Monday, September 26, 2011

March Against the Police State

'There will be an urgent protest march on Saturday, October 1st at 2pm starting from Cuba Mall stage to oppose the government's plan to retrospectively legalise illegal video surveillance by the police,' said Batch Hales, member of the Campaign to Stop the Search and Surveillance Bill.
'The State is set to legalise unlawful video surveillance by police to cover cases already before the criminal courts. In doing so, they are validating illegal conduct deliberately engaged in by the police. They plan to pass this law under urgency within the next week. This is an outrage. People across the country are deeply concerned about this issue. We must stop this further fundamental assault on our freedoms and roll back the expanded police state.'
'Most people will have heard that John Key wants to legalise police breaking the law and planting secret surveillance cameras inside people´s homes so that it applies retrospectively - eg. to cases that have already been investigated and are now being prosecuted. That is, quite simply, contrary to fundamental constitutional principle and a serious violation of individual human rights. It is the police who should be prosecuted.'
'As importantly is the revelation that the police are breaking the law ALL THE TIME. This use of secret video surveillance is in widespread use by police without any legal authority. The police break the law, and then they hope that the court system will allow it under the Evidence Act. Along with this urgent bill, the Search and Surveillance Bill needs to be thrown out.'
'The expansion of State surveillance is fundamentally about controlling the population. It comes at a time of high unemployment, when the entire benefit system is being gutted and public services privatised. Surveillance by the State is about controlling the growing poor and underclass in our society who have nothing to lose, because they have nothing. They are being squeezed at every point: the State is seeking to repress any resistance to the greed of the rich and powerful who have been busy taking corporate welfare, and stealing resources and land.
'We must resist the police state in all its forms - all the mechanics of control and compliance that require we sacrifice freedom for manufactured lies and fear about `criminals´.' concluded Batch.