[Politics] 'Freedom To Protest' Demonstration, 18th May Edin.

[frosty]

A peaceful demonstration is planned to assert our right to freely protest without fear. It will be held at 12pm on the 18th of May at Parliament Square, as a response to the campaign of harassment and intimidation which Lothian and Borders Police is directing at peaceful protsters in Edinburgh. Such repression violates human rights and, if it continues, it will stifle popular participation in civil society. The demonstration is also in solidarity with the dozens of working class people who are oppressed by the Edinburgh 'justice' system every day.



Police Harrasment in Edinburgh

On 15th April five people in the political performance art group, Edinburgh Rebel Clowns, were surrounded by police at a demonstration against the use of biofuels [1] and detained for questioning; they were investigating numerous protests that they claimed had happened in Edinburgh over the previous months. They were later charged with a 'breach of the peace' for behaving like clowns at the biofuels demonstration, despite eye witnesses reporting that they were friendly and entertaining.

While they were in custody, one woman was singled out, interviewed for two hours and kept in solitary confinement. When she was returned to the cell with her friends, she started vomiting From stress.

Sophie Bastable, 20, an Edinburgh University student and member of the rebel clown group said "We were targeted for no apparent reason other than dressing up as clowns and having political opinions. We had no idea that participating in a peaceful demonstration against biofuels could result in arbritrary arrest, and were shocked when we were detained without warning by lothian and borders police."

Today, the 12th May, Peter Wyszomirfki a 27 year old artist and Edinburgh resident was physically assaulted, and went to the police to report it: "After giving my statement another officer came into the room, he was very intimidating and accusatory saying: I know you, you were at the protest at the Quartermile [2]. He showed me photographs and asked me loads of questions about people and events that I knew nothing about. He also said that the clowns are dangerous people, and that I shouldn't join them".

There have also been several early morning detentions of environmental campaigners. On Friday march 28th, three individuals were detained for questioning at the same time; they were woken up, and taken from their bedrooms with only just enough time to get dressed, then held and questioned for four and a half hours.

Oliver Munnion, 23, an Environmental Science student at Edinburgh University said "it's important to remind the police that they are public servants, and accountable for their actions. Their tactics of intimidation are reminiscent of more oppressive regimes."

Several environmental campaigners have been contacted by the police and offered money in exchange for information about past and future demonstrations in Edinburgh.

Our Demands

Not only are the Police acting in a way which contradicts their obligations to Article 10, and Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights; they are suppressing political protest, and if such activities continue, there will be detrimental consequences for popular participation in civil society.

In light of this we have the following demands:

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We demand that the Lothian and Borders Police end the intimidation of peaceful protests.
*

We demand that harassment in the guise of 'evidence gathering' is stopped.
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We demand that our human right to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association be respected.
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We demand that people in police custody are treated with respect and dignity

We make these demands in solidarity with millions of people around the world whose rights are infringed upon by unjust governments and oppressive police forces; and in solidarity with the dozens of working class people every day who are subjected to the violence of Edinburgh's 'justice' system, people who are treated without dignity or respect by the police or the court.

We call upon every freedom loving person to come out and demonstrate at 12pm on the 18th of May at Parliament Square [3], to assert our freedom to protest, and to ensure that these rights are not eroded by aggressive policing.



Notes

[1] a fuel source which is contributing to famine and environmental devastation in the developing world

[2] A peaceful protest, raising awareness about the problems that supermarkets such as Sainsbury's have on the local economy and on the environment.

[3] Parliament square is located just off Edinburgh's royal mile, near High St, and the City Chambers.

[Zippy]

Get a job, stop listening to the Levellers and eating rolls and Pot Noodle.

[MarkMono]

Done, but do I really have to stop listening to the Levellers?

[Draven]

Maybe the Police have a phobia of clowns. "Rebel" clowns.

So you guys are "protesting" for the sake of protesting, literally here.

[Bobzilla]

Wheres Wolfie?

[Zippy]

It's a shame that AN will probably offer no real support to what could be a worthwhile protest.

Now if it was against Scientology all the kooky bastards of the day will be handcuffing themselves to lamp posts with you!

[MarkMono]

Feel that backlash.

[Bobzilla]

Originally Posted by Zippy

It's a shame that AN will probably offer no real support to what could be a worthwhile protest.

