by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
This applies definitely to countries where the military police, up to now, and in recent times, are not, and have not been, part – in some way or the other – of 'normal' policing.
The Italian Carabinieri, the Spanish Guarda Civil and the Dutch Koninklijke Marechaussee, are military police and do perform some – in some cases more than just some – standard policing duties.
In the main, however, whether it be in the UK, the USA, or Germany, to mention but those three out of many, there military police is restricted to matters appertaining to the bases and military personnel only. They have no jurisdiction in other matter and and no powers. Theoretically, that is. I said theoretically because in many instances this division is becoming blurred and military police is being used in a variety of more general policing roles, all in the name of protecting us against the evil terrorist.
In various places where it was not a normal thing for military police to patrol the streets, for instance, things are changing and MPs are beginning to perform roles and duties generally associated only with municipal, county, state, and national police.
Military police is beginning to be used in such roles and duties now, for instance in the three countries above where, by their various constitutions the use of military police in the civil real is expressly prohibited. That that is happening, regardless, therefore, should really give us some serious food for thought as to what direction our respective countries are taking on this road. It should make us sit up and take note, and not just take not but actually protest against this.
Unless a country such as these mentioned is under martial law or, as in France, a national state of emergency (which is, more or less, martial law), the military and military police should, theoretically (ye, I know I keep using this word), not be on the streets, especially not with weapons and live ammunition.
While it is always claimed that the military police (and the military in a direct policing role as in France and proposed in Germany) is to protect us all against terrorist attacks and such it is not only a blurring of the lines that should not be allowed to be blurred, but happening it is and that even and especially in countries where this expressly is not meant to happen.
This is the very slippery slope towards a totalitarian state and to fascism and fascism does not mean the fascism that we, today, associate with Hitler and the so-called National-Socialist German Workers' Party. Mussolini and General Franco. Fascism goes further back in history already and all feudal totalitarian regimes, as well as today's totalitarian regimes are fascist in nature. And, as soon as the very idea is proposed to have the military police (and the military) to police our streets alarm bells should be ringing at the highest possible volume.
© 2017
