A decade after the riots, Bradford is still uneasy about race relations (UK)

There has been progress, not least the stand residents took against the EDL last year, but threats from the far right remain.

Ten years ago today Bradford witnessed race riots that lasted three days and brought the issue of race relations in the city to the country's attention. Bradford became known as a "racial tinderbox" where the city's large Asian community was estranged and at odds with the white working class.

You could see the troubles coming as rioting spread across the north from towns on the other side of the Pennines such as Burnley and Oldham. There were the largely forgotten riots of 1995, which should have acted as a warning signal. After those disturbances, Asian residents complained about a lack of opportunities and growing unease about relationships with the police and the white working class. Those calls were mostly ignored, the National Front took advantage and six years later tensions boiled over again.

I was a 17-year-old student at the time, and like many people in the city was shocked to see Manningham turned into a battleground. I remember picking up the Telegraph and Argus and seeing the faces of young men I'd played against in a football semi-final a few months earlier on the front page as wanted troublemakers. Harsh sentences followed for the Asian offenders and the city woke up to the fact that it had been sleepwalking into segregation for more than 30 years.

There was a definite change in the city as the initial shock of the riots turned to disgust and even hatred as people surveyed what "they" had done to "our" city. The fallout continued with the BNP gaining council seats in predominantly white areas like Queensbury and Keighley as far-right groups took advantage of the troubles to reinforce the "them and us" attitude. Lord Ouseley's report and the Cantle report followed and laid out the drastic action that needed to be taken to counteract the effects of segregation in the city and others like it.

But the anniversary of the riots isn't the best indicator of how far the city has come when dealing with race relations. That date came on 28 August 2010 when the English Defence League (EDL) brought 700 supporters to the city. The event had been talked about for months and when the static protest started the group faced opposition from a wide range of residents. It was a display of unity which largely went unreported, the focus instead being on the EDL's clashes with the police. It was the toughest test Bradford's communities had faced since 2001 and people from all over the city made sure no one group was left to stand up to the far right alone.

The BNP is no longer represented on the council and now Bradfordians are focused on new challenges such as the lack of development in the city centre, which literally left a hole in the heart of the city, and fewer job opportunities after the area's financial services industry was hit by the economic downturn. When Chris Morris chose the city's 16th International Film Festival as the place to premier his controversial film Four Lions, which was about a British group of suicide bombers, I was delighted to see someone like Morris in the city. But even more delighted that there wasn't trouble after the premier, especially considering one of the 7/7 bombers, Shehzad Tanweer, was born in Bradford. It showed me that perhaps now Bradfordians of all races are able to examine even the most uncomfortable aspects of life in the city.

Bradford still faces challenges when it comes to relations between different communities. The white flight that occurred in areas like Manningham is being repeated, this time with Asian middle-class families moving out to areas like Heaton and eastern European migrants taking their place. The school system is still a source of segregation, with many containing a majority of pupils from either white or Asian backgrounds. But progress is being made with exchange programmes and a greater awareness of how without early integration a "them and us" attitude can develop.

Many in the city are happy about the progress that has been made but as the far right regroup again in the form of the EDL, Bradfordians are well aware that their unity will be tested again and so will the city's race relations.

The Guardian

English Defence League to march through Plymouth (UK)

Far-right street protest group the English Defence League is to march through Plymouth on Saturday as part of its campaign against what it calls the spread of Islamic extremism in Britain.

A counter-march has been organised by Unison, Unite Against Facism (UAF) and the Trades Union Council.

The EDL march will start in Exeter Street at 1pm, there will be speeches in the city centre at 2pm and a march back to Exeter Street at 3pm.

A statement on EDL Plymouth's Facebook posting for the event reads: "Above all the English Defence League will be attending Plymouth to hold a peaceful protest anyone causing trouble or making racist remarks will be removed from the demo and is likely to be arrested."

The counter-event will start with a rally at the Jigsaw Garden near Drake Circus at 12pm and there will be a march at 1pm.

Devon and Cornwall Police are planning to deploy officers in the city centre during the events.

Police are readying themselves for the potentially explosive rallies with ‘significant resources’ available.

But they added that protesters have said they would hold peaceful demonstrations.

