Campaigners censure UK protest ban

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155840.html


British civil liberties activists and student groups strongly condemn senior police commissioner's comments over a possible total ban on anti-government protests in Britain.

Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson said Wednesday he was considering to ask the Home Secretary to enforce a total ban on student protests all across the UK.

“That's one of the options we have got. Banning is a very difficult step to take, these are very balanced judgments”, Sir Paul said, when asked about the possibility of a ban.

He said protest marches could be banned altogether provided that it receives an approval from the Home Secretary, Theresa May.

He admitted, however, that campaigners would be likely to march in defiance of a ban, which could “just be inflaming the situation further”.

The police commissioner said he did not favor a “paramilitary model” of policing, adding the police are considering whether they should use water cannons in their attempts to contain protesters.

The remarks were made after tens of thousands of students from universities, colleges and schools poured into the streets in London and other UK cities to protest a decision by the government to triple university tuition fees in England to £9,000 per year.

The motion was narrowly clinched by lawmakers last week on December 9 at the parliament in defiance of violent clashes between the police and protesters outside the parliament building that left 14 police officers and dozens of protesters injured.

Police said they have arrested more than 180 people in London in the aftermath of the protests for instigating public disorder after the police reviewed the footages.

Matt Horne, a Detective Chief Superintendent, said that the number of arrests is likely to increase as police study footage of the protests.

“I would urge those who turn up for protests to think about the impact this could have on their future careers”, he warned.

Simon Hardy of the National Union of Students (NUS) warned Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights that if the authorities “increase the police repression” then it would be “only a matter of time” before a protester or passer-by is killed.