The possible proscription of Palestine Action shows now more than ever, to join the dots between the history repressive policy and law in the UK and support for genocide overseas, argues Massoud Shadjareh.
The planned proscription of Palestine Action by the UK government, if enacted, heralds a new low in the repressive culture, politics and law of the country.
The accelerated shrinking of political space around Muslims, and their expulsion from the protections (such as they were) of the law, from the time of New Labour, garnered little sympathy or mobilisation from political and civil society actors.
As IHRC and others warned consistently (and were heavily demonised for so saying) over the years, the unchecked development in laws, policies and narrative that have prevented Muslims voicing their beliefs at home, or organising resistance against colonialism and injustice world-wide, has created the right environment for authoritarianism to flourish.
If Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper does indeed declare Palestine Action to be a terrorist organisation on Monday it will not only be the latest outcome of unchecked political and legal Islamophobia in the UK, but another nail in the coffin of the British legal system.
Only seven years ago two activists were found not guilty for criminal damage after they were accused of breaking into the BAE Systems plant in Warton, Lancashire, with the intention of disarming warplanes bound for Saudi Arabia. Before the New Labour interregnum, in 1996, the ‘Ploughshares Four’ broke into the same plant and used a hammer to damage a Hawk jet. They made legal history when they were acquitted despite having admitted criminal damage, with the court finding their actions lawful because they prevented the greater crime of genocide (in that case in East Timor).
Today it appears that the successor of New Labour abetted by their Tory counterparts in opposition, only make the case in support of Genocide. Then again the proscription of any number of resistance groups over the last twenty five years could have told you that already.
Civil society and those working within the UK political system with any smidgen of conscience left need to admit to these failings and organise around them, before what little dissent left is also criminalized. As we are being reminded now, we need to choose the right side of history.
Massoud Shadjareh is one of the founders of and is chair of Islamic Human Rights Commission based in London, UK. He is a veteran human rights activist having participated in anti-war movements from the time of the Vietnam War until today.
Image: Palestine Action protest, 1 May 2023, Leicester Gazette’s photo, licensed as CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
It started with the Muslims: Learning the lesson of the attacks on Palestine Action
The possible proscription of Palestine Action shows now more than ever, to join the dots between the history repressive policy and law in the UK and support for genocide overseas, argues Massoud Shadjareh.
The planned proscription of Palestine Action by the UK government, if enacted, heralds a new low in the repressive culture, politics and law of the country.
The accelerated shrinking of political space around Muslims, and their expulsion from the protections (such as they were) of the law, from the time of New Labour, garnered little sympathy or mobilisation from political and civil society actors.
As IHRC and others warned consistently (and were heavily demonised for so saying) over the years, the unchecked development in laws, policies and narrative that have prevented Muslims voicing their beliefs at home, or organising resistance against colonialism and injustice world-wide, has created the right environment for authoritarianism to flourish.
If Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper does indeed declare Palestine Action to be a terrorist organisation on Monday it will not only be the latest outcome of unchecked political and legal Islamophobia in the UK, but another nail in the coffin of the British legal system.
Only seven years ago two activists were found not guilty for criminal damage after they were accused of breaking into the BAE Systems plant in Warton, Lancashire, with the intention of disarming warplanes bound for Saudi Arabia. Before the New Labour interregnum, in 1996, the ‘Ploughshares Four’ broke into the same plant and used a hammer to damage a Hawk jet. They made legal history when they were acquitted despite having admitted criminal damage, with the court finding their actions lawful because they prevented the greater crime of genocide (in that case in East Timor).
Today it appears that the successor of New Labour abetted by their Tory counterparts in opposition, only make the case in support of Genocide. Then again the proscription of any number of resistance groups over the last twenty five years could have told you that already.
Civil society and those working within the UK political system with any smidgen of conscience left need to admit to these failings and organise around them, before what little dissent left is also criminalized. As we are being reminded now, we need to choose the right side of history.
Massoud Shadjareh is one of the founders of and is chair of Islamic Human Rights Commission based in London, UK. He is a veteran human rights activist having participated in anti-war movements from the time of the Vietnam War until today.
Image: Palestine Action protest, 1 May 2023, Leicester Gazette’s photo, licensed as CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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