Police during an Extinction Rebellion demonstration blocking Vauxhall Bridge in central London, April 10, 2022
Right to protest comes under fresh attack as Tories unveil new measures and fines
THE right to protest came under fresh attack today as the Tory government unveiled new measures directed at demonstrators.
Rattled by the repeated huge solidarity marches with Palestine in recent months, ministers presented amendments to criminal justice legislation designed to make protesting harder.
Among the acts now to be criminalised are wearing masks at a demonstration, climbing on war memorials or the use of flares or fireworks.
Protesters engaging in any of these activities now risk fines of up to £1,000.
Nor will they any longer be able to use the right to protest as a defence if they cause serious disruption, a change driven by the refusal of a jury to convict anti-racists charged with hauling down the statute of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.
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Leading human rights lawyer and peer Shami Chakrabarti said: … “This is more culture war nonsense from the government while children go hungry and the planet burns.”
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Suella Braverman, who lost office trying to ban a Gaza ceasefire protest on Armistice Day, has demanded further measures.
These would include giving ministers, rather than the police, the power to ban marches they do not approve of; prohibit the use of particular slogans or phrases and proscribe groups deemed “extremist” even if they are entirely peaceful.
The Tories and Labour competing over hardline immigration policies only helps to mainstream far-right ideas
Rishi Sunak conducts a press conference in December 2023 | James Manning (WPA Pool)/Getty Images
Standing at a lectern with the familiar slogan, “STOP THE BOATS”, Rishi Sunak evoked the “will of the people” as the so-called Rwanda Bill made its fractious passage through the Commons last week.
The prime minister’s summoning of “the people” to push through an inhumane and unpopular policy smacks of the misuse of populism that we have come to associate with this government. The insistence that stopping people seeking asylum is “an urgent national issue” deliberately ignores that the priority issues for the British public remain the cost of living and the NHS.
We have seen both main political parties eagerly trading punches for the prize of who can appear most punitive on blocking people seeking asylum. Not only does this stale consensus manufacture a sense of crisis that is a distortion of public opinion, but it also pretends it has nothing to do with racism. And yet whether it’s warning about a “hurricane” or “invasion” of migrants and the failures of multiculturalism, or condemning Britain’s “immigration dependency”, the messaging relies on innuendo and euphemism that stoke racial tensions.
The Runnymede Trust, where I am the interim co-CEO, has today published a report warning of the dangers of this rotten politics that helps mainstream far-right, racist political ideas. Political debate on immigration, based on racialised ideas of who is welcome and who belongs, has become the norm. Whether directly or indirectly, historic and contemporary migration policies are predicated on the exclusion of people of colour. As exemplified by the Windrush scandal, this cheap politics has a high cost – and it is people of colour, regardless of their citizenship status, who bear the ugly consequences.
These toxic anti-migrant policies are coupled with a sustained assault on our democratic infrastructure. In 2022, the government passed the Elections Act, which made it a requirement that voters present ID at polling stations. There was strong opposition about the impact on people of colour. The first UK elections to use them – the May 2023 local elections – confirmed these fears. The Electoral Commission reported about 14,000 people were turned away, and that people of colour and disabled people were most likely to be impacted. The commission predicts 800,000 people could be blocked from voting at the next general election – an incredible price to pay when there were just six cases of voter fraud in 2019.
It’s not just legislation, but also through rhetoric that politicians have persistently attacked the right to protest. Indeed, former home secretary Suella Braverman labelled pro-Palestine marches “hate marches” and compared them with wicked vexation to Black Lives Matter protests – both causes which have high levels of support among communities of colour.
And dare I even mention the ‘culture war’ and the injuries it has inflicted on the strength of civil society? In recent years we have seen the vilification of organisations across the arts, heritage, charity sector and our higher education spaces. The targets have often been those that have dared to embark on progressive racial justice work, who have been demonised with the absurd inversion of the term ‘woke’.
