On every demonstration we are subject to being photographed by the police – presumably to add to the vast database the government holds on us – on a level constituting harassment.
Last month, a Qatari ex-Guantanamo prisoner, a Palestinian human rights leader, a Lebanese newspaper editor and a British MP were all prevented from entering other countries.
Part of a delegation from the European Parliament sent to report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza following 22 days of Israeli bombing, I prepared myself for the worst but the reality still shocked me.
On Saturday 14 March, I woke early and was up and about with an uncharacteristic spring in my step. I can hardly remember such a joyful start to a day.
“We were not militant people – just little people who refused to be little anymore. We stood up for what we believe in and we are all proud of that.” David Taylor, workers occupation, Dundee
Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), remarked of US president Barack Obama on 11 March: “He is not going to say by 2020 I’m going to reduce emissions by 30%.
