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October 03, 2005
Emergency powers?
Anyone who is familiar with the South Africa of H F Verwoerd, B J Vorster and their successors, will be feeling a large dose of deja vu! The strangest thing about it is that the men now trying to bring in the power to detain people they feel are a threat to the nation without trial, are the same crew who spent years waving placards against it outside South Africa House in Trafalgar Square. Peter Hain in particular must be having some strange emotions on this one as he and his parents came in for attention from the security services at that time.
Now the boot is on the other foot and it is these "freedom fighter" supporters who are the targets of a new breed of "freedom fighters" - and now it is they who feel it necessary to give the police power to arrest and detain someone for 90 days without trial. My, how the wheels turn! Now it is the "liberty" generation who find it necessary to impose authoritarian and dictatorial restraints on the citizenry, who, it must be said, they have so successfully alienated! After all, the creation of minority cultures, sub cultures and ghettoes is almost entirely down to the politics of fostering and "celebrating" difference.
Well, I suspect that, the opposition from the Conservatives and the LibDems notwithstanding, Blair will get his "Emergency detention powers" - and our democracy will have taken another step along the road toward the oligarchy and one-party state this government so desperately wants. I wonder how long it will be before they take the next step - and the 90 days becomes 120 days with an option on "house arrest"?
Probably not that long - it was a matter of only a few years in South Africa and Blair and his cronies may not have that long.
Posted by The Gray Monk at October 3, 2005 11:18 AM
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Comments
Since the beginning of cities the one's in power have always wanted to detain those they perceive as a threat to their power. So it should come as no surprise that, now that they are in power, they want the power they decried earlier. After all, they will use it with "responsiblity". How do you tell when a leader has become a tyrant. When they start using the phrase "This is being done for your own good" followed by; "we would never abuse the power". If that comes out of their mouths head for the hills and buy several guns.
Posted by: skipjack at October 4, 2005 12:18 AM