UK police under fire for arresting French publisher
Al JazeeraApr 15, 2023
The Facts
The UK has passed a law expanding and granting further police powers to counter a series of high-profile demonstrations along some of the state's busiest motorways from environmental and climate action groups such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.
Under the new Public Order Act, the police can now move static protests, with "locking on" — where protesters attach themselves to each other, objects, or buildings — now being a criminal offense.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Anti-blockade laws are the government's justified response to public outcries. Not only do groups like Just Stop Oil ruin parades and disrupt regular traffic but they also threaten lives by blocking ambulances from transporting patients to the hospital. The government has finally made the correct decision to deal with these protesters. There are more effective and civil ways to converse about climate change.
Establishment-critical narrative
Just Stop Oil believes in saving the planet from destructive oil and gas burning, and it doesn't give a free pass to any enabling institutions. This is why after Pride in London made United Airlines its signature parade sponsor, the grassroots group gave an ultimatum of removing the sponsor or being disrupted. Civil disobedience is how change happens, and so these brave protesters should continue to slow traffic if it means bringing an end to the Earth-burning fossil fuel industry.
