“…. In 2003, the NPIOU sent Kennedy to infiltrate the Sumac Centre, a community centre in Nottingham, which it said was “used by persons involved in extremism relating to animal rights, environmentalism, anarchy, anti-weapons and war issues and anti-globalisation”, the tribunal heard.
Ms Kilroy said: “In truth, it was a community space with a vegan cafe used by a wide range of people and groups.”
Kennedy was “told to develop personal relationships in order to gather pre-emptive intelligence” on activists at the centre, with the help of “an extensive support system for the purpose of this long-term infiltration”, Ms Kilroy said.
He had “police-issued phones, laptops, passport and bank cards”, all in his false identity, and “had a police-issued van and a flat paid for by the police”, Ms Kilroy added”.
Thank you for this information about the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill. As I am sure you will appreciate, I have received a vast amount of correspondence on this issue, so I wanted to inform you of my opinions and the actions I am taking on behalf of my constituents on this matter.
The tragedy of Sarah Everard’s disappearance and murder has rightly sparked conversations about policing and gender based violence and my thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to her friends and family. Women have a right to be safe from violence, to walk home at night and not have their lives cut short.
The Government has used this tragedy as a justification for rushing through The Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill under the guise of protecting women. The Bill does not protect women, in fact there is more protection afforded to statues in this Bill than to living women. It does however represent the next step on our descent into authoritarianism. Born out of the Home Secretary’s fury at the Black Lives Matter movement and Extinction Rebellion, the Bill constitutes the biggest assault on our right to protest in recent history and moves to criminalise Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
The police reaction to the vigils held in Sarah’s honour only further highlight the danger that this bill poses. I spoke in the House of Commons Chamber to highlight my objection to the Bill and its problematic nature. This Bill represents an expansion in police powers that should not be seen in any modern democracy. Were this legislation being debated in another country, I have no doubt that MPs from across Parliament would be condemning that country as an authoritarian regime. The right to protest is a fundamental human right and one of the only ways to challenge establishment power. Demonstrations are by their nature noisy, the concept of ‘serious annoyance’ is subjective and I am extremely concerned that this Bill aims to shut down legitimate forms of protest.
The Bill also poses a huge threat to the nomadic existence and traditions of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. Changing trespass from a civil offence to a criminal one as this Bill proposes, would give police the power to arrest, imprison, fine and seize vehicles. The Government says that the proposals only intend to tackle those living on roadside camps causing anti-social behaviour, however I am concerned at how this will be interpreted and the impact this will have on travelling communities. Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities have already been failed by the Government due to the lack of sufficient stopping sites and this absence leaves them with nowhere that they are permitted to stop. Ingrained racism and prejudice against Gypsies, Roma and Travellers already causes them significant difficulties and hardship without their very existence being criminalised, and this will no doubt impact enforcement of the powers in the Bill.
For these reasons, the Bill must be actively opposed. I and my Labour colleagues voted against the Bill when it last came to the House of Commons, but the fight against this Bill continues. I supported my colleague Bell Ribeiro-Addy’s reasoned amendment to have the Bill thrown out of the House of Commons and I have been vocal in my opposition of this bill and the threat to our human rights that it represents, I have attended and spoken at the protests outside of parliament and I will continue to campaign on this issue until the Bill is no more.
Please be assured that I will continue to fight against this Bill and any attempts to erode our civil liberties both in parliament and beyond.
In these exceptionally volatile circumstances, in which protests can be expected to continue, in Bristol and elsewhere, the NUJ has issued additional advice to members on staying safe.
The NUJ is very concerned that during “Kill the Bill” protests in Bristol, there have been instances of journalists being threatened and injured, as a consequence of the actions of both police and protesters.
In many instances it may be that the journalists were not targeted deliberately, but the situation is of extreme concern.
The union will always stand firm for the right of bona-fide newsgatherers to do their jobs without fear of threats to their well-being.
Journalists are categorised by the government as key workers under Covid-19 restrictions. The right of bona-fide newsgatherers to conduct their legitimate work must be protected and safeguarded by all.
