Loading ...The British government wants to hand police unprecedented powers to handle protesters. Human rights activists say it’s an affront to democracy
The British government wants to hand new powers to police that would allow officers to take stronger action against people engaging in peaceful, political protest.
The bill would criminalize long-standing protest tactics such as locking on (where protesters physically attach themselves to things like buildings) and tunneling (literally digging tunnels), and could force people who protest regularly into wearing electronic tags. The new amendment would also give police the power to shut down protests before any disruption even occurs.
“When people argue that the government have a right to stop protests, well that’s what China says, that’s what Russia says, that’s what Myanmar says,” she said. “We wouldn’t live in the democracy we have today if people didn’t have the right to protest and disrupt things.”
It’s so cute when western countries’ politicians speak about democracy.