I don't know how many people outside of London are aware of the recent laws that were brought in to restrict the right to protest in a small part of London around Westminster.
Effectively what it means is that if you want to make any kind of political statement near Parliament you first have to apply for a licence from the Police.
To give you an example of how ludicrous the law is, the police cautioned one woman who was having a picnic in Parliament Sq. The problem, you see, was that she had a sponge cake with the word "Peace" iced onto it. This apparently constituted a protest and as neither she nor the cake were licenced to protest she was forced to move on.
Activist/comedian Mark Thomas has been leading the protests against these laws by encouraging "mass lone demonstrations" every month. Every protester is encouraged to apply for a licence for their own one-person demonstration, but on the same day, thus ensuring a steady stream of licence applications to the local police forces, and highlighting the stupidity of the law.
(The demos are held on the 3rd Wednesday of every month, info here: http://www.markthomasinfo.com/demo/default.asp )
Mark Thomas took this one step further by applying for 20 licences to hold 20 different protests around the 'designated area' - ten minutes at each one, with a "banner caddy" to haul his placards around for him. So it would be 10 minutes on Westminster Bridge demanding the reinstatement of trolls under the bridge, then off for ten minutes protest outside Channel 4 protesting that Big Brother is Sh*t... you get the picture.
This stunt even got him into the Guiness Book of World Records for the most protests in one day.
Now Mark wants to go one better. His latest wheeze is to hold mass, mass lone demonstrations - each person is to hold 20 separate demonstrations in the designated area.
So far Mark and some regulars have deposited 1,184 requests for demonstrations in the no-protest zone on April 21st, and are obviously looking for more willing volunteers. If nothing else it's going to be worth spending the day down there just for the spectacle but remember to apply for a licence if you are bringing anything along that might constitute some kind of political statement - Mark Thomas had to apply for a licence to wear a red nose in Parliament Square for Comic Relief, that should give you an idea on how mad the law could get.
More info on how to join in can be found here, including application forms for you to fill in if you want to come along. Applications have to be with the Police no later than April 15th.
http://www.markthomasinfo.com/demo/april212007.asp
Gruntfutuck
12 Comments
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radi...l?radio4/markthomas_crime
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radi...4/comedy/markthomas.shtml
A young woman was threatened with arrest for wearing a T shirt with some of Brian Haw's art works printed on them- when she pointed out to the police officer that she was advertising the Tate Britain show by Mark Wallinger the police withdrew the threat of arrest. A man dressed as Charlie Chaplin with a sign saying "Not Allowed" was arrested outside Downing St, he was convicted under the SOCPA law.
Westminster is public property mostly, the only part of the designated zone that is private is the South Bank near the London Eye - all that means is you need a permit AND the owner's permission to demonstrate there or you can be prosecuted for trespass.
I don't think the US is far off this kind of thing though - I recall seeing many occasions where protestors are corralled into "designated protest zones" and arrested for protesting outside them.
Hey you know AdGuy always gets the last word! ;)