In these exceptionally volatile circumstances, in which protests can be expected to continue, in Bristol and elsewhere, the NUJ has issued additional advice to members on staying safe.
Members have a duty to protect themselves and not to put their health or safety at risk.
Always carry your UK Press Card Authority (UKPCA) press card, which the NUJ may have issued to you. Show it to officers when necessary and point out that it is the only press card in the UK that is recognised by the National Police Chief’s Council, and that there’s a number on the back where its validity can be checked.
Consider introducing yourself to officers when the pressure is off, showing the officers your UKPCA press card. Tensions have often arisen when police did not recognise an individual as accredited Press, and in the heat of a demo, in the dark, it can be hard to know who’s who.
Be extra careful where you place yourself. Of course you want to be where the story is but think constantly about the possibility of being caught by aggression aimed at someone else and be sure to seek to place yourself in such a position that you cannot be considered to be impeding the capacity of police officers in the exercise of their duties.
Where possible, buddy up with another NUJ member and watch each other’s backs.
Make sure that you distinguish yourself from those who are there to demonstrate as much as possible, seeking to make it clear that the only purpose of your presence at the event concerned is to act as a bona-fide, professional, newsgatherer. Professional journalists on assignment as an observer should never take part in a protest.
If taunted by protestors or demonstrators do not respond to provocation.
Tell your employer if you’re uncomfortable being sent into a dangerous situation. Ask for a risk assessment. If you’re still unhappy, contact the NUJ.
If you have concerns about the use of your byline or photo credit raise the issue with your commissioning editor or line manager in advance.
This is not an environment to send inexperienced, untrained, journalists – certainly not if they are alone.
“Too often we forget that protests are one of the reasons why we have many of the freedoms and rights we now cherish.” Kevin Blowe, Campaigns Coordinator for the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol), considers what the updated Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill will mean for civil rights movements.
Kevin Blowe Netpol
Our ability to enjoy the countryside, our right to roam, our national parks: we owe a debt for all of these pleasures to acts of civil disobedience.
Today, we rightly celebrate these actions. Every year since 2013, the National Trust and the Peak District National Park Authority has held a walking event to mark the anniversary of the famous Kinder Scout mass trespass on prohibited grouse moorland then owned by the Duke of Devonshire.
What is not always appreciated, however, is the 400 trespassers who set out for Kinder Scout in April 1932 faced an enormous police presence (almost a third of the Derbyshire force). As a result of scuffles with gamekeepers, six – most of whom were Jewish, working class young men, the oldest only 23 – were arrested, prosecuted and convicted of riotous assembly and jailed for up to six months.
At the time, the National Council of Ramblers’ Federations opposed the tactics of the trespassers and distanced themselves from their actions, but the harshness of the sentences led to growing public sympathy and a number of copycat mass trespasses.
Too often we forget that protests – disruptive, annoying, inconveniencing protests – are one of the reasons why we have many of the freedoms and rights we now cherish and that many have involved this kind of direct action and civil disobedience.
The suffragist movement was prepared to break the law to demand votes for women and for a significant part of their history, trade unions were either outlawed or their activities were illegal. In 1988 opponents of homophobic legislation were willing to break the law by occupying a BBC news room and abseiling into Parliament.
And let’s not forget – it was women from Sisters Uncut, who refused to back down to threats by the police and risked arrest to go ahead with the protest and vigil at Clapham Common in memory of Sarah Everard, who have also raised public awareness of government plans to make sweeping changes to the law. The proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will give the police extra powers to limit a new generation of protesters.
From challenging the arms trade, government inaction on climate change or investment in repressive regimes, protest remains one of the few options available to campaigners without access to power. Now, however, the bill seeks to introduce new powers that restrict protests that make an impact – protests that are too “disruptive”, too noisy or that challenge corporate interests, based on subjective grounds such ‘serious annoyance’ or ‘serious unease’.
Worse still, a Home Secretary whose ire is focused in particular on environmental campaigners Extinction Rebellion and on the Black Lives Matter movement will have powers to define what these terms mean, without needing to consult Parliament.
