The right to protest

[Peter]

Are people in the UK and elsewhere free to protest?  It seems to me that in the UK, they are not and never have been.  Take the current environmental protest at Heathrow airport:

ENSIONS at Heathrow's climate camp escalated last night as demonstrators accused police of using heavy-handed tactics by holding protesters and blocking vehicles from entering the site.

Police stopped trucks carrying food to the camp and also held several demonstrators under anti-terror laws.

Or Walter Wolfgang, an 82 year old Jewish escapee from Nazi Germany who was manhandled out of a Labour party conference in 2005 for shouting 'nonsense' at Jack Straw, and who was then held under anti-terror legislation:

Headlines about an 82-year old Jewish escapee from the Nazis being manhandled out of Labour conference for daring to yell "nonsense" at the foreign secretary is probably not the way Tony Blair wanted to end this rally.

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There have been a few examples of it in the recent past.

Most notably, the prime minister was mid-speech last year when a hunting protester attempted a freestyle heckle only to be instantly grabbed by "burly bouncers" and helped to the exit.

No-one who was there will forget the incongruity of the prime minister telling the man he was lucky to live in a free society where such things were allowed - just as he was being bundled out of the hall surrounded by stewards.

After being ejected Mr Wolfgang's pass was seized and he was detained under the Terrorism Act when he tried to re-enter the conference on Wednesday.

Then there's the miners' strikes of 1984-1985:

The Government mobilised the police (including Metropolitan Police squads from London) to attempt to stop further attempts by the pickets to stop miners who wanted to work (some claim this involved intimidation and violence). The government claimed these were to safeguard individual civil rights, many miners have seen this as class warfare, with the police as the 'special bodies of armed men' that Engels described. During the industrial action 11,291 people were arrested and 8,392 charged with offences such as breach of the peace and obstructing the highway. Former striking miners and others have alleged that soldiers of the British Army were dressed as policemen and used on the picket lines.

[Lucifer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/markthomas_homeoffice.shtml

mark thomas did a half hour show on this - it was one of the funniest things i've ever heard.  sadly, the listen again option isn't available any more, but i have an mp3 copy, if anyone want it (and knows how to get it somewhere accessible, if i can't send you a cd).

[Christopher McCandless]

Are people in the UK and elsewhere free to protest?  It seems to me that in the UK, they are not and never have been.  Take the current environmental protest at Heathrow airport:

ENSIONS at Heathrow's climate camp escalated last night as demonstrators accused police of using heavy-handed tactics by holding protesters and blocking vehicles from entering the site.

Police stopped trucks carrying food to the camp and also held several demonstrators under anti-terror laws.

Or Walter Wolfgang, an 82 year old Jewish escapee from Nazi Germany who was manhandled out of a Labour party conference in 2005 for shouting 'nonsense' at Jack Straw, and who was then held under anti-terror legislation:

Headlines about an 82-year old Jewish escapee from the Nazis being manhandled out of Labour conference for daring to yell "nonsense" at the foreign secretary is probably not the way Tony Blair wanted to end this rally.

...
...
...

There have been a few examples of it in the recent past.

Most notably, the prime minister was mid-speech last year when a hunting protester attempted a freestyle heckle only to be instantly grabbed by "burly bouncers" and helped to the exit.

No-one who was there will forget the incongruity of the prime minister telling the man he was lucky to live in a free society where such things were allowed - just as he was being bundled out of the hall surrounded by stewards.

After being ejected Mr Wolfgang's pass was seized and he was detained under the Terrorism Act when he tried to re-enter the conference on Wednesday.

Then there's the miners' strikes of 1984-1985:

The Government mobilised the police (including Metropolitan Police squads from London) to attempt to stop further attempts by the pickets to stop miners who wanted to work (some claim this involved intimidation and violence). The government claimed these were to safeguard individual civil rights, many miners have seen this as class warfare, with the police as the 'special bodies of armed men' that Engels described. During the industrial action 11,291 people were arrested and 8,392 charged with offences such as breach of the peace and obstructing the highway. Former striking miners and others have alleged that soldiers of the British Army were dressed as policemen and used on the picket lines.

