Green Party Baroness, , has entered a regret motion
(see below) in response to the government's statutory instrument
proscribing Palestine Action, which is due to be debated Thursday
3rd July.
Jenny believes that this Ministerial ban goes further than
parliament originally intended when it passed the Terrorism Act
and turns criminal damage done with non-violent intent, into acts
of terrorism.
Baroness Jones said:
“This proscription order turns people who spray paint onto planes
into terrorists. The government can see them as annoying, or even
criminals, but parliament was given specific assurances when it
passed the Terrorism Act that campaigners involved in civil
disobedience would not be seen as terrorists. This proscription
sets a dangerous precedent where all kinds of protest become
terrorism and it reverses a long British tradition of the state
regarding groups like CND, the suffragettes and many
environmental campaigners as lively protestors who carry out
criminal damage. Pass this and we would have to start calling the
Greenham Common protestors terrorists, along with Greenpeace and
Just Stop Oil.“
Notes to editors:
The Regret Motion reads
to move, as
an amendment to the above motion, at end to insert “but regrets
that the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist
organisation (1) undermines civil liberties, including the right
of civil disobedience, (2) constitutes a misuse of anti-terrorism
legislation, given that offences such as property damage can be
dealt with under other criminal law, (3) suppresses dissent
against the United Kingdom's policy on Israel, and (4)
criminalises support for a protest group, thereby creating a
chilling effect on freedom of expression.”
