Galway To Crack Down On Civil Rights

galway | miscellaneous | feature Wednesday July 30, 2003 14:09 by IMC Editorial Group - IMC Ireland

City Council To Restrict Public Assembly and Leafleting

Galway City Council is trying to criminalise the street distribution of leaflets and the right to free assembly. The City Council will vote on a proposal to ban leaflet distribution from the streets of Galway under the guise of a litter byelaw, and to only allow public gatherings under permit. This is actually attacking our democratic rights to free speech and assembly.

Many groups and organisations use street leafleting as a vital organ to inform, educate and network with the people of Galway. The very nature of many of these groups means that it is not an option to pay for advertising in the media as a means of communication, and articles/letters submitted are subject to editorial boards deciding what is "suitable" reading material for their readers. The bye-law proposal only allows street distribution during the period of political elections- is democracy now to be confined purely to conventional politics with its ballot- box timing, say once every 4 years?

Byelaw Documents (with areas of importance highlighted)

• Draft Litter Pollution Byelaws
• Parks And Open Spaces Byelaws
• Litter Pollution Act 1997 (Advertising Definition)

Many councillors and members of the public, including many against the proposed bye-laws, are concerned over the issue of leaflet litter. However it has been suggested that if the issue was examined the findings would reveal that the offending culprits are actually big business e.g. the mobile phone companies that cover the streets with their glossy handouts, forcing them on the passers-by who do not request or desire the literature but accept the attached candy-bar incentive and the unwanted advertising material is strewn on the pavement without the offending company accepting any responsibility for cleaning up their act. Organisations that genuinely distribute material for information purposes more often than not don't have the desire or financial resources to create litter out of their literature.

Regarding the public assembly proposal, does the City Council intend to use a discretionary public gathering permit scheme, with threats of arrest if people engage in their rights of free speech and assembly? People of Galway seeking to exercise their fundamental rights could be obstructed and denied those rights as the city council uses unfettered discretion to grant assembly rights to favoured permittees and deny them to what they deem are "controversial" groups and causes. If the city officials don't like a particular "cause" they could selectively refuse to issue a permit and use the bye-law to try to prevent groups from protesting or gathering at an event.

A similar attempt to introduce such a byelaw in Dublin to ban public assemblies was defeated when hundreds of people protested outside a city council meeting. There has recently been an enormous lawsuit victory in Philadelphia, USA to remove such a byelaw in their city.

Human rights must be regarded as sacred. The people of Galway can stop these new attacks on democratic rights. A meeting to organise a campaign to defend our rights to free speech and assembly in Galway is to be held in Java's Coffee house, Galway Thursday 7th of August at 8pm.