radiofree.asia

Category: Protest

  • The old bill’s new bill

    Learn more about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill here.

    Image description

    Under the heading “The Old Bill” is an illustration of a group of protesters carrying placards. The placards read ‘trans rights’, ‘climate justice’, ‘workers rights’, ‘BLM’, and ‘disability rights’. The police are illustrated dragging protests away and restraining them. Next to a restrained protester is a placard on the ground reading ‘rights 4 women’.

    Below this is the heading “The New Bill – *Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill”. This is illustrated with a prison and four protesters leaning out of the barred windows. They are holding signs reading ‘BLM’, ‘women’s rights’ and ‘workers unite’.

     

    By Ralph Underhill

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Sahouri Acquitted, But US Press Freedom Still Under Attack

     

    NYT: Iowa Journalist Who Was Arrested at Protest Is Found Not Guilty

    While prosecutions of journalists are still “rare,” as the New York Times‘ subhead (3/10/21) notes, police arrests of and assaults on reporters have become increasingly common.

    When Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri was acquitted on misdemeanor charges related to her coverage of a Black Lives Matter protests last summer, she declared (New York Times, 3/10/21) that the jury’s “decision upholds freedom of the press and justice in our democracy.” Amnesty International condemned the charges, and journalists feared that a conviction would be a game-changing attack on the press.

    Sahouri’s acquittal still leaves a chilling effect on free speech. Of course, a conviction would have been catastrophic, but merely being charged is an injustice. For months she’s been in legal limbo, and other journalists have spent those months wondering if they’ll be next when they’re caught up in the mix at an anti–police brutality protest. Sahouri, and her newspaper, have had to waste their time and energy on meaningless charges.

    And Sahouri, of course, is just one of the more prominent victims in the United States of this rising police repression of journalists covering social justice. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (9/4/20) noted:

    Reported press freedom violations endured by journalists during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests alone outpace the annual rates reported by the Press Freedom Tracker. The rate of physical attacks on reporters in the US has spiked dramatically in 2020. The Press Freedom Tracker has documented 185 attacks on the media in 2020, up from 40 in 2019, 42 in 2018 and 50 in 2017, respectively.

    Even Voice of America (3/11/21), which is US state media, and the Economist (3/13/21), a center-right publication, have noticed the decline in press freedom.

    A journalist who was blinded in one eye by a police projectile during the George Floyd protests has a lawsuit alleging that the Minneapolis police specifically targeted journalists (Star-Tribune, 2/22/21). The ACLU of Minnesota is pushing a class action lawsuit for violence against journalists. The NYPD attacked AP journalists (New York Post, 6/3/20) during a Black Lives Matter protest last year. The NYPD has also sought to make it easier to strip reporters for press credentials in the wake of last year’s BLM demonstrations (New York Post, 7/15/20).

    RCFP: Amid Black Lives Matter protests, a crushing moment for journalists facing record attacks, arrests at the hands of law enforcement

    The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (9/4/20) counted 60 arrests of journalists in the first two-thirds of 2020—mostly while covering Black Lives Matter protests.

    But this isn’t a problem that began last year. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman faced absurd riot charges for her coverage of the uprising at Standing Rock (Guardian, 10/17/16; FAIR.org, 10/17/16), and another journalist was shot by a rubber-jacketed bullet while covering protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline there (Vox, 11/4/16). The Committee to Protect Journalists (11/11/11) documented police violence and arrests of journalists during the Occupy Wall Street protests.

    In this context, journalists need to see the rise of troubling anti-protest bills around the country as anti-journalist bills. Take, for example, a bill in Kentucky, which was a hotbed of Black Lives Matter protests after the police killing of Breonna Taylor,  that would make it a crime to insult a police officer during what police deem a riot (WJW, 3/5/21):

    Any individual who “accosts, insults, taunts or challenges a law enforcement officer with offensive or derisive words” or makes “gestures or other physical contact that would have a direct tendency to provoke a violent response from the perspective of a reasonable and prudent person” could be imprisoned for up to three months.

    A law this vague has a chilling effect on journalism. Is a reporter who overzealously reminds a police officer that they are entitled to stand near a police line, or protests being shoved too much, breaking the law? That we are even asking these questions, and fear that they won’t be answered until a journalist goes to court on these charges, is intimidating in itself.

    Journalists don’t need to embrace the cause of a protest in order to cover it accurately and in full. But they do need to take a side in the fight over the right to protest, because the right to protest the police, the government or a corporation, and the right to cover the protest and the issues around that protest, are inherently related, as journalists are learning.

    This is where journalists—and their professional associations and unions—are going to need to throw objectivity and neutrality out the window to protect press freedom. No, journalists should not, in good faith, be expected to employ the standard “he said, she said” tropes to cover anti-protest bills, excessive charges against demonstrators and the use of tear gas, acoustic weapons and rubber bullets against protesters. Police tactics are seemingly indiscriminate. Journalists should see these methods not as methods against a particular political movement, but against the public at large, which includes the press.

    Sahouri’s acquittal can be met with a sigh of relief, certainly by her, her colleagues and family. But it’s a rallying cry: Press freedom is under severe attack in the US, along with protest freedom, and anyone who cares about the First Amendment needs to fight back.

    “The best way to combat this is through solidarity,” said photojournalist Shay Horse, who was arrested and physically abused by police while covering the protests against Donald Trump’s inauguration (US News & World Report, 6/21/17). Horse added that “supporting each other when we do right by one another seems to me the best course of action.”

     

    This post was originally published on FAIR.

  • One sentence from Priti Patel about the policing bill makes a mockery of government support for women

    Home secretary Priti Patel has made a mockery out of government support for women. Patel claimed yesterday that the government is committed to tackling violence against women, saying:

    I am listening to women and girls up and down the country.

    She went on to defend the policing bill, saying it would end the halfway releases of those convicted of sexual offences and extend the sexual offences act.

    But Patel isn’t listening even to women MPs, let alone women across the country. Because several of them have united to get her controversial policing bill thrown out amid accusations that it will allow police to crack down on the right to protest.

    Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Streatham, has put forward an amendment that would stop the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is on day two of its second reading in the House of Commons.

    The amendment has been supported by MPs across parties, including the Green’s Caroline Lucas, Labour’s Apsana Begum, Plaid Cymru’s Liz Savile-Roberts, and the SNP’s Kirstin Oswald.

    It comes in the wake of multiple civil rights groups speaking out against the bill, and protests against it across the country.

    The amendment

    The proposed amendment blocks the bill progressing further on the grounds that it is an attack on civil liberties and could increase racial and gendered inequalities in the criminal justice system, such as:

    • Restricting freedom of assembly rights in the Human Rights Act that enshrines the right to take part in protests.
    • It does not address discrimination and racial bias in the police against Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
    • It does not contain measures that specifically protect women and girls from male violence.
    • It contains new measures “that will disproportionately affect Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities”.

    Ribeiro-Addy said:

    Rather than acknowledging the genuine injustices raised by protesters from a range of movements, this Government has shown time and again that they would prefer to simply legislate and police protest out of existence.

    The events of the weekend prove that criminalising protest and giving the Police further powers to curtail it are the last things we should be doing right now.

    The Bill would mean some offenders receive harsher sentences for damaging statues than for assaulting women, and also introduces provisions that appear to target the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, already among the most marginalised groups in the UK.

