"If a person can walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm, then that person is living in a free society, not a fear society. We cannot rest until every person living in a 'fear' society has finally won their freedom."
Ever since Blair banned protestors from parliament in order to stop one middle-aged man with a fishing hat and a few paper signs Britain has been in deliberate and sustained breach of Sharansky's 'town square' test of democracy, though an ominously small number of people seemed to either realise or care. As for Gordon Brown's pledge to allow demonstrations, with New Labour it pays to read the small print, not just the headlines.
No comments:
Post a Comment