By Mark Taliano
It was a day rich in unpleasant ironies.
On Sunday, May 5, 2012, a group of about 100 protestors rallied peacefully inOttawa, at the Parliament Buildings to protest electoral fraud and to demand a Public Inquiry.
Derek Soberol, founder of the Occupy Canada web page, was peacefully leading chants in front of the nearby U.S Embassy when he found himself arrested for allegedly “inciting a riot.”
Rally participant and witness, Yanna Green, observed that many of the police were not wearing badges or name tags. Other officers, who did have identification, covered them with vests and refused to display them.
This is where the irony becomes thick.
First, it is ironic that someone peacefully protesting electoral fraud, (which is an egregious assault to democracy) should be arrested for honoring his Constitutional Rights. (Granted, Harper isn’t a fan of the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, but it is still the law of the land.)
Second, it is ironic that the arresting officers were not displaying their identities at a time when the current federal government is supportive of a private member’s bill that would give police the power to arrest anyone hiding their identity (i.e a mask) during a riot or unlawful assembly.
A familiar chant for protestors throughout the world is “This Is What Democracy Looks Like.”
Sadly, a more appropriate chant for the Occupy Parliament” rally would be “This Is What A Closed Society Looks Like.”
Mark Taliano is a resident of Niagara and frequent contributor of commentary to Niagara At Large.
(Niagara At Large invites our readers to share their views on this post, remembering that we only post comments by people who are also willing to share their real first and last names.)
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I have seen the future and it looks frightening,an omnibus bill that includes, no protesters can cover their face even if they are hit with mace or tear gas, they are subject to arrest, The police who will be armed to the teeth, no ID numbers or name tags, I now suspect that the people in black at the G20 summit were police officers in disguise, why were they allowed to run rampant? and real protesters arrested, this was a charade to get the lemming public on the side of Harper and Mc.Guinty, they hold similar views and Flaherty has been told to cool his jets,with his attacks on Dalton Mc.Guinty. politics makes strange bed fellows.
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Mr. Jardine, I believe you are not the first to think there were officers planted among the protestors at the G20.
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Harper must go before it is too late. He has absolutely no respect for the people. Our country is becoming despised, especially environmentally and in many other areas by the world. Our reputation is in tatters..
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Isn’t it interesting how our politicians promise you the world before being elected, then after election it’s – “F-YOU taxpayer, we’ll do what we want, when we ant and how we want and you, the common folk will pay for it and like it…until the next election, when we’ll promise you the world again….
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Rally For Truth, Paul Dewar
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And we keep electing these idiots – so who are the real idiots ???????????
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Arrest of Derek Soboral, founder of Occupy Canada web site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaABQyWpgwo
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