The fact it is the likes of Braverman and her replacement James Cleverly – ministers of colour – who have designed and executed these policies, shows diversity at the top does not protect against racist impact, nor does it mean people in those positions won’t have divergent or indeed opposing political interests to those with whom they may share some points of affinity.
The politics of representation may prioritise superficial visibility, but we mustn’t forget people in positions of power have always designed and inflicted policies that have harmed those they are deemed to share some interest with.
As we prepare for the 2024 general election, we must act to stop the rot of our democracy. Pandering to far-right politics by creating a crisis around small boats and invoking the “will of the people” to implement punitive and racist policies while ignoring the needs of the very people they invoke is unacceptable. On every count, it is people of colour that lose.
Just Stop Oil member Tim Hewes has to lead church services with an ankle tag on – despite not yet having faced trial
The 73-year-old priest has long taken part in direct action with other campaign groups including Insulate Britain, Extinction Rebellion and Christian Climate Action calling for climate justice | Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images
A 73-year-old priest accused of helping plan a climate protest on the M25 has been forced to lead church services while wearing a GPS ankle tag for two years.
Tim Hewes, from Oxfordshire, is among at least ten members of Just Stop Oil who were given the tags despite not having been convicted of a crime. Hewes, who previously sewed his lips shut outside a newspaper office, is also barred from going on the M25 or taking part in any actions to oppose the climate crisis.
On one occasion, Hewes said he was thrown into the back of a police van and locked up overnight after being accused of breaking his bail conditions because his ankle monitor failed to charge. He says the tag was faulty and he was released once the court realised.
“Now if there’s a knock at the door, I think, well, it’s either the tag team or the police,” he told openDemocracy.
“The difficulty with the GPS is that, although I don’t have a curfew, I’ve still got to sleep at home.
“I asked my solicitor: ‘What if I want to go and see the dawn, or something like that?’ and she said: ‘Well, between 12 and five is probably about your limit.’ So, that would rule out midnight mass… Why should I not be able to do that? You know where I am.
“We’re supposed to be able to protest… The perpetrators of real, serious harm in this country are actually in government. What are we supposed to do?”
Hewes, who was speaking to openDemocracy in December and was in fact able to attend midnight mass without a hitch on Christmas Day, had been arrested in November 2022 and charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. He has worn the tag since January 2023 after being held on remand at Wandsworth Prison for six weeks, and has to keep it on until his trial begins in February 2025. Tags must be worn at all times for as long as the court decides.
While he denies the charge, Hewes’s tag prohibits him from going on the M25 and taking part in or organising climate protests. Following previous action with other climate campaign groups such as Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain and Christian Climate Action, he says he has faced increasingly harsh treatment from the police and justice system.
Hewes was arrested on a Sunday afternoon. He said he had just put his collar on as he prepared to take part in a church service when he looked out of the window and saw his garden “swarming with police”.
“They shouted up: ‘If you don’t come down and open the door, we’re going to break it down now.’ And they got what they call a ‘big red key’, which is a euphemism for the battering ram. It was scary.”
He added: “Sunday afternoon was just never the same for me.”
Hewes said he was initially embarrassed to lead services with his tag on, and believes climate activists are being heavily criminalised in order to silence and discredit them.
“Suella Braverman talked about Just Stop Oil in the same breath as terrorists,” he told openDemocracy. “That’s outrageous. We’re peaceful protesters. The climate crisis is an existential threat.”
Braverman, the former home secretary who was forced out after inciting a far-right mob to storm the Cenotaph in November, referred to the activist group as “extremists” in 2022 and said they were “out of control” following a series of protests on the M25.
Marcin Wawrzyn, 42 – who was arrested after 20 minutes of ‘slow marching’ with Just Stop Oil in November – told openDemocracy that being given a tag felt “unfair” and “disproportionate”.
“It felt like a punishment and for what?” he said. “I was marching in the road – where else would you protest? The judges of ECHR say roads are the most appropriate places for protests and anything under 90 minutes cannot be seen as disruptive.”
