How to deal with police harassment - Glasgow Defence Campaign

GLASGOW DEFENCE CAMPAIGN
http://glasgowdefencecampaign.blogspot.com

Contact us with any details of police harassment -- see our Police Harassment Log on the blog
or contact glasgowdefence@yahoo.co.uk

On Tuesday 3 May, supporters of the Save the Accord Centre campaign, Citizens United, Margaret Jaconelli and the Glasgow Defence Campaign gathered yesterday to confront the leaders of Scotland's main political parties. A final hustings debate, before the election on the 5 May, was being held in the Glasgow Piping Centre and was broadcast live on STV.

Despite being kept outside the building by security staff the crowd of 50+ made sure that their voices were heard chanting 'Glasgow Labour council, Shame on you!', 'Save the Accord, Save the Accord, Save the Accord right now!' and other popular slogans.

The mainstream press were forced to take account of the campaigners noisy presence and so too were the party leaders - Gray (Labour), Goldie (Tories), Scott (Liberals) and Salmond (SNP) - as people demanded answers and assurances off them that the Accord Centre in Dalmarnock would not be closed to make way for an 'athletes village' for the 2014 commonwealth games.

One campaigner commented that 'commonwealth shame' is a more appropriate title for the event. With the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society, such as the elderly, disabled and young, having the services which they require to live a decent life ripped away from them this is a title which cannot be disputed.

As the demonstration dispersed Dominic O'Hara - a supporter of the Glasgow Defence Campaign - was harassed by officers who claimed that he was banned from entering Glasgow city centre. This relates to bail conditions which were informally imposed on a fourteen year old and formally held on two seventeen year olds and two other anti cuts campaigners two weeks ago when all five were spontaneously arrested by Strathclyde police for participating in a peaceful protest on the 9 December 2010 against education cuts. Charges against all five were dropped on 21 April and the restrictive bail conditions were lifted (see: http://glasgowdefencecampaign.blogspot.com/2011/04/gdc-statement-on-collapse-...).

PC David Markey (A413), Constable Hay (A80) and Sergeant Wilson (A548) were the offending officers.

The GDC salutes the people who came out yesterday to express their opposition to the cuts and the 'commonwealth shame'. It will be normal Glaswegians that will be sacrificed for the interests of the rich and corrupt and so it will have to be normal Glaswegians that take a stand against these people and their army known as Strathclyde police.

No to political policing! Fight the cuts!
Save The Accord Right Now!

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• police
• Strathclyde police
• Glasgow
• Glasgow Defence Campaign
• police harassment
• political policing
• anti-cuts
• Accord centre
• protest