The right to protest.
First they ban democratic right to protest in parliament square, next cornmarket…
First they ban democratic right to protest in parliament square, next cornmarket…
What MPs say about the Bill
John McDonnell (Labour):
If I get permission to hold a demonstration and someone sees me… and thinks,
"I'll join him", that person would be committing an offence [and] I might
have committed the crime of incitement. So I could go down for 51 weeks or a
year, not for organising the but for incitement.
Any police officer, of any rank, can change the conditions at will at any
time during a demonstration in Parliament square… We are seeing a small but
significant part of our democratic tradition being chiselled away…
Part of the motivation behind this legislation is that some people cannot
come to terms with the illegality and immorality of their actions in this
place.
Glenda Jackson (Labour):
Has any representative of an environmental body attempted to measure the
level of noise from the demonstrators in Parliament square? Does it in fact
exceed the noise that exudes from Big Ben every 15 minutes? . . . What
[Caroline Flint] and other Hon. Members regard as unbearable noise — I
regard it as the voice of democracy.
Alex Salmond (SNP):
Does the Minister think that a £5,000 fine for using a loudspeaker is
proportionate to the offence?
Jermy Corbyn (Labour):
Why on earth should many public buildings in this area be included [in the
ban], as well as Trafalgar square, which is
a traditional place of protest and demonstration?
Mr. Grieve (Conservative):
If in response to an emergency, Parliament was about to vote to go to war,
it would not be possible for demonstrators to stand in Parliament square to
express their view. I simply cannot accept that it will require six days for
the police to decide on such an authorisation.
David Heath (Lib Dems):
How do we define disruption to the life of the community of Parliament
square? I thought that the life of Parliament square was demonstrations. I
thought that Parliament square was the centre where we expressed our
political differences with the Government of the day.
Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru):
The majority of people in Wales oppose both the war in Iraq and the
continued occupation. Plaid Cymru MPs give praise to Brian Haw and the
weekly Community Speakout for giving a voice to this opposition. For those
of us inside the House who voted against the war, their visible presence is
vital, making clear to those in power that it is only inside Westminster
that they are the majority.
Lembit Opik (LibDems):
Introducing legislation to outlaw protest is in itself a crime.
Caroline Lucas MEP (Green Party):
This legislation – criminalizing protesters against everything from animal
cruelty to genocide – is designed to stifle the real change we so
desperately need under New Labour’s increasingly authoritarian regime.
Just to keep you up to date with what is happening re the attempt to withdraw our rigt of protest; !
Monday 14 March 4-6pm mass protest in Parliament Sq.
as Lords debate government banning protests
From house arrest and imprisonment without trial to banning the right to protest, the government is trying to roll back rights established over centuries. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill will criminalise peaceful protest in and around Parliament Square.
Anti-war protest is its first target. Brian Haw’s extraordinary and visually impressive three-and-a-half-year, 24-hour-a-day, peace camp. And the two-year weekly Community Speakout of the Global Women’s Strike which has given a voice to many who refuse to be killers or condone killing, in Iraq or elsewhere. The government wants to deny Mr Haw’s precedent-setting court victory under the Human Rights Act (Mr Justice Gray’s judgement, 4 October 2002), which established everyone’s right to protest.
For over 350 years, people have exercised their right to speak out in and around Parliament Square: Chartists, Suffragettes, and more recently the long-running picket for the extradition and trial of Chilean dictator Pinochet (shamefully freed by then Home Secretary Jack Straw).
There is enormous opposition to these measures. Legal Action for Women’s 18 Jan briefing in the Commons was packed. The Community Speakout, jointly with Brian Haw and 30 organisations, called for a demonstration on 7 February while the Bill was in the Commons. A number of MPs from all parties raised serious concerns -- 86 voted against the Bill.
Despite the government’s guillotine of discussion on this contentious bill, protesters and MPs feel that the ban can and must be defeated.
Among many horrendous measures the Bill says:
It’s an offence to organise or take part in a demonstration without authorisation in or around Parliament Square, even if you are on your own.
The “designated area” is one kilometre around Parliament: it includes Downing St and Trafalgar Square. Airports, government buildings etc. could also be “designated”.
Authorisation must be got from the Commissioner of Police at least six days beforehand. He can impose conditions (and change them at will) on a demonstration, dictating place, start and end times, number of people, number and size of banners, and noise levels. Loudspeakers are forbidden under pain of a £5000 fine.
A “disruption to the life of the community” or “a security risk” can be an excuse to impose conditions.
People are prohibited from “pursuing a course of conduct which involves harassment of two or more persons”, in order to persuade them “not to do something that they are entitled or required to do”. Giving out leaflets could be considered harassment.
We can stop this bill. If we can stir up enough opposition in the Lords the government will run out of time and the Bill will fall before the election
Ask your MP to sign EDM 299. See:
http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=299
Ask the Lords to raise questions, demand full discussion, and vote to keep the right to protest in Parliament Square. To contact MPs, sympathetic Lords
see: http://www.parliament-square.org.uk/lobby.htm
Tell people to join the demo on 14 March in Parliament Square. For more info
see: http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/index.html#Defend
Send letters to your local press, national daily papers and radio programmes. For media contacts see:
http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/English2005/key_media_contact_details.htm
Ask any trade union you belong to or know about to pass a motion condemning this legislation.
·Publicise it to your Church, Mosque, Synagogue, Temple, community group, school, college, workplace, etc.
Michael Schwarz, lawyer for Brian Haw: The freedom of expression (Article
10) and freedom of assembly (Article 11) are being eroded. If need be we
will take legal action to have the courts declare this piece of legislation
incompatible with the Human Rights Act.
