Extinction Rebellion
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“In other words, infiltrating us could only be for training purposes, not to get information as that’s readily available since all our meetings and the minutes of them are public.”
Not entirely true. Meetings may be open to the public but only two branches openly publish their minutes (Glasgow and North London). Even the Executive Committee’s minutes are now only available via Spintcom Files section and to access them one has to be a member and subscriber!
“Public” doesn’t necessarily mean publication on the internet. It means that, if they ask, a member of the public can have access to EC and branch minutes as well of course as being free to attend EC and branch meetings.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, has defended anti-terror police for putting the Extinction Rebellion environmental protest group on a list of extremist ideologies, saying it was important to look at “a range of security risks”.
While accepting that XR was not a terrorist organisation, Patel told LBC radio that such assessment had to be “based in terms of risk to the public, security risks, security threats”.Asked if she believed XR was a terrorist organisation, Patel replied: “No, they’re obviously a protest organisation. But everything has to be based in terms of risk to the public, security risks, security threats. That is based on information from the police, and various intelligence that we will receive. That’s the proper thing to do. You develop your policy approach accordingly.”
Climate change protesters face the introduction of draconian laws
https://www.dw.com/en/anti-protest-laws-and-litigation-take-aim-at-climate-activism/a-51701293
And they thought it was easy to bring down the state as if the state wouldn’t defend itself against a direct and proclaimed challenge to its authority. Minority direct action is not going to work and looks as if, as with minority violence, it’s going to give the state a pretext to strengthen its powers. As the protest song puts it, when will they ever learn?
There other factors in play with regard to the level of state surveillance and “intelligence” services any particular state implements. All of these things have a cost, and a police state is a very costly business, costs which are taken up by capital and reduce profitability and competitiveness with other nations. A nice placid population who believe they live in a democracy us the low cost ideal. The other issue in less stable countries is that capitalists don’t want to build up some kind of praetorian guard that can launch a coup against their government of choice.
It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out in Russia, the FSB the state security forces have about 75,000 people working for it, a huge budget for what is still only the 11th biggest GDP in the world. How much longer Russian oligarchs will continue to have the threat of arbitrary arrest and loss of wealth will be interesting to see.
I have just been re-reading Nomenklatura by Michael Voslensky, he put the Nomenklatura or new class of state capitalists at about 1.5 percent of the population of the USSR, an analysis of the current Russian Oligarchy, states that 43 percent came from Nomenklatura backgrounds. The theme is inheritable wealth and privilege, I don’t think it will be long until they want to flex their muscles as a true ruling class. The same thing goes for China
A group of US environmental activists, dubbed the Valve Turners, engaged in non-violent civil disobedience targeting the oil industry have been listed in internal Department of Homeland Security documents as “extremists” and some of its members listed alongside white nationalists and mass killers.
In its recent intelligence bulletin evaluating domestic terrorism threats between 2018 and 2020, the department included the Valve Turners and described the group as “suspected environmental rights extremists.” It also listed two of the group’s members alongside violent white supremacists and other extremists who have engaged in mass killings, including the man behind the racist 2015 slaying of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/us-listed-climate-activist-group-extremists
But they are “extremists” — environmentalist ones like Earth First! was (are they still going or are these their descendants?) — and can’t, and no doubt don’t, expect the state to give them a free run.
Of course the state’s department dealing with illegal challenges to its authority is going to classify all “extremists” together. That’s par for the course but they won’t be that stupid as to regard this lot as the same sort of threat as Islamic terrorists (even if some of their less intelligent operatives might).
Indignation at being classified along with terrorists of one sort of another doesn’t alter the fact that their tactics are misplaced. And when these don’t work the temptation will be for some of them to escalate to violence.
Many more are listed by counter terrorism
Our omission once again confirm us the Small Party of Good Boys 😛
How do you know we are not on this list? Have you seen it?
“Among the groups listed with no known link to terrorist violence or known threat to national security are Stop the War, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, vegan activists, anti-fascist groups, anti-racist groups, an anti-police surveillance group and campaigners against airport expansion. Communist and socialist political parties are also on the list.”
Did you not see the list of ‘suspect” logos? SPEW, AWL, IWW, SOLFED, ACG, SWP etc etc. Ours isn’t shown. A telling omission.
But i’m surprised. I thought most members would be delighted that we aren’t being lumped with the left-wing.
Could it simply be because we contest elections and are a registered political party? I doubt PC Plod has taken the time to directly investigate our open democratic approach to organisation but I am sure we all have stories of that stranger with the suspicious look in the eyes at a meeting.
But the most damning thing is how easy it is the State to label opposition as a “terrorist” organisation and even when they don’t attach such label to those who aren’t it is “guilt by association” into a them and us polarisation… “respectable” politics and “disreputable” types. Very reminiscent of the “enemy within” when trade unions were classed as subversive and threat to national security. So we have been here before….so many times before
No I didn’t see that list (it doesn’t appear automatically) but have now and it is interesting who is on it and who isn’t. It might be as you suggest because we are a registered political party and contest elections. That might explain the absence too of the Communist Party of Britain but not that of the New Communist Party nor, as far as I could see, any of the Maoist parties.
Maybe it is just a list of commonly seen logos. I would agree with your point that it is probably a good thing we’re not on the same list as them.
There was a strange one for the Anarchist Communists — a combination of the anarchist A sign and the hammer and sickle — but does a group with that logo actually exist?
Interesting that the club badge of St Pauli FC are included as a left wing symbol (St Pauli are a Hamburg based Club that are known for social activism). You could argue that if that’s the case, the club badges of teams like Milwall and West ham could be included as possible right wing symbols.
They seem so interested in Anti- fascist groups I’m surprised they haven’t got a picture of a paperclip in there somewhere (The Nazis occupation in Norway made it a criminal offence to wear a paperclip!)
In the recent Owen Jones assault case, Chelsea FC badges were evidence of right wing views of one of his attackers.
“…In addition, the high-profile actions of Extinction Rebellion, which centred around non-violent disobedience, results in some disruption in the City, with the potential for the event to be hijacked or infiltrated by more extremist groups.”
Under that criteria, any protest or demonstration whatsoever could be considered a threat.
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