MGP Public Event: Civil Liberties vs Terrorism - Thursday May 8th 7pm

Green Party policy says ‘In a complex, modern society, it will be a long time before we can eradicate the root causes of ‘terrorism’. Any measures to protect society should not undermine the fundamental values that shape a green society: inclusion, justice, equality.

Police and intelligence activity need to be well-resourced, and given sufficient freedom to ensure their safety and efficacy. They must, though be carried out in a transparent and accountable way, and remain within the law’ PD – Peace and Defense Policy Document (2008)

But over time the law has evolved to include pre-charge detention, ‘control orders’, ‘Section 7’ as well as changes to Immigration and Communication Law. The inception of private communications outside of the law has been well documented.

These changes are only part of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST (the main threads of which are Prevent, Pursue, Protect, Prepare) which aims "to reduce the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence."

But strategy has been criticised for many reasons including 

• The underlying analysis and theory has been described as flawed.
• Legal and other bodies have pointed to the erosion of Civil Liberties of British citizens
• The focus on the mainstream Muslim community.

What is the justification for the anti-terrorism strategy as its current written? How effective is it? Should we expect to lose some of our rights in exchange for safety? Whats the balance between fighting Terrorism and Civil Liberties?

What is it like to be caught in the middle of this?

We are pleased to announce our speakers for the event:

Alex Davidson, Secretary of Manchester and Trafford Socialist Party

and

Harris and Zulaikha Ahmed from the SAVE THE FAMILY HOME campaign

Thursday May 8^th 2014 at 7pm – 9pm

Venue: Friends Meeting House. 6 Mount Street, M2 5NS Manchester

For more information contact chair@manchestergreenparty.org.uk or go to

https://www.facebook.com/events/287719961387695/