There is a right to protest. Just you have to remain within the law while doing it, and national security takes preceedence. As for the Walter Wolfgang affair, thats another matter.

[Peter]

There is a right to protest. Just you have to remain within the law while doing it, and national security takes preceedence. As for the Walter Wolfgang affair, thats another matter.

The protesters at Heathrow have remained within the law, yet they're being searched by police as they arrive.  Also, Walter Wolfgang isn't the only person who's been manhandled out of a political event for heckling; he's just the most high profile, and only got an apology since it was live on TV and PR disaster for Labour.

Protesters tell Evening Standard: show us your proof
            
Anger at 'hoax bomb' claim by Padraig Reidy

As police use anti-terror legislation to stop and search activists joining the 'Camp for Climate Action', protesters against a proposed extra runway at Heathrow Airport have hit back at claims by a London newspaper that they planned to create security alerts at the airport. Padraig Reidy reports

Environmental campaigners have responded angrily to what they have dubbed a 'smear campaign'.

A report in yesterday's Evening Standard claimed that participants in the 'Camp for Climate Action' were planning to create security alerts at Heathrow airport with 'hoax bombs'. Protesters today hit back, saying they had referred the report to the Press Complaints Commission under article 1.1 of its code of practice, which binds newspapers to 'take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.'

A spokesman for the camp said today that he was happy to invite Veronica Wadley, editor of the Evening Standard, to the camp, if she could bring evidence to back up her paper’s claims.

Meanwhile, local MP John McDonnell criticised police handling of the protest so far.

'The police presence is completely over the top,' McDonnell told Index. 'They have already used anti-terrorist legislation to stop and search people approaching the camp. Many of my constituents feel very intimidated, having been photographed going about their daily business by police.'

'I have had several meetings with local residents, and the vast majority support the campaigners' right to peaceful protest,' he added.

The protest officially began today, though the camp was set up two days early. A steady stream of campers made their way down the narrow West London lane to the camp all morning, braving the rain and police cameras.

The camp is set to culminate in a day of direct action on Sunday. While the camp spokesman said it was as yet undecided as to what form the action would take, he insisted that no violence would take place. However, the protesters refused to rule out a protest within terminal buildings.

[Peter]

BAA also tried to get an injunction against the protesters to stop the protest happening at all:

BAA claimed that it sought to stop the ‘Camp for Climate Action’ on grounds of safety. But activist John Stewart says the airport owner was really attempting to silence critical voices

In the High Court yesterday BAA, the owner of Heathrow airport, was granted an injunction banning protestors from the airport and some BAA buildings in its vicinity during the month of August. During this time, 14-21 August, the Camp for Climate Action will be pitching its tents near Heathrow.

BAA, though, will be disappointed with the outcome of the court case heard before Mrs Justice Swift. It had asked for an indefinite injunction to ban up to five million people from protesting in the Heathrow area. These included individual members of local campaign groups HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) and NOTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group) as well as members of large environmental organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, the National Trust and the RSPB. BAA had also sought an injunction against direct action network Plane Stupid as well as four named individuals: me (as chair of HACAN and the national umbrella body AirportWatch), Joss Garman and Leo Murray from Plane Stupid, and Geraldine Nicholson, the NOTRAG chair. If granted it would probably have been the most wide-ranging injunction in UK history. BAA sought the injunction under harassment laws.

The judge granted a much narrower injunction, based on trespass rather than harassment. It simply banned Plane Stupid and those acting in concert with it from Heathrow and some BAA buildings during August. Leo Murray, Joss Garman and I gave undertakings not to visit these areas during the month. The case against Geraldine Nicholson, NOTRAG, HACAN, Airportwatch (and its member organisations, such as Greenpeace and the RSPB) was thrown out and BAA was ordered to pay their costs.