“It’s important that we plan for every eventuality,” said Superintendent Craig Downham.

“We’re expecting large numbers of people in the city centre and Barbican areas and protesters have stated that it is their intention to hold a peaceful assembly, however, we will have significant police resources available to deal with any situation which presents itself, in a fair, proportionate and impartial way.”

He added that the police and local authority do not have powers to ban the protests and respect everyone’s democratic right to participate in peaceful protest.

But the Force is asking the community to be vigilant and inform the police immediately of any incidents.

“Devon and Cornwall Police is experienced in policing large events and our commitment is to protect the communities we serve and keep the peace, while facilitating peaceful and lawful protests,” he said.

“We want to reassure people that the city centre is still open for business. The two march routes have been negotiated in such a way that there’s less of a chance of disorder but we are there in large numbers should we need to use our powers to deal with anyone who is getting out of hand.”

The EDL have been leafleting around the city centre ahead of their rally with pamphlets saying “peaceful protest in Plymouth” and “defend our culture”.

UAF said that a unity statement has been signed by local politicians and trade unionists in opposition to the EDL protest.

To highlight this they are organising a multicultural We Are Plymouth demonstration.

Kevin Treweeks, equalities officer, city of Plymouth branch UNISON, added that the group is also planning an afternoon of multi-cultural entertainment following the rally.

The EDL formed in Luton in 2009 in response to protests by Islamic groups.

Events by EDL in other cities have sometimes seen a number of arrests, violent clashes with the UAF and other groups and criminal damage.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 demonstrators marched through Newcastle in May 2010 - from both the EDL and UAF.

Police say the event passed without incident.

EDL events are usually heavily policed.

This is Plymouth

US 'hate groups' bolstered by Obama's election

Aryan Nations

Did the election of Barack Obama as US president boost the growth of right-wing and so-called "hate groups"?

A curious thing happens when you walk down the street in Spokane, Washington, first thing in the morning. Complete strangers look you in the eye, and say, with a little smile: "Good morning."

It is that kind of a town; if not close-knit, then, compared to some of the other towns and cities in America, human in scale and friendly to strangers.

Which makes the attempted bombing here of a civil rights march in January all the more difficult to comprehend.

The man alleged to have left a rucksack filled with explosives and shrapnel - covered in rat poison so as to stop blood clotting - is Kevin Harpham, an Army veteran with an interest in neo-Nazi groups.

The difficult truth for Spokane, for Washington State, for neighbouring Idaho and for all of the US, is that hate groups - anti-black, anti-Jew, neo-Nazi - are on the rise again.

And nearly everyone, including members of those groups, agrees that the election of Barack Obama has been a catalyst for the increase in support.

"I wouldn't say it surprises me," says Spokane's mayor Mary Verner, "though it is alarming to me".

"We are seeing a resurgence in hate groups because we are seeing democratic activity and empowered citizens who are not Anglo-Saxon Protestants."

There was the same sort of reaction from the local sheriff, Ozzie Knezovich, when he heard that a bomb had been left beside the route of the Martin Luther King Jr Day march.

"Surprised? No," he says. "We live in a different world now - hate seems to be a widespread phenomenon right now."

'Explosion' of groups
And there are ordinary citizens - and their children - who are at the receiving end of hate group activity in Washington and Idaho.

Rachel Dolezal, who teaches art and African-American studies, has been repeatedly harassed since word got out about what she taught.

Her homes - she has moved several times - have been broken into. Nooses have been left for her, and a swastika was left on the door of her workplace.

And she has acted to protect her son.

"I actually bought him a pair of earphones for the bus," she says, "because he hears the word 'nigger' every day.

"It seems things were kind of hush and sanitised and cleaned up, or something, and then Barack Obama just brought things to the surface that were already existent within people."

Hate groups and other groups on the far right - so-called Patriot groups which vow to resist the encroachments of the Federal government, and anti-immigrant nativist groups - are tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC).

"In the fall (autumn) of 2008," says the director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project, Mark Potok, "we started to see an explosion in hate groups, but more generally in right-wing groups of general types."

