Civil Society Criticizes UK’s "Dangerous" Anti-Protest Proposal

(MENAFN) More than forty advocacy groups, charities, and labor unions on Monday denounced the British administration’s "dangerous" initiative to grant police expanded authority that could effectively prohibit recurring demonstrations.

In a collective declaration titled Defend the Right to Protest Civil Society, UK-based organizations such as Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Greenpeace, Trades Union Congress, and Jewish Voice for Liberation emphasized their conviction that the right to protest is "precious and should be defended."

"We therefore oppose the government’s draconian crackdown on our rights to freedom of expression and assembly," the statement declared, bearing the signatures of forty-four non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The groups criticized the proposed revision to the Crime and Policing Bill, which obliges police to evaluate the “cumulative impact” of repeated demonstrations in the same location before imposing restrictions, describing it as an "extreme proposal."

"If this becomes law, the police in England and Wales will be required to consider any past protests or planned future protests in the same ‘area’ when deciding whether to impose restrictions," they cautioned.

They further noted that government remarks "make clear" these powers were introduced in reaction to pro-Palestine marches. However, the statement stressed that the consequences of such legislation "would be wide-ranging."

When announcing the new police powers in October, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood argued that repeated mass protests regarding Gaza had generated "considerable fear" within the Jewish community following a fatal terror assault on a synagogue in Manchester.

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