In parallel to wide-ranging legislation, the police have also indicated an intention to ramp up surveillance on protesters categorised with a broad new label: ‘aggravated activists’. Its definition includes campaigners seeking political or social change ‘that involves unlawful behaviour or criminality…or causes an adverse economic impact to businesses’.
If passed, the new bill will increase the risk of criminalising demonstrations outside the corporate headquarters of a polluter, or the embassy of a country committing war crimes, or a store belonging to a company that mistreats its workers. Labelling individuals as “aggravated activists”, however, allows the police to actively disrupt their entire campaigns. This is going ahead whether we have new laws or not.
Moreover, even if the bill is rejected, the police still retain enormous powers that, over the years, they have interpreted so that even minor breaches of the law (like blocking a road) are treated as invalidating the collective legitimacy of protesters’ demands.
Netpol and a coalition of local and national organisations, including Extinction Rebellion, CND and Campaign Against the Arms Trade, believes people taking part in protests have a right to know what to expect from the police. We think it is time senior officers committed to respecting Britain’s existing human rights commitments by adopting our new Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights – or explain why they refuse to do so.
The Charter calls for proper protections – not more restrictions – for the right to protest. This includes an end to treating civil disobedience as an excuse to shut down protests completely. It also includes calls for the police to justify unrestrained surveillance and for strict limitations on the use of video recording, facial recognition, and monitoring of social media sites used by campaigners.
We need to change the debate on policing protests and demand transparency and accountability from the police based on international law. That means celebrating and protecting our rights today – not just in years ahead and with the benefit of hindsight.
Find out more about the Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights on the Netpol website.
Kevin Blowe is Campaigns Coordinator for the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol)
The candidates are: Caroline Henry – Conservative David Watts – Liberal Democrat Paddy Tipping – Labour and Co-operative Party
The Police and Crime Commissioner’s primary responsibilities are: • holding the chief constable to account for the delivery of the force • setting and updating a police and crime plan • setting the force budget and precept • regularly engaging with the public and communities • appointing, and where necessary dismissing, the Chief Constable
Because they are central to policing administration, I thought it appropriate to write to candidates and ask for their views on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, currently before parliament.
Both Watts and Tipping replied very quickly, with Paddy Tipping also asking for my views and thus starting a dialogue on the subject. After four emails trying to elicit a response from Caroline Henry, the conservative candidate still hasn’t replied or acknowledged. …. to be expected really I guess.
I asked:
Subject: Views on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill With the approach of the elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, it occurs to me that it would be interesting to know your position on on variety of subjects. But, for this request, I think one of the most important to policing at large will be Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently before parliament. May I ask for your views on this legislation and if you might have offered advice to government on strengthening or ammendment. Regards Alan Lodge
David Watts replied:
Dear Alan Thank you for your email. Putting it simply, the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing bill is one of the biggest attacks on liberties and personal freedoms that has ever been proposed in this country. The right to protest is fundamental to any democratic state, and Priti Patel wants to take that away. To face the risk of ten years imprisonment for being “seriously annoying” is a horrifying thought. I have produced a video for social media setting out my utter opposition to this bill. You can see it at https://youtu.be/Hf-2v4UDP3s. You can also find out more about my campaign and my beliefs at www.davidwatts.org.uk and at https://www.facebook.com/DavidWattsForNotts. Best wishes David
Paddy Tipping [existing PCC] replied:
Dear Alan, As you know, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill contains a whole range of measures. Many of the proposals like increased sentences of the Police Covenant are positive. There are, however, areas for concern which I have already raised with the Home Office. These include the proposals around unauthorised encampments; serious violence reduction orders and proposals to limit demonstration. I’m concerned that the Bill contains no proposals to protect women and girls from violence. The Bill will take about a year to work its way through Parliament. There will be opportunities to discuss and amend the Bill. I’m particularly keen to see greater protection for shop workers. Finally, I’d be interested in your views! Best wishes, Paddy
Paddy Tipping Police and Crime Commissioner
My response:
Labour and Co-operative party candidate in Nottinghamshire Police Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire
Thank you for your reply. I had written to all three of the candidates. Mr Watts for the LD’s was also quick to reply:
” Thank you for your email. Putting it simply, the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing bill is one of the biggest attacks on liberties and personal freedoms that has ever been proposed in this country. The right to protest is fundamental to any democratic state, and Priti Patel wants to take that away. To face the risk of ten years imprisonment for being “seriously annoying” is a horrifying thought.”
