Genoa riot police get 5 years 16:58 May 19 0 comments Message from Iron 16:48 Dec 01 3 comments Resist! An RNC Aftermath Documentary 19:06 Sep 21 0 comments Amy Goodman Arrested at US Republican Convention 00:48 Sep 02 9 comments Diaz Raid : “Martin Hogbin is responsible” 12:38 Apr 09 1 comments more >>Blog Feeds
Anti-EmpireRheinmetall Plans to Make 700,000 Artill... Thu Apr 25, 2024 04:03 | Anti-Empire America’s Shell Production Is Leaping,... Wed Apr 24, 2024 05:29 | Anti-Empire Ukraine Keeps Snapping Up Chinese Drones Tue Apr 23, 2024 03:14 | Anti-Empire Moscow Is Prosecuting the War on a Pathe... Mon Apr 22, 2024 12:26 | Anti-Empire US Military Aid to Kiev Passes After Tru... Sun Apr 21, 2024 05:57 | Anti-Empire
Human Rights in IrelandA Blog About Human RightsUN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights 5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights
Lockdown Skeptics
News Round-Up Sat Apr 27, 2024 02:08 | Toby Young
Serious Problems Remain: A Complete Guide to the New Draft Amendments to the WHO International Healt... Fri Apr 26, 2024 17:00 | Dr David Bell and Dr Thi Thuy Van Dinh
Sadiq Khan Under Fire for Suggesting Chief Rabbi?s Criticism of his Gaza Ceasefire Call Was Down to ... Fri Apr 26, 2024 15:00 | Will Jones
Reports of the Demise of the Scottish Enlightenment May Have Been Premature Fri Apr 26, 2024 13:00 | C.J. Strachan
The Push for Global Censorship in Australia Fri Apr 26, 2024 11:17 | Rebekah Barnett
Voltaire NetworkVoltaire, international editionIsrael's complex relations with Iran, by Thierry Meyssan Wed Apr 24, 2024 05:25 | en Iran's hypersonic missiles generate deterrence through terror, says Scott Ritter... Mon Apr 22, 2024 10:37 | en When the West confuses Law and Politics Sat Apr 20, 2024 09:09 | en The cost of war, by Manlio Dinucci Wed Apr 17, 2024 04:12 | en Angela Merkel and François Hollande's crime against peace, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Apr 16, 2024 06:58 | en |
The right to protest
dublin |
summit mobilisations |
press release
Monday April 19, 2004 22:52 by Laurence Cox - Dublin Grassroots Network lcox at iol dot ie 087-9851029
Robert Allen comments at book launch Author Robert Allen has sharply criticised restrictions on the right to protest arising out of state responses to the forthcoming protests during the May Day weekend and the EU-US summit in June. Allen will be speaking on the subject in Maynooth this Wednesday. PRESS RELEASE |
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (1 of 1)
Jump To Comment: 1PJ Stone is 'famous' for claiming the satarical magazine 'the slate' was responsible for the May day riots. Seems like he is at work again. Both protests he lists (Genoa and Gothenburg) saw massive state directed media hype beforehand (like Dublin) and were to see protesters being shot by police. One was killed in Genoa, 3 were injured, one very seriously in Gothenburg! He reckons this is an argument for arming the Gardai on Mayday !?!??!?!?!
May Day use of unarmed gardai criticised
Conor Lally
(Irish Times, 20.4.04, p. 3)
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has called into question
plans to use unarmed gardai on front-line riot duty on May Day, saying
no other police force in the EU would deploy officers in this maner. The
association's general secretary, Mr P.J. Stone, has warned the plans
may lead to very significant numbers of gardai being injured.
Mr Stone added violent protestors responsible for anti-globalisation riots
at a G8 summit in Genoa, Italy, in 2001, which left one protestor dead
and 1,000 police officers injured, are planning to come to Ireland for the
forthcoming May Day celebrations. In this context, plans to use unarmed
gardai as the first line of defence may prove unwise, he said.
"After the EU summit in Gothenburg in 2001, 25 per cent of the officers
deployed on the ground were injured. Do we need these types of
statistics here? Only then would it reinforce the view that we should
have taken a more definitive view on policing," Mr Stone said.
In the latest issue of the Garda Review, the official GRA magazine, he
said it may be impossible to avoid serious civil disobedience in Dublin
despite the significant preparations that have been made by the force.
He said 1,000 of the 11,000 police officers on duty in Genoa in 2001
had been injured despite the fact they were all "protected by the very
best of equipment and shields.
" We believe that most of those people who were involved in this protest
[in Genoa] will soon be arriving in Ireland to create the same fear and
aggression. It is now expected that An Garda Siochana, as an unarmed
police force, will deal with such violent thuggery if it manifests itself on a
massive scale.
"One never wants to presume that any situation will get out of hand. But
so much preparation needs to be carried out that it boggles the mind as
to how we can prevent it, especially if so many people arrive here fully
intent on committing violence to highlight their cause on the streets of
our capital."
Gardai and the Army have for months been preparing for riots in Dublin
on May 1st, when a special ceremony of EU heads of state will take
place at Farmleigh to mark the entry into the EU of 10 accession states.
It is expected that around 4,000 officers will be on duty in Dublini on the
day. While 1,000 of these will be equipped with special riot gear, they
will only be called on to assist front-line unarmed gardai if the need
arises. Gardai will use water cannon to disperse crowds if rioting breaks
out.