A GARDA SUPERINTENDENT has confirmed the Anti Austerity Alliance was denied a permit to collect money in south-west Dublin as she believes it could be used to fund protests that would result in public order offences.
Last month AAA TD Paul Murphy accused An Garda Síochána of political policing after the permit was refused. Gardaí said refusal was on the grounds that the money could be used to encourage lawbreaking but declined to go into further detail about what they meant.
The party has since written to the chief superintendent of the garda division and in her response she said the collection permit was refused because she believes the proceeds or a portion thereof would be used to facilitate protests organised by the party.
Previous protests in my division, as participated in by the Anti Austerity Alliance, have resulted in persons being arrested for public order offences and indeed some of those arrested persons were Anti Austerity Alliance personnel.
“I believe any further protests within my division would see further public order offences committed,” she said.
Political policing
Commenting on the letter, Murphy said the chief superintendent’s explanation is “confirmation in black and white of political policing”.
The Anti-Austerity Alliance is being denied the right to function as other political parties because the Chief Superintedent believes that the money would be used to “facilitate protests”! Of course, we will facilitate protests! It is protests and mass civil disobedience of non-payment that has brought us to the brink of victory against the water charges. But we should not be punished for that – since when did organising protests amount to an unlawful act?
“The justification for this is because people have been arrested in relation to previous protests,” he continued.
“This is undoubtedly a reference to the Jobstown protest in November of last year. While people were arrested for questioning, there have still been no charges brought and most crucially, nobody has been convicted of anything. What has happened to the presumption of innocence here?”
Appeal
The TD said this is a restriction on the right of the AAA to organise and fund itself because of its political stance against the water charges and austerity.
The Garda Commissioner has been reported as ‘standing by’ the decision not to allow the AAA to collect. Does she stand by this reasoning – in which case the political policing goes all the way to the top?
His party will be lodging an appeal in the District Court in the next few days.
“However, the law is such if that the Chief Superintendent repeats her opinion and claims she has reasonable grounds for it under oath, that the appeal is automatically dismissed,” Murphy said. “We will therefore simultaneously be seeking leave for a judicial review of this decision in the High Court.”
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