2016-10-28 09:44:46 +0100
To: Scottish Parliament, All MSP's
Stop the Eviction of IndyCamp at Holyrood
Stop the Eviction of Indycamp, who campaign, not just for Independence but on a wide array of issues including Austerity, Benefits, Pensions, Fundamental Rights & Freedoms and other Social Injustices.
Why is this important?
Indycamp is not just a pro-independence camp outside of Holyrood, despite how it is portrayed in the media. It is a camp which continually educates and engages in political discussion about some of the worst social injustices we face as a society. Whether that be unregulated banking, general corruption, austerity, benefits and the vilification of benefits claimants, the NHS or for the poorest and most vulnerable in our society - it has continually brought to light some of the more severe issues we face as a society.
This case is about more than just the removal of a camp, whether most people realise it or not, it is about the way in which the camp is being removed. You see, Government have used the Scotland Act to transfer public assets, namely the ground around parliament, to a private body, known as the Parliamentary Corporate Body. This body, has at its disposal the full force of parliament and government without having to justify itself to parliament. This sets a dangerous precedent, because when the SPCB took the camp to court, they did so under private law of a corporation and not law applicable to a public organisation. In otherwords, the precedent this sets, is to allow public organisations to transfer land and assets to private entities in order to usurp the public's fundamental rights and freedoms, particularly the freedom to protest your own government in a manner of your choosing should you remain peaceful.
In a nutshell, it sets the precedent, that all any publicly accountable organisation need do, is transfer its assets to a corporate body and suddenly it does not have to deal with being publicly accountable.
I am asking you to support the camp today, not for them, but for yourselves. It is not acceptable for assets you own as a member of the public to be transferred to a private entity. I am asking you to support the camp, because the precedent this will set will erode, not only those at the camps fundamental rights, but also yours as an individual. One day you may wake up after suffering injustice and find that you have to seek permission (like indycamp) from the people you wish to protest, and if you fail to do so, you will find yourself in court, bankrupt and destitute because you refused to ask their permission to protest them. The precedent before the court, of course being the SPCB vs Indycamp.
This is not about a camp and land, it is about your fundamental human rights, which you should never have to ask for, but instead should just automatically have.
This case is about more than just the removal of a camp, whether most people realise it or not, it is about the way in which the camp is being removed. You see, Government have used the Scotland Act to transfer public assets, namely the ground around parliament, to a private body, known as the Parliamentary Corporate Body. This body, has at its disposal the full force of parliament and government without having to justify itself to parliament. This sets a dangerous precedent, because when the SPCB took the camp to court, they did so under private law of a corporation and not law applicable to a public organisation. In otherwords, the precedent this sets, is to allow public organisations to transfer land and assets to private entities in order to usurp the public's fundamental rights and freedoms, particularly the freedom to protest your own government in a manner of your choosing should you remain peaceful.
In a nutshell, it sets the precedent, that all any publicly accountable organisation need do, is transfer its assets to a corporate body and suddenly it does not have to deal with being publicly accountable.
I am asking you to support the camp today, not for them, but for yourselves. It is not acceptable for assets you own as a member of the public to be transferred to a private entity. I am asking you to support the camp, because the precedent this will set will erode, not only those at the camps fundamental rights, but also yours as an individual. One day you may wake up after suffering injustice and find that you have to seek permission (like indycamp) from the people you wish to protest, and if you fail to do so, you will find yourself in court, bankrupt and destitute because you refused to ask their permission to protest them. The precedent before the court, of course being the SPCB vs Indycamp.
This is not about a camp and land, it is about your fundamental human rights, which you should never have to ask for, but instead should just automatically have.
