Taking Liberties
Jun 26th, 2007 by Jason
As Tony Blair steps down after 10 years as Prime Minister, it seemed a good opportunity to review some of the less publicised effects of his time as PM, so off we went to our local Picture House to see Taking Liberties.
From the synopsis page:
Right to Protest, Right to Freedom of Speech. Right to Privacy. Right not to be detained without charge, Innocent Until Proven Guilty. Prohibition from Torture. TAKING LIBERTIES will reveal how these six central pillars of liberty have been systematically destroyed by New Labour, and the freedoms of the British people stolen from under their noses amidst a climate of fear created by the media and government itself.
During the film, with the exception of when clips of politicians showed them caught in their own web of deception, there was a stunned silence. We watched in shock as massive numbers of police descended on innocent, peaceful protesters who, in many cases, hadn’t even arrived or begun their protests.
The scenes of police officers holding shut the doors of a coach load of people on their way to protest against the Iraq war outside an airbase was unbelievable. They wouldn’t even let them out of the coach to talk. The doors were held shut and the coach was escorted by police vehicles back home. The police closed all motorway exits and services so that the coach could not stop on the way.
This action was later found, in the courts, to have been unlawful.
Doesn’t really matter too much now. It was hushed up for a couple of years while the war was conducted. Who cares if anyone protests now. Until it happens to you!
One injustice that beggars belief is the story of a man who was arrested under the new terror laws, as suspected of producing ricin. The UK and US media were able to run stories of their success in the ‘war on terror’ and justify the new laws despite the fact that no ricin was found and when the case finally came to court the man was found innocent. Here’s the best bit - he’s spent 2 years under house arrest despite having been found innocent! There is more to this than meets the eye - watch the film to understand the full part that international politics plays in this.
This is not just a film
