British republicans have condemned the Metropolitan Police's oppressive treatment of protesters, who had gathered in their thousands in Trafalgar Square to denounce Charles III's coronation as the country's king. The protesters against the antiquated monarchical system said on Sunday that there is now no longer a right to peaceful protest in Britain after dozens of republican demonstrators were arrested.
Overall, some 64 people were rounded up during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey before King Charles and Queen Camilla were driven back to Buckingham Palace. The police described the alleged offences that had led to the arrests as a breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
Those detained included Graham Smith, the leader of the Republic movement which campaigns for the abolition of the monarchical system in the United Kingdom and its replacement with a directly elected head of state.
"This was a heavy-handed action which had the appearance of a pre-determined arrest that would have occurred regardless of the evidence or our actions. The right to protest peacefully in the UK no longer exists," Smith said. "These arrests were not about protecting people from harm, but about protecting the King from embarrassment."
“I have campaigned on the issue of the monarchy for twenty years,” Smith said. “Time and again I have been told the monarchy protects us from tyranny, that the monarch guards our democracy and freedoms, defending us against the excesses of government. These arrests put the lie to those claims and are another example of the weakness of our constitution and the failure of our constitutional monarchy.
“The Crown is one part of our failing constitution that concentrates too much power in the hands of government at the expense of parliament and people. We need a fundamental shift in power. We need elected representatives who are able to resist such draconian laws as those introduced this week, and a constitution that empowers the people to defend their rights.
“These arrests have also destroyed whatever trust might have existed between peaceful protesters and the Metropolitan police. What is the point in being open and candid with the police, working with their liaison officers and meeting senior commanders, if all their promises and undertakings turn out to be a lie?
“It is notable that King Charles has said nothing about these arrests. Rather than defend our liberty and values he is content celebrating his anointment as monarch while citizens are locked up. What is the point of a head of state who will say nothing and do nothing to defend the people?
“These arrests were not about protecting people from harm, but about protecting the King from embarrassment. It was the state wanting to stamp down dissent in order to present an image of a grateful and consenting public at the time of the coronation”.
Trying to explain the reason behind the arrests, the police however, alleged that their so-called duty to prevent disruption outweighed the right to protest.
Republic said that its members began to be released late on Saturday evening after nearly 16 hours in custody.
The Metropolitan Police had deployed some 11,500 officers for one of its biggest-ever security operations for the day of the coronation. The police had warned that it would have an "extremely low threshold" for protests, and controversially planned to use mass facial recognition technology to monitor the crowds.
"Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low," the Met warned in the run-up to the coronation. "We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration."
The Republic movement was set up in 2006 to raise the case for a republic to a wider audience while scrutinising the actions of the royal household. It is strictly non-party political and claims to have over 80,000 supporters.
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