    We cannot accept such a fundamental assault on minoritised communities or on the right to protest.

    The bill

    The proposed legislation would give the police new powers to impose conditions on protests, such as limits on the amount of noise a protest can make. The home secretary would also have the power to define how and when a protest causes “serious disruption”.

    The bill will also make ‘public nuisance’ a statutory offence and expand sentencing powers for offences like damaging memorials. Both will be punishable by up to ten years in prison.

    There has been renewed scrutiny of the police and the bill after police intervened in a vigil for Sarah Everard at the weekend, arresting some of the women gathered. Their actions have been widely condemned as disproportionate.

    Further opposition

    People around the country gathered to protest the bill yesterday, calling for MPs to “kill the bill”.

    Groups advocating for women’s safety have been among its strongest critics. End Violence Against Women, which just had a case about the CPS’s treatment of sexual offences thrown out, has criticised the bill.

    Sisters Uncut, a group protesting cuts to domestic violence services, said:

    The police protect themselves. The police do not keep us safe, and plainclothes police won’t protect us. On Saturday night, the police were drunk with power. And now the Government is voting to give them more power. We say no.

    Featured image via Flickr/Andy Thornley & YouTube/Guardian News

    By Jasmine Norden

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Priti Patel’s new policing bill is threatening our right to protest

    Today marks the second reading of the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill, which will increase police powers and allow them to clamp down on protests.

    The bill, spearheaded by home secretary Priti Patel, had already met with criticism, but has come under renewed scrutiny in the wake of police actions at the vigil for Sarah Everard on Clapham Common.

    During the gathering, police descended to break up the vigil, grabbing those present and arresting some. Their actions were widely criticised as “neither appropriate nor proportionate”.

    After initially being rumoured to abstain, Labour announced it would vote against the bill as it returns to the House of Commons, saying it imposes “disproportionate controls on free expression”.

    The bill

    The government first announced the bill on 9 March. At that time, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office said it would “strengthen police powers to tackle non-violent protests that have a significant disruptive effect on the public or on access to Parliament”.

    The legislation will amend the 1986 Public Order Act, making it much easier for the police to impose conditions on both marches and static protests. The 1986 Act limits when conditions can be placed on assemblies to protests that:

    may result in serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community

    But the new bill gives the police power to impose:

    such conditions as appear to the officer necessary to prevent the disorder, damage, disruption, impact or intimidation

    The bill will give the police power to impose conditions on protests based on the amount of noise they make. This allows police to intervene in protests where “noise causes a significant impact on those in the vicinity or serious disruption to the running of an organisation”.

    And the legislation also gives the home secretary the power, without parliamentary approval, to define “serious disruption” to communities. Police would then be able impose conditions using the definition.

    Further amendments will make it easier for protestors to be convicted for not complying with conditions placed on protests, saying a person will be “guilty of an offence” if:

    in the case of a public assembly in England and Wales, at the time the person fails to comply with the condition the person knows or ought to know that the condition has been imposed.

    Crucially in this section is the loose wording “ought to know”. Under current legislation, the police have to prove that a person was aware of the conditions in order to secure a conviction.

    Further powers

    The bill also expands sentencing powers for several offences. Damaging memorials will lead to a maximum ten year sentence, and the maximum penalty for assaulting an emergency worker, which includes police officers, will be doubled to two years.

    Meanwhile, a new statutory offence of public nuisance will be created for actions causing:

    serious harm to the public or a section of the public.

    And the definition of “serious harm” includes actions that cause:

    serious distress, serious annoyance, serious inconvenience or serious loss of amenity

    Anyone convicted of this offence faces up to ten years in jail.

    The police would also obtain further powers to remove “unauthorised encampments”, as well as criminalising trespass and expanding stop-and-search powers.

    One-person protests and protests near parliament that obstruct vehicle access could also be limited under the new laws.

    Opposition

    Several civil rights groups have already spoken out against the bill. Gracie Bradley, Liberty director, said it would threaten protests, and put marginalised communities at risk through the expansion of stop and search powers and criminalising trespass. She said:

    parts of this Bill will facilitate discrimination and undermine protest, which is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. We should all be able to stand up for what we believe in, yet these proposals would give the police yet more powers to clamp down on protest. They risk stifling dissent and making it harder for us to hold the powerful to account.

    Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said:

    The apparent excessive use of force by Met police officers is a stark and timely warning about precisely why Parliament must not allow yet more police powers to quash peaceful protest.

    The proposals being rushed through put enormous and unprecedented powers in the hands of the state to effectively ban even peaceful protests. If that happens, scenes like those this weekend will become more common.

    Kevin Blowe, campaigns coordinator for the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol), told The Canary:

    It is important we don’t forget that decades of criminal justice legislation had already created dozens of new offences and broad new powers that inevitably have since been reinterpreted and abused. As well as opposing this new bill, we need to start demanding a fundamental change in the policing of protests in Britain. This is why we today launched a new Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights. We are demanding police respect existing international human rights standards – or explain why they refuse to do so.

    Netpol’s petition for the National Police Chiefs Council to adopt a charter protecting the right to protest has already gained over 115,000 signatures.

    Police and protests

    Priti Patel has condemned protestors from Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion previously and called for extended police powers to intervene in these protests.

    Many were shocked by the police’s intervention at the vigil for Sarah Everard, though as many others have pointed out, police have intervened disproportionately in protests before.

    A report by Netpol found that police used excessive force and disproportionately targeted Black protestors during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Netpol further concluded that protests led by Black people “disproportionately faced excessive interventions” from the police.

    This bill will erode the right to protest in the UK, making it harder to stand up to power even through non-violent protests. It will encourage the behaviour displayed by the police at the weekend and at recent protests for racial justice and environmental action. It is therefore imperative that we all take action to ensure it isn’t passed and to ensure that we all have the right to protest.

    Featured image via Flickr/Andy Thornley & YouTube/Guardian News

    By Jasmine Norden

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Myanmar junta declares martial law in six Yangon townships

    Move in six Yangon townships and parts of Mandalay follows deadliest weekend since coup

    The military junta in Myanmar has put six townships in Yangon and parts of Mandalay under martial law, as six more protesters were shot dead across the country after the bloodiest weekend since its coup last month.

    A column of military trucks was seen trundling towards the Yangon suburb of Hlaing Thayar, where photos from the scene showed the charred remains of barricades. On Sunday, security forces killed at least 37 people and wounded dozens more after Chinese-owned factories in the township were deliberately set alight.

    Am told many areas in #Yangon #Myanmar unable to access data via mobile services. Different screens show various Telcos with low or no signals. Many reliant on home WiFi now. During protests, many have been streaming live videos of violence from ground #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/z6wI079Le5

    Related: A child screams in Myanmar … and China pretends not to hear

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Woman was ‘terrified’ during arrest at Sarah Everard vigil

    A woman who was arrested at the Clapham Common vigil for Sarah Everard has said she was “terrified” when she was pinned to the ground by police.

    Images of student Patsy Stevenson being handcuffed and held down by two male officers sparked anger at Scotland Yard’s policing of the gathering in south London on Saturday evening.

    “I was terrified.

    “I have never been so scared honestly,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

    “I think what was scary as well was as soon as I was pinned to the ground, I looked up and there were cameras everywhere.

