Mobile Phones Moves 'Orwellian' - RSF

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Sunday October 19, 2008 21:09 by Richard Walsh - Republican Sinn Féin

Further Orwellian moves by the London administration in pursuit of a Big Brother society are evident in plans to require photographic identification when purchasing a mobile telephone.

Further Orwellian moves by the London administration in pursuit of a Big Brother society are evident in plans to require photographic identification when purchasing a mobile telephone. As always, their justification for such moves is presented as a necessity for combating what they describe as “terrorism”.

Richard Walsh – the Director of Publicity for Republican Sinn Féin – said that the proposed move amounted to another assault on fundamental civil liberties:

"With each passing day there are new moves to catalogue every activity taking place within their perceived jurisdiction. Already it is the most monitored area in terms of closed circuit television cameras in the world – especially within the part of Ireland which they control.

“Having failed to convince any sane person that forever growing periods of detention are necessary for the purposes of interrogating those with whom they disagree, Gordon Brown's administration are facing increasing opposition to further oppressive moves.

“Whilst such moves are often presented as a necessary response to understandable disquiet at Western policies in the Islamic world, it has been shown that such monitoring predominantly targets that section of the Irish people opposed to the continuation of English rule in this country.

“Were the English régime to stop interfering in the affairs of Ireland and other parts of the globe, such oppressive measures would be entirely unnecessary.”