The concern is not with the judgment, but the fact that a multi-national company felt entitled to bring such a wide-ranging judgment in the first place. One can only guess at BAA’s motives. On the surface it wanted to protect its business from possible disruption from protestors associated with the Camp for Climate Action. But the suspicion remains that it had deeper motives. This is a company under pressure from an increasingly effective campaign movement arguing that its plans for massive expansion at Heathrow (and elsewhere) are incompatible with the threat of climate change and the impact on the local communities. BAA has faced a well-argued, visible campaign against its expansionist plans. What easier way to silence its critics and bully them into submission than to use the Camp for Climate Action as cover to bring in the mother of all injunctions?

It is believed that BAA thought the potential injunctees, put off by potential costs, might not fight the case. But given what was at stake, that was never a realistic option for the campaign groups. The campaign groups didn’t win outright, but the fact that the judge only granted an extremely narrow injunction showed the importance of fighting the case. It might help to deter other companies from attempting such an injunction. But the concern remains – if the campaign groups had not been in a position to employ a top legal team, BAA could have set a precedent for big companies to treat the right to free expression through peaceful protest with contempt.

[Christopher McCandless]

There is a right to protest. Just you have to remain within the law while doing it, and national security takes preceedence. As for the Walter Wolfgang affair, thats another matter.

The protesters at Heathrow have remained within the law, yet they're being searched by police as they arrive.  Also, Walter Wolfgang isn't the only person who's been manhandled out of a political event for heckling; he's just the most high profile, and only got an apology since it was live on TV and PR disaster for Labour.

Protesters tell Evening Standard: show us your proof
            
Anger at 'hoax bomb' claim by Padraig Reidy

As police use anti-terror legislation to stop and search activists joining the 'Camp for Climate Action', protesters against a proposed extra runway at Heathrow Airport have hit back at claims by a London newspaper that they planned to create security alerts at the airport. Padraig Reidy reports

Environmental campaigners have responded angrily to what they have dubbed a 'smear campaign'.

A report in yesterday's Evening Standard claimed that participants in the 'Camp for Climate Action' were planning to create security alerts at Heathrow airport with 'hoax bombs'. Protesters today hit back, saying they had referred the report to the Press Complaints Commission under article 1.1 of its code of practice, which binds newspapers to 'take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.'

A spokesman for the camp said today that he was happy to invite Veronica Wadley, editor of the Evening Standard, to the camp, if she could bring evidence to back up her paper’s claims.

Meanwhile, local MP John McDonnell criticised police handling of the protest so far.

'The police presence is completely over the top,' McDonnell told Index. 'They have already used anti-terrorist legislation to stop and search people approaching the camp. Many of my constituents feel very intimidated, having been photographed going about their daily business by police.'

'I have had several meetings with local residents, and the vast majority support the campaigners' right to peaceful protest,' he added.

The protest officially began today, though the camp was set up two days early. A steady stream of campers made their way down the narrow West London lane to the camp all morning, braving the rain and police cameras.

The camp is set to culminate in a day of direct action on Sunday. While the camp spokesman said it was as yet undecided as to what form the action would take, he insisted that no violence would take place. However, the protesters refused to rule out a protest within terminal buildings.

I think the police presence is justified in the case of the camp, given that it is next to an airport and the Wombles are threatening direct action. There is a matter of national security here. As for heckling, most of the time individual hecklers should be thrown out, the rest have come to listen to a speech. Mass heckling on the other hand, is a different matter.

[Lucifer]

you're quite the little tory for a *cough* communist, aren't you, hardon?

[Christopher McCandless]

you're quite the little tory for a *cough* communist, aren't you, hardon?

I think any sensible person cares about national security. Slight difference to what you are saying.

[Lucifer]

ooooh, look - a Daily Bigot Mail reader.

[Eclair]

I think I agree with Hadron...for the most part.

(I know, I've struggled with it for most of the day, but it's true)

[Lucifer]

l.  he'll never let you forget that, you know. 

[Christopher McCandless]

ooooh, look - a Daily Bigot Mail reader.

If I actually read it I would be more or less convinced the world is going to end tommorow and that I was going to suffer death by muslim/ yob/ packet of crisps.

[richard]

the european union really fucking sucks. it seems like once that guy took over ALOT of countries lost alot of rights son!