Mentally, it was harsh – I felt like a dog on a leash
Wawrzyn was charged under section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023, which bans any act that “interferes with the use or operation of any key national infrastructure”. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case is expected to begin in 2025.
Under the conditions of his tag, Wawrzyn was prohibited from crossing the River Thames from his home in Wandsworth, south-west London, and from going into north London for a month. Though his tag has now been removed, he described feeling isolated.
“Despite my work being in north London, I was excluded from my office for a month, which is something a court shouldn’t do. But that’s what happened to me. Mentally, it was harsh – I felt like a dog on a leash.
“I felt detached and like I was prevented from having human contact with people I really care about.”
Hewes agreed. “I’m a marked and tracked man,” he said. “It’s really frustrating. As activists, one of the things that helps our mental health is the fact that you are trying to do something, however feeble it might appear to other people.”
Last month, Just Stop Oil wrote to the Met Police after the force claimed that policing the group’s protests cost almost £20m. Just Stop Oil said that “arresting non-violent grandmothers, teenagers, vicars, medics, engineers” was a “waste” of resources.
But Wawrzyn added that campaigners have not been deterred by the crackdown. “The fact that the state reacts in such a way only emboldens us and gives us the assurance that they’re actually noticing what we’re doing and they are actively fighting us,” he said. “If anything, we’re galvanised and we’re drawing more and more people in.”
Across Argentina millions are participating in a national general strike to protest the Milei government’s widespread attacks on people’s rights
Mobilization against Milei on December 27, 2023. Photo: CELS
On January 24, across Argentina, millions of workers are participating in a national general strike against the anti-workers laws pushed forward by far-right libertarian president, Javier Milei.
Since he was inaugurated on December 10, 2023, Milei has worked quickly to draft legislation which threatens the hard-fought for rights of the Argentine people.
In response, Argentina’s trade unions, social movements, and human rights organizations have been on the streets to reject these measures, and called for a national general strike for January 24. For the last several weeks, hundreds of trade unions, neighborhood associations, cultural groups, left groups, community kitchens, and social movements have been organizing local and neighborhood assemblies and meetings to mobilize for the strike.
The largest concentration will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, where hundreds of thousands are expected to congregate in the center of the city outside Congress. Mobilizations are also scheduled in dozens of other cities across the country like Córdoba, Rosario, San Miguel de Tucumán, Mendoza, Mar del Plata, Bahía Blanca, and others. While basic essential services will not be disrupted by the strike, the majority of the economy and daily life is set to be paralyzed due to the massive industrial action.
Who is participating?
The January 24 national strike is historic, as it is the first time in recent history that the country’s three major labor confederations are uniting for a joint industrial action. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Argentine Workers’ Central Union, and the Argentine Workers’ Central Union (Autonomous) together represent millions of workers and have all called on their affiliated unions to participate in the day of mobilization.
The confederations are made up of dozens of unions representing workers in education, construction, civil service, food processing, healthcare, mining and metalwork, restaurants, commercial transportation (truck drivers, shipping, etc.), public transportation (buses, subway, and provincial trains), state workers, auto industry, textile, real estate, commercial, acting, national companies, the courts, music industry, communications and technology, among others. In other words, nearly the totality of the Argentine working class.
Mobilization against Milei in Córdoba in December 2023. Photo: CTA-A
Other unions such as the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy (UTEP) which represents street vendors, cooperatives, recyclers, agricultural workers, childcare workers, community kitchen workers, and others from the informal sector or “popular economy” have also pledged their participation in the mass mobilization.
Human rights organizations are also heeding the call for mobilizations such as the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the Center of Legal and Social Studies (CELS), HIJOS (Sons and Daughters for Identity and Justice Against Forgetting and Silence), and others.
Several social and political forces that were part of the Union for the Homeland coalition which was defeated by Javier Milei in the presidential race in November, have also declared they will join the mobilization, such as Frente Patria Grande, La Campora, and Movimiento Evita.
