As many are aware, the Vestas sit-in has gained much attention around the world – for the last two days there has been Danish TV crew at the gates.
Today it’s become part of an unlikely place – Radio 4’s Thought for the Day.
This morning on the Today programme, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner’s ‘thought’, was “Integral to democracy must be the right to protest with dignity.”
She picked up on comments by Phil Woolas, Home Office Minister around a proposed points system for gaining UK citizenship – initially apparently disconnected from the Vestas sit-in.
She opens with, “What I found most concerning was the inclusion of demonstrating as so-called “bad behaviour”. Apparently, if you want to demonstrate and not harm your prospects, you’ll have to wait until you are a British citizen.”
After posing some questions on the subject, she points out that “The right to demonstrate is vital to a robust democracy, where we’re not afraid of challenging the status quo.”
On Monday the Minister proposed we should define in objective terms the meaning of allegiance to our country, including the importance of democratic principles and the rule of law. For me, integral to democracy must be the right to protest with dignity.
This dignity was, I feel, undermined by the indiscriminate kettling at the G20 protests in April, and more recently, at the Vestas wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight, where workers occupying the factory claim they were denied access to sufficient food and had to resort to receiving food stuffed into tennis balls lobbed over the security guards’ heads.
She ended with “We should encourage citizenship that cares enough to take action, that objects to injustice and is proud of our tradition of legal and sometimes feisty protest.”
Thanks to VB reader, Seb, for giving us the heads up earlier today.
