Posted by John, October 14th, 2011 - under Occupy Australia, Occupy Canberra.



This is a letter I sent today to the Canberra Times in response to a police threat of state violence against Occupy Canberra protestors.

John

I read the article on the Occupy Canberra plans to occupy City Hill from 2.30 pm on Saturday with interest. (Henrietta Cook ‘Anti-greed protestors to occupy Canberra’ The Canberra Times 14 October.)

I fully support this movement against inequality and corporate greed, against the one percent who dominate political and economic life and who have been the beneficiaries of a massive shift in wealth from working people to the rich over the last 30 years, aided and abetted by their two parties of neoliberalism, Labor and the Liberals.

Given the late notice and for personal reasons I cannot attend this Saturday but would urge all Canberrans concerned about inequality and corporate greed who can turn up to do so.

There is another reason for attending. The article quotes police as saying ”We support the right to peaceful protests, but if protesters are asked to move on and they don’t there could be arrests.”

This police intimidation and threat of state violence against peaceful protesters should be condemned by all Canberrans who value freedom of speech and freedom of assembly (rights I would add that are supposedly guaranteed under the ACT’s Human Rights Act.)

One of the concerns the global Occupation movement has raised is the use of state violence to suppress dissent and the ACT police statement indicates that Canberra is no different, with the one percent apparently prepared to use their laws and their police to suppress those who disagree with that ruling elite’s world view.

I ask all those Canberrans with a concern for human rights and the right to protest to attend the Occupation to support our right to demonstrate against inequality and corporate greed and to ensure that the one percent and their police do not unleash the violence of the state against peaceful protesters.

John Passant

As an afterthought it looks like one of the chants will have to be ‘This is not a police state, we have the right to demonstrate.’