Pack your bags, protesters told
Source: Agencies |
July 17, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
PEACE protesters living in a ramshackle camp next to London's Houses of Parliament must pack up their tents and placards and go home, a court ruled yesterday, quashing the activists' appeal against eviction.
The self-styled "Democracy Village," which champions a range of causes from ending war in Afghanistan to anti-capitalism, has expanded from a lone tent to a sprawling campsite since Britain's parliamentary election on May 6.
"Criminalizing peace protesters like this proves that there's no human rights in this country," said Dawn Evans, 42, after the Appeal Court ruling was delivered.
One protester blew colored soap bubbles in the courtroom.
The campers say they are upholding their right to free speech and peaceful protest, but London Mayor Boris Johnson went to the courts to have them evicted, saying the camp was an eyesore in one of the city's most popular tourist hubs.
"The mayor respects the right to demonstrate. However, the scale and impact of the protest has caused damage to the square and has prevented its peaceful use by other Londoners," a spokesman said.
The camp is located on a grassy area in the centre of Parliament Square, a spot where hundreds of tourists congregate daily to take photographs and visit Westminster Abbey before heading to nearby Buckingham Palace.
Protesters and activists have long been drawn to the square to get their messages across to legislators working across the road in the Houses of Parliament.
As part of what they call an "experiment in peaceful protest", they erected more than 30 tents on the World Heritage site, planted a vegetable garden and strung banners with anti-war slogans between the trees.
Politicians expressed concern about reports of poor sanitation, vandalism and drunken behavior after a number of homeless people joined the camp.
At one point, homeless people outnumbered activists by five to one, said Dean Packett, a 28-year-old documentary filmmaker and peace camp resident.
The self-styled "Democracy Village," which champions a range of causes from ending war in Afghanistan to anti-capitalism, has expanded from a lone tent to a sprawling campsite since Britain's parliamentary election on May 6.
"Criminalizing peace protesters like this proves that there's no human rights in this country," said Dawn Evans, 42, after the Appeal Court ruling was delivered.
One protester blew colored soap bubbles in the courtroom.
The campers say they are upholding their right to free speech and peaceful protest, but London Mayor Boris Johnson went to the courts to have them evicted, saying the camp was an eyesore in one of the city's most popular tourist hubs.
"The mayor respects the right to demonstrate. However, the scale and impact of the protest has caused damage to the square and has prevented its peaceful use by other Londoners," a spokesman said.
The camp is located on a grassy area in the centre of Parliament Square, a spot where hundreds of tourists congregate daily to take photographs and visit Westminster Abbey before heading to nearby Buckingham Palace.
Protesters and activists have long been drawn to the square to get their messages across to legislators working across the road in the Houses of Parliament.
As part of what they call an "experiment in peaceful protest", they erected more than 30 tents on the World Heritage site, planted a vegetable garden and strung banners with anti-war slogans between the trees.
Politicians expressed concern about reports of poor sanitation, vandalism and drunken behavior after a number of homeless people joined the camp.
At one point, homeless people outnumbered activists by five to one, said Dean Packett, a 28-year-old documentary filmmaker and peace camp resident.
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