square where the government and its parliamentary majority have consistently supported the killing of hundreds of thousands of people."

There was no warning or discussion with the protestors about the eviction. The longer the war in Iraq drags on, the more reasons the government will find to justify curbing civil liberties at home.

Ends

For more comment from Lindsey German phone 07810 540 584