Dublin City Council Censorship

national | rights, freedoms and repression | feature

Monday May 09, 2011 10:24

by éirígí PRO - éirígí

"Posters are a vital political tool"

In a blatant and outrageous act of political censorship Dublin City Council is attempting to impose an unprecedented ban on posters advertising political protests. This poster ban represents a very real attack on the right to political expression, the right to organise politically and the right to assembly.

If it's a clean city they want, let's do our share
and clean parts of it:

The ban is due to come into effect from May 15th to May 25th, during which time both the 'British Queen' and US president Barack Obama are to visit Dublin. Those applying for permission to erect posters have been sent the following email by the council: 'I wish to advise you that your application has been refused. This decision has been taken on the basis that no postering applications for events between 15th and 25th May are being granted in the interest of promoting a clean environment for Dublin City during forthcoming State visits.'

Related Links: These links relate to when the change occured so that you had to get permission to put up a poster. Before that you did not need permission. -i.e another bit of our basic democratic rights were lost then.
Joan Collins Puts Virus Into Protocol For Ban On Public Notices | Motion on Poster Ban passed at DCC | The poster ban That Never Went Away is Back Again | Dublin City Council officials ban anti-war poster Leafleting Ban?

Only a fool would believe that the council's ban is motivated by anything other than a desire to censor those who are opposed to the two state visits. No such ban was in place when the Prince of Monaco visited Dublin in May. Nor did the visits of George Bush or Tony Blair require a 'clean enviroment' devoid of political dissent.

Posters are a vital political tool that are used the world over to challenge the hegemony of the state and corporate media. Dublin City Council's ban on postering is an attack on the right to freedom of expression, the right to organise politically and the right to public assembly. Whether you are in favour of the Windsor and Bush visits or not is irrelevant.

All right thinking people need to rally against state censorship. This week it may be those who oppose the Windsor and Bush visits that are being silenced but next week it will be those who oppose the IMF, the EU and the government. How long before community groups and trade unions find themselves the victim of Dublin City Council's 'clean enviornment' censorship?