Right To Resist: against police violence and intimidation

Right To Resist is a campaign statement initiated by activists involved in the student movement that began in November 2010. As the police force launches its campaign to be given greater powers, we have launched the statement because we believe the movement needs to campaign against their powers.

Right To Resist

• For the right to organise and protest

• Defend those arrested in the recent student protests

• Stop police brutality and intimidation

• Ban kettling

• Stop the cuts

The vicious police response to the recent student protests is wholly unacceptable and totally uncalled for. The baton charges and use of ‘kettling’ only serve to fuel anger and frustration and in part, at least, are deliberately designed to provoke strong reactions from demonstrators.

Police brutality and intimidation on demonstrations, protests and picket lines are nothing new. As the class struggle grows in the wake of the Tory/Lib-Dem government’s ideology-driven attack on public services and jobs, the role of the police in ‘managing’ protests will continue to grow and harden.

We demand that all the charges are dropped against all students and their supporters arrested in the recent wave of student activity.

We call for a ban on ‘kettling’ as a means of control and intimidation of peaceful protesters. ‘Kettling’ has been added to the armoury of police warfare, alongside baton and horse-mounted police cavalry charges, to intimidate protesters and dissenters.

We believe that the Tory/Lib-Dem government has no majority electoral mandate for the cuts it is pushing through. People voted for the Tory-stooge Lib-Dems on a promise that they would oppose the cuts which they are now helping the Tories railroad through.

We believe ‘kettling’ is arbitrary imprisonment and is a direct attack on our basic human right to protest, contravening Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act. We call on student and labour movement organisations to actively oppose ‘kettling’.

Initial signatories (all in a personal capacity):

Pat Smith, Hull University Students Against Fees, and occupier

John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes & Harlington

Michael Chessum, Education & Campaigns officer, University College London Union, National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts founder

Jade Baker, Vice President Education, Westminster University Student Union

Bob Sutton, Merseyside Network Against Fees & Cuts

Rosie Huzzard, Young Members Officers, PCS DWP Sheffield branch & Young Members Area Convenor, PCS South Yorkshire

Janine Booth, Secretary, RMT London Transport Regional Council

Elaine Jones, Vice Chair, Wirral TUC

Tom Unterrainer, President, Nottingham City NUT

Ed Whitby, shop steward, Newcastle City Unison

Dave Kirk, shop steward, Unite (Energy Sector)

Patrick Murphy, National Union of Teachers Executive

Julia Long, National Officer Unite the Union

Martin Mayer, Unite the Union Executive and Chair, Sheffield Anti-Cuts Alliance

Sean Rillo Raczka, Chair, Birkbeck Students’ Union

Robyn Minogue, Education Officer, University of the Arts London Students’ Union

Hero Austin, Community and Welfare Officer, LSE Students’ Union

Ged Dempsey, National & Regional Committee, Unite GPM Print Sector

Rachel Maskell, National Officer, Unite the Union

Felicity Dowling, Cheshire West and Chester NUT

Louis Hartnoll, President, University of the Arts London Students’ Union

Alec McFadden, President, Merseyside TUC

Ross Quin, Unite workplace rep and Trade Union Liaison Officer, Wallasey Constituency Labour Party

Maria Pendaraki, Women Against the Cuts and UCU

Cath Turner, Merseyside Womens Movement and Womens Officer, Wirral TUC

Barbara Cookson, Unison Health Liverpool

Mark Hoskisson, Secretary, Liverpool TUC

Val Walsh, poet

Tahmeena Bax

To sign up to this statement contact right2resist@gmail.com.
Full list of signatories here.