| From Unity, 26 June 2010 |
Democratic rightsby Lynda WalkerOn 26 June there will be a rally against the proposed Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill. This bill has been introduced in a questionable fashion. Many aspects of the bill are flawed, regarding both legal and human rights issues. This came out very clearly at an information meeting held by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission last week. Thosewho attended included the Communist Party of Ireland, representatives from gospel groups and the Presbyterian Church, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Campaign for the Administration for Justice, solicitors, and research students.The NIHR Commission has produced a preliminary response to the bill, which focuses on three main areas, namely: • the proposed extension of parades notification and adjudication to other public assemblies • the independence of the Adjudication Body • the Human Rights Framework for Decision-Making. Members of the commission explained these areas, and the discussion took place around them. The bill, a 61-page document, is couched in legalistic terms, so it is difficult to give a detailed breakdown here. However, some of the main concerns are the need to give thirty-seven days’ notice if a static public meeting of fifty people or more is going to be held. The type of meeting and all sorts of other details have to be provided. It was pointed out that under such conditions the meeting organised by the Bloody Sunday relatives that took place in Derry on 15 June and the spontaneous meeting of church leaders the following day would have been illegal if such notification had not been given. The legislation will in effect have the ability to criminalise citizens of Northern Ireland just for attending a meeting of more than fifty people. Organisers and participants can be fined £5,000, imprisoned for six months, or both, if the correct details are not given and if notice is not given thirty-seven days in advance. People at the meeting of the NIHRC expressed concern and asked questions about, for example, gospel meetings that take place in the summer; an unknowable number of people may turn up on any one day. Others referred to meetings on private land and were told that if the public had access then the legislation applied to them. The CPI representative said that workers and communities would want to protest against some of the worst cuts in jobs and public services. There is also the question of the democratic right of all citizens to meet publicly, that the bill is unworkable and will lead to the criminalisation of the citizens of Northern Ireland. In a situation where we are in a peace process, the last thing that is needed is laws that will lead to volatile situations. We believe that to place severe and unclear restrictions on static public meetings will lead to unnecessary conflict. We also have to question why Sinn Féin is not opposing this bill. There is some suggestion that they believe that it will deal with contentious Orange marches. That is not the case, and their own members should challenge them on this issue. The NIHRC questions many aspects of this bill, and those interested can read the NIHRC preliminary submission on their web site. |
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