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Free Speech DCC and the State's Human Rights duties.
 national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report
 Sunday April 08, 2007 20:04 by Mick Butler - CFSD
Underpinning the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on December 10th 1948. These legal instruments are wholly pertinent for political activists, in the broadest meaning of that term, in dealing with organs of the state such as DCC. It is noteworthy that the preamble of the above U N document in it's second paragraph refers to freedom of speech and at Article 19 defines this human right. The second and third paragraphs state :
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear of want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and opression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law...Now, therefore, The General Assembly
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achivement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Re Freedom of Speech : Article 19 promulgates :Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 30 : Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perfom any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Later we shall review and take stock of DCC's actions regarding this core human right, no doubt other councils and organs of the state are violating their legal and constitutional duties, log and record everything would be a suggestion to activists for now.
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Comments (6 of 6)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6I wrote a fairly detailed piece here last night but unfortunately for me it never took off, it was rendered "Disabled" something to do with "cookies" they must have been out of date, well better to laugh than cry, suffice it to say for now that I will try to give a concise overview of the ban and why things are not as bad as they were.
In sept 2005 Owen Keegan then Director of Traffic at DCC told the Dublin Shell to Sea group that they could "write in and look for permission" to put up posters for the Rossport 5 who were then in jail, but "you wont get it" ( the permission) echoes of "Go ahead make my day.." He warned them at the end of a missive that they had "no legal right" to put posters on "council properety". DCC redoubled their efforts in removing the posters. Next in the firing line was a man from Donegal, one Frank McBreartry Jnr. Frank had 500 posters printed advertising a public meeting in the Mansion House in Nov 2005 All of these notices were removed with equal determination and dispatch by DCC. The meeting concerned Garda Corruption.
CFSD had by now contacted ICCL. The national civil liberties organistion wrote to DCC "not for the first time" in Oct 05. In Jan 06 the senior solicitor and "Law Agent " for DCC Terence O'Keefe replied.
I will fire this off and see if it gets there, if it does will then continue and conclude, thanks for your patience, MB
Terence O'Keefe would brook no talk about human rights from ICCL. DCC, he informed ICCL were not violating any constitutional or other human right , including ECHR. It was "council property" he told Ashling Reidy, the then Director of ICCL . Litter and the dangers of falling notices injuring people were also cited by the council's solicitor as reasons why no notices would be going up on council property. The law man also told Reidy that people could use fax, email, TV, Radio and texts to advertise their concerns. In one hint of apparent exasperation O'Keefe stated that it was not clear who ICCL were representing in this matter. One would have thought that O'Keefe would know that the ICCL do not "represent" any person or body. Reidy however is no pushover, she cut her teeth at the Hague, prosecuting "crimes against humanity" in the Balkans. Unfortunately, Reidy left the ICCL at the end of January 06.
With such legal assurance and backing, DCC continued their operations unabated, the next somewhat high profile victims were the family of a man who had erected Missing Posters in mid March 06 of their loved one around the city. Tragically, the young man's body was taken from the Liffey two days after DCC had removed the posters. It has been reported by a candidate in the upcoming elections that Emer Costelloe of the Labour Party was informed by an official of DCC that "that family" are going to be "fined" for putting up the posters without permission. Another official "Head of Waste" Tom Loftus, told the Irish Examiner in Sept 05 that policy was to refuse all requests to place posters on DCC property. Owen Keegan in his missive repeated the same to the Shell to Sea activist.
A rigid determination on the part of officials at DCC appears to have been driving this policy. This coupled with legal alterations to the statute book by central government in the same year that the Freedom of Information Act was put through the grinder by the FF PD coalition, illuminates the reality that controlling the flow of information in as far as is possible, is a high, but subtle priority for the Government.
More to be done indeed, but many thanks to all who continue to keep a focus on this issue.
I am reminded of Wolfe Tone "I lose time dwelling on circumstances, the mention of which at once supersedes the neccessity of argument ."
Did I not read somewhere that a byelaw had been passed by DCC banning posters. What ever happened to that byelaw ? PS : I see them banners on O'Connell St for the novel "A long long way" It is a big advert for a book indeed, no byelaw there I see.
I will refer to the bye law item raised above but would first like to refer to the comments of the Minister for Justice on the PK show this morning, April 21. What sort of a state of affairs exists when we have the Tanaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, saying that DCC are "deceiving" ie lying to the people of Dublin re the Poolbeg Incenerator. The virulant politician and indefatigable campaigner for the denizens of Dublin 4, 2 and 6 told Kenny's One Million plus listeners before he went into the Bord Pleanala meeting that "Dublin City Council have systematically pulled the wool over the eyes of the people of Dublin... (and)... are deceiving the people of Dublin and the Irish people.."
Our city council deceiving and misleading people in a premeditated and organised manner ! Shock and horror in city hall, I wonder is Law Agent O' Keeffe preparing papers to serve on the man himself. Maybe Mac would need to name names, to put flesh on the bones so to speak, maybe Mac should be asked about the basis of his fighting talk. I am sure many were impressed, I am equally sure the Rossport people would like Mr Mac in their backyard, No messin' with the kid from Ranelagh to be sure.
But apart from that slight diversion and to clarify the bye law issue, the same city council that Mac took aim at this morning told all who asked that a "bye law "in 2004 was the legal mechanism that banned posters and Notices of Public Meetings in Dublin. They told councillors who in turn told concerned citizens that such was the case. Following reports in many newspapers in February 2006 reiterating this point by a "spokesman" for DCC one of our members phoned the office of O'Keeffe the Law Agent "Yes " a woman said there is a bye law in place. Our man asked where he could read this bye law, the woman did not know but she would find out for our very grateful activist. The following day our man phoned back, alas the bye law could not be found because it never existed "There was an error in the newspapers, there is no bye law" the apologetic sounding woman told our man. And what about what the councillors told anyone who asked ? likewise, an error here as well. Systematic lies ? Could it be ? I wounder could we get Mac on our team ?
Apologies, the above date for Mac's broadside against DCC should of course read April 19 not April 21. I am sure Mac wont mind the error. Regarding the substance of the interview with Kenny we should recall another interview where he told Kenny that "I know what I know !"
DCC are you quaking ?
I see Lucinda Creighton FG has got around the ban on Election Posters before the election is called by placing a cover notice about a "Public Meeting" in Rathmines.The poster itself is her election poster. Was she a big free speech campaigner or did she not vote to ban Public Notice meetings from the the city centre ?