    “I was like ‘oh my God, this is big’.

    “I didn’t realise they had even pinned me to the ground for a second.

    “It just like happened so fast and then I was on the ground.

    “I was like, I am on the ground, I am very small.

    “I wasn’t resisting or anything.”

    Stevenson said she went to the vigil to pay her respects to Everard, whose body was found in woodland in Ashford, Kent, last Wednesday – a week after she was allegedly kidnapped while walking home from a friend’s flat in Clapham.

    She said she went on to the park’s bandstand because police officers “seemed to be sort of aggressively talking to the women” on there.

    “We were trying to make sure, you know, video things and make sure there was no manhandling or anything was done,” she said.

    “Then all of a sudden, there were quite a few police on the bandstand.

    “Now it was distanced until the police came.

    “On the bandstand there were about 30 police and they pushed us towards the edge of the banister that I was holding on to.”

    Asked why she was restrained and arrested, Stevenson said: “To be honest I still don’t know why I was pushed to the ground so forcefully.

    “I am quite small and it was two very large male officers who sort of pulled me back very quickly and then I hit the ground.

    “From start to finish it was just a sort of whirlwind, it happened very quickly.

    “I was only there to lay a candle down, I did not expect that to happen.”

    Stevenson said she was released around 20 minutes after her arrest and given a £200 fine.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Police in England ‘using Covid lockdown rules to halt any protests’

    Anger grows after vigil for Sarah Everard is stopped despite court ruling on right to demonstrate

    Police officers are using coronavirus regulations to break up socially distanced demonstrations even though the country’s largest police force has conceded in a landmark legal case that people have a right to protest during the current national lockdown.

    The Metropolitan police admitted in the high court on Friday that it had discretion on how to respond to protests and it could not impose a blanket ban on demonstrations, after the force was challenged by the organisers of the planned vigil to remember Sarah Everard in south London.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Is the Sarah Everard vigil ban part of creeping curbs on the right to protest?

    Mounting concern that ministers are using pandemic to curtail freedoms in the UK

    Organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard are seeking a court order to assert their right to protest after the Metropolitan police reversed their position on allowing the event to go ahead. The possible challenge comes at a time of mounting concern about the police and the government using the pandemic to curtail the right to protest.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • The Guardian view on Covid and civil liberties: keeping a close watch on government

    Curtailing freedoms has saved lives – but we must not sacrifice them carelessly. Essential rights are under pressure

    Almost a year ago, with the full impact of the pandemic becoming evident, the human rights barrister Adam Wagner warned that it might lead to a suspension of human rights as a kind of “peacetime nicety”. This would be a mistake, he argued: the human rights system was developed precisely as a set of checks and balances, because societies tend to turn to illiberal measures in times of crisis.

    Many of the restrictions adopted by governments over the last 12 months – which would previously have seemed extraordinary and draconian – have been necessary. As Mr Wagner noted, responding to Covid means balancing rights, including, of course, the right to life. Yet the decisions that states make can no longer be regarded as emergency measures; leaders and the public now understand that we are in this for the long haul. It is also evident that some governments have gone much too far. A new report from the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, based in Germany, suggests that the pandemic has played an important part in weakening democracy across the continent, not only due to the curtailment of freedoms, but also through the use of fast track procedures for new laws, limiting oversight. In eastern Europe – notably in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia – it has provided cover for power grabs, used as a pretext for further eroding democratic standards.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Indonesian police break up rally after Papuan protesters wreck police truck

    By Muhammad Aminudin in Malang, East Java

    A Papuan demonstration held near the Gajayana stadium in Malang city, East Java, ended in chaos with protesters accused of smashing a police truck window after they were ordered to disperse for violating health protocols.

    Glass fragments hit the police officer who was behind the wheel. The protest began as a peaceful demonstration to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) that was being held by the Women’s Movement with the People (GEMPUR).

    The protesters had earlier gathered on Jalan Semeru in preparation for a long-march to the Malang city hall. At the same time, protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Papuan High-School and University Student Association (IPMAPA) also began gathering at the Gajayana stadium.

    When the GEMPUR protesters decided to disband and cancelled the long-march, the demonstrators from the AMP and the IPMAPA began protesting and held speeches.

    Police along with Malang City Covid-19 Task Force members ordered the demonstrators to disperse because they were violating health protocols.

    Three trucks were on standby to evacuate the protesters and take them to their respective locations. Negotiations became protracted with protesters refusing to be evacuated and instead smashing a police truck window.

    Malang municipal police chief Senior Commissioner Leonardus Simarmata claimed that the protest action commemorating IWD was just “a cover” and the objective was opposition to the controversial Special Autonomy extension plan (Otsus) and calls for Papuan independence.

    West Papua independence banners
    Aside from violating health protocols because the protest was held during the covid-19 pandemic and the Micro Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM), the demonstrators also unfurled banners with messages rejecting Special Autonomy and proclaiming demands for West Papua independence.

    “The intent was actually noble, but during the pandemic and Micro PPKM crowds are prohibited. And also the action was only used as a cover by the AMP and the IPMAPA to call for West Papua independence,” Simarmata told journalists.

    While there were efforts at negotiations to take the protesters back to their respective locations, said Simarmata, “provocative actions” continued when they asked demonstrators to get into the trucks provided.

    Because the demonstrators resisted and refused to get in the trucks, police then forcibly broke up the protest. Protesters were then taken to the Malang municipal police headquarters for questioning.

    “The Satreskrim [criminal and detectives unit] is questioning them, who was involved and pushed the officers. We also confiscated the shoe used to kick out the truck window,” said Simarmata.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoNews Left. The original title of the article was “Demo Hari Perempuan Sedunia di Malang Ricuh, Pendemo Pecah Kaca Truk Polisi”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Indonesian police break up rally after Papuan protesters wreck police truck

    By Muhammad Aminudin in Malang, East Java

    A Papuan demonstration held near the Gajayana stadium in Malang city, East Java, ended in chaos with protesters accused of smashing a police truck window after they were ordered to disperse for violating health protocols.

    Glass fragments hit the police officer who was behind the wheel. The protest began as a peaceful demonstration to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) that was being held by the Women’s Movement with the People (GEMPUR).

    The protesters had earlier gathered on Jalan Semeru in preparation for a long-march to the Malang city hall. At the same time, protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Papuan High-School and University Student Association (IPMAPA) also began gathering at the Gajayana stadium.

    When the GEMPUR protesters decided to disband and cancelled the long-march, the demonstrators from the AMP and the IPMAPA began protesting and held speeches.

    Police along with Malang City Covid-19 Task Force members ordered the demonstrators to disperse because they were violating health protocols.

    Three trucks were on standby to evacuate the protesters and take them to their respective locations. Negotiations became protracted with protesters refusing to be evacuated and instead smashing a police truck window.

    Malang municipal police chief Senior Commissioner Leonardus Simarmata claimed that the protest action commemorating IWD was just “a cover” and the objective was opposition to the controversial Special Autonomy extension plan (Otsus) and calls for Papuan independence.

    West Papua independence banners
    Aside from violating health protocols because the protest was held during the covid-19 pandemic and the Micro Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM), the demonstrators also unfurled banners with messages rejecting Special Autonomy and proclaiming demands for West Papua independence.

