The Fight That is Never Done

Short, inspiring film about the history of UK human rights group Liberty. In 1934, after brutal police attacks on peaceful protestors, Liberty was founded to defend the whole spirit of British freedom. For 75 years we have been the conscience of the nation, and we are needed now as we were then to keep watch over our rights and freedoms.

*FULL TRANSCRIPT*

75 years ago, Liberty was formed. Our founders included politicians, lawyers, artists, writers. H.G. Wells, A.A. Milne, Vera Brittain and Clement Attlee were just a few of these early members

These very different people initially came together to protect the right to protest. Police violence at the hunger marches of the early 1930s spurred these men and women to defend the whole spirit of British freedom.

Liberty -The National Council for Civil Liberties - was born. Over the decades Liberty has worked to protect the rights of everyone in society: victims of crime, hungry workers, soldiers, asylum seekers, those suspected of terrorism, children and young people. We've taken on ground-breaking legal cases and provided thousands of people with free advice and information. We've fought for personal privacy and free speech, for gay rights and against racial discrimination. We campaigned for a national Bill of Rights to protect everyone in the UK, and we succeeded when the Human Rights Act was passed in 1998.

Today, Liberty is as important and relevant as ever. In the fraught years surrounding World War II we faced challenges to our fundamental freedoms: effective suspension of habeas corpus, press censorship and the internment of foreign nationals. Against this history, recent threats such as control orders and extraordinary rendition are all too familiar. But as liberty success against recent plans for 42 days pre-charge detention proves, we are up for the challenge. And now there are new challenges: We need to build respect for our rights and freedoms and for our Human Rights Act. We need to safeguard our personal privacy and our right to protest peacefully. We must advance the rights of asylum seekers and other vulnerable minorities. We believe in fundamental rights and freedoms, shared values that protect every member of the human family and the society we seek to build together.

In the words of our first President, E.M. Forster: "Liberty continues -- The fight that is never done".

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• clement
• atlee
• vera
• brittain
• milne
• freedom
• human
• rights
• civil
• liberties
• terrorism
• war
• campaign
• history
• forster
• shami
• chakrabarti
• liberty
• control
• orders
• extraordinary
• rendition
• protest
• police
• hunger
• march
• demonstration

[BaronVerulam1618]

Congratulations, you've won. Thousands of looters destroying London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham and the police standing back scared of being sued by your lawyers, the human rights act and paying millions in compensation.

Thanks Liberty!

[OinkLove100]

Would Ms Chakrabarti care to clarify her links with Monsanto and the British American Project?