Shropshire Animal Action received the following from alternative news-source
'Schnews'. www.schnews.org.uk

It has implications for anyone protesting about anything. Please read it.

If any SchNEWS readers out there are thinking about stock market
investments, what about an animal lab? Worried about animal rights
protesters denting your profits? Don't be, there's £16 billion of
investment in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and
Lord Sainsbury, the science minister, announced this week that
"investment terrorism" will become a serious criminal offence.

The Serious Organised Crime Bill is passing through parliament and
is being touted as a way to tackle 'economic terrorism'. Terrorist
tackling ministers are in quite a rush: of the 113 companies
recently pulling out of doing business with animal labs, over one
third did so in the last three months. Animal rights actions are
proving successful with the construction of a primate research
centre in Oxford being stopped and 100 contractors and suppliers
severing links with Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Sarah Dixon of the Save the Newchurch Guinea Pig Campaign makes
the point that there isn't a need for a new law: "The offences
this legislation is trying to stop are already against the law. I
have no idea how far the legislation is going to go. At what point
does peaceful protest become economic sabotage?"

With the Public Order, Malicious Communications, Criminal Justice
and Terrorism Acts already in place, coppers are certainly going
to need some extra training to help them choose from such a wide
ranging menu of protest-stopping laws. Under an amendment to the
Bill it would be a criminal offence for more than two people to
'harass' someone with the intention of making a company break off
commercial links with an animal research company. So what will
happen to groups calling for boycotts of companies, or people
doing pickets outside McDonalds?

And if the law is found to be successful at stopping animal rights
campaigns, you can be sure it will be used against other
campaigns.

The Bill's even got a clause on "Behaviour in the vicinity of
Parliament" which is designed to prohibit anyone "spoiling the
visual aspect" of the Palace of Westminster. But this is no
opportunity to move on ugly politicians, it's mainly aimed at one
single demonstrator - Brian Haw. Brian's been camped outside
Westminster for 3 years protesting against US/UK policies on Iraq.
Now the powers-that-be are fed up with the embarrassment and want
him removed, as according to former Home Secretary, David
Blunkett, he is giving tourists a view of "dysfunctional
democracy" - Blunkett obviously reckons that protesting is dysfunc
tional - but this is the attitude we've come to expect of this
authoritarian Neo-Labour government. Blunkett admitted the law was
a "sledgehammer to crack a nut", the nut being Brian, who has
apparently caused total havoc with his one man protest.

We will let you decide what total havoc is and who the nuts are,
but the implications of the amendment are wider than one man. The
proposed rules will outlaw peaceful protest within a 1km radius of
Parliament and Downing St, including Trafalgar Square, without a
permit. Demonstrators could be banned from the area, fined up to
£2500 or face 3 months in prison for the organisation of illegal
protests.

* Support Brian Demo: next Monday (7th) 2-8pm in Parliament Square
(see www.parliament-square.org.uk)... or get a megaphone and pitch
a tent down next to Brian's.

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IN SHACKLES

While the government in this country is setting up a specific law
of economic sabotage against animal rights protesters, in the USA
they've already got the law - the controversial Federal Animal
Enterprise Terrorism Act.

Seven Activists face three years in jail each for participation in
an international campaign to close the notorious product testing
lab Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Specifically, these activists are alleged to have operated a
website that reported on and expressed ideological support for
protest activity against Huntingdon and its business affiliates.
For this they are charged with "terrorism". Even though they
themselves have not committed any actions against HLS - the US
authorities are attacking these seven people to try and silence a
growing movement against animal abuse.

If the authorities are successful in prosecuting these activists
it is likely they will go after other protesters, as the SHAC7
website says: "This case is intended to pave the way for further
silencing of activists involved in all issues. It is imperative
that the broader social justice movement stand behind these
activists in our communal defense of free speech, press, and
association." www.shac7.com

* The campaign against HLS continues: www.shac.net 08454 580630
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!UNTIL ALL ARE FREE!
Shropshire Animal Action

www.geocities.com/animals_salop/

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