Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

police clearly told to ignore carol singing protest in parliament square

rikki | 21.12.2005 22:51 | Repression | London

police pointedly ignored investigating possible crimes this evening in parliament square when the 'serious organised crime and police act' was once again challenged by brian haw, maya evans and others. the event was called by tim ireland (www.bloggerheads.com) and raised money for 'medical aid for iraqi children'.

carol singers
carol singers

maya evans and brian haw
maya evans and brian haw

copper ignoring it all
copper ignoring it all

more singers
more singers

this cop can't resist a peek - hope he doesn't get into trouble!
this cop can't resist a peek - hope he doesn't get into trouble!

maya and friends
maya and friends


although for the most part, the carol singing was just that, at one point a megaphone was used (in total contravention of the socpa law) and brian haw made a short political speech which resulted in crowd shouting for freedom and peace, again clearly in defiance of the law banning spontaneous protest in the exclusion zone around parliament.

the police were notable by their absence. on every other occasion when any sort of group has gathered in the square, either community support officers or police have come to investigate and see if any crime was being committed under the controversial section 132 of the law.

on several of the sunday afternoon picnics (which will be continuing at one o clock every sunday in the new year) police decided that they 'believed' a demonstration was going on, and arrested participants or threatened arrest.

when cindy sheehan, the american peace activist, came to visit brian haw recently, police used the law to threaten supporters who were clearly not demonstrating, but this then triggered a demonstration and procession up to the gates of downing street where a noisy protest continued without arrests.

with recent media interest and coverage of this ridiculous law, it seems that decisions about arrests are based on the likelihood of adverse media coverage. once they realised who cindy sheehan was, they clearly backed down despite having given ultimatums and stern warnings. tonight's carol gathering would likewise have gained huge media interest had there been any arrests, and so the police were clearly ordered to ignore the event.

a small group of community support officers lurked under an archway across the road junction, and police walked in front of parliament, studiously avoiding even looking at what was going on (although one officer broke rank and had a sneaky gander). meanwhile, brian made his speech to a hundred or more supporters, a megaphone was briefly used, and fliers for sunday picnics were handed out, all in flagrant breach of the law.

but don't think for one moment that the police have decided not to enforce this terrible law. they just pick softer, less media-attractive targets. yesterday a lone protester, margaret tucker, was taken away by police for standing near parliament with a banner stating 'i am not the serious organised criminal'.

maya evans was found guilty under the law recently and given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 costs. more than twenty others have been charged under the law, and the first of these cases will be heard on the 9th and the 18th of january in the new year. maya will be appealing her conviction and looks likely to go straight to the high court with this battle. as long as the police continue to act so arbitrarily in enforcement, the law looks shakier and shakier in court. the battle is on. the challenges keep coming. there is much confidence that this draconian legislation will be made unworkable and eventually overturned.

www.peopleincommon.org welcomes any ideas for imaginative challenges to this law, and they hold an open picnic every sunday afternoon in parliament square to discuss and act upon ideas to undermine this legislation.

other information can be found at:

www.parliament-square.org.uk
www.j-n-v.org.uk

rikki

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

To the Countryside Alliance

22.12.2005 13:22

Christmas greetings to the Countryside Alliance!

Many of us on the left disagree with what you say - but many would nonetheless fight relentlessly for your right to say it. Free speech covers your right to protest the ban on foxhunting wherever and whenever you want to.

I, and many others I know on the left, were appalled that one of your members was arrested for wearing a T-shirt saying "Bollocks to Blair". If there is one sentiment that can unite the Anti-War movement and the Countryside Alliance, it has to be this one! Free speech is the last remaining line of defence, and it's bigger than our differences.

Would you be prepared to start a dialogue?

Boadicea


Unity

22.12.2005 17:30

Unite with the Countryside Alliance? Shall we get the BNP on board as well while we're at it?

Rachel


Left and right are meaningless here...

22.12.2005 19:05

I vaguely remember a Shakespeare quotation about conflict bringing together unlikely bedfellows.

e.g. The US govt/military were on the side of the famous Socialist Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war.

I've thought for some time that the countryside alliance and the antriwar movement have a common cause (freedom to protest) - and they should work together.

Copernicus


heling put the C**t back in countryside

22.12.2005 20:37


be under no illusions about the CA. Their agenda is based purley around the mass slaughter of a variety of innocent animals. Anyone who has ever been on a sab will attest to the fact that these bastards have NO CONCEPT of peoples freedom to protest. Sabs get beaten week in week out, and two are dead because of CA supporters intolerance to views other than their own. Siding with them is one of the stupidest ideas i have ever heard. They are enemies of the animals, of free speech and actions, and hence, enemies of ours! Whats next, siding with RESPECT!!!!!!!!!!!

(A) Sab

a Sab


Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech