Yellow Vest Riot Police: Licensed To Kill

THIS TOPIC IS NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE GLOBAL COVENANT, BUT IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO BE SHARED!

Are you unhappy about fuel prices and unreasonably high taxes? Do you feel angry at the power of big corporate giants? The Yellow Vests in France certainly are, and it looks as if there are a lot more people preparing to start similar protests all across Europe if they aren’t in progress already.

Your rights as a protester? Not what you think

You may be applauding the current protests in France. You might consider joining a group near you. You may even have a road or a roundabout in mind to set up your own Yellow Vest protest. And you may even feel upset enough to blow a fuse and be planning to really let it rip. If you do, then you need to read this article. Because there is something you need to know. Your rights as a protester are not what you think.

No legal constraints whatsoever

I first wrote about this situation in 2015 when Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London, decided to buy some heavy equipment to deal with potential future rioting in the city. Boris’ water cannon were a hugely expensive mistake: they were sold for scrap by the current London Mayor Sadiq Khan. But today’s politicians’ worst fears are becoming reality as the Yellow Jacket protests are beginning to spread, and they are thinking: how can they quell a protest once it gets out of hand? How tough, how hard hitting are riot police allowed to get? How far are they allowed to go to strike down an angry crowd of protesters in hi viz yellow? The answer may surprise you: very, very hard. With no limits, and no legal constraints whatsoever.

The reason for this can be found in the small print of the Lisbon Treaty which refers to a different document: the European Convention on Human Rights, which became legally binding for all signatories of the Lisbon Treaty. In case you thought that it is your human right to protest freely in the EU, and that have freedom of opinion, you need to read what this charter really says.

License to kill

This European Convention on Human Rights state that the state is legally entitled to use potentially lethal force against rioters.

 Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights:

Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:



(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;


(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;


(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.

In other words, if riot police decided that the Yellow Vest protests had gone far enough, they would be allowed to use lethal force. Because thanks to this document our politicians and the police are quite safe by hiding behind the Lisbon Treaty and the European Convention on Human Rights.

So before you put on your yellow vest, be aware that the Lisbon Treaty gives riot police the license to kill.

More reading: Boris Johnson and the Death Penalty