Tens of
thousands took part in militant May Day demonstrations in as many as 46
cities and towns across Britain. The main focus of the demonstrations
was opposition to the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill 2021,
at present going through Parliament, which gives police and ministers
further arbitrary powers. One such power permits them to ban
demonstrations on self-serving grounds, such as causing annoyance or
being too loud. The demonstrations demanded "No More Police Powers."
The movement against the Bill has been growing around the hashtag
#KillTheBill. A main focus is to oppose the criminalization of protest
that the bill enshrines.
The protests reveal many
aspects of what the bill targets which would otherwise remain hidden
such as how it will drastically impact the lives of Gypsy, Roma and
Traveller (GRT) communities by threatening to criminalize "trespass" in
a state where 92 per cent of the land is privately owned. Travellers do
not recognize the private ownership of land and are persecuted
incessantly because of their way of life.
The May
Day demonstrations were the latest in the protests against the use and
abuse of police powers. More than 40 activist groups have joined forces
in a coalition against the bill since March. The bill is now scheduled
to resume its path through Parliament in May. More than 600 civil
society and protest groups have called for the government to drop the
legislation. A planned quick passage through Parliament has already
been delayed.
In London on
May Day an estimated 10,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square at noon
at a rally featuring speakers from Sisters Uncut, the youth
empowerment organization, the 4FRONT Project, anti-school exclusions
campaign group No More Exclusions, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller
Socialists, Women of Colour and Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance
Movement (SWARM). The diverse range of organizations represented
included the trade unions United Voices of the World, the Independent
Workers' Union of Great Britain, the University and College Union, the
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and Unison. This
broad swathe of organizations was reflected in the demonstration
itself, with speakers pointing out, "We're here for everybody!"
Pragna Patel,
Director of Southall Black Sisters, said in London: "The bill
represents a massive assault on civil liberties and it's part of a
wider trend on the part of the government to shut down free speech,
shut down protest, shut down dissenting voices. In a sense it's an
attack on a fundamental democratic value, which is the right to raise
our voice in criticism, in protest, in dissent.
"We
are really, really alarmed by the government's thrust towards
authoritarianism. This represents one in a long line of draconian laws
which the government is bringing in which will impact on our
fundamental rights."
After gathering in Trafalgar
Square from midday, protesters marched past Buckingham Palace amidst
red and purple smoke flares, then through Victoria, past the Department
for Education and the Home Office, and finally across the river to
Vauxhall Gardens.
Outside the Home Office, speeches
were given from atop a double decker bus, including by students from
Pimlico Academy who recently walked out of school in protest of racist
school uniform policies. Activists expressed solidarity with Osime
Brown, a young autistic Black man currently facing deportation to
Jamaica.
As police helicopters flew overhead, the
militant march to Vauxhall Gardens focused on how to intervene in
police Stop-and-Searches, how to resist evictions and how to stop
immigration raids.
Opposition to the bill has been
growing also because of the exercise of police violence against
peaceful demonstrations during the COVID-19 lockdown, as well as
revelations of endemic police corruption, racism, and connection with
neo-Nazi organizations. The Mitting Inquiry itself, initiated after the
racist murder of Stephen Lawrence on April 22, 1993, indicated endemic
racism throughout the police. The use of under-cover policing since the
anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, and before, has also demonstrated both
the immorality and provocateur nature of the secret police which is
integral to the police powers in the executive and court system. In
this light, demonstrators on May Day also upheld the slogan, "Whose
Streets? Our Streets!"
Towns where demonstrations
were held included Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol where
demonstrators have come under police attack since the first of eleven
demonstrations since March 2020 when the statue of slave-trader Edward
Colston was torn down and dumped in the tidal river. Other towns
included Margate, Hastings, Oxford, Bath, Doncaster, Brighton, and
Aberystwyth in Wales. In Truro, Cornwall, protesters gathered on Lemon
Quay and marched through the city. A statement from organizers prior to
the event said: "We're taking to the streets again on a day of national
action to Kill the Bill. Cornwall has shown we are rising to each and
every occasion. Let's make May Day bigger and more spectacular than any
of our protests so far. Cornwall is rising! We have shown that we have
a vibrant protest movement here. We need to grow that momentum. We need
to Kill the Bill."
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 11 - May 13, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/MS51113.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
