Targetting Dissent; Dr Julien Mercille

Dr Julien Mercille, Department of Geopolitics, University College Dublin.

TARGETTING DISSENT:
IRELAND NOT ALONE
IN EUROPE 

Dr Julien Mercile writes:

Last week, we heard about yet another example of political policing in Ireland, which is certainly not the only country not to respect its citizens’ right to protest.

The Irish Daily Mail revealed that Gardai have been secretly spying on water protesters for six months, under the codename Operation Mizen. The Operation was established following the Jobstown protests last November.

The Garda team is led by Jim McGowan, the husband of Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan. It has compiled profiles of protesters and gathered information on their whereabouts and activity on social media. The Operation is currently restricted to Dublin, but is expected to spread nationally.

The top target is understood to be Paul Murphy TD. The police say the operation seeks to “prevent crime”, but of course, unless you believe in the fantasy that Paul Murphy is the source of crime in this country, it is a clear act of political policing, meaning that its purpose is to track and possibly arrest those who dissent from government-troika policy.

Ireland now looks like a “Big Brother” surveillance state, and an inefficient one at that. How much of taxpayers’ money is spent on Operation Mizen? This illustrates yet again that austerity is very selective. If you have cancer, your health services will be cut. If you’re a deluded police officer plotting to arrest water charge protesters in the belief that this will reduce crime in the country, you’ll get extra funding, and perhaps even a promotion if you catch “ringleader” Paul Murphy.

The Irish Daily Mail strongly opposed Operation Mizen, and rightly so. The newspaper called it “profoundly disturbing” and “not proper in a free and open democracy” because protest is a “fundamental right”. It said, correctly, that placing political protesters under general surveillance is reminiscent of a “police state”.

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has been questioned about what she knew about the Operation. Of course, if she knew anything, that would make the whole scheme even more outrageous. But we’re still awaiting for answers from her. Government officers have always felt an urgency to implement austerity, but never to answer questions that might make them look bad.

Ireland is not alone in conducting political policing. In Spain, for example, an anti-protest law just came into force on 1 July. Enacted by the pro-troika, right-wing government of Mariano Rajoy, the new law, as in Ireland, comes in the wake of protests that erupted in reaction to austerity.

The law has been criticised by civil society, NGOs, human rights experts and organisations. According to polls, only a small minority of the Spanish population support the law. All opposition parties have said they would repeal the law if they obtain a majority in the general election later this year.

For example, Amnesty International described it as “an assault on the rights of its citizens” because it restricts rights to peaceful assembly, association and freedom of expression. It criminalises some legitimate forms of protest and increases penalties for others.

Human Rights Watch said that the laws “unjustifiably curtail basic human rights protections”.

For example, filming police is now restricted and carries fines of up to €30,000 for those who disseminate footage. (Filming has been essential to prove excessive use of force by the police in recent years during protests). Other restrictions include demonstrating near the parliament, while police are allowed to fine people participating in peaceful resistance actions if authorities have called for the break-up of the gathering. Also, blocking home evictions is criminalised, an activity that has become very common in Spain during the crisis.

Social media is also targeted. A person writing on Facebook or Twitter that there will be a protest at a given place can be held responsible for the said demonstration. Minor offences will translate into fines or €100 to €600, serious offences up to €30,000 and very serious offences up to €600,000. The government maintains that the new law aims to protect the security of citizens. But all opinion polls show that Spaniards are preoccupied by economic problems and political corruption, not by security.

In short, surveillance is growing here and elsewhere. This is a rational strategy on the part of those in power, who use force and spies because they cannot win through debate and argument. Unfortunately for them, the facts do not support their propaganda, and people know it.

Julien Mercille is a lecturer at UCD. His new book, Deepening Neoliberalism, Austerity, and Crisis: Europe’s Treasure Ireland (Palgrave) is out.

[Dr Julien Mercille is lecturer in the School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin (UCD). He is originally from Canada and obtained his PhD from UCLA in 2007. Dr Mercille worked on “US foreign policy since 1945” and especially as related to current events, which appears to guarantee the centrality of war and militarism to his research. He is now writing articles and a book about the US/NATO 'War on Drugs' in Afghanistan. Another ongoing interest is the Iranian nuclear 'crisis'. He also publishes regularly in the alternative press online and in print, and has appeared on various radio and television programmes as expert on US foreign policy].