Monday, October 26, 2009

Somehow, I Sense Israel's Police In This

From the UK but I think this is an example of how Israel's police act:

As demonstrations go, it was more of a lighthearted affair than a threat to the nation.

About 600 climate change campaigners had gathered outside the Drax power station in North Yorkshire. They had chosen to demonstrate...The protesters were mainly families with young children, accompanied by clowns, cyclists, baton twirlers and, according to some reports, a giant ostrich puppet.

It was not completely without incident. Two protesters climbed a lighting pylon at the edge of the site and four others broke through the fence. About 30 others were arrested for public order offences.

...It was the type of demonstration which has been going on for decades in Britain. But the police appear to have had another, completely different view of the 2006 protest...North Yorkshire police conducted a review along with government officials. Internal papers obtained by the Guardian show they called it "the first time domestic extremism took place against national infrastructure in the county".

The term "domestic extremism" is now common currency within the police. It is a phrase which shapes how forces seek to control demonstrations. It has led to the personal details and photographs of a substantial number of protesters being stored on secret police databases around the country. There is no official or legal definition of the term...

No comments: