Blue Revolution Members Arrested

There's a follow-up to the story of the pro-Hungarian gathering that was disbanded by the police on Saturday. Two of the three members of the Blue Revolution who attended the meeting were arrested. This report was posted at Claude Reichman's website in PDF format:

On Saturday October 28, 2006, a demonstration was to be held at Place du Châtelet in Paris, to commemorate the Hungarian uprising in 1956 against the Communist regime.

The Blue Revolution was not one of the organizers and had not urged anyone to participate. However, three of its principal speakers decided to attend on their own personal initiative.

The demonstration was banned on the morning of the very day it was to take place, the reason being that the police feared a counter-demonstration from the extreme Left, and that the problems in the suburbs did not leave them sufficient manpower to guarantee security.

And yet, the police presence to enforce the ban was considerable and would have been more than enough to protect the demonstration.

When they exited the subway, around 2:30, at Place du Châtelet, Gérard Pince, Georges Clément (pictured) and Jean-Christophe Mounicq were approached, individually, in the middle of the crowd by police officers in civilian clothes who, having immediately recognized them, informed them of the ban and ordered them to leave the site.

Naturally, Gérard Pince, Georges Clément and Jean-Christophe Mounicq obeyed. Since they had planned to meet with some others after the demonstration, Georges Clément and Jean-Christophe Mounicq went and stood in front of a café, in the hopes of catching sight of their friends and having their get-together earlier than expected.

It was then that a group of CRS (riot police) under orders from an officer crossed the square, approached them, called out to them as numerous passers-by watched, and told them they were under arrest.

Taken to the police station of the 4th "arrondissement", they were searched, photographed, finger-printed and locked up. Georges Clément and Jean-Christophe Mounicq were not released until 9:30 P.M., after the public prosecutor dismissed charges of unlawful assembly and refusing to obey an officer.

These are the facts. It is a grave matter.

First of all, this is about arbitrary arrests and illegal restraint. Furthermore, how is it that Gérard Pince, Georges Clément and Jean-Christophe Mounicq were "targeted" with such precision by the police? Their faces are known from photographs of Blue Revolution rallies, but why did the police selectively head straight for them without the slightest hesitation? Clearly because they were expected to be there. And yet, they had not made known publicly their intention to participate in the gathering. Had their phone conversations been bugged by the police, and if so, by what judicial authority?

Finally, why these unjustified and abusive arrests? The answer is clear. It is not in any way a police initiative. The orders could only have emanated from the Interior Ministry and quite probably from the minister himself.

The Interior Minister is worried about the growing influence in public opinion of the Blue Revolution and he sought to intimidate us.

The Blue Revolution will not yield to this intimidation, especially when one considers that our demonstrations have always taken place amidst order and calm, with concern for not disturbing the peace, something that the police authorities recognize and appreciate. Moreover, the Blue Revolution never resorts to violence and condemns its use in social relationships.

In reality, the Interior Minister has merely acted in his capacity as candidate for the presidency, alarmed as he must be that the Blue Revolution is gaining more and more members who refuse to be influenced by the minister's vain posturing and by his inability to restore order in the suburbs.

Furthermore, the facts speak for themselves: on October 28, 2006, the Minster of the Interior had two honest citizens arrested, because of their ideas. How many arsonists and criminals were arrested on that day?