Governments are responding to climate demonstrations by imposing harsher penalties on activists. Now Britain is trying

tighten the new government environmental protests in England and Wales. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak proposed an amendment to the Public Order Act, which, if passed, may authorize the police to stop or arrest demonstrators, Before marches, slow marches, or barricades begin. The intent is to target the groups that use it Nonviolent civil disobedience to denounce the climate crisis. Inclusive Just stop the oilKnown to smudge picture glass the sunflower by Van Gogh. With organizational change their actions can be categorized as: Serious traffic disruptions. The measure will be discussed this week in the House of Lords, where the prime minister will also have to persuade Labor opposition. However, the environmental and civil rights movements are concerned with the “hard-hitting approach” e repressiveadopted by the British government towards the demonstrations. Then they fear that this pressure It was imitated in other European countries. Minister of the Interior in Italy Matteo Piantedosi, After staining “finger” Maurizio Cattelan In Milan, it has already announced the tightening of the rules, with “penal and security tools”, to punish the actions of activists last generation.

Advancing his proposed amendment on England and Wales, Sunak said police “no longer have to wait for traffic disruptions, and can disperse protests before chaos erupts”. The law, if passed, will deliver New blocking crime (lock) and will allow consideration of individual actions of the same group, even if they are scheduled on different days or places, eg Part of one protest. Then the agents will be allowed to execute Searches and arrests Quotes or to impose restrictions on activists. This is amazing But it’s not the first screwup Parliament with a conservative majority. Already last year he had banned me pop up principles, A type of performance that uses pictures, wood constructions, or cardboard Temporarily enhance space Or show how it can become, through targeted urban interventions.

Then with the police and crime law and judgments and courts, passed More restrictions on activistsallowing the police to ban adjudicated demonstrations “Very annoying”. At the moment it appears that Labor MPs will not support the amendment: they have outlined the proposed amendment “outrageous” and “extremely disturbing”. But for the Liberal Democrats, this is “part of the undemocratic conservative government’s attempts to silence any opposition to its policies”. The main movements of the climate They said that, in spite of everything, they would not stop: “Quitting is not an option. No matter what the government does,” Just Stop Oil said through its spokespeople, “they can arrest, fine or imprison ordinary people for going all the way. Or they can take significant steps to protect the people of this country and start ending new oil and gas and insulating people’s homes and Defending the NHS“.

The right to protest is a fundamental principle of our democracy. But it is not absolute. A balance must be found between the rights of individuals and the rights of the diligent majority in carrying out their daily activities – Sunak responded – We cannot allow protests led by a small minority disturb the lives of common people. This is unacceptable and we will get over it.” A tightening of the public order law would be a response requests for more clarity, By the police on the legal limits, “in suppression tactics,” he said “guerrilla warfare” by environmentalists. Often, – added the head of the London Metropolitan Police Mark Rowley – find themselves embroiled in complex legal arguments about balancing the right to protest with the right of others to go about their daily lives away from serious harm. Anna Burleyone of the founders of the social justice movement restore these streetsdisagrees: “Allowing law enforcement to decide who is allowed to protest is very dangerous – he said – we cannot claim that we live in a healthy democracy if our government limits our basic human rights and if New powers to suppress dissent They are handed over to police forces that deal with institutional racism, Misogyny and homophobia“.