British police ask public to report anarchists

LONDON (AP) ? Spotted an anarchist? Call the cops.

That appears to be the instruction from a section of Britain's anti-terrorist police, which has asked shopkeepers and members of the public to report information about anarchists.

The advice appears in a newsletter produced last week by the "counter terrorist focus desk" in the central London district of Westminster.

The newsletter defines anarchism, accurately, as "a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy."

It adds: "Any information relating to anarchists should be reported to your local police."

The newsletter also provides an update on the overall threat of a terrorist attack in Britain ? considered "substantial," the middle rung on the government's five-point scale ? and on the investigation into the massacre committed by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik in Norway.

As well as requesting information on anarchists, it asks people to report sightings of an emblem linked to al-Qaida in Iraq.

The newsletter is part of Project Griffin, which aims to bring together police, local government and businesses "to protect our communities from terrorism, extremism and crime."

London's Metropolitan Police did not immediately return calls asking whether the local initiative represented force-wide policy on anarchists.

Police blame anarchists for violence that has erupted during protests against government spending cuts and student fee hikes in the past year. Small groups of masked protesters have broken away from large demonstrations to spray graffiti and smash windows, on one occasion attacking a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to a charity concert.

But anarchists said Monday they were supporters of a broad and legitimate political philosophy who were being unfairly targeted.

Andy Meinke of anarchist publisher Freedom Press said police should "arrest people for committing crimes, and not for what they believe."

"It's obviously ridiculous," he said. "They know exactly who we are. ... We get followed on demonstrations. Everyone who's prominent in British anarchism is known to the police."

Still, he said, there was an upside to the attention.

"This is the best publicity we've had in years," Meinke said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-08-01-EU-Britain-Anarchists/id-5dd6477373ac40208155ff771b5a08f6

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