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Next entry: Constable Savage
Previous entry: Blend your Rhone
Upon reflection the above is a self-portrait. It is also a museum-piece in Berlin: a poster which states
Taking photos is not allowed
in several languages. It is a reminder of the cold-war regime in East Germany which was maintained by the Stasi. It reminded me of the police state that I used to live in: where unjust laws and arbitrary police powers were used to maintain an unjust status quo. While I think it is spurious to equate East Germany or apartheid South Africa with the United Kingdom today, there are certain comparisons to be made.
As recently as 2001 it was regarded as “a bit of a joke” that a group of British plane-spotters could be arrested in Greece on suspicion of spying (even if it was a “Greek tragedy” for those involved) . The United Kingdom collectively looked down her nose at the sub-standard democrazy of Greece. It could never have happened here. Yet today not too dissimilar events are actually happening here in the UK.
I won’t go into all the things that I find disturbing. In August 2007 our man inside wrote about the creeping appearance of the police state in Britain today, and this covers several areas.
Just consider the practical application of some of the laws that were introduced in the UK in the war against terrorism:
- Police threaten photographers with arrest (“Just go away for 30 minutes so we can deal with this” (peaceful G20 protest in London) and “if you don’t you will spend the rest of the afternoon in a cell”)
- Police ‘apologise’ for heavy-handed treatment of journalist/photographer at 2008 climate camp (where they have been exposed of heavy-handed treatment of peaceful protest)
- Police delete tourists’ images to prevent terrorism (echos of the 2001 “Greek joke”?
- Indefinite detention in the UK rebuked by European Court of Human Rights
- Light-hearted but somewhat disturbing look at police “kettling” tactics at the G20 protests in London
Some of this would be mildly amusing in a democratic state if it weren’t for some of the consequences.
Filed under: Europe • Germany • (4) Comments • Permalink • Bookmark or Share •
Yes, the government has only managed to get 28 days detention for residents and citizens. However it has employed indefinite detention against non-domiciles. It is this that the European Court of Human Rights ruled was unfair discrimination.
Did you see this:
http://thelaststrawman.com/
Yes, and in the news today the police attempt to recruit spies in climate activist groups.
Also see the post (and comments) at Notes from Underground.
I did not realise that the UK now has indefinite detention—I thought Gordon Brown was still struggling to get 90 days.