    “The intent was actually noble, but during the pandemic and Micro PPKM crowds are prohibited. And also the action was only used as a cover by the AMP and the IPMAPA to call for West Papua independence,” Simarmata told journalists.

    While there were efforts at negotiations to take the protesters back to their respective locations, said Simarmata, “provocative actions” continued when they asked demonstrators to get into the trucks provided.

    Because the demonstrators resisted and refused to get in the trucks, police then forcibly broke up the protest. Protesters were then taken to the Malang municipal police headquarters for questioning.

    “The Satreskrim [criminal and detectives unit] is questioning them, who was involved and pushed the officers. We also confiscated the shoe used to kick out the truck window,” said Simarmata.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoNews Left. The original title of the article was “Demo Hari Perempuan Sedunia di Malang Ricuh, Pendemo Pecah Kaca Truk Polisi”.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Police break up rally against Papua special autonomy – blame covid

    Asia Pacific Report

    Indonesian police have broken up a protest action against the extension of Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Papua that took place on Jalan Imam Barjo in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang – and they blamed covid health protocols.

    Before being broken up, the protesters from the Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) were repeatedly warned by police not to continue the action on the grounds that the crowds of protesters were violating health protocols during the covid-19 pandemic, reports CNN Indonesia.

    “We ask that you obey the law and comply with the rules. Please disperse voluntarily because there is still a pandemic and we must be disciplined about health protocols, don’t gather and create crowds,” Semarang metropolitan district deputy police chief Assistant Superintendent Iga Nugraha told the protesters at the demonstration on Friday.

    “One again, please understand.”

    Despite being asked to negotiate, police continued to ask the demonstrators to disperse immediately.

    Earlier, the protesters had tied themselves together in a barricade using ropes to prevent police from breaking up the action.

    Because the demonstrators insisted on going ahead with the action, police finally took action and tried to disperse them. A clash was unavoidable and the protesters fought back resulting in police arresting several people who were alleged to be the provocateurs.

    The action rejecting the extension of Special Autonomy for Papua was held as a reaction to protests by sections of Papuan society which are part of the PRP who feel that they have not gained any benefits from the Special Autonomy status which has had no impact on the Papuan people’s welfare.

    Translated by James Balowski of IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Pandemi, Polisi Bubarkan Aksi Tolak Otsus Papua di Semarang”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Police break up rally against Papua special autonomy – blame covid

    Asia Pacific Report

    Indonesian police have broken up a protest action against the extension of Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Papua that took place on Jalan Imam Barjo in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang – and they blamed covid health protocols.

    Before being broken up, the protesters from the Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) were repeatedly warned by police not to continue the action on the grounds that the crowds of protesters were violating health protocols during the covid-19 pandemic, reports CNN Indonesia.

    “We ask that you obey the law and comply with the rules. Please disperse voluntarily because there is still a pandemic and we must be disciplined about health protocols, don’t gather and create crowds,” Semarang metropolitan district deputy police chief Assistant Superintendent Iga Nugraha told the protesters at the demonstration on Friday.

    “One again, please understand.”

    Despite being asked to negotiate, police continued to ask the demonstrators to disperse immediately.

    Earlier, the protesters had tied themselves together in a barricade using ropes to prevent police from breaking up the action.

    Because the demonstrators insisted on going ahead with the action, police finally took action and tried to disperse them. A clash was unavoidable and the protesters fought back resulting in police arresting several people who were alleged to be the provocateurs.

    The action rejecting the extension of Special Autonomy for Papua was held as a reaction to protests by sections of Papuan society which are part of the PRP who feel that they have not gained any benefits from the Special Autonomy status which has had no impact on the Papuan people’s welfare.

    Translated by James Balowski of IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Pandemi, Polisi Bubarkan Aksi Tolak Otsus Papua di Semarang”.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Mass slow handclap urged in protest over proposed 1% pay rise for NHS workers

    The public is being urged to join a mass slow handclap against the Government’s proposed 1% rise for NHS staff.

    Unison said people should stand on their doorsteps and balconies to protest next Thursday (11 March) at 8pm to show what they think about the planned “derisory” wage increase.

    The gesture of support for NHS workers should be repeated three weeks later on 1 April, the day staff were due to have their next wage increase, said the union.

    “Let’s now stand up for their right to fair wages”

    Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Millions stood on doorsteps and clapped for health staff who’ve given their all. Let’s now stand up for their right to fair wages.

    “Give the Chancellor a slow handclap for his miserly 1%. Times may be tough but this deal is below-inflation and derisory. It’s like the worst of austerity is back.

    “NHS staff have worked throughout the darkest days in health service history. They were expecting a fair increase that reflects their exceptional efforts.

    “Nurses, midwives, porters, cleaners and other health workers are upset, hurt and angry. There were 100,000 vacancies even before Covid hit. Now the health service will be losing staff quicker than they can recruit new ones.

    “This offer isn’t just bad for staff. It’s bad for the NHS and the patients it cares for.”

    The government has faced growing anger from unions and opposition parties when it emerged they had recommended a 1% pay rise for NHS workers in England, sparking warnings of industrial action.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Mardi Gras protest march to go ahead in Sydney after last-minute Covid exemption granted

    NSW police drops bid to stop Pride in Protest march along Oxford Street while preparations finalised for official parade at SCG

    Sydney LGBTIQ+ rights protestors will march along Oxford Street while the city’s Mardi Gras is held elsewhere after New South Wales Health granted organisers an exemption from gathering restrictions.

    The exemption means a court fight between NSW police, which sought to stop Saturday’s march, and the protesters will no longer go ahead.

    Related: I stopped reading because I couldn’t see myself in books. So I wrote one instead | Gary Lonesborough

    Related: Joining the world’s first gay rugby team changed my life. So I made a film about it | Eammon Ashton-Atkinson

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Rishi Sunak just ignored disabled people literally knocking his door

    Rishi Sunak and the Treasury just refused to listen to sick and disabled people. Because a campaign group tried to deliver the stories of dozens of them to Sunak’s office. But it refused to take them; damning, really – given the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did.

    Disabled People Against Cuts

    Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) is a grassroots campaign group. It’s been vocal about the government and Sunak’s response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Notably, DPAC has been campaigning around the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift. It’s been calling for this rise to be applied to so-called legacy benefits. This is because the DWP didn’t give people on things like Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) any extra money.

    As The Canary reported, DPAC and two other groups held a day of action on 6 February. It was about the £20 uplift. But it also showed Sunak’s lack of support for people on legacy benefits. The groups then held a second day of action on Monday 1 March. But this time DPAC took its action one step further.

    Knocking doors

    As it tweeted, it paid a visit to Sunak and the Treasury:

    It wrote on its website that part of its action was collecting testimony from people affected by social security. These included comments from people on legacy benefits, about how the lack of extra financial support has hit them:

    We did two things with these: 1) compiled a document combining lived experience with key findings from recent reports evidencing the need to retain and extend the uplift… 2) Printed them all out (anonymously), placed them in individual envelopes in a postage sack and arranged for a courier (paid above London Living Wage) to deliver them to the Treasury for us.

    But DPAC again went further than this.

    Protesting the cuts

    As it noted:

    we weren’t sure that even 190 letters and testimonies would get the message through.

