Wednesday, January 13, 2010

and now time for a little bit of dignity...

At the very end of the "UK News" section of the BBC News is the story of a European Courts of Human Right (ECHR) ruling the "stop-and-search powers" illegal in the UK. I have long criticised the uncontrolled use of the police of the "Terrorism Act 2000" by which the police could randomly stop and start interrogating people anywhere on the street or, as was recently the case for me, at your departure gate at a UK airport. The new ruling by the ECHR seems to bring some dignity into the "abuse of democracy" that has been haunting the hereabouts of Europe increasingly over the last decade. It leaves me little to wonder why BBC only put this piece of news in the bottom of a sub-section of its main website, as the national broadcaster is admittedly too much with the Labour politics which reflect itself in the Home Secretary Alan Johnson's surprise and appeal at the ruling of the ECHR.

Fortunately, not everyone is as insane and hawkish as Mr. Johnson in this country. Alan Johnson may be trying to find support by the working and the middle classes sections of the society that Labour has lost its influence over during their government in the last 12 years, who are now trying to fight for a final push before the 2010 general elections. The extreme abuse of policing powers is well documented in the statistical increase of the use of stop-and-search powers; a steady incline from 10,200 stops in the year 2000 to a 250,000 stops in 2008 (that is 700 people being stopped every day). The Guardian published the news on its frontpage next to the headline and welcomed the ruling by the ECHR:

The decision by the ­European court of human rights to find against the use of section 44 stop and search powers because they lack proper safeguards against abuse is of immense importance for civil liberties in Britain. Not only is the specific practice of random search rendered illegal by the court but its judgment focuses attention on the increasing abuse of measures brought in by the Terrorism Act 2000, and the resentment of the public.

The news brings to light a somewhat scary alliance between the ve and executive powers in this democratic country. Apparently, the "Policing and Security Minister David Hanson said he was disappointed at the decision given that the government had won all previous challenges in the UK courts". Either the judges in the UK have lost all sense of humanity or that there is not a clear separation of powers in the British democracy anymore, a notion that even "quasi-democratic" Turks like us are proud of its (thin) existence in our own country.

The Independent decided to publish the news from the perspective of the Conservatives, with whom they are more aligned with and possibly bidding to win the next elections (and they may be right). Almost ironically, Conservatives attack the Labour goverment for letting the police abuse their powers and promise to change the law to cut use of stop-and-search. One does not need to think too hard to come to the conclusion that this is potentially pure bullshit and a lame populist propoganda by the Conservatives to win the hearts of those (someone potentially like me, were I able to vote) extremely disappointed by the Labour's self-denial policies.

The ruling by the EHCR seems to bring some dignity and applause back to the European consideration of human rights. It is not the EHCR is making a bold decision, in deed, we have seen many and clear examples of this institution holding somewhat a valid set of ideals despite many consistencies and clashes in some of rulings they have had on similar cases (Turkish readers and students of law or sociology will remember the famous examples on different rulings cases brought to the attention of EHCR about the subject of veiled women). However, it remains to be seen how much the "awkward European" of Europe, that is Britain, as she likes to see herself, will respect this ruling. Already the "Chief Constable Craig Mackey of the Association of Chief Police Officers said officers would continue to use stop and search powers" while the appeal made by the government against the EHCR decision is pending. It looks as if intimidation and violation of human rights with respect to privacy and implicit alieanation and scare-away tactics against the "unwanted" subjects of this society will continue for a while, and I shall fear that Britain will have to hire a very good shrink or a brain surgeon to deal with its increasing paranoia problems.

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