Protest is vital for democracy. Dissent must not be criminalised

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/16/protest-democracy-dissent

Version 0 of 1.

Time and again the activist is painted as the unruly delinquent with no respect for democracy, for using what little power we have to make a stand. Many people learn through experience how easily political protest can be delegitimised by those with power, the very people against whom you’re protesting.

Related: University of Sussex to pay student protester £20,000 in damages

In December 2013, I was suspended from my course at the University of Sussex. I, and four others were excluded from the campus and a letter was sent via email letting us know. Any attempt to use the library or attend seminars would result in security escorting us away. At the time, I was one of many activists calling for a halt to Sussex’s privatisation process. I was part of a campaign led by students and staff that engaged thousands, with support in Brighton, on campuses nationally and in Parliament too.

But then came the suspension, which saw my life, and those of four others, put on hold. It was unclear to me what I’d done “wrong” to begin with. I called it bullying in this paper at the time. Accusations of criminality, violence and intimidation were made against us on the university website and subsequently reproduced in the papers. These were entirely baseless accusations. In fact those suspended were nothing special, a handful of men (although the majority of activists were women) picked at random, made a spectacle of.

We hadn’t done anything wrong, of course, but that didn’t seem to matter.

Eventually the university ombudsman found we’d all been treated unfairly, and some compensation and a written apology were sent our way. Yesterday the university published another apology on its website for the defamatory allegations that they made about me. There was a statement in open court, and some damages too. But it’s the demonisation of protest, not of me, that we should find most worrying.

The delegitimisation of direct action is nothing new: from poll tax “riots” to the fight for suffrage, those calling for LGBT equality or an end to state-sanctioned racial discrimination, activists were troublemakers and extremists, if you look at what those in power had to say at the time.

It’s part of the political process; campaigners are marginalised while taking action, until the perspective somehow changes. Activists’ values are co-opted once they’ve succeeded in shifting the norm. It will happen with climate change, #BlackLivesMatter, and those demanding we do more to solve the refugee crisis.

In some ways I think myself lucky. While my reputation was damaged, my body wasn’t. Alfie Meadows, a student protester, was arrested in 2010 while marching in central London. He was charged with violent disorder, dragged through trial after trial before finally being acquitted, having committed no crime. He needed emergency brain surgery after he was allegedly hit with a police baton, but it’s the “violent student protesters” of 2010 who took to the streets for free and fair education you’ll hear talked of now.

Back then the prime minister claimed that two brothers were responsible for police officers being “dragged off horses and beaten”. He wasn’t there, it didn’t happen, but who cares? The Hilliard brothers were awarded £50,000 by the courts last week, but their participation in political protest was portrayed as unacceptable at the time. In fact, of 19 students that were charged with violent disorder following the tuition fees protests, 18 have gone on to be acquitted.

Related: Our battle to democratise universities will go on | Michael Chessum and Michael Segalov

And then there’s the mass arrests of protesters attending demonstrations, often with full knowledge charges would never be brought. A staggering 160 protesters were arrested at an anti-fascist march in Tower Hamlets in September 2013.

We see the imposition of bail conditions to curtail protest further; hundreds restricted from attending protests, although the majority never face a charge. You’ve got to ask for permission to protest now. If the state says yes, they’re being generous, so you may have to pay to police it yourself. Trade unions are holding us all to ransom, we best restrict the right of the people to strike. And don’t try protesting in Parliament Square, it’s illegal too.

The Human Rights Act enshrines freedom of assembly and association into the legal system, European oversight holding the government to account. Best get rid of that, the government says.

Those who take to the streets, or engage in direct action, don’t have lobbyists to fight our corners. This is the only power that people can exercise, beyond box ticking in a ballot once every five years. Protest is vital to our democracy, giving a voice to those with no platform or privilege. So next time you read about troublemaking activists, wait before passing judgment. See how many convictions for violent activity are forthcoming, which newspaper or institution publishes apologies in print and online.

After a few years, you might well find that what those people on the streets were then calling for is now considered the norm.