    So we created some very basic education tools in the form of wheelchairs to which we attached items and explanatory tags representing the essentials that disabled people are having to go without due to the financial pressures of the pandemic, including a blanket (heating); an incontinence pad (bathing, laundry and medicines); a face mask (PPE); an empty packet of cuppa soup (nutritious food) and an empty purse (enough money to live on).

    Part of DPAC protest against Rishi Sunak

    An image from DPAC protest against Rishi Sunak

    But it wasn’t just Sunak that got DPAC’s delivery. The group also sent the same things to Downing Street and the DWP’s office. But none of them would take the wheelchairs and their contents. Curiously, the DWP was the only place that took DPAC’s collection of testimonies.

    Sunak and Co: leaving disabled people “out in the cold”

    So, we shouldn’t hold out hope that Sunak et al will heed the message DPAC delivered. As it said:

    The resounding impression of the afternoon is that once again the Tories are leaving disabled people out in the cold and assuming they can get away with it.

    Early reports say Sunak will keep the Universal Credit uplift. But they don’t say if he’ll do anything for legacy benefits. So, many sick and disabled people will once more be left in dire straits.

    Featured image via DPAC and Sky News – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Trial date set for four accused of damaging Colston statue

    A trial date has been set for four people charged with criminal damage in relation to the toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston.

    The bronze memorial to the 17th century slave merchant was pulled down during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7 June  last year, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour and later recovered by Bristol City Council.

    Charges allege that the four defendants, without lawful excuse, jointly and with others, damaged the statue of Edward Colston, a listed monument belonging to Bristol City Council.

    It is claimed that the defendants committed the offence “intending to destroy or damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be destroyed or damaged”.

    All four defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge against them during the hearing at Bristol Crown Court.

    Judge Peter Blair QC, the recorder of Bristol, said he would preside over a trial of the case.

    He told the defendants: “You have pleaded not guilty and therefore I am fixing a trial date of December 13 for you which you must attend without fail on that day and the subsequent days.

    “We estimate that it will go into a second week. I am suggesting probably setting aside seven to eight days so you need to make sure that your diaries are so arranged.

    “There will be a hearing on November 8 to take stock of the case and make sure that everyone is working successfully towards your trial date.

    “You don’t have to attend but you may attend if you wish. Your counsel may attend by video link.

    “You are on unconditional bail and that will continue, so you are free to leave.”

    Ahead of the hearing, the legal firm representing three of the four defendants released a statement.

    Raj Chada, head of criminal defence, and Laura O’Brien, associate, at London-based law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, said they would fight the charges “vigorously”.

    “We are committed to defending them and their right to a fair trial in this important case. We ask that their privacy is respected,” they said.

    The next hearing in the case will take place on November 8 at Bristol Crown Court.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Government seeks to retain lockdown limits on protests

    Priti Patel obtains advice on ensuring post-Covid demonstrations do not impact on ‘rights of others to go about their business’

    Concern over the government’s limitation of the right to protest during lockdown continues to mount after it emerged that the home secretary, Priti Patel, is eager to grant police greater powers to control demonstrations once the Covid restrictions are lifted.

    In a letter to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) Patel wrote that although she appreciates protest is “a cornerstone of our democracy” she wanted to know how the Home Office could help police ensure protests in the future do not impact on “the rights of others to go about their daily business”.

    Related: Drones used by police to monitor political protests in England

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Papuan protesters claim police using covid rapid tests to curb free speech

    Asia Pacific Report

    Indonesian police have asked participants at a protest action against Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Papua to take covid-19 rapid tests at the site of the demonstration in front of the Home Affairs Ministry office in Jakarta this week, reports CNN Indonesia.

    The protesters refused, saying it was an attempt to silence them.

    Police Assistant Superintendant Budi asked all of the demonstrators at the Wednesday protest to take turns in undergoing a covid-19 rapid test. Police had provided healthcare works and rapid test for free.

    “Please protesters take a rapid test first to confirm that everyone here is safe from the [corona] virus pandemic”, said Budi from a police command vehicle in front of the Home Affairs Ministry office.

    Budi said that the protesters needed to take a rapid because there were too many of them, adding that under the Micro Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM) the maximum limit on a gathering was 10 people.

    The police claimed that they wanted to ensure that the demonstrators were safe and even declared they would take firm action if the students failed to follow the rules.

    “Before we [have to] take firm action, please follow the rules,” said Budi.

    Papuan students refuse
    The Papuan students however refused to take the rapid test saying that they felt that the rule was only intended to restrict freedom of expression.

    “Regarding the rapid test, last December we also refused because there was no mandatory letter. So, we reject the rapid test. This is curbing democratic space for Papuan people on the grounds of Covid-19”, said one of the speakers, Ambrosius Mulait.

    Police continued to appeal to the demonstrators but the Papuan students were reluctant to take a rapid test. Instead, they began singing together.

    “Papua is not the red-and-white, Papua is not the red-and-white, Papua is the Morning Star, the Morning Star”, shouted the demonstrators, referring to the red-and-white Indonesian national colours and the Morning Star independence flag of Papua.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Pedemo Otsus Papua Tolak Rapid Test di Depan Kantor Tito”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Here’s how you can support the campaign to stop the deportation of Osime Brown

    Osime Brown – a Black 21-year-old autistic man with learning disabilities – is facing deportation from his home in Britain to Jamaica. He was imprisoned in 2018 under the joint enterprise act for the theft of a mobile phone, and lost his leave to remain. The Home Office now intends to deport Brown from his home in Britain to Jamaica, a country he left when he was four years old.

    Throughout his tumultuous life, Brown has been systematically failed by the services that were supposed to protect him – the education, health and social care, and criminal justice systems. Brown has a learning disability, has high support needs, and now suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his distress. Regarding the Home Office’s plan to deport her son to Jamaica, Brown’s mother said:

    He doesn’t have anybody there. He hasn’t been back to Jamaica, he doesn’t know Jamaica. When he found out the Home Office wanted to remove him he said: “Mum, is there a bus that I can come back on?” His removal would be a death sentence.

    She told the Independent:

    He wouldn’t cope. If he can’t even cope here, how is he going to cope in a environment and a culture he doesn’t know? He would be exploited because of his vulnerability.

    34 MPs have signed a letter calling on home secretary Priti Patel to halt the planned deportation of Brown, saying:

    If Osime is deported, it is our and his mother’s belief that he will die.

    #StopTheDeportation

    Brown’s family have taken to social media to call for a twitterstorm at 7pm on 25 February to raise awareness about his case and stop the planned deportation:

    They have shared a useful thread on how people can get involved in the online campaign:

    They encourage those taking part to tag the official @FreeOsimeBrown page and to use hashtags to ensure the campaign is impactful:

    Who will be joining?

    Emma Taylor shared some information about Brown’s case and how to get involved in the twitterstorm:

    One Twitter user has shared a reminder for those taking part in the twitterstorm to tag their MPs to make sure the word gets out:

    Another user has shared graphics that people can use to draw attention to the cause:

    Bill Ward shared a helpful reminder that users can schedule tweets using sites such as Tweetdeck:

    How else can I help?

    As Aimee-Nicole has highlighted, people can sign the petition to halt the deportation:

    Another Twitter user has shared the template people can use to write to the Home Office and their MP, calling on them to end the injustice:

    Supporters can also donate to the campaign fundraiser.

