There will be many reasons for people to disagree. In fact, disagreeing is a very normal thing in life. The right to dissent, although not recognised as such per se, is a fundamental requirement in any functional society – particularly, that which espouses democracy.

We want to take this opportunity to argue that the right to dissent does not necessarily mean the right to anarchy, a vice that few of our people, with a chain of qualifications in deception boast of. We think that staunch dissenters, who depending on circumstances qualify for the duo tags of “rebels” or “terrorists”, need to be protected. They must be protected to practice their trade as stopping them would be infringing on their fundamental rights of association and indeed opinion – never mind what else they do.