This is just another idea for how we might work to highlight the absurdity of Blair's criminalisation of peaceful protests in Parliament Square.
Under Section 132 of the 2005 "Serious Organised Crime" bill, any person doing or saying anything political within 1km of Parliament, without Police, permission can be arrested and prosecuted. Earlier this month Maya Evans was the first person to fall foul of this law, after she stood at the Cenotaph and read the names of dead British soldiers without permission from the authorities.
It's time for mass action! This is just one suggestion for a simple, quick, low-cost method of peaceful resistance.
1. Get hold of:
- A placard (or T-shirt) saying something political (eg. "Balls to the ban on free speech in Parliament Square", "Maya Evans is not a criminal", "Give Speech A Chance" etc.)
- A copy of one of today's newspapers
- A digital camera
- A willing volunteer
- A computer with Photoshop (or equiv) and internet access
2. Go to Parliament Square, stand in front of Big Ben, and pretend to be a tourist while your friendly volunteer takes a couple of pictures for effect.
3. When the Police are not looking, whip out your placard or T-shirt slogan, hold up your copy of today's paper (to prove that this happened AFTER the crazy law was brought in), and get another quick picture.
4. Do a runner.
5. Upload the picture(s) to your computer, edit them to disguise your face, then distribute them widely on the internet (Indymedia, Urban 75 etc.)
*If this takes off, it will quickly become apparent that this illegal law is completely unenforceable. There's no way the Police can stop and question every person who wants to have their picture taken in front of Big Ben, so there's really no way they can tell who is and isn't a protestor without shutting the whole place down, and even Blair doesn't yet seem that bonkers.
Vorsprung Durch Technik!!!
It's time for mass action! This is just one suggestion for a simple, quick, low-cost method of peaceful resistance.
1. Get hold of:
- A placard (or T-shirt) saying something political (eg. "Balls to the ban on free speech in Parliament Square", "Maya Evans is not a criminal", "Give Speech A Chance" etc.)
- A copy of one of today's newspapers
- A digital camera
- A willing volunteer
- A computer with Photoshop (or equiv) and internet access
2. Go to Parliament Square, stand in front of Big Ben, and pretend to be a tourist while your friendly volunteer takes a couple of pictures for effect.
3. When the Police are not looking, whip out your placard or T-shirt slogan, hold up your copy of today's paper (to prove that this happened AFTER the crazy law was brought in), and get another quick picture.
4. Do a runner.
5. Upload the picture(s) to your computer, edit them to disguise your face, then distribute them widely on the internet (Indymedia, Urban 75 etc.)
*If this takes off, it will quickly become apparent that this illegal law is completely unenforceable. There's no way the Police can stop and question every person who wants to have their picture taken in front of Big Ben, so there's really no way they can tell who is and isn't a protestor without shutting the whole place down, and even Blair doesn't yet seem that bonkers.
Vorsprung Durch Technik!!!
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