Gordon Brown plans to extend the restrictions on demonstrations near parliament to cover the whole country, claiming that this will simplify the work of the police. The current law totally bans spontaneous protests, requiring advance police permission, which allows the police to impose arbitrary limits on numbers and effectively act as political censors. The consultation proposes extending these rules to any protest anywhere, in the name of 'harmonisation', and adding powers to control the content of banners, placards and leaflets. The freedom to protest was won through hard struggle and if we want to keep it we must take a stand to say enough is enough. Come to a public meeting to plan a response: we propose early January.
Public meeting
London School of Economics room H102, Connaught House
2-4pm, Sunday 2nd December
http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/mapsAndDirections/Default.htm
Brown likes to talk about liberty, quoting everyone he can dig up. Yes, they're all conveniently dead, no danger of them telling him he's talking shit. The police pleas for more powers against demos to be made more restrictive have got a welcome from the government. No surprise there. Whenever our rulers (Labour, Tory, same shit story!) give up buying us off with a half-decent welfare state, housing that real working people can afford, and the right to stand up to our bosses effectively, they always end up trying to beat us into submission.
190 years ago protesters were massacred at Peterloo, the government response was more police powers. Southall, Toxteth, Brixton, Orgreave, Tottenham, Wapping, Bradford, Fairford, more police powers. The government talks as if the freedom to protest is the product of liberal philosophers, in reality it is the product of working people fighting every inch of the way to extract concessions from those who only want obedience. The "war on terror" has just given them another excuse, the war on our liberties never went away.
We have a choice: do we let generations of struggles disappear into the history books or do we say-
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
-----------------------
State of Emergency seeks to highlight and take direct action against the causes and effects of the War on Terror. We stand in solidarity against military and economic oppression by defending ourselves against the ever increasing domination of the state. We recognise that the state of emergency in which we live will continue for as long as our obedience enables them to control us.
------------------------
See also:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/11/386033.html
http://www.schnews.co.uk/archive/news612.htm
http//www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-2007-managing protest?view=Binary
London School of Economics room H102, Connaught House
2-4pm, Sunday 2nd December
http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/mapsAndDirections/Default.htm Brown likes to talk about liberty, quoting everyone he can dig up. Yes, they're all conveniently dead, no danger of them telling him he's talking shit. The police pleas for more powers against demos to be made more restrictive have got a welcome from the government. No surprise there. Whenever our rulers (Labour, Tory, same shit story!) give up buying us off with a half-decent welfare state, housing that real working people can afford, and the right to stand up to our bosses effectively, they always end up trying to beat us into submission.
190 years ago protesters were massacred at Peterloo, the government response was more police powers. Southall, Toxteth, Brixton, Orgreave, Tottenham, Wapping, Bradford, Fairford, more police powers. The government talks as if the freedom to protest is the product of liberal philosophers, in reality it is the product of working people fighting every inch of the way to extract concessions from those who only want obedience. The "war on terror" has just given them another excuse, the war on our liberties never went away.
We have a choice: do we let generations of struggles disappear into the history books or do we say-
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
-----------------------
State of Emergency seeks to highlight and take direct action against the causes and effects of the War on Terror. We stand in solidarity against military and economic oppression by defending ourselves against the ever increasing domination of the state. We recognise that the state of emergency in which we live will continue for as long as our obedience enables them to control us.
------------------------
See also:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/11/386033.html http://www.schnews.co.uk/archive/news612.htm http//www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-2007-managing protest?view=Binary
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