I have now emailed Caroline Henry for the conservative 4 times now, still without even an acknowledgement! You would have thought that the Torys might like to ‘stand up’ for these proposals….. My own thoughts: With most reports on the TV and print that I’ve seen, lead on how great all this is because serious crimes like rape etc all need longer prison sentences. Something many of us would agree with and then not mention the rest of it. Perhaps it might have been better to bring forward the Rape [increased penalties] Bill to deal with this. Also, after the consultation had finished, the Covid situation arose, people are then criticised for protesting about it during the restrictions. Perhaps such contentious legislation could have been postponed till after all this, but no … it has provide convenient cover. Some of the rest of it concerns the protest, a cornerstone of democracy to voice concerns. It describes noise and disruption and inconvenience etc … all attributes of a protest, to draw attention to the issue at hand. This can be as few as one, with a megaphone or a sign. Up to now, police frequently say that they are facilitating lawful protest, but this law may make any protest unlawful. [Hong Kong come to mind]. Further I don’t think the unions have quite grasped some of the implications yet. Another area of major concern is unauthorised encampments. Many of which result because of a local authority being unable or unwilling to provide authorised sites. It had been a routine for 40 years that as soon as a site is proposed, local residents object. Then 1986 Public Order Act first invoked the idea of ‘criminal trespass’ which was later strengthened by the POCJA 1994. Now increased sanctions are proposed that will result in further eviction, probably now including the confiscation and destruction of homes and property. I am not so sure police wish to be placed in this position to support this action. Not to mention the likely increased pressure on housing waiting lists that will result. In short, I think most of it is thoroughly illiberal and should be opposed. You may know that I am a member of the National Union of Journalists. I Nottingham Branch, we recently debated some of this and my union is thoroughly opposed. I made a short speech about these issues at a recent protest, which you can see here: https://youtu.be/Kx0_4Nf5Y28
I wish you well in the election and hope if elected, there might be some common sense applied to application if/when this lot gets enacted. Regards Alan Lodge
ALAN LODGE MA, BA(hons), ARPS, AIVA Photographer – Media: Nottingham. UK Email: alan@alanlodge.co.uk Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
You have a great camera and you practice precise photographic techniques. You explore desirable locations and shoot beautiful subjects but still your photographs leave you less than excited. What next?
If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person. -Jay Maisel
The formative years for most photographers involve a lot of study and learning with much trial and error. Many spend a good deal of time learning about and poring over technical specifications of camera equipment, chasing after the fastest lens, best bokeh, or some other vaunted features. Aided by YouTube and an infinite supply of online tutorials, many more quickly learn how to use a variety of software and digital darkroom techniques.
There is no question that the learning curve of the digital world is infinitely shorter than the film world. Back then we lacked instant feedback and easy access to scores of experts. We just kept photographing, evaluating, and trying again. Today, the sheer volume of equipment, software, processing techniques, and websites to learn from makes it possible to obsess over equipment and techniques to the degree that little mental energy remains for creative artistic development.
I wished I’d had a photographic mentor in my early years who guided me toward considering my photographic future instead of the immediate present. Experienced photographers are acutely aware of just how easy it is to learn photographic fundamentals. With the right instructor and/or instructional materials, committed students can easily grasp subjects like the exposure triangle and histogram evaluation in half a day. Another half day or so of study with Lightroom or other software and most students can produce good quality inkjet prints in rather short order. The technical end of photography has been democratized – it’s no longer the sole province of committed craftspeople who have been working at it for decades. Despite how it is often portrayed, learning the mechanics is the easiest part of photography.