Why are they mobilizing?
The strike has been called to reject Milei’s DNU and Omnibus Law, both pieces of legislation which trade unions say directly attack workers rights, impose brutal economic neoliberal austerity measures, and threaten the national sovereignty of the country. Organizations have called on the judiciary and the legislature to intervene to rule the DNU unconstitutional and revoke it in Congress, and to stop his Omnibus law from being passed. Both pieces of legislation have already met major legal roadblocks and have already undergone modifications from their first versions.
The Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 70/2023 was announced by Milei on December 20, 2023 (10 days after he took office). DNUs can be used by the executive to circumvent Congress and implement change immediately. Milei’s DNU titled “Bases to Rebuild the Argentine Economy” contains over 350 articles which would affect over 70 pieces of legislation, some completely overturned and others modified.
Milei and his cabinet announcing the DNU.
The DNU calls for the deregulation of major sectors of the Argentine economy such as energy, export, the credit card industry, transportation – including the aeronautic sector, healthcare, communications, tourism, and more. It also opens the door for the privatization of key state companies and the national bank and promotes foreign investment. It also impacts labor rights and rights of trade unions, such as the right to strike, the right to overtime pay, and other hard fought for rights of workers.
The Omnibus Law, officially called the Bases and Starting Points for the Liberty of Argentines, was sent to Congress by Milei on December 27, 2023. The 351-page bill contains more than 664 articles which will be debated in Congress. The Omnibus law attempts to take Milei’s “deregulation” approach a step further and expands it to all major areas of life in Argentina.
It includes a proposed reform to the Penal Code focused on “control of the streets” and calls for increasing sentences against protesters and in some cases eliminating the possibility of bail. It also initially stated that any meeting of three or more people in a public space must have the permission of the Minister of Security – this was later withdrawn.
It calls for the privatization of major state enterprises such as Argentine Airlines, ARSAT – a state telecommunications company, Argentine Trains, Public TV, the Water and Sewage Company (AySA), and the National Bank. Milei also included a list of another several dozen companies that have majority state participation such as Argentina Energy, military factories, the General Port Administration, Corredores Viales or the highway company, Argentine Mail, and Telam, the National News Agency.
The Omnibus law also calls for major reforms of the country’s public education system, notably taking away free higher education for foreigners. It also calls for major modifications of the entrance requirements and huge cuts to the overall budget. The country’s robust culture sector would also see major budget cuts under the law with a call to close historic artistic institutions of the country.
Environmental protections such as the Glacier Law, the Forest Law, and the Environmental Protection Law for the Control of Burning Activities would also undergo massive modifications.
The Omnibus also threatens retirees, emboldens police to use their full force, including gunfire, with little consequences, and transforms the electoral system.
The broad and expansive nature of the Omnibus and its outright attacks on so many sectors of society also helps explain why so many will be mobilizing in the strike.
The Secretary of Gender and Diversity of the Association of State Workers (ATE), Clarisa Gambera said, “This January 24, all of the union centers and social organizations of this country will be on the streets, to stop the ferocious advance of the right. Those who say that particular interests were generated over time, what they call particular interests are the rights that we won with struggle over more than 100 years and we are not willing to lose them. We continue to build unity, debates are taking place at the federal level. Comrades from all over the country participate in multi-sectoral meetings, assemblies, plenary sessions that are different ways to activate and add numbers of comrades on the streets this 24th.”
The CGT wrote in a statement rejecting Milei’s austerity measures and his claim that they only affect the “political caste”, not the people. CGT argues that, “The fiscal and exchange adjustment plan announced by the Government will generate a rapid acceleration of the inflationary process, which will destroy the purchasing power of the salaries of formal and informal workers, workers in the social and solidarity economy, self-employed workers, as well as of retirees and pensioners. This means that the announced adjustment does not adjust to the ‘so-called’ caste as promised in the campaign. Milei’s adjustment, once again, falls on the people.”
