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Marches Banned - Our Rights denied


After negotiations with the Police we were told that marches in the city centre during the G8 meeting will not be tolerated. This is an outragous violation of our basic right to demonstrate as guaranteed under the human rights act and the magna carta. It proves to what degree the politics as generated by the G8 depend on authoritarian measures to be implemented, as much here as elsewere.

We will not tolerate our rights being taken away from us. Demonstrate on Devonshire Green for the freedom of speech, the right to protest and for real democracy. The idea of the protest will be to express the violation of our rights we have experienced here. We will be many, but silent, our mouths taped and our hands cuffed, we will carry banners, but these banners will be blank or blackened so they will say nothing.

Protest at Devonshire Green on Wednesday 15th June 5.30 pm.

Petition against Demo Ban
Sign the Petition against the ban of marches in the city center.

G8 summit: Sheffield people denounce suppression of the right to protest.
On June 15-17 the ‘Justice and Home affairs’ ministers of the G8, the world’s seven richest nations and Russia, will gather in Sheffield to discuss the home front of the ‘war against terrorism’. The police have invoked special measures to prevent protests, informing organisers that no marches of any size will be allowed in the city centre during the summit. Any such protests will be met with force and arrests. Under the pretext of “security” the police are attempting to marginalize protests by confining protestors to a pen on Devonshire Green. Sheffield Against G8 proposed a march on the afternoon of 15th June. Sheffield Stop the War Coalition proposed static pickets on the evenings of 15th and 16th June. Both these protests have been flatly prohibited. Whatever one’s view of the G8, we urge Sheffield people to oppose restrictions on the right to protest and to the imposition of what amounts to martial law over the centre of our city. We, the undersigned, believe that the blanket ban on peaceful protests in our city centre is an outrageous and unacceptable infringement of our democratic right to protest. We call on all citizens, organisations and elected representatives in Sheffield to press for these repressive decisions to be reversed.

SIGNED …..

What you can do:
Send a message by email to [mailto:Jillian.Creasy@Sheffield.gov.uk Jillian Creasy]  confirming that you support the statement (or print off and send a hard  copy to Cllr Jillian Creasy, Town Hall, Pinstone St, Sheffield, S1 2HH). I will send the statement as a letter and press release to The Star and the Sheffield Telegraph on the evening of Tuesday 31st May.

Forward/print and pass on this message to friends and colleagues – we need to collect as  many signatures as possible within a few days.

Join the march for Peace and Justice organised by Sheffield Stop the War Coalition  on Saturday 11th June – assemble 10.30am, Devonshire Green,  march to Peace in the Park Festival, Cemetery Road.