Now if it was against Scientology all the kooky bastards of the day will be handcuffing themselves to lamp posts with you!

I think AN managed about 10 folk taking part in the Make Poverty History marches. We've got maybe 2 or 3 folk that are politically charged enough to still attend protests etc and thats it.

In this instance we've got no balanced view on what happened to cause this. For all we know its been hyped up enough to try and get a reaction to prove a point rather than actually further any real ideals.

[pANDAS Radio]

so they're really protesting for the right to dress as a clown at a protest, not for the right to protest. Fuckin' students. Just calling themselves a "political performance art group" makes me think they're cunts.

We demand that our human right to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association be respected.

It is respected, every other protestor managed not to get arrested. Since they were "entertaining" people did they have a license for street performance? Probably not.

We make these demands in solidarity with millions of people around the world whose rights are infringed upon by unjust governments and oppressive police forces; and in solidarity with the dozens of working class people every day who are subjected to the violence of Edinburgh's 'justice' system, people who are treated without dignity or respect by the police or the court.

Fuckin' hell, could they have any higher opinions of themselves. I can just imagine political prisoners all over the world rallying behind these 5 people. It's good that someone is finally able to stand up and reveal the similarity between this...



and this...



Someone needs to slap some reality into these fuckwits, they say it so well themselves.

They were later charged with a 'breach of the peace' for behaving like clowns at the biofuels demonstration

[Gaias Id]

I would be all for a protest to stop police being cunts, but im politicaly apathetic and i doubt that just my vote that it would be a good cause is going to precipate any sort of social revolution.

[MarkMono]

Originally Posted by Bobzilla

I think AN managed about 10 folk taking part in the Make Poverty History marches. We've got maybe 2 or 3 folk that are politically charged enough to still attend protests etc and thats it.

In this instance we've got no balanced view on what happened to cause this. For all we know its been hyped up enough to try and get a reaction to prove a point rather than actually further any real ideals.

Show me a cause worth protesting that would actually benefit from a protest and I'll be there faster than you can say blinky.

[pANDAS Radio]

Originally Posted by Bobzilla

I think AN managed about 10 folk taking part in the Make Poverty History marches. We've got maybe 2 or 3 folk that are politically charged enough to still attend protests etc and thats it.

There is probably loads more than that, just because they don't post about it doesn't mean they don't do it. It's just irritating that when it comes to protests these days people seem more willing to get behind something quirky than something serious. It's that sort of protestor that caused all the problems for the Faslane Peace Camp.

Originally Posted by MarkMono

Show me a cause worth protesting that would actually benefit from a protest and I'll be there faster than you can say blinky.

How about a protest against artsy fartsy studenty protests that only serve to boost the organisers ego? It's tonight at 7pm. Everyone can join in simply by being wherever they happen to be and not doing anything protesty at all.

[MarkMono]

I'm there already, case in point.

[Bobzilla]

Originally Posted by pANDAS Radio

It's that sort of protestor that caused all the problems for the Faslane Peace Camp.

My aunt constantly goes on about those protestors. She goes down there x number of times a year for protests and in an orderly fashion they all work out who's going to do what and whos going to get arrested if its a sit-down chain yourself to things protest, whos going to be whos buddy, whos got the lawyers numbers etc. It's all very civil and when you hear about them being arrested theres never any horror stories coming back about it. Then she sees those that think they know better getting so worked up about getting arrested that its no longer a peaceful protest but a personal attack on that protestor and it just goes pear shaped from there in.

It's one thing to be passionate about the subject of the protest it's another to get that wound up about the protest itself that when your stopped from doing it stops being peaceful in any way, and I don't mean physical violence. The number of protestors I've seen lose the plot and verbally attack people us unreal.

[Hammer]

Originally Posted by pANDAS Radio

There is probably loads more than that, just because they don't post about it doesn't mean they don't do it. It's just irritating that when it comes to protests these days people seem more willing to get behind something quirky than something serious. It's that sort of protestor that caused all the problems for the Faslane Peace Camp.



How about a protest against artsy fartsy studenty protests that only serve to boost the organisers ego? It's tonight at 7pm. Everyone can join in simply by being wherever they happen to be and not doing anything protesty at all.

I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but one of the reasons for protesting is to put issues into the public eye. What are people more likely to notice: something that is different, eyecatching, entertaining etc, or a bunch of people with signs standing by the road?