John McDonnell (Labour):
If I get permission to hold a demonstration and someone sees me… and thinks,
"I'll join him", that person would be committing an offence [and] I might
have committed the crime of incitement. So I could go down for 51 weeks or a
year, not for organising the but for incitement.
Any police officer, of any rank, can change the conditions at will at any
time during a demonstration in Parliament square… We are seeing a small but
significant part of our democratic tradition being chiselled away…
Part of the motivation behind this legislation is that some people cannot
come to terms with the illegality and immorality of their actions in this
place.
Glenda Jackson (Labour):
Has any representative of an environmental body attempted to measure the
level of noise from the demonstrators in Parliament square? Does it in fact
exceed the noise that exudes from Big Ben every 15 minutes? . . . What
[Caroline Flint] and other Hon. Members regard as unbearable noise — I
regard it as the voice of democracy.
Alex Salmond (SNP):
Does the Minister think that a £5,000 fine for using a loudspeaker is
proportionate to the offence?
Jermy Corbyn (Labour):
Why on earth should many public buildings in this area be included [in the
ban], as well as Trafalgar square, which is
a traditional place of protest and demonstration?
Mr. Grieve (Conservative):
If in response to an emergency, Parliament was about to vote to go to war,
it would not be possible for demonstrators to stand in Parliament square to
express their view. I simply cannot accept that it will require six days for
the police to decide on such an authorisation.
David Heath (Lib Dems):
How do we define disruption to the life of the community of Parliament
square? I thought that the life of Parliament square was demonstrations. I
thought that Parliament square was the centre where we expressed our
political differences with the Government of the day.
Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru):
The majority of people in Wales oppose both the war in Iraq and the
continued occupation. Plaid Cymru MPs give praise to Brian Haw and the
weekly Community Speakout for giving a voice to this opposition. For those
of us inside the House who voted against the war, their visible presence is
vital, making clear to those in power that it is only inside Westminster
that they are the majority.
Lembit Opik (LibDems):
Introducing legislation to outlaw protest is in itself a crime.
Caroline Lucas MEP (Green Party):
This legislation – criminalizing protesters against everything from animal
cruelty to genocide – is designed to stifle the real change we so
desperately need under New Labour’s increasingly authoritarian regime.
Just to keep you up to date with what is happening re the attempt to withdraw our rigt of protest; !
Monday 14 March 4-6pm mass protest in Parliament Sq.
as Lords debate government banning protests
From house arrest and imprisonment without trial to banning the right to protest, the government is trying to roll back rights established over centuries. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill will criminalise peaceful protest in and around Parliament Square.
Anti-war protest is its first target. Brian Haw’s extraordinary and visually impressive three-and-a-half-year, 24-hour-a-day, peace camp. And the two-year weekly Community Speakout of the Global Women’s Strike which has given a voice to many who refuse to be killers or condone killing, in Iraq or elsewhere. The government wants to deny Mr Haw’s precedent-setting court victory under the Human Rights Act (Mr Justice Gray’s judgement, 4 October 2002), which established everyone’s right to protest.
For over 350 years, people have exercised their right to speak out in and around Parliament Square: Chartists, Suffragettes, and more recently the long-running picket for the extradition and trial of Chilean dictator Pinochet (shamefully freed by then Home Secretary Jack Straw).
There is enormous opposition to these measures. Legal Action for Women’s 18 Jan briefing in the Commons was packed. The Community Speakout, jointly with Brian Haw and 30 organisations, called for a demonstration on 7 February while the Bill was in the Commons. A number of MPs from all parties raised serious concerns -- 86 voted against the Bill.
Despite the government’s guillotine of discussion on this contentious bill, protesters and MPs feel that the ban can and must be defeated.
Among many horrendous measures the Bill says:
It’s an offence to organise or take part in a demonstration without authorisation in or around Parliament Square, even if you are on your own.
The “designated area” is one kilometre around Parliament: it includes Downing St and Trafalgar Square. Airports, government buildings etc. could also be “designated”.
Authorisation must be got from the Commissioner of Police at least six days beforehand. He can impose conditions (and change them at will) on a demonstration, dictating place, start and end times, number of people, number and size of banners, and noise levels. Loudspeakers are forbidden under pain of a £5000 fine.
A “disruption to the life of the community” or “a security risk” can be an excuse to impose conditions.
People are prohibited from “pursuing a course of conduct which involves harassment of two or more persons”, in order to persuade them “not to do something that they are entitled or required to do”. Giving out leaflets could be considered harassment.
We can stop this bill. If we can stir up enough opposition in the Lords the government will run out of time and the Bill will fall before the election
Ask your MP to sign EDM 299. See:
http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=299 Ask the Lords to raise questions, demand full discussion, and vote to keep the right to protest in Parliament Square. To contact MPs, sympathetic Lords
see:
http://www.parliament-square.org.uk/lobby.htm Tell people to join the demo on 14 March in Parliament Square. For more info
see:
http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/index.html#Defend Send letters to your local press, national daily papers and radio programmes. For media contacts see:
http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/English2005/key_media_contact_details.htm Ask any trade union you belong to or know about to pass a motion condemning this legislation.
·Publicise it to your Church, Mosque, Synagogue, Temple, community group, school, college, workplace, etc.
Michael Schwarz, lawyer for Brian Haw: The freedom of expression (Article
10) and freedom of assembly (Article 11) are being eroded. If need be we
will take legal action to have the courts declare this piece of legislation
incompatible with the Human Rights Act.
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