Democracies don't treat old ladies as terrorists for objecting to genocide

Our "democracy" is a lie

Not sure who needs to hear this, but the UK is not a democracy. Never was. It has always allowed us just enough freedom to give the illusion of democracy while depriving anyone who threatens power of their freedom. The UK is a fascist oligarchy with a pseudo-democratic veneer.

The latest evidence comes from the police crackdown on a peaceful protest against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action. Shortly before the protest, I wrote a piece asking if we were allowed to object to the proscription and now we have our answer.

The answer is no.

At least not if you're expressing support for Palestine Action in your objection to the proscription. This is a bit silly, isn't it? Because it means you can only object to the proscription if you don't support Palestine Action. Even then, I'm not clear the objection is legally permissible. Perhaps it would still count as terrorism, who knows?

For legal reasons, I must clarify I am not offering my own support for Palestine Action here. I can't. The group no longer exists! How can you support a group that doesn't exist? It's as absurd as expressing your support for the resistance in 1984.

Yesterday, we saw outrageous scenes as peaceful protesters were manhandled by police. One was former government lawyer Tim Crossland who politely explained the absurdity of the situation as police carried him away by his arms and legs. “This is what happens in modern day Britain if we’re opposed to genocide. It’s quite something, isn’t it?” Tim said while suspended in the air. Those police officers must be so proud.

Others arrested were middle-aged and elderly women who could not possibly be seen as a threat, but were treated as terrorists for expressing an honestly held opinion in their attempt to stop a genocide.

British police seem to think being on the right side of history involves dragging away an octogenarian priest and prosecuting her under the Terrorism Act. I don't care what the law says, if you think Reverend Sue Parfitt is a terrorist, you're an idiot. Perhaps I have committed a thought crime by saying that though.

If you still don't understand how draconian this is, just know that when journalists and social media influencers have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for objecting to genocide, they have had their homes raided and torn apart. They have been banned from using electronic devices and even leaving the house and the media hasn't even bothered reporting on it. They have just been memory-holed while they await a trial that could be years away. It's unclear whether authorities will go this far with Sue Parfitt, but they have done with others so why not?

When the Terrorism Act was debated in parliament in 1999, we were told it would not be used in cases of direct action, and it would not be used to suppress opinions the government disapproves of, but that is exactly what is happening.

In this case, the opinion that is being suppressed is the belief that Palestine Action was doing the right thing. This is an opinion you are not allowed to hold or express in the UK, and again, for legal reasons, I must say I am not expressing that opinion here. I am simply pointing out the absurdities in suppressing opinions.

The government could so easily just stop arming Israel and fulfil its legal obligations to prevent genocide. Instead, it has chosen to treat the most well-meaning, thoroughly decent, and utterly harmless human beings as terrorists for objecting to the government's inaction.

Palestine Action has been dissolved, meaning people are being arrested for supporting a group that doesn't even exist! It gets even more absurd when you understand it's not the tactics of Palestine Action that are legally defined as terrorism, it's the name.

An individual who used the same tactics without any connection to the group would not be charged with terrorism, they would be charged with breaking an entry, trespass, vandalism, etc., and they could potentially be found not guilty, just like in one case when Keir Starmer was the defence lawyer!

The proscription of Palestine Action is a tactic to get around the problem of activists being found not guilty on the basis their actions were justified. It ensures people must be found guilty because being part of the group or expressing support for the group is the crime.

A name is terrorism. A name. This abuse of the law means we are treating people as terrorists for supporting groups that don't exist that resorted to behaviour that is not terrorism to stop a genocide that our government is participating in.

We are seeing the silencing of dissent by a weak government composed of war criminals who are afraid the law will catch up to them. The draconian measures are not being introduced because the establishment is winning, but because it is losing.

When the establishment has control of the narrative, it will allow dissent, it will allow the illusion of freedom, but the moment it starts losing control of the narrative, those freedoms will be taken away. In other words, your "freedoms" are conditional on you letting the war criminals win. Does that sound like democracy to you?

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