    However we choose to support the campaign, we must use our collective voice to demand justice for Brown and send a loud, clear message that we do not accept the Home Office’s plans to put a vulnerable young man into an extremely dangerous situation.

    Featured image via @FreeOsimeBrown/Twitter

    By Sophia Purdy-Moore

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Black Lives Matter UK just took a vital step in building a mass movement

    Black Lives Matter UK has announced the first 14 organisations to receive grants from its fundraiser following mass protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police in 2020. The group managed to raise £1.2m, half of which will be allocated to other grassroots anti-racist organisations which ‘align’ with the group’s ongoing work. The rest will go towards “building an anti-racist organisation that can scale up its existing community organising, educational work and direct actions”.

    Black Lives Matter UK announced the news, saying:

     

    Building the Black liberation movement from the ground up

    The first round of funding is aimed at grassroots, community-based organisations, including Justice for Black Lives, A Tribe Named Athari, and Acts of Love International. Through this first wave of funding, Black Lives Matter UK seeks to support initiatives that are working to challenge racial injustices in education, policing, immigration and health.

    Sistah Space – a Hackney-based charity that works with Black women and girls who are at risk of, or have experienced, domestic or sexual abuse – celebrated Black Lives Matter UK’s £10k donation, stating:

    The Northern Police Monitoring Project – a community-based group that works against “police violence, harassment and racism” – expressed gratitude for the £11k donation, saying:

    Grassroots trade union for low paid Black and migrant workers United Voices of the World took to Twitter to celebrate their £15k grant:

    Black Girls Can celebrated Black Lives Matter UK’s generous donations to Sistah Space, African Rainbow Family, and All Black Lives:

    Black Lives Matter UK will also be releasing £45,000 to fund a “People’s Tribunal” for deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody led by the United Families & Friends Campaign. Other beneficiaries include AZ Mag – an online publication for LGBTQIA+ people of colour, B’Me Cancer Communities – a charity focused on the health of people from BME and low-income backgrounds, and the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain – a trade union for precarious workers.

    International solidarity

    Black Lives Matter UK is also stepping up to support the Black liberation struggle abroad. The organisation is donating £14,650 to Abahlali baseMjondolo, a “shack dwellers’ movement campaigning against evictions and for public housing” in South Africa, and £7,500 to Sindicato de Manteros de Madrid, a Spanish street vendors’ labour union which primarily supports workers from Black and migrant backgrounds.

    Black Lives Matter UK member Alex Wanjiku Kelbert said:

    International solidarity has always been a crucial part of the history of Black organising in this country. We’re not the first one to have this understanding and that’s a legacy we’re also inheriting.

    Kelbert added:

    Thinking about Britain’s history and legacy of colonialism, it’s only right that some of the money goes towards furthering causes in these countries. There’s some really exciting anti-racism work that’s taking place outside of the UK so it’s cool to be able to support it. These are people that we’ve had a relationship with and we want to honour that.

    By funding a wide range of independent community-based projects, the organisation really has put its money where its mouth is. It is clear that Black Lives Matter UK is crucial to building a broad-based grassroots anti-racist movement that uplifts Black working class across the UK and beyond.

    Featured image via Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona/Unsplash.  

    By Sophia Purdy-Moore

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Police rampage targets striking railway workers in Myanmar

    Demonstrators against Myanmar’s military takeover returned to the streets on Thursday after a night of armed intimidation by security forces in the country’s second biggest city.

    The police rampage in an area of Mandalay where state railway workers are housed showed the conflict between protesters and the new military government is increasingly focused on the businesses and government institutions that sustain the economy.

    State railway workers had called a strike on Sunday, joining a loosely organised Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) that was initiated by medical workers and is the backbone of the resistance to the February 1 coup that removed the elected civilian government.

    Demonstrators in Mandalay
    Demonstrators in Mandalay (AP)

    One labour activist who did not wish to be named said:

    Many workers and citizens of Myanmar believe that CDM is very effective for making the junta fail.

    That’s why health, education, transportation, different government departments and banks’ employees are participating in CDM together.

    Police retaliation

    The railway strike has received support from ordinary citizens who have placed themselves on tracks to stop trains the military have commandeered.

    The efforts by Mandalay residents to block a railway line on Wednesday apparently triggered the retaliation that night.

    Less than an hour after the 8pm start of the nightly curfew, gunshots were heard as more than two dozen men in police uniforms, shields and helmets, marched in tight formation by the railway workers’ housing.

    Demonstrators in Yangon wave flags belonging to different ethnic groups during a protest against the coup
    Demonstrators wave flags belonging to different ethnic groups during a protest against the coup in Yangon (AP)

    Numerous videos posted on social media showed flashes as shots were heard, and some were shown shooting slingshots and throwing rocks at buildings. Calls of “left, right, left, right” could be heard along with shouts of “shoot, shoot”.

    Several reports included photos of people with small wounds, with claims they were caused by rubber bullets. Some unconfirmed reports said several railway workers had been arrested.

    The military coup

    The junta has said it took over — preventing parliament from convening and detaining the nation’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others — because the November election was tainted by voting irregularities.

    It replaced the election commission that affirmed Ms Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide and says it will hold a new election in a year’s time.

    The Biden government in America has imposed new US sanctions on Myanmar because of the coup, and the United Nations and other country’s governments have called for Ms Suu Kyi’s elected government to be restored.

    Police stand guard as demonstrators protest in Mandalay
    Police stand guard as demonstrators protest in Mandalay (AP)

    Opponents of the coup are also urging foreign businesses to cut their ties to Myanmar operations they believe benefit the military.

    Widespread protest

    About 200 people demonstrated on Thursday near Kanbauk, in the south of the country, outside premises involved in a major pipeline operation that pumps gas from offshore fields for export.

    The demonstrators moved between the premises of Total of France, PTTEP of Thailand and Petronas of Malaysia and later joined with a larger anti-coup demonstration in Kanbauk.

    Extracting industries, such as gas and oil drilling and jade mining, are key sources of foreign revenue for Myanmar. Rights campaigners have appealed to foreign companies involved in those industries to stop paying revenue to the new military government.

    Street protests continued in other cities. In Yangon, some tried to hinder security forces by abandoning cars in streets. But small groups of men, including several dressed in Buddhist monks’ robes, attacked several drivers and their vehicles, smashing windshields in some cases.

    On Wednesday night, the military for the fourth day in a row, ordered an internet blackout, almost entirely blocking online access from 1am to 9am.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • GOP Attacks Biden Nominee Deb Haaland for Role in Pipeline Protests

    Rep. Deb Haaland

    Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas on Monday highlighted a Wall Street Journal story on Deb Haaland — President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior — with a tweet accurately stating: “Interior secretary nominee has joined pipeline protests and opposed fracking.”

    While Cornyn intended the message to be a criticism of Haaland — who, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the first-ever Native American cabinet secretary — progressives said the New Mexico congresswoman’s steadfast opposition to fracking and destructive fossil fuel infrastructure projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline are precisely what make her the most qualified candidate for a role tasked with protecting federal lands and overseeing the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

    “Thank God,” Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-New York) said in response to Cornyn’s tweet. “Confirm her immediately.”

    Climate scientist Michael Mann tweeted at the Texas Republican, “You make a compelling argument for approving the nominee, senator.”

