Wherever
there is injustice or oppression,
there is protest and resistance
Conference aims and workshops and some
ideas to consider for how people can resist repressive laws
The
conference aims:
- to share experiences, and promote mutual aid & co-ordination
between protestors threatened by repressive laws
- to develop effective strategies for standing up for our freedom
to protest against injustice and oppression
see the conference
programme and other details
see the workshop briefing
papers
read
a report of the conference
There
are a whole range of repressive and outrageous measures increasingly
being used by police and companies to try
to intimidate and undermine all manner of protests - including
peace and anti-war, anti-capitalist, Palestinian solidarity,
environmental,
workers, animal rights and other campaigns.
These measures include protests being banned, ASBOs
against protestors, injunctions, police encircling and detaining
protestors for hours on end, police 'intelligence' teams harassing
people, road blocks to stop protests, and new threats from the Serious
Organised Crime and Police Act.
Its time to stand up for everyone's freedom to leaflet,
picket, assemble and march against injustice and oppression. Such
rights and freedoms have not been handed down by the powers-that-be,
but won through struggles over the last 100 years or more.
We believe that oppressive laws can be made unworkable
by determination and solidarity among those affected, by mass defiance,
and by turning the tables on those who would try to silence and
suppress dissent. There are many examples of campaigns and movements
successfully refusing to be intimidated by legal threats.
We hope that all campaigns and groups affected by
the latest wave of repressive laws will support the conference.
Please send the organising group a message of support or any thoughts
you have, and send a rep to the next planning meeting:
Conference workshop themes will include:
- Repressive laws;
- How to continue to protest effectively
- Defending cases in court
- Taking cases against Police etc
- Organising defence/support campaigns.
Some ideas to consider for how people
can resist repressive laws:
- organising
active defence campaigns which spread the activity which is
being threatened
- encouraging people to be confident and assertive
about protesting, not apologetic
- holding protests outside firms using repressive
tactics
- handing out Freedom To Protest / Human Rights cards
on protests
- exercising the right to make citizens arrests if
protests are being threatened
- organisers of protest events ensuring there are
legal observers present
- promoting co-ordination and mutual aid between
groups threatened by repressive laws
- sharing
experiences on how groups are standing up for their freedom
to protest & developing
effective strategies
- adding 'Freedom To Protest' slogan/logo on leaflets
etc
- distributing special leaflets to workers employed
by any company targeted, calling on them to support or join in
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