It is clear when you look across the Atlantic that US police forces treat dissent as terrorism and over react accordingly.I wouldhave hoped that this idiotic mindset stayed in America but it seems to have infected the City of London Police.
According to the GuardianThe City Police has listed the Occupy London activists among terrorist groups in an advisory notice sent to the business community in the City. The document (copy here) headed "Terrorism/extremism update for the City of London business community", included a detailed account of recent and upcoming Occupy London activities and was sent to "trusted partners" in the area.
The single-sided A4 document, dated 2 December, which was passed on to Occupy London's Finsbury square encampment over the weekend by a local business owner, gave an update on foreign terrorist activities including that of Farc in Columbia, al-Qaida in Pakistan and the outcome of a trial into the Minsk bombing in Belarus.
Below that, a section headed "Domestic" was dedicated wholly to the activities of the Occupy encampments and singled out anti-capitalists as a cause for concern.
"As the worldwide Occupy movement shows no sign of abating, it is likely that activists aspire to identify other locations to occupy, especially those they identify with capitalism."
It also said that the number of protesters present at the camp remained "fairly The City of London police have as yet been unwilling to reveal how many businesses were included on the mailing but their list is thought to include large multinationals and banks.
An activist from the camp called the document "vulgar" and said Occupy London had met Church of England representatives many times in the past and were meeting the Financial Services Authority, which regulates banking activity in the UK, on Monday.
A statement from the Occupy London camp said: "The reference to 'suspected activists' seems to demonstrate a disturbing loss of perspective.
Activism is not a crime and the desire to participate in democratic decision-making should not be a cause for concern for the police in any free society.
An institution that confuses active citizens with criminals and equates al-Qaida with efforts to re-imagine the City is an institution in grave danger of losing its way."
A City of London police source admitted that the "title of the document was not helpful" and denied that it labelled or intended to label the Occupy movement as equivalent to al-Qaida.
I can imagine that a number of cops here will see Occupy protestors in exactly that light. Even if the producers of the bulletin didn't intend to portray the Occupiers in that light it comes across like that. If I was at St Pauls or Finsbury Square I would be seriously pissed off at being mentioned on the same page as Al Qaeda.
According to the GuardianThe City Police has listed the Occupy London activists among terrorist groups in an advisory notice sent to the business community in the City. The document (copy here) headed "Terrorism/extremism update for the City of London business community", included a detailed account of recent and upcoming Occupy London activities and was sent to "trusted partners" in the area.
The single-sided A4 document, dated 2 December, which was passed on to Occupy London's Finsbury square encampment over the weekend by a local business owner, gave an update on foreign terrorist activities including that of Farc in Columbia, al-Qaida in Pakistan and the outcome of a trial into the Minsk bombing in Belarus.
Below that, a section headed "Domestic" was dedicated wholly to the activities of the Occupy encampments and singled out anti-capitalists as a cause for concern.
"As the worldwide Occupy movement shows no sign of abating, it is likely that activists aspire to identify other locations to occupy, especially those they identify with capitalism."
It also said that the number of protesters present at the camp remained "fairly The City of London police have as yet been unwilling to reveal how many businesses were included on the mailing but their list is thought to include large multinationals and banks.
An activist from the camp called the document "vulgar" and said Occupy London had met Church of England representatives many times in the past and were meeting the Financial Services Authority, which regulates banking activity in the UK, on Monday.
A statement from the Occupy London camp said: "The reference to 'suspected activists' seems to demonstrate a disturbing loss of perspective.
Activism is not a crime and the desire to participate in democratic decision-making should not be a cause for concern for the police in any free society.
An institution that confuses active citizens with criminals and equates al-Qaida with efforts to re-imagine the City is an institution in grave danger of losing its way."
A City of London police source admitted that the "title of the document was not helpful" and denied that it labelled or intended to label the Occupy movement as equivalent to al-Qaida.
I can imagine that a number of cops here will see Occupy protestors in exactly that light. Even if the producers of the bulletin didn't intend to portray the Occupiers in that light it comes across like that. If I was at St Pauls or Finsbury Square I would be seriously pissed off at being mentioned on the same page as Al Qaeda.
The City of London Police is a militia the primary purpose of which is to serve corporate interests in the Square Mile.
ReplyDeleteThey should have been abolished years ago.London doesn't need a microforce run by a feudal system
ReplyDeleteI think much the same could be said about police forces everywhere. The powers that be are very nervous.
ReplyDeleteI think they are rattled Susan.The outcome may not be pleasant
ReplyDelete