Without Use Our Democratic Rights Will Wither And Die

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday September 6, 2007

Amy Corderoy - Amy Corderoy is a broadcaster on Sydney radio station FBi 94.5.

Anyone who has been to a protest in Australia knows that along with the ferals and the testosterone-fuelled head-kickers will come many others: mums, dads, kids, grandparents, a fair few ABC viewers and a couple of Liberal voters to boot.

Yet protesters are considered a threat. With the arrival of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum this week, "law-and-order fever" has reached epidemic proportions. Yesterday, Judge Michael Adams of the Supreme Court agreed that freedom of speech was important but denied the Stop Bush Coalition the right to march to the edge of police lines during its planned protest on Saturday.

Somehow among the din about water cannons and prison buses, the importance of the role of protest in our society has disappeared. We all know dictum attributed to Voltaire - I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it - but somehow this has been lost on many politicians and police, and perhaps also darkened by the shadow of the G20 violence last November.

A report from human rights observers who attended the G20 protests on behalf of the Federation of Community Legal Centres reveals not only that there were acts of violence committed by protesters, but also "several incidents of highly concerning police behaviour and tactics".

I spoke to one G20 protester who described his arrest by a Victorian police "snatch squad" in graphic detail. "I was dragged into the back of a white van and forced to [lie] on the ground with my hands behind my back. They asked me questions and if I didn't answer quickly enough, or if I didn't answer in the right tone or with the right words of respect, they would punch me in the face."

With the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act now in effect, the police have unprecedented rights over protesters during the conference. Not only will they be able to exclude people from protesting in the declared APEC zones, but there will also be a presumption against bail for anyone arrested in these areas. Many protesters have suggested that these powers will simply be used to stifle dissent during the conference period, with charges being dropped once the conference is over. For those people who may find themselves in prison with little chance of bail, this is a serious issue indeed.

Those of us who do not intend to protest at APEC, or even those of us who are ardent fans of the economic conference, should still be extremely worried at the prospect of government-sanctioned police violence, or even simply at the possibility that many people will be too scared to attend the APEC protests.

We should remember John Stuart Mill's famous justification of the importance of the "marketplace of ideas". People should be given the chance to hear, and understand, even the most disagreeable opinion, because, "If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error."

Consider the contentious opinions and actions of some of the world leaders at APEC. They include George Bush, under whose leadership hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Americans have died, and Vladimir Putin, under whose watch we have seen the of assassination of many Russian dissidents. It should not be up to the police or the Government to decide who has the right to have their opinions voiced during the APEC period.

I will attend the APEC protests (with my mother, partner and our "feral" friends) not because I think it will necessarily achieve any social change, but because I believe it is important that people voice their opposition to the crimes of leaders such as Bush and Putin, and their distaste at laws that attempt to dictate who is and is not allowed to protest. I will condemn any violence, whether perpetrated by protesters or by the NSW police force. Whether you agree with my reasons for being there or not, I hope that you will keep in mind the crucial role that dissent plays in a healthy democracy: and demand that the rights of those who seek to voice it are protected.

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home