    As the Journal reported, Haaland in recent years “has joined with pipeline protesters, supported the Green New Deal, and opposed fracking on public lands. For a cabinet post that oversees the government’s longstanding, multibillion-dollar partnership with drillers on federal lands, Ms. Haaland’s environmental politics are in contrast to those of her predecessors.” If confirmed, Haaland would succeed former oil and gas lobbyist David Bernhardt.

    The Journal goes on to quote from a 2017 Medium post in which Haaland, then a congressional candidate, wrote, “Fracking is a danger to the air we breathe and water we drink.”

    “The auctioning off of our land for fracking and drilling serves only to drive profits to the few,” Haaland continued. “We must not destroy protected Native ancestral lands and important cultural and heritage sites for the sake of a relatively short-term oil and gas fix, especially when it results in the degradation of sacred sites, land, water, and air.”

    Last month, as Common Dreams reported, Biden ordered a 60-day pause on new leases for oil and gas drilling on public lands, a temporary ban that climate activists said they hope will be made permanent.

    While the fossil fuel industry and Republican senators have objected to Haaland’s history of fighting oil and gas pipelines and backing the Green New Deal — Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) told the Journal that it is “unprecedented” for an Interior Department nominee to support such “radical policies” — members of the Senate Democratic caucus made clear that the congresswoman’s positions are well-suited to a time of climate emergency.

    “We need an Interior Secretary who has the guts to take on fossil fuel CEOs whose greed is destroying the planet,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. “We need an Interior Secretary who will protect our environment. I’m confident Deb Haaland is that person and I am proud to support her nomination.”

    In a letter to Daines and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) last week, leaders of the Global Indigenous Council, Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, and Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association urged swift confirmation of Haaland, who has yet to have her first confirmation hearing. Daines, as the Journal reported, has threatened to use procedural delay tactics to obstruct Haaland’s confirmation.

    “There is good reason for tribal nations and their tribal members opposing projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline,” the Indigenous leaders wrote, referring to the fossil fuel project that Biden halted last month by revoking a federal permit. “Not only would that have created immense vulnerability to reservation communities along its proposed route, it, like similar initiatives from a bygone age, threatened environmental catastrophe.”

    Having an Indigenous person serve as Interior secretary is “way overdue,” the letter continued. “We are proud to support Representative Deb Haaland to be that woman to make history.”

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Key pro-democracy figures go on trial over Hong Kong protests

    Veteran activist Lee Cheuk-yan accuses police and government of depriving Hongkongers of constitutional rights

    A veteran champion of democracy in Hong Kong has described its legal system as an instrument of political suppression, after he and eight other high-profile figures went on trial in one of the biggest court cases linked to the protest movement that paralysed the city for more than a year.

    “It’s the department of justice, the police department and the Hong Kong government who should be on trial because they have deprived us of our constitutional rights,” said Lee Cheuk-yan after the day’s proceedings. “This year is the year of the ox so we should be stubborn as an ox.”

    Related: Hong Kong: 1.7m people defy police to march in pouring rain

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Protests in India over arrest of climate activist

    Scores of people have demonstrated in the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Mumbai after a climate activist was arrested for circulating a document on social media supporting months of massive protests by farmers.

    Disha Ravi was arrested in Bengaluru on Saturday.

    Police said at a news conference on Monday that the document spread misinformation about the farmer protests on the outskirts of New Delhi and “tarnished the image of India”.

    They say Ravi shared the document with Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, who tweeted it earlier this month.

    Activists hold placards demanding the release of Indian climate activist Disha Ravi during a protest in Mumbai
    Activists hold placards demanding the release of Indian climate activist Disha Ravi during a protest in Mumbai (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)

    Police say the sharing of the document on social media indicated there was a “conspiracy” behind violence on 26 January, India’s Republic Day, when the largely peaceful farmer protests erupted into clashes with police.

    One protester died and hundreds of police and demonstrators were injured.

    Demonstrators on Monday in the southern city of Bengaluru, including prominent historian Ramachandra Guha, held placards calling for Ravi’s immediate release.

    In the western city of Mumbai, around 50 people also demanded that Ravi be freed.

    Her arrest has been condemned in India and beyond.

    Opposition parties called her arrest harassment, intimidation and an attack on democracy.

    Overseas, the niece of US vice president Kamala Harris, Meena Harris, criticised the government on Twitter for silencing activists.

    A man holds a placard demanding the release of Indian climate activist Disha Ravi during a protest in Bengaluru
    A man demands the release of Disha Ravi during a protest in Bengaluru (Aijaz Rahi/AP)

    Police also issued arrest warrants for two other activists, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk, saying the three created the document and shared it with others.

    Police said the document contained links to websites that were pro-Khalistani, a movement for an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

    The government initially tried to discredit the protesting farmers, many of whom are Sikhs, as motivated by religious nationalism.

    Since November, tens of thousands of farmers have camped outside the capital and blocked roads to protest over new agricultural reform laws they say will devastate their incomes.

    The protests have posed a major challenge to prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-led government, which says the laws are needed to modernise Indian farming.

    Critics have accused the government of using the massive demonstrations to escalate a crackdown on free speech.

    The protests attracted international attention earlier this month when pop star Rihanna, Thunberg and Meena Harris tweeted their support.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • After 19 days anti-HS2 protester leaves Euston tunnel network to ‘allow others to stay longer’

    Another of the anti-HS2 campaigners occupying a network of underground tunnels near Euston station has voluntarily left overnight.

    Pictures show HS2 Rebellion protester Scotty, also known as Digger Down, being escorted away from the premises by police after emerging from the tunnel system just after midnight on Monday.

    In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, Scotty said he was opting to leave the tunnels voluntarily after 19 days in order to “ease the pressure on resources (and) allow others to stay longer”.

    He said: “I have nothing to prove by being the last one in so have decided to volunteer my exit.

    HS2 project
    Scotty had been in the tunnels for 19 days (Jonathan Brady/PA)

    “Bailiffs are digging a new downshaft adjacent to the other tunnel in an attempt to extract (fellow protester) Larch (Maxey) etc.

    “I predict they will enter (his) tunnel tomorrow evening but don’t expect them to extract anyone anytime soon.

    “However there may be more strategic exits as time goes on … Thanks for all the support and will see you on the other side.”

    The 100ft network of tunnels, which were dug in secret by protesters who object to the redevelopment of Euston Square Gardens in London as part of HS2, were discovered on January 26.

    Some protesters remain underground, while a number of others have since been removed or left.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • The Guardian view on global protests: passing it on | Editorial

    From Hong Kong to Myanmar and Belarus, the tactics and ethos of activists are transmitted at lightning speed

    There is something uncannily familiar about the courageous protests against the army’s coup in Myanmar. They echo the country’s previous expressions of anti-military defiance. But they also evoke other scenes that played out more than 1,000 miles away. The helmets worn by those on the frontline, the walls bedecked with scrawled slogans on colourful sticky notes, and the flashmob-style demonstrations are all straight from the playbook of activists in Hong Kong in 2019 – literally. A manual of tactics, translated into Burmese, was shared thousands of times on social media.