Repression
Another major point of contention for the Argentine people is the repressive policy imposed by the Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich, to dissuade mass participation in the inevitable mass mobilizations against Milei’s economic measures. Following the first protests against Javier Milei’s administration, Bullrich warned that it would use all “deterrent measures” to stop protests and on December 14 announced the “Public Order Protocol”.
Among other things, the protocol authorizes the police and security forces to intervene in response to any attempt to partially or totally block any national roads, transportation, or “free movement.” It has been dubbed the “anti-picket” protocol as it targets the historic picket and roadblock tactic of Argentine movements.
Another government “deterrence measure” is the threat from Bullrich that those who participate in protest actions and road blockades that are recipients of social programs will not receive this support: “he who blocks the street does not get paid,” she declared.
On January 10, 2024, Bullrich made good on her threats and, under the auspices of her protocol, sent letters to the major trade union centers of Argentina, unions, social, political and human rights organizations that had participated in protests on December 20, 22, and 27 of 2023 against Milei’s austerity measures and demanded they pay millions in fines for their participation in the allegedly “illegal activity”.
CELS wrote that in issuing these economic sanctions for participation in protests, the Ministry of National Security is “assuming powers that it does not have” and that it is also “trying to condition future action”. For the human rights research center, “This policy constitutes an infringement of the right to protest and demonstration and an act of state interference against freedom of association.”
International solidarity
The national general strike has gained widespread international support. Trade unions across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as from Pakistan, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, and more, have pledged to mobilize on January 24 in solidarity with their Argentine comrades, with many calling for protests in front of their Argentine embassies or consulates.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which brings together 191 million workers in 163 countries from all continents, released a statement expressing its support for its affiliated organizations in their call for the national general strike against “Milei’s shock therapy”. “Three major union federations, the CGT, the CTA-T, and the CTA-A, have united to stand against the serious threat to fundamental workers’ rights and civil liberties posed by Milei’s move to resurrect out-dated and debunked neo-liberal policies,” reads the statement.
ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said, “The actions of the Milei government aim to recreate the darkest days of dictatorship, and they require a strong, united response from the global union movement. We stand in full solidarity with the working people of Argentina in their defense of justice and democracy.”
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), which represents 105 million workers in 133 countries, expressed its support for its affiliate unions participation in the January 24 strike to “express their opposition to the measures of the ultra-liberal and neo-fascist government of Javier Milei”. It has called on its affiliates in other countries to mobilize in solidarity with the Argentine workers.
Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA-CSA) joined the other international confederation in standing with the struggle of Argentine workers, and calling on its affiliate organizations to mobilize in solidarity on January 24.
The PIT-CNT of Uruguay, Argentina’s northern neighbor, stated that “it is necessary to join forces and have as a horizon to advance Latin America on the path of struggle and hope towards a more just, free and equal society.”
Demonstrators take part in a ‘Kill The Bill’ protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, on College Green, Westminster, January 17, 2022
RIGHTS advocates have launched a campaign to overturn Tory legislation attacking the right to protest.
Liberty, formerly the National Council for Civil Liberties has condemned the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 as part of a clear pattern in which the right to strike and the right to vote had also been attacked.
It has launched an online petition and is gathering signatures for a letter to Home Secretary James Cleverly calling on him to scrap the legislation.
Liberty director Akiko Hart said: “No matter where we live, our backgrounds, or who we vote for, we all want people in power to listen to our concerns and work to build a brighter future for us and our loved ones.
“But this government is clamping down on the ways we speak up on important issues. Most recently it has given the police dangerously broad powers to crack down on protests and arrest demonstrators.”
Ms Hart said Britain’s leaders are “criminalising protesters to hide from their own failings.”
“This is part of a clear pattern of shutting down the ways we can all hold them accountable for their actions,” she said.
“They have also created laws that stop workers from striking and block countless people from voting.”
