Cops in Northern Ireland don’t arrest ANY Defend Our Juries’ protesters

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have opted to steer clear of controversy by making no arrests of Palestine Action supporters in either Belfast or Derry. In Belfast, around 70 activists gathered in the pedestrianised area between the city’s two main courts, with around twelve activists holding signs with the handwritten words “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. A similar protest in Derry took place in Guildhall Square:

The total number arrested in Britain for displaying these words publicly, or wearing t-shirts showing support for the proscribed group, is now estimated to be over 2,100. Around 90 people were arrested on Saturday in Tavistock Square, central London. In Belfast, a small number of police stood around 50 metres from the protest, which passed in near silence for approximately one hour between 13:00 and 14:00. There was no sign even of the distinctive orange badge identifying the Evidence Gathering Team that have been present at previous protests, alongside the additional wasteful use of public funds that has gone into drone surveillance at prior events.

PSNI previously ignored support for banned loyalist paramilitaries

The marked difference in approach from police forces across Britain is in part an attempt to avoid the accusation of double standards that the PSNI has been previously guilty of, in which support for other proscribed groups has been ignored, while backers of Palestine Action have been questioned and even arrested by police.

Notable recent examples include the Northern Ireland cops escorting supporters of the brutal sectarian Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) paramilitary group along a parade route, and permitting the display of flags supporting the the same outfit. The loyalist force were responsible for over 400 deaths during The Troubles, most of them civilians. Another recent case is the use of Remembrance Sunday to glorify deceased paramilitaries. The PSNI have even been deployed in London to arrest peaceful anti-genocide demonstrators, despite claiming a dire lack of funds to police local crime.

Palestine Action, by contrast, have been peaceful protesters attempting to stop Zionist genocide in Palestine by targeting the factories of arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. The company is the main supplier of weapons to the criminals of the Israeli Genocide Forces (IGF).

Speaking at the conclusion of the protest, one sign holder – who had previously been arrested in London for performing the same action – said:

Just to keep in mind, the prisoners, the Filton 24 prisoners, who have been kept on remand for over a year now. They are being treated really harshly and six of them have gone on hunger strike. I think we should think about them today. So this is for everybody who stands against the genocide in Gaza…the genocide, the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank of Gaza, Palestinians have been displaced for decades now.

So we’re doing it for them, we’re doing it for the Filton 24. We’re doing it to support peaceful, direct action. We are allowed to oppose a genocide. We are not terrorists for doing this.

Defiance of Palestine Action laws another case of resisting British oppression

She had asked to remain anonymous in any coverage of the event. The Filton 24 are a group of activists jailed for allegedly damaging an Elbit weapons facility at Filton near Bristol. They have been held under a cynical deployment of anti-terror powers, and have therefore been treated much worse than serious violent criminals. They have been denied bail for over a year, and endured periods of 23 hours per day in solitary confinement.

In Derry, veteran political activist Eamonn McCann reminded the crowd of the city’s historic defiance:

…we should remember also that people who hold up these placards have been told…”you are risking imprisonment”. Well, weren’t we told not to raise slogans more than fifty years ago, starting in this town? More than a hundred years ago, this has been going on.

“Don’t dare raise slogans which threaten the integrity of the British state.” But we did it. We did it. And that is a tradition of which Derry people are proud. And we shouldn’t let that tradition down now.

Maire McNally, who is the only activist in Northern Ireland to be arrested for support of Palestine Action, was asked by the Canary why the police appear to be taking a different tack now:

Any action by the police enforcing terrorist legislation has repercussions, because in the North of Ireland a number of proscribed organisations are now involved in the…peace process.

She continued:

It would have political repercussions trying to enforce the law [against] proscribed organisations without upsetting [that] fragile balance.

She said she participated in the protest:

…to oppose the proscription of Palestine Action as it breaches the right to peaceful protest.

Bonkers ban leaves cops arresting inanimate objects

The case related to her previous arrest is still with the Public Prosecution Service, who are determining whether to press charges. The huge contrast between different approaches to policing in areas meant to be under the same law reveals the unworkability of the contrived Palestine Action proscription. Protesters are finding ever more inventive ways to highlight the absurdity of the Labour Party’s extreme authoritarianism, with a mannequin ‘arrested’ this week for allegedly displaying its support for the direct action group.

It’s yet another case of the very serious grown-ups shooting themselves in the foot, though the high court may ultimately grant them a reprieve from their own incompetence if a judicial review due to begin on November 25 ultimately overturns the ban on the anti-holocaust activists.

Featured image and additional images via the Canary