    In Thailand too – where pro-democracy protesters have demanded reforms to the monarchy and the removal of the prime minister, who originally took power in a coup – Hong Kong’s influence was evident, with the use of hand signals on the streets and votes on whether to take particular actions. It is not just an Asian phenomenon. Demonstrators in Belarus also held up umbrellas as security forces fired teargas. In Lebanon, they too used tennis rackets to hit back teargas canisters. The crackdown has silenced the streets of Hong Kong, with last year’s imposition of a draconian national security law followed by sweeping arrests. Yet the movement that swept through the city almost two years ago has found a strange afterlife, with activists around the world drawing not only upon specific tactics but above all upon its “be water” ethos of fluid, fast-shifting methods of protest and informal organisation.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Armed security forces stamp out planned peaceful protest in Nigeria

    Armed security forces have suppressed a planned peaceful protest in Lagos, Nigeria. End SARS protesters planned to occupy Lekki toll gate, where state-sponsored armed security forces shot and killed 12 peaceful protesters in October 2020. Organisers intended to protest against the government’s plan to reopen the toll gate while covering up its involvement with the tragedy. Authorities have arrested a number of individuals for exercising their right to peaceful protest. And the police are allegedly denying them access to lawyers. They’ve also shut down the planned protest and opened the toll gate.

    Lekki toll gate massacre

    Young Nigerians have been protesting against police brutality, impunity, and bad governance since October. That was when they took to the streets and social media to campaign against the government’s notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). It came following years of mounting evidence of systematic brutality and corruption in the police unit. Although the government disbanded the squad, it’s carried out sustained attempts to quash the youth-led End SARS movement. Indeed, armed security forces shot and killed peaceful protesters; the Nigerian president blamed “hooliganism” for violence during protests, and the government banned cryptocurrency, a key source of income for the movement.

    On 13 February, End SARS protesters took to social media to share their plans to occupy Lekki toll gate in Lagos. The toll gate was where Nigerian security forces shot and killed 12 peaceful protesters on 20 October 2020.

    The protest was sparked by government plans to reopen the gate without taking accountability for the tragedy or seeking justice for those who were killed. On 8 February, one Twitter user posted:

    Movement leaders such as Omoyele Sowore urged protesters to ignore calls from Nigeria’s minister for culture asking protesters to abandon their plans:

    Why are Nigerians protesting?

    As one Twitter user highlighted, Nigerians are protesting because the government continues to cover up the Lekki toll gate massacre:

    Many see the government’s plan to reopen the toll gate while continuing to cover up its involvement in the national tragedy as callous:

    As Toke Makinwa highlights, young Nigerians are also challenging bad governance, police brutality, and an economy that fails young people:

    Nigerians are being denied their right to peaceful protest

    Amnesty International Nigeria took to Twitter to remind the government that the right to protest is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution:

    Despite this, journalist Yemisi Adegoke reported a heavy police presence and acts of police brutality. Even though there were very few protesters in attendance:

    According to BBC News Africa, some of the people arrested by police were on their way to work:

    Sowore highlighted another blatant injustice. The private security company allegedly complicit in the Lekki toll gate massacre was policing the attempted occupation:

    Another Twitter user shared that would-be protesters were met with “brutality and arrest”:

    Meanwhile, lawyers and organisers have reported that police are transporting would-be protesters out of Lagos and denying them access to legal counsel:

    Stamping out peaceful protest

    CNN Africa‘s Stephanie Busari shared that although armed security had dispersed protesters, more appeared:

    It appears that police have successfully stamped out the planned peaceful protest, and reopened the toll gate:

    Reacting to state suppression of the planned protest, Tope Akinyode labelled Nigeria’s political situation a “dictatorship”. And he called on Nigerians to challenge it:

    By denying Nigerians their right to assembly and peaceful protest, the government has sent a clear message: it intends to keep suppressing the youth-led movement against police brutality and bad governance. It must answer for its corruption and incompetence, and it must listen to young Nigerians. If the government continues down this path of destruction, the consequences will be devastating.

    Featured image via Stephanie Busari/Twitter

    By Sophia Purdy-Moore

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Chile police shoot dead unarmed street artist in broad daylight sparking riots

    Chile’s militarised police force carabineros shot a street juggler in the Chilean southern town of Panguipulli on Friday 5 February 2021, to the horror of onlookers.

    Point blank

    Francisco Martínez Romero was approached by police who asked him for his ID card. When he resisted, he was shot. The police did not go to the young man’s aid. Instead, they retreated, leaving the crowd to deal with the aftermath.

    Angry local people protested the killing of Martinez who was well known in the community. Several fires broke out, one of which destroyed the council building of Pangipulli.

    Maria Vasquez-Aguilar from UK organisation Chile Solidarity Network commented:

    The shooting and killing of a young street performer by the police at the weekend is yet another example of the excessive and brutal force used by the governments security forces. To claim ‘self-defence’ due to the props that Francisco was using, is a stark reminder of the complete disregard the Chilean state has towards it owns citizens. The police force in Chile is not fit for purpose and needs to be reformed immediately.

    Rage

    This latest act of brutality has been met with fury by a people that have been subjected to extreme violence by a police force inherited from the US backed Pinochet regime. Riots and protests have also broken out in large cities like Concepcion and the capital Santiago, with the funeral delegation being attacked by police who used tear gas to break up the crowd.

    Human Rights Watch said:

    Police cannot kill someone for resisting an ID check.

    Its Americas director, Jose Miguel Vivanco further stated:

    A thorough and rapid investigation into these serious events is urgently needed. Chile must urgently move forward with a serious and rigorous reform of the Carabineros.

    The Chilean Communist party also made a statement rejecting the “criminal and abusive use of procedures”. Prensa Latina reported that:

    It also rejects the ‘criminal and abusive use of procedures’ that go beyond the basic standards of a police force, whose actions threaten the daily lives of people, whose rights, such as the use of public roads or work, are threatened for fear of being repressed, beaten, arrested, abused or killed.

    Since the start of the social upheaval that began in October 2019, when students staged a protest over escalating metro fares that erupted into nationwide mobilisations demanding change, Chile’s security forces have been implicated in the rape, torture, and even the killing of anti-neoliberal, feminist and environmental protesters.

    Featured image via Daniel espinoza Guzman 

    By Carole Concha Bell

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • At least 331 human rights defenders were murdered in 2020, report finds

    Two-thirds of those killed worked to protect environmental, land and indigenous peoples’ rights, while those providing Covid relief also faced reprisals

    At least 331 human rights defenders promoting social, environmental, racial and gender justice in 25 countries were murdered in 2020, with scores more beaten, detained and criminalised because of their work, analysis has found.

    Latin America, the most dangerous continent in the world in which to protect environmental, land and human rights, accounted for more than three-quarters of all the murders of human rights defenders in 2020. In Colombia, where activists are routinely targeted by armed groups despite a 2016 peace deal, 177 such deaths were recorded, more than half of the global total. The Philippines was the second deadliest country with 25 murders, followed by Honduras, Mexico, Afghanistan, Brazil and Guatemala.

    Indigenous activists made up nearly one third of the total of 331 human rights defenders killed worldwide, even though indigenous peoples comprise only about 6% of the global population

    A significant number of those murdered were working to stop extractive industry projects. They included the South African environmental activist Fikile Ntshangase, who was shot dead after opposing the extension of a coalmine near her home

    13% of all those recorded killed were women

    Six transgender human-rights defenders were killed in 2020, all of them in the Americas

    Related: UK failing to protect human rights defenders abroad, says Amnesty

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.