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IMC-LONDON-AUDIO
Extract from the 5th Oct 2005 Indymedia London newswire show.
1 minute 30 seconds < 1 MB
MP3 32kbps 22,050
It's not just people wearing 'unseasonal' jackets that are being targetted. Over 600 were detained under the Terrorism Act during the Labour party conference last week. Citizens voicing concerns over the invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and even conference delegates, were all detained by police under legislation allegedly designed to combat dangerous terrorists. None of them were suspected of terrorist links or activities and no-one was charged under the terrorism laws. Instead they experienced delays, harresment, humiliation and intimidation under the Section 44 stop-and-search powers provided by the 2000 Terrorism Act.
(source: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/10/324931.html)
To some extent their attempts stiffle dissent back fired when Walter Wolfgang, an 82-year-old Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, was thrown out of the conference hall after shouting 'nonsense' during a speech by Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. When he tried to get back in, he was detained under Section 44 and questioned by police. The incident turned into public relations disaster as it became the leading story in the mainstream media.
In the Guardian, George Monbiot wrote
, "What is most remarkable is that until Mr Wolfgang was held, neither parliamentarians nor the press were interested. The pressure group Liberty, the Green party, a couple of alternative comedians, the Indymedia network and the alternative magazine Schnews have been left to defend our civil liberties almost unassisted. Even after "Wolfie" was thrown out of the conference, public criticism concentrated on the suppression of dissent within the Labour party, rather than the suppression of dissent throughout the country."
In an attempt at damage control the labour party quicky apologised, repeatedly. The Home Office however hasn't been so quick to apologise for the heavy-handed policing and misuse of the terrorism act. A spokesman insisted: "Stop and search under Section 44 is an important tool in the on-going fight against terrorism. The powers help to deter terrorist activity by creating a hostile environment for terrorists.". That's all very well but it is clearly also being used to deter democracy and dissent and our civil liberties are eroding at an alarming rate.