Controlling The Right To Freedom Of Assembly In A democracy
R.M.B. Senanayake
A news item in the Daily Mirror refers to a Fundamental Rights petition against rallies and street protests filed by an aggrieved father. The petition wants the authorities to come up with a mechanism to avoid illegal and unlawful protests and to streamline them to be compatible with the existing laws, rules and regulations.
My mind went to the First Amendment to the U.S Constitution. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution specifically allows peaceful demonstrations and the freedom of assembly as part of a measure to facilitate the redress of such grievances. “Amendment I: Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers. Wikipedia says
“Actions such as blockades and sit-ins may also be referred to as demonstrations. Demonstrations can be nonviolent or violent (usually referred to by participants as “militant”), or can begin as nonviolent and turn violent dependent on circumstances. Sometimes riot police or other forms of law enforcement become involved. In some cases this may be in order to try to prevent the protest from taking place at all. In other cases it may be to prevent clashes between rival groups, or to prevent a demonstration from spreading and turning into a riot”
They may involve some physical actions–marching, chanting slogans, and singing — through which the merger of the individual in the mass, which is the essence of the collective experience, finds expression.’
Demonstrations can be used to show a viewpoint (either positive or negative) regarding a public issue, especially relating to a perceived grievance or social. A demonstration is usually considered more successful if more people participate. Topics of demonstrations often deal with political, economic, and social issues.
Protest marches and demonstrations are a common nonviolent tactic. They are thus one tactic available to proponents of strategic nonviolence and governmental authorities should look upon them in that light.
Some demonstrations and protests can turn, at least partially, into riots or mob violence against objects such as vehicles and businesses, as used to happen in the heydays of the Leftists demonstrations on May Day. Fortunately they don’t happen any more. Problems arise when the Police erect barricades to prevent the march of the protesters when they may resort to force to remove them which lead the Police to resort to force. Police and military authorities often use non-lethal force or less-lethal weapons, such as, rubber bullets, and tear gas against demonstrators in these situations. Read More
