Totnesians among many arrested in London

In scenes we wouldn’t have predicted just a few years ago in the United Kingdom, at least a dozen peaceful Totnesians were arrested on Sunday under a recent draconian ruling by Yvette Cooper at the home office marking them as terrorists under the new amended law. Arrestees included Father Jim Barlow, Nick Bilborough, Mary Light, Sima Cutting and many others.

The official government website states:

“A draft proscription order has been laid in Parliament which will proscribe Palestine Action (PA), as well as two further groups: the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC) and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).  This will make it a criminal offence to be a member of one of these groups or to invite or recklessly express support for them. Parliament will now consider and debate the draft Order and if passed, [Which it was] the Order will make it an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to belong to or support the groups. Proscription is ideologically neutral. By deciding to proscribe these three organisations, the government is demonstrating its zero tolerance approach to terrorism, regardless of its form or underlying ideology. National security is the government’s first priority and it will not shy away from this responsibility. ”

Live Streams

Several live streams were made during the day by campaigner Jo Raeburn who was showing live images via FaceBook including some of the arrests. The Police dealing with these specific arrests were drafted in from Wales and were working 24 hour shifts. Each arrest required a police officer to accompany them until they arrive, via a three hour queue, (in the case of Father Jim), to the arresting desk. According to reports, the constabulary seemed to be taking part in a kind of ridiculous pantomime, arresting mostly senior citizens for holding up pieces of cardboard knowing full well these people presented no threat whatsoever.

I take full personal responsibility for my action

If no identification could be made, people were taken into custody, otherwise they were ‘street bailed’ which meant they were presented with a bail sheet precluding them from protesting any further under threat of being arrested again.

What does Father Jim Barlow make of the proscription? “The police have reached a point that they cannot manage the protests. I think the movement will continue to grow. So many people ’round here say to me how disgusted they are and how powerless they feel. Inadvertently the government have given people a chance to say ‘go on then, arrest me!’ And this is what I have to do to show how disgusted I am with the situation in Gaza and the west bank. 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza.”

Sickened

On FaceBook, Father Jim made a rare statement: “I take full personal responsibility for my action. In large part it has been prompted by the many people in Totnes and the villages, both churchgoers and from the wider community, who have told me how sickened they are by what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, how powerless they feel, and their incomprehension as to why so little is being done to stop it. I do commend to them the recent powerful statements made by the Bishops of this Diocese and by the Archbishop of York: http://www.archbishopofyork.org/…/archbishop-yorks…. I just felt I had to take the opportunity, afforded by my role, to bear witness and show that the church will not be a bystander. Not to mention protesting this ridiculous knee jerk use of terrorism legislation.“

It’s fair to say Nick Bilbrough is more invested than most with the horrors in Gaza through his work over the last decade with the educational Hands Up project charity and was interviewed by the Totnes Pulse back in 2016. The play “Welcome to Gaza” featuring Palestinian actors makes much of the situation for ordinary civilians very clear and has now played in Totnes, Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Reading. The writer of which, Peter Oswald was also arrested.

Intolerable Abuse

Nick’s arrest left him with 4 and a half hours to chat with his arresting officer while awaiting processing. “I asked him who the victim is of this crime I’ve committed and of course he couldn’t really answer.” Was it distressing being arrested? “No, actually it was a huge relief! Because they were hardly arresting anyone at the beginning and it seemed to be just pensioners.” Was this to protect older people from any potential danger later in the day or perhaps to demonstrate to government that the proscription is un-workable?

Many media reports have claimed ‘Intolerable abuse’ towards Police at the event. What was Nick’s experience? “There was some angry verbal abuse towards the police, shouting ‘Shame on you’, ‘Fascist scum’ for example.” but he didn’t witness anything physical himself preferring like most others to use silence as a stronger message. There are eye witnesses claiming the police used physical force and some people simply turned up specifically to cause trouble.

Nick’s legal ordeal lasted from his arrest at 6pm until being released from custody in Ilford at 3am. “There was only room for about 4 couples of us terrorists in the van. Up until then we stood in a queue in a cordened off area for about three and a half hours.” Protesters were advised by Defend Our Juries not to give a name so that they would have to be placed in custody. Ironically Nick was carrying his Hands Up poetry book “Moon Tell Me Truth” on which he is credited but they failed to identify him even after a search.

Both Nick and Father Jim tell the story of their ordeal as an almost surreal Pythonesque experience. Nick tried calling a solicitor from Defend Our Juries but there weren’t enough available to take his call. Nick was particulary taken with the woman who took his fingerprints! “She very tenderly took may hands and placed them on the scanner. It was really lovely!”

Who are the ‘terrorists’?

As published here’s an excerpt from Nicks’ Facebook Page: “As I sat in my cell in Ilford police station I thought about the real victims of the crime of genocide. I whistled ‘Oh my home’ as loud as I could and I thought about all the Gazan children that I’ve heard singing this song over the years – so many of whom have now been killed. Then the police brought me a microwaved portion of chicken tikka masala in a cardboard carton and I used the lid to rip out the letters of Fatema’s name. Fatema was the first of our Hands Up Project children from Gaza to be killed – on October 18th 2023, with her entire family.”

Caroline Voaden MP has also issued the following statement:

“The arrests of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators this Saturday for simply holding placards sets a dangerous and chilling precedent for free speech. The right to peaceful protest is the cornerstone of any democracy, and yet, since Palestine Action was proscribed, over 1,600 people have now been arrested.

Among those arrested on Saturday were many from South Devon, including a senior priest, an elderly Jewish man, and a teacher who has spent years working with Gazan children. These people are not terrorists. It cannot be right that displaying placards could result in a conviction and, potentially, up to six months in prison. The application of terrorism legislation must urgently be reviewed to ensure it is proportional when used against peaceful protest. 

Today, I asked the government if it considered the use of counter-terror powers this weekend to be disproportionate to the peaceful action these individuals were taking. You can hear their response below.

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/eb4aef10-1aa0-4bfb-bb66-d88d56e7b1af?in=16:32:11”

 

Featured Palestine March image by Louise Webberley

Article updated @ 17:46 to include Caroline Voadens Statement

The premiere of the film of the play “Welcome To Gaza” will be shown on 13th September at 7:30 in St John’s Church – Tickets available here.