Many photographers fail to move past this stage in spite of wishful thinking. A particularly strange modus operandi is buying new equipment to create new and more exciting photographs. But nothing could be further from reality. The most difficult part of good photography has little to do with equipment or techniques and everything to do with good ideas. It’s odd that we photographers pursue our medium in a backward fashion. Painters don’t keep buying and trying different brushes, oils or easels in order to improve their art or craft. They just keep painting, developing their craft and their art simultaneously. Few photographers stop developing the craft for long enough to consider creative artistic options.
This article is aimed at photographers who want to move beyond the documentary or representational photographs to fine art photographer, if you will. But as it is a contentious identifier, I leave further explanation to others in other articles. By my definition and for purposes of this article, the fine art photographer synthesizes the external event (the thing worthy of having your camera pointed at it) with the internal event (the intuitive recognition of an idea or concept related to the thing).
Credit is due to Ansel Adams for these terms, the internal and external events, along with a host of other concepts and ideologies he brought to fine art nature, and landscape photography. Those who are familiar with Ansel’s oeuvre recognize his career transition from representational to fine art. He not only wrote the book but he walked the talk.
Ansel said:
Visualization is the most important factor in the making of a photograph. Visualization includes all the steps from selecting the subject to making the final print.
In short, Ansel’s visualization refers to our ability to see the finished photograph in what we commonly refer to as the “mind’s eye.” This is a critical skill to develop for the fine art photographer. Finished photograph meaning not just the composition or placement of objects within the frame, but the entire visual and emotional aesthetic: the subject and composition; the look and feel of the finished print; as well as the feeling or state that may be aroused in the viewer. The representational photographer depicts physical appearances as found and doesn’t typically interfere with the subject or the light. In contrast, the fine art photograph may be entirely the result of interference. The finished print might scarcely resemble the found state.
Visualization is not a technique learned and shelved; it’s a continuously evolving process that takes shape over the course of an entire photographic life. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines visualization as “the formation of mental visual images.” In my photographic practice, this is the synthesis of my entire life experience, knowledge, imagination, and desires. Growth in all these areas should be a ceaseless quest for any artist.
I had one distinct goal as I began my own photographic journey many years ago: to create unique and distinctive work that anyone could look at and (wishfully) recognize as mine. To be sure, it’s a lofty goal for an amateur photographer but one I brought forward from a previous life as a performing musician. To my way of thinking there is no faster path to artistry: aim for excellence, eschew mediocrity, be authentic and original, and have good ideas. The first two are really easy.
Years ago, I had the opportunity to sit with a respected publisher whom I sought to impress during a portfolio review. I was proud of the work I was doing and thought I had a good idea about where I was going with it. I attended the portfolio review to learn, experience, connect and impress. I sat with many gallerists, curators and publishers, but that one publisher made the biggest impact. Not because he lauded and then decided to publish my work, but rather because he was brutally honest about it and rejected it. The worst thing an artist needs is an outsized ego and an unwillingness to learn and grow. I possessed neither and returned home defeated but resolved.
I carefully studied my work, no longer searching for my greatest hits (random photographic collections of beautiful things and beautiful places) but rather consistent themes and budding concepts that I could develop into rich bodies of work. Although a preceding generation of film-based Zone System photographers had largely made excellence in technical execution their goal, it wouldn’t suffice for me. The expressive qualities of my photographs and ideas became paramount.
I prefer breadth over depth as both a maker and consumer of art. In music I prefer full-length albums over singles (even better if thematic or conceptual); in photography, I prefer themed books or exhibitions over hit singles like Instagram. When they are done well and sequenced in the right way, the viewer (or listener) is often transported. Whether music or photography, “singles” always leave me wanting more.
I decided to specialize in my own environment and habitat (self-imposed constraints can prove artistically liberating). Travel photography is fun and exciting but my best and most important work would more likely come from the places and subjects that were easily accessible, that I knew intimately and loved deeply. Why would I travel elsewhere to photograph what other photographers already have when an untold amount of fascinating untapped potential existed in my own backyard? As a lifelong explorer and adventurer of California and western U.S. deserts (Mojave, Colorado, Great Basin and Sonoran), I hold a passionate interest in regional geology, flora, and fauna. I study the natural history, I know intimately the plants and the animals (often by their Latin name as well), and I know the human history. Every bit of this is important to me. Every bit of it plays a part in informing my photographs. There was little about “the weird solitude, the grim silence, [and] the great desolation” (The Desert, 1901, Van Dyke) that I was not fascinated by. No one had yet made the kind of desert photographs that lurked in my subconscious. I knew exactly the work I would be doing, most likely for the remainder of my days.
The article is courtesy of ELEMENTS Magazine. ELEMENTS is the new monthly magazine dedicated to the finest landscape photography, insightful editorials and fluid, clean design. Inside you will find exclusive and in-depth articles and imagery by the best landscape photographers in the world such as Freeman Patterson, Bruce Barnbaum, Christian Fletcher, Rachael Talibart, Charles Cramer, Hans Strand, Erin Babnik and William Neill, to name a few. Use the PETAPIXEL10 code for a 10% discount off the annual subscription.
About the author: Michael E. Gordon is an award-winning fine art landscape photographer and sought-after teacher with an “intimate relationship with the natural world yielding quiet images of depth and discovery.” His fine art prints are held in private collections around the world including the United States Embassy. Michael’s commitment to the preservation of California and the American West has earned him a President’s Gold Volunteer Service award.
The photography shown in this video is truly a lost world, mostly unseen by other cultures. It is so surprising that these images have survived such tumult.
Dle Yaman : I don’t know how I found this song but once I did I realized i loved it. It is said that it was originally about two lovers who never sealed their love for each other. However, over the years it has come to symbolize Armenia’s separation from much of its historic land in Eastern Turkey. It is also used as background music in many YouTube music videos about the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide was the systematic mass murder and ethnic cleansing of around 1 million ethnic Armenians from Asia Minor and adjoining regions by the Ottoman Empire, modern day Turkey. in 1915. Turkey still denies that the ethnic cleansing and deportation of Armenians was a genocide or wrongful act.
Lyrics Dle Yaman (Oh my Heart) Dle yaman, The wind has come like a fire, Oh, dle yaman, I reached water, half of the sea, Yaman, yaman
Dle yaman, Our houses face each other, Oh, dle yaman, We loved each outher without knowing, Yaman, yaman
Dle yaman, The sun has touched Mount Massis, Oh dle yaman, I am yearning for my love, Yaman, yaman, yar
Dle yaman, The wind has come like a fire, Oh, dle yaman, Beloved, brought me water, half of the sea, Yaman, yaman
Dle yaman, The wind has come like a fire, Oh, dle yaman, Beloved, brought me water, half of the sea, Yaman, yaman
Posted in.|Tagged–, original, song, yaman|Comments Off on Dle Yaman – original song
The Home Office is surprisingly transparent about its reasons for wanting to increase police powers in relation to protests and direct action – it was the success of Extinction Rebellion in bringing parts of London and other British cities to a standstill with its mass participation tactics.
A “protest powers factsheet” that accompanied the launch of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill quotes Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick as saying new legislation was needed to cope with XR because the existing Public Order Act 1986 was outdated.
The new bill was required, Dick said, “Specifically to deal with protests where people are not primarily violent or seriously disorderly but, as in this instance, had an avowed intent to bring policing to its knees and the city to a halt.”
According to Mike Schwarz, a partner with law firm Hodge Jones & Allen who has been representing and advising environmental activists for 30 years – those wanting to get involved in direct action or protest marches have a number of issues they need to consider.
The bill lowers the threshold for committing some criminal offences and for when the police can get involved, and it increases their power to restrict protests or to use their existing powers to arrest and prosecute someone if an offence is deemed to have been committed.
“It creates new offences as well,” Schwarz added. “It creates in statute, as opposed to judge-made law, the offence of public nuisance. It seems that it will be an easier offence to commit if one causes, intentionally or recklessly, serious harm to a section of the public, or obstructs them in the exercise of their rights.”
The Home Office said the new offence captures conduct “which endangers the life, health, property or comfort of the public”. But being a public nuisance could involve producing excessive noise or smells or behaviour such as hanging from bridges.
Campaigners opposed to HS2 believe the bill has also been drafted to curtail their activities. According to Joe Rukin of Stop HS2, the government realised that the laws relating to protests around construction sites were not as a draconian as they would have liked them to be.
Under current legislation, protesters may get arrested but are normally released without being charged with any offence, and so are free to carry on protesting once they have been let out, Rukin said. So ministers wanted a new law that would not only criminalise protesting within a certain distance of an HS2 construction site, but mandate a prison sentence as a stiffer penalty for those that break the law.
“If this bill gets passed as it stands, the very first order will be, ‘No protests anywhere near HS2. We don’t care if you’re a landowner who hasn’t been paid so you’re blocking access to the land, or if you’re someone holding up a banner at the roadside saying we’re cutting down trees we said we wouldn’t, or if you’re living up that tree to stop us cutting it down. You’re in our way, it’s not allowed and you are going down.’”
Dr James Dyke, senior lecturer in global systems at the University of Exeter, has participated in XR marches and believes the impacts of the new bill may not be as great as some people fear. People have this “innate sense of natural justice” and will still believe that “marching down a road and singing songs” is not something they ought to be worried about participating in.
It could even start useful discussions about what policing by consensus means and what police forces are being used for. “It reminds me of what happened when they started fracking in the Home Counties – it was the best thing that ever happened for climate policy in the UK,” Dyke said. “It meant that you had affluent people coming face-to-face with our country’s requirements for hydrocarbons – suddenly, they weren’t just in the North Sea and out of sight and out of mind.”
The new law will pave the way for jail terms of up to 10 years, and the police could even specify that music or singing would not be allowed after a certain time or beyond a particular place. “And if you breach those conditions, you are committing a criminal offence, and you could be arrested and prosecuted,” Schwarz said.
Schwarz believes the bill may clash with rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly held under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), though drafters of the bill are obliged to sign if off as ‘ECHR compatible’.
“But that may not preclude a challenge when a prosecution arises, and the application of the police’s discretion when enforcing the new law may give rise to ECHR challenges, too,” Schwarz said.
The Home Office has denied it contravenes the convention, saying the new legislation will uphold the right to peaceful protest while providing the police with the necessary powers to stop disruptive protests from disproportionately infringing on the rights and freedoms of others. Human rights lawyers will no doubt be keeping a very close eye on that as and when the bill becomes law.
An ongoing diary of stuff, allsorts, and things wot happen ……
I am a photographer with a special interest to document the lives of travelling people and those attending Festivals, Stonehenge etc, what the press often describe as ‘New Age Travellers’ and many social concerns.
With my photography, I have tried to say something of the wide variety of people engaged in ‘Alternatives’, and youths’ many sub-cultures and to present a more positive view.
I have photographed many free and commercial events and have, in recent years, extended my work to include dance parties (’rave culture’), gay-rights events, environmental direct actions, and protest against the Criminal Justice Act and more recently, issues surrounding the Global Capitalism.
Further, police surveillance has recently become a very important subject for me!
In recognition of this work, received a ‘Winston’ from Privacy International, at the 1998 ‘Big Brother’ Awards. The citation reads: “Alan Lodge is a photographer who has spent more than a decade raising awareness of front-line police surveillance activities, particularly the endemic practice of photographing demonstrators and activists”.
I am based in Nottingham, UK.
Quotes & Thoughts
“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance.
In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock!!”
Harry Lime [Orsen Wells] The Third Man 1949
“Civilization will not attain to its perfection, until the last stone from the last church, falls on the last priest.”
Emile Zola
“….I have an important message to deliver to all the cute people all over the world.
If you’re out there and you’re not cute, maybe you’re beautiful, I just want to tell you somethin’- there’s more of us ugly mother-fuckers than you are, hey-y, so watch out now…”
Frank Zappa
