THE POLICE have finally laid their cards on the table for Lord Justice Scarman's inquiry into their battle with anti-fascists in Red Lion Square. They are pushing hard for tougher powers under the Public Order Act.
it illegal to organise a demonstration without giving the police seven days notice. If you want to organise a demo in a hurry, perhaps because the ruling class weren't cooperative enough to give you seven days notice of their latest stunt, then the police commissioner may be good enough to allow it-provided "he is able to muster sufficient numbers of officers to con trol it effectively'. Of course, Red Lion Square is just serving as a flimsy excuse for this scheme. The police were informed a long time in advance of the plans for the Red Lion Square march.
CONFISCATE The police also want any copper to be able to confiscate from demonstrators 'any article which in his opinion is likely to provoke a break of the peace", This sweeping power would mean that any banner pole or placard stick could be seived as a "possible' weapon, as could anything bearing • sogn which might be thought like ly to provoke a breach of the peace' The cops would then have the right to fish around and disrupt a demonstration before it started, and even exercise on-the-spot censonship The facts about Red Lion Square which the cops use to back up their arguments are revealing. Mostly they refer to the fags with metal points and the black shirts of the National Front. But there should be no doubt that it would be the left who will come under the gun if the police get their way.
To cap it off, they want to make it an offence to disobey a police instruction on a demo. In other words, they want absolute authority over all The first thing they want is to make demos: the right to mess around with the route, for example, in the way they did in Red Lion Square. And Jook what their little trick resulted in there!
"No laws, the police say, and none of the recommendations made here are going to prevent the violence and disorder that takes place from time to time on contemporary demonstrations".
How right they are! The way to avoid violence and disorder in the future is not more laws and recommendations, but for the cops to keep away, and let the workers' movement handle its own demos.
Look at the "Bloody Sunday" march two years ago. ted when the police refused to let a delegation place 13 coffins at Mr Heath's front door, where they belonged.
Look at Red Lion Square. Here the cops played ducks and drakes with the demonstrators and then rode them down in an effort to stop them picketing the fascists -the bigeest threat to public order around.
TRAFFIC -The only service the police ever performed for the labour movement was to divert traffic. (And we can take care of that ourscives.) Otherwise they have obstructed, antagonised and assaulted the working class movement. They have protected murderous British Governments, fascists, and the property of repressive foreign regimes. - says IMG peaceful anti-lascist demonstration so far was the mass occupation of Speaker's Corner, where there was hardly a copper in sight.
opens next month the IMG will oppose amy new powers for the police.
als are made.
police have absolute powers to say where a demonstration shall and shall not go, This is an obstacle to every demonstration or countermay wish to hold.
with fascists, or so it was claimed. In fact, the fascists had already been smashed by the mass mobilisation the Act has been overwhelmingly Here the trouble star- used against the left.
get rid of this pernicious legislation, 30 that the labour movement can take up the burning political questions of the day-like the fascist threat without police interference that the Government ban NF mar ches. et Act or the police the forces of "law and order' have shown themselves as nothing but a hindrancebut by mobilising the labour movement. The repeal of the Public Order Act will assist the victory of this mobilisation.
Repeal the Public Order Act!
police: the SPG and the mounted police!
Lion Square defendants!
It is no coincidence that the most When the Scarman Tribunal reBut we'll also challenge the principle under which these scandalous propos- to Britain.
Under the Public Order Act, the demonstration the labour movement The irony is that the Public Order Act was passed in the thirties to deal of anti-fascist workers. Ever since then In our view, the time has come to endum We will be repeating our demand Not by using the Public Ordstons.
Disband the special 'anti-demo"
Drop all charges against the Red