Rise in requestsIf Mark Potok wanted confirmation of his research, he could find it just across the border from Spokane, in the city of Coeur d'Alene, northern Idaho.

Sitting on his porch as the day fades into night is Jerald O'Brien, flanked by the flags of the Aryan Nations group and the Church of Jesus Christ-Christian.

Aryan Nations is a wildly anti-Jewish white separatist group. The faded plastic children's toys on the lawn seem more than a little incongruous.

Mr O'Brien insists he does not condone or encourage any acts of violence. He calls Jews "the children of Satan".

He accuses Barack Obama of being Jewish - he is not - and of not being a US citizen - he is. But he has cause to thank the president.

"The day after Barack Obama's election," he says, "my phone would not stop ringing. It was up to four or five a day asking for education and information."

Some will dismiss men such as Jerald O'Brien, and groups such as Aryan Nations, as "wackos" and "nut-jobs".

But Mark Potok is concerned.

"I think we are in a very similar period as we were in the run-up to the Oklahoma City bombing," he says, "as far as a bombing or an attack like that, whether that will come, we don't know.

"We are very close in numbers to the numbers we had at the very peak of the militia movement."

The trial of Kevin Harpham, accused of attempting to the bomb the Martin Luther King Jr Day march in Spokane, begins in August.

BBC News

Newsnews archives This page is updated almost every day with items from regular news sources. If you have an item for the news page please send it to us at news@icare.to . Your news has to be in English. If you have any relevant URL's (webaddresses) where more info about the news you send us can be found, please send those too. Don't forget to add the country where the newsitem originates. For news about Hate Crime, please visit our ICARE HATE CRIME NEWS. Headlines 8 July, 2011 * ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION NATIONWIDE PROBLEM - MEDVEDEV (Russia) * BULGARIA'S SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS GAY RIGHTS, RULES AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA * 'NEWS CHANNELS BIASED AGAINST ISLAM' CLAIMS SURVEY (uk) * MEP SAJJAD KARIM CALLS POLICE AFTER FAMILY HOME 'TARGETED BY FAR RIGHT ACTIVISTS' (uk) * AGE OVERTAKES RACE DISCRIMINATION IN TRIBUNAL CASES (uk) * ALMOST 2,000 CHILDREN ARE REPORTED FOR 'HATE CRIMES' (uk) * PUPILS AND TEACHERS 'SHOW RACISM' (uk) * DER UNTERGANG: BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY DECLARES WAR... 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(opinion) * EU AGENCY FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (FRA) LAUNCHES ITS ANNUAL REPORT (press release) * UN GROUP BACKS GAY RIGHTS FOR THE 1ST TIME EVER * STRUCTURAL DISCRIMINATION, A COMMON THREAD BETWEEN THE ROMA AND THE VICTIMS OF CASTE SYSTEMS Headlines 8 July, 2011 ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION NATIONWIDE PROBLEM - MEDVEDEV (Russia) 5/7/2011- Ethnic discrimination is a problem facing not only certain Russian regions, but the entire country, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday. "We have problems with this," the president said, speaking during a Human Rights Council meeting in Nalchik, the capital of the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.“I mean the situation in general, not just in a certain republic or a certain territory, in the Caucasus or in central Moscow." Harmonizing inter-ethnic relations within the country is a complicated task, but it should be addressed, he said, adding that developing national media should be a major goal for local governments. "We are trying to deal with it now in order for every ethnic group to have its own media, internet resources, as well as other opportunities that every people should have," Medvedev said. He also stressed the importance of providing "equal access to municipal service positions" for representatives of different ethnic groups. Promoting negative historical stereotypes that show certain ethnic groups in a bad light is "absolutely unacceptable, dangerous and may create horrible problems," the president added. The Russian capital saw its worst race-related riots for almost a decade in December last year, when a 5,000-strong crowd of nationalists and football hooligans clashed with police near the Kremlin walls. The rioters were protesting police negligence over the killing of a 28-year-old Muscovite football fan in a brawl with migrants from Russia's North Caucasus region earlier in the year. Smaller race-hate disturbances took place afterwards in Moscow and other Russian cities. Medvedev called the disorder a threat to the "stability" of the Russian state and has urged police to clamp down on nationalists. The president also proposed banning those charged with extremism from taking up state positions. © RIA Novosti up BULGARIA'S SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS GAY RIGHTS, RULES AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA 4/7/2011- Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court has rejected an appeal by the head of the Municipal Council in the city of Pazardzhik over a gay rights case, confirming it was a case of discrimination based on sexual orientation. The gay rights scandal in the southern city of Pazardzhik erupted in the spring and summer of 2010 when Stefan Yanev, a local prosecutor, defended a municipal ordinance of the Pazardzhik Municipality that banned the displays of sexuality in public, which was clearly directed at gays. This led Bulgarian gay rights youth NGO "LGBT in Action" to appeal to the Supreme Judicial Council in order to receive an apology from the notorious prosecutor involved in anti-gay policies. Gay rights activists appealed the ordinance to the local Prosecutor's Office; this resulted in Yanev issuing a position in which he upheld the notorious regulation, and even went as far as publishing his own musings on human sexuality ridiculed by the media as a "treatise" - in which hee compared homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality with pedophilia, zoophilia, gerontophilia, necrophilia, and fetishism, as he considers all of those forms of sexual orientation. Subsequently, the problematic ordinance was repealed by the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor's Office in Sofia. Monday's ruling by the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court is based on an appeal by the Chair of the City Council in Pazardzhik Georgi Yordanov, which asked for the repeal of a ruling of the Commission for Protection from Discrimination. The Commission ruled in May 2010 against the municipal ordinance of the Pazardzhik Municipality that banned the displays of sexuality in public, which stirred the scandal in the first place. According to the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court, however, the Pazardzhik City Council has committed direct discrimination based on sexual orientation against the residents and visitors of the city who are not heterosexual. "The specific ordinance studied by the Commission contains discriminatory attitude against the sexual orientation of persons who are not heterosexual. It is inadmissible that the ordinance of the local authority would defend the negative, subjective perception that has formed with its members," the three judges from the SAC ruled. The scandal with the anti-gay initiatives in Pazardzhik grew in the fall of 2010 when the Bulgarian Orthodox Bishop of Plovdiv Nikolay, known for his radical views, presented Yanev and Pazardzhik Mayor Todor Popov with the highest order of the Plovdiv Bishopric styling them "defenders of Christian values," and calling homosexuality "travesty" and "debauchery" among other similar terms. The LGBT in Action NGO backed by another NGO, Free Internet Society, have declared that their appeal to the Supreme Judicial Council for an apology from Prosecutor Yanev was in response to the fact that he accepted the medal handed to him by Bishop Nikolay. The gay rights activists defined this act "not just as a violation of fundamental human rights but also as blatant lack of knowledge about the Bulgarian legislation." Monday's ruling of the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court, the highest-ranking institution that can issue a legally-binding ruling in Bulgaria, is now believed to have settled the legal side of the case in Pazardzhik, ruling agianst discrimination based on sexual orientation. © Novinite up 'NEWS CHANNELS BIASED AGAINST ISLAM' CLAIMS SURVEY (uk)

An independent poll carried out by Consumer PI has claimed that the vast majority of British Muslims perceive the three mainstream TV news channels (BBC, ITV and Sky) to be biased against their religion when reporting current affairs. The TV channels’ reporting of terror cases, news pieces on Iraq and Afghanistan and coverage of the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings have been cited as examples of anti-Muslim bias. Furthermore, British Muslims believe that other topical issues such as the Israeli raid on the flotilla, it’s continued occupation of, and raids into, Palestinian territories, the dropping of terror cases by the police as well as positive stories about Islam generally are either not given enough prominence or simply not covered.

The poll also found that British Muslims were offended by some of the terminology used in news reports.

Terms such as ‘jihadist’ or ‘moderate Muslims’ are often used in the wrong context or in a generalised manner, indicating there was a severe lack of understanding of Muslim communities on the part of news reporters.

Many believe this type of reporting does play some part in fanning the flames of extremism. Shakir Ahmed, Director of Passion Islam Media said: “The reporting by the mainstream TV news channels of stories concerning Muslims is at times unbalanced, ill-informed and sensationalist. I would expect this type of coverage in the tabloid press, not from respected news organisations at the BBC, ITV or Sky. However, this is not entirely surprising since these three news channels employ very few reporters who follow the Islamic faith and who would truly understand the Muslim communities and their culture and practices.

Worryingly, the perception by some British Muslims of an unjust Islamophobic mainstream media may well fuel radicalism.”

Asian Image

BULGARIA'S SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS GAY RIGHTS, RULES AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA

Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court has rejected an appeal by the head of the Municipal Council in the city of Pazardzhik over a gay rights case, confirming it was a case of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The gay rights scandal in the southern city of Pazardzhik erupted in the spring and summer of 2010 when Stefan Yanev, a local prosecutor, defended a municipal ordinance of the Pazardzhik Municipality that banned the displays of sexuality in public, which was clearly directed at gays. This led Bulgarian gay rights youth NGO "LGBT in Action" to appeal to the Supreme Judicial Council in order to receive an apology from the notorious prosecutor involved in anti-gay policies. Gay rights activists appealed the ordinance to the local Prosecutor's Office; this resulted in Yanev issuing a position in which he upheld the notorious regulation, and even went as far as publishing his own musings on human sexuality ridiculed by the media as a "treatise" - in which hee compared homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality with pedophilia, zoophilia, gerontophilia, necrophilia, and fetishism, as he considers all of those forms of sexual orientation. Subsequently, the problematic ordinance was repealed by the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor's Office in Sofia.

Monday's ruling by the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court is based on an appeal by the Chair of the City Council in Pazardzhik Georgi Yordanov, which asked for the repeal of a ruling of the Commission for Protection from Discrimination. The Commission ruled in May 2010 against the municipal ordinance of the Pazardzhik Municipality that banned the displays of sexuality in public, which stirred the scandal in the first place. According to the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court, however, the Pazardzhik City Council has committed direct discrimination based on sexual orientation against the residents and visitors of the city who are not heterosexual. "The specific ordinance studied by the Commission contains discriminatory attitude against the sexual orientation of persons who are not heterosexual. It is inadmissible that the ordinance of the local authority would defend the negative, subjective perception that has formed with its members," the three judges from the SAC ruled.

The scandal with the anti-gay initiatives in Pazardzhik grew in the fall of 2010 when the Bulgarian Orthodox Bishop of Plovdiv Nikolay, known for his radical views, presented Yanev and Pazardzhik Mayor Todor Popov with the highest order of the Plovdiv Bishopric styling them "defenders of Christian values," and calling homosexuality "travesty" and "debauchery" among other similar terms. The LGBT in Action NGO backed by another NGO, Free Internet Society, have declared that their appeal to the Supreme Judicial Council for an apology from Prosecutor Yanev was in response to the fact that he accepted the medal handed to him by Bishop Nikolay. The gay rights activists defined this act "not just as a violation of fundamental human rights but also as blatant lack of knowledge about the Bulgarian legislation." Monday's ruling of the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court, the highest-ranking institution that can issue a legally-binding ruling in Bulgaria, is now believed to have settled the legal side of the case in Pazardzhik, ruling agianst discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Novinite

Details released of Cambridge EDL march and counter march (UK)

Members of the Trade Union Council and Unite Against Fascism will meet at 11am at the Guildhall where they will be escorted by police on a march at 11.45am along Market Street, Sidney Street, St John’s Street, Market Square, Sussex Street, King Street, New Square, Fitzroy Street, Burleigh Street, Norfolk Street, Gwydir Street and Mill Road.

Following the march the TUC and UAF will assemble at Petersfield. The assembly will finish at 3pm.

Members of the EDL will meet at Queen’s Gardens at 1.30pm and march at 2pm along Silver Street, Pembroke Street, Downing Street, Corn Exchange Street, Benet Street, Kings Parade and Silver Street.

Following the procession protestors will assemble at Queen’s Gardens, with the protest expecting to end by 4pm.

Inspector Robin Sissons said: “At this stage we cannot confirm numbers likely to attend either protest but hope to be able to provide some indication as negotiations between the police and EDL continue.

“As and when we have further information we will share this with the public through our various established links with the community.

“As public authorities, the Constabulary and Cambridge City Council have a duty to support and facilitate people’s right to peaceful protest, whilst balancing this with the rights of those who want to go about their business.”

* Follow live coverage of both marches via Twitter (@CambridgeFirst and @editorfirst), via Facebook (Cambridgefirst) and the website cambridgefirst.co.uk

Cambridge First

Police sign up to disability anti hate crime campaign (UK)

Suffolk Police have signed up to a campaign to tackle abuse of people with disabilities.

Mencap is encouraging police forces around the country to ensure officers are more aware of how they respond to people who report they have been verbally or physically abused.

The charity conducted research with Suffolk Police and 13 other forces before launching its Stand By Me campaign against disability hate crime.

The research showed the levels of disability hate crime were much higher than reported.

The figures showed that in 2009/10 there were 138 incidents and in 2010/11 106.

Earlier this year disability support charity Optua helped to close down a Facebook page which was based in Suffolk and appeared to be making fun of people with a learning disability or mental health issue.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Marshall, of Suffolk Police signed up to Mencap’s policing promise and said the force was committed to eradicating such crime, which he said could have a ‘devastating effect’ not only on victims, but also their families and the wider community.

“We want victims to have a voice. We want people to come forward to report hate incidents, so we can bring offenders to account for their actions. We will treat all victims with sensitivity and discretion,” he said.

James Powell, spokesman for Optua, which is a part of Suffolk Hate Crime Service steering group, said: “We are pleased to hear that Suffolk Police are signing up to this pledge.

“Disability hate crime has historically been under-reported so it’s important that we all work together to raise awareness and encourage people with learning disabilities to feel more confident about reporting hate crime.”

Mencap’s report has 22 recommendations as to how forces can improve their service, recommending a more accountable and joined-up approach to tackling disability hate crime. It also suggests specialist officers should focus on such crimes and training should be given to all officers to help them spot and tackle incidents.

Mark Goldring, Mencap chief executive, said: “It is estimated that as many as nine out of 10 people with a learning disability are verbally harassed or exposed to violence due to their disability.”

All reported hate incidents are thoroughly investigated by Suffolk Police, with people able to contact officers through the website, via 999 or Suffolk Hate Crime service on 01473 668966

Readers can visit www.mencap.org.uk or call 0300 333111.

Bury Free press

Support floods in for counter march against EDL (UK)

Support has come from all quarters for a celebration of unity in defiance of a right wing march in Cambridge.

A host of councillors, community leaders, musicians and local people have thrown their weight behind a city centre march and “celebration of unity and diversity”, organised by Unite Against Fascism, in opposition to the English Defence League’s plans to make their presence felt on Saturday, July 9.

Richard Howitt MEP, members of Cambridge Muslim Council, local Trade Unionists, Kevin Courtney – deputy general secretary of the NUT – and members of Cambridge Fans United have all added their names to a statement entitled “We Are Cambridge”.

Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum have also joined in.

A spokesman said: “We are proud of Cambridge's history of welcoming those who have had to flee persecution and intolerance from around the world.

“The Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum is committed against all forms of prejudice, intolerance and hate.”

A public meeting will be held tonight (July 4) in the Unitarian Church Hall, Emmanuel Street, from 7.30pm featuring speakers such as Lewis Herbert, leader of the Labour group on Cambridge City Council, who plans to reveal a statement signed by Labour and Green councillors opposing the EDL and supporting the peaceful counter protest.

Also speaking will be Mirza Baig, vice chair of Cambridge Muslim Council.

He recently told Unite Against Fascism members: “Thank you for raising your voice against messages of hate. You have our full support, and our committee will be participating in your demonstration.”

The counter march will take place on Saturday in Market Square from 11am.

Cambridge news

Police investigate after claims EDL targeted MEP Sajjad Karim's house (UK)

Police are investigating claims by north west MEP Sajjad Karim that his house was targeted by far right wing activists.

Mr Karim says at least 40 members of the English Defence League gathered outside his family home at the weekend.

He was forced to delay his flight to attend parliamentary business in Strasbourg this week due to safety fears for his wife and two children, aged eight and 11.

He said: “There were at least 40 of them congregated and gesticulating for me to come outside.

“Thankfully the police arrived quickly but I'm not convinced they are taking this seriously enough.

“My primary concern is my family and I cannot leave them until I am satisfied they have the security they need. My children are petrified.”

It is not the first time Mr Karim, a Muslim, has asked police to investigate 'race hate' claims. The letters BNP were written on the pavement outside his home, in the Lancashire village of Simonstone, last year. He also reported a string of abusive emails from activists.

Mr Karim is the subject of several posts on the EDL Blackburn Division's facebook page.

A Lancashire Constabulary spokesman confirmed they had dealt with an incident. She said: “An investigation has been launched to establish whether any offences have been committed and by whom.”

Manchester evening news

BNP may face court action over unpaid printing bill (UK)

Calls have been made for the leader of the British National Party to step down in a row over a £16,000 debt to a North-East printing firm.

The BNP owes the money to the Newton Press, a community newspaper based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, for the printing of posters and leaflets during the run-up to last year’s General Election and publication of the party’s Voice of Freedom newspaper.

The company’s owners are now so fed up of waiting for the debt to be paid, they have released emails exchanged between the company and party leader Nick Griffin.

On January 1, last year, Stuart Howarth, print sales manager of the Newton Press, sent an email to several members of the BNP which said: “Still nothing from any of you, unbelievable.”

Six months later, he received a reply from Mr Griffin, which said his party officials were working on the matter.

Mr Griffin, MEP for North- West England, wrote in his email: “In the meantime, please accept my most sincere apologies, both personally and organisationally, and assuance (sic) that you will get all your money as soon as possible.”

In August, payment had still not been received and the Newton Press instructed its solicitors to take legal action.

The last email from Mr Howarth, on June 30, this year, said: “Anybody paying this bill or do I have to take even more action than I already have?”

Andrew Brons, BNP MEP for North Yorkshire and Humberside, who is challenging Mr Griffin for the leadership, said: “It is wholly unacceptable that honest businessmen, who supplied their services in good faith, are treated in such an appaling manner.

“This reflects badly not just on the current chairman, under whose watch these abuses of trust have taken place, but on all of us. We are all smeared by association.”

Ken Booth, a BNP member in the North-East, said the debt was the national party’s and was nothing to do with the local members.

He said the situation was a disgrace and Mr Griffin should resign. “One of our main passions is local jobs for local people, yet the party can’t even pay a local printer. It makes a farce of our values.”

Clive Jefferson, BNP party treasurer, said: “We will be paying all our outstanding debts. I have a timeline for repayment worked out.

The Northern Echo

Bulgarian Nationalists Rally against Jehovah's Witnesses, Outnumbered by Police 3:1

About 30 protesters from the Bulgarian nationalist party VMRO have rallied during a conference of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Sofia, which was guarded by three times as many policemen.

The tight security measures appear to have been taken after after tensions ran high between VMRO and the Jehovah's Witnesses in the recent months, including hand-to-hand clashes in Burgas at one point.

Saturday's protest of the nationalists against Jehovah's Witnesses, who held their conference in the Studentski Grad quarter, where the dormitories of Sofia universities are located, ended without clashes.

According to Angel Dzhambazki, Deputy Chair of VMRO, as cited by news.bg, the participants in the conference are about 200-300 people brought to Sofia by buses, and including primarily "foreign preachers who don't speak Bulgarian and are trying to attract to their sect primarily young and unstable people."

He believes that the Jehovah's Witnesses are blackmailing the Bulgarian government, and said that when the organization was registered in Bulgaria, it signed an agreement with the authorities that it will not try to persuade people not to donate blood or organs.

"However, the Jehovah's Witnesses are continuing to preach these ideas at every religious gathering they make. After you have predicted the end of the world five times, and it didn't happen, there must be something wrong with the clock ticking in your head. Such craziness blossoms in a time of crisis when people are faithless, outraged, and poor," Dzhambazki said, while slamming the representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for driving around in jeeps and wearing expensive watches and massive gold jewelry.

The VMRO protesters said they are rallying against the Jehovah's Witnesses not because the organization is different from Eastern Orthodox Christianity but because they deem their "religious propaganda" dangerous for society by denouncing all national and religious holidays and the respect for national symbols and family values.

Dzhambazki vowed that VMRO will continue to rally until the Jehovah's Witnesses stop preaching their "mad theses". He stressed that the organization has not been registered in a number of EU countries as well as in Turkey, and that there is a reason for that.

Novinite

Report Warns of Neo-Nazis Disguised as Boy Next Door

The latest annual report on extremism in Germany suggests that neo-Nazis have swapped the skinhead look for a boy-next-door image, making it harder to identify right-wing extremists. Although overall extremist crime is down, the tendency towards violence is increasing -- within both the far left and right.

Germany's far-right is undergoing a transformation that is making it less conspicuous but more dangerous, Germany's Interior Ministry and Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), warn in a new annual report being released on Friday.

The report by the Interior Ministry and BfV, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, found that, in 2010, there were 15,905 politically motivated crimes associated with the far right. The figure represents a 15.2 percent drop compared with the 2009 figure of 18,750 crimes. The number of violent crimes in the same period fell from 891 to 762, a 14.5 percent reduction.

However, the report also found that there was an increasing tendency toward the use of violence. "On the whole," the report concluded, "it is possible to see a rise in the potential for violence as well as in the willingness to employ violence to attain one's political goals." This is particularly the case, the report found, among members of the so-called "autonomous nationalists" of the far right, while the more noticeable skinhead subculture is becoming "increasingly less interesting for right-wing extremist youths."

The fact that the autonomous nationalist -- sometimes also known as the "anarchist nationalists" -- do not wear clothes and other articles publicizing their beliefs makes it considerably more difficult to identify them. Indeed, the report finds that the classic skinhead style -- such as having shaved heads and combat boots -- has become outmoded. "Members of the (far-right) scene instead prefer to wear articles of clothing or brands that orient themselves more toward general trends in youth fashion and that use corresponding lettering or symbols to signal their membership in the scene in a less visible way," the report states.

The report also finds that the number of neo-Nazis has "significantly risen," from 5,000 to 5,600. The BfV puts the total number of far-right extremists at 25,000 out of a total population of around 82 million.

The report also concludes that far-right extremist violence continues to be concentrated in the five eastern states that were part of the former East Germany. While there has been a decrease in the number of far-right crimes in Germany as a whole, the number of far-right crimes in these eastern states has risen; of the 762 total crimes, 304 -- or 40 percent -- were in these five states. When measured as a ratio of crimes to inhabitants, the state of Saxony-Anhalt topped the list of most far-right crimes (67, or 2.8 per 100,000 citizens). It was followed by Brandenburg (66/2.6), Saxony (98/2.3), Thuringia (44, 1.9) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (29/1.7).

Less but More Violent Left-Wing Violence
When it comes to left-wing extremist violence, though, the report does not find a similar east-west divide. It also notes that there was a year-on-year decrease in the total number of left-wing crimes, from 4,734 to 3,747, or 20.8 percent. Although it cites a corresponding reduction in left-wing violent crimes -- from 1,115 to 944, or 15.3 percent -- the report also finds an increased willingness to use violence on this end of the political extreme, as well.

Spiegel

ROMANIAN PLAN TO WALL OFF ROMA STIRS PROTESTS

Local authorities in Baia Mare, in northwest Romania, have stirred protests by deciding to erect a concrete wall around a block where a large number of Roma/Gypsy people is living, in order to "stop so many crimes from happening" in the area. The almost two-metre wall, stretching 100 metres and costed at around 7,300 euro, will have only one-access way, "so that everything related to the route can be conrolled", Baia Mare's mayor, Catalin Chereches, has said. Chereches stressed that the wall’s purpose is to “make order and discipline people in an turbulent area and also to protect children who should became victims of car accident”.

He added that a police station will be set up near the wall, where police and local Roma can work together “to keep public order under control”, according to media reports. Roma rights advocates oppose the planned measure, describing it as discriminatory and abusive. “This initiative of the authorities in Baia Mare is profoundly discriminatory and leads to Roma ghettoisation and humiliation by subjecting them to degrading treatment”, Romani Criss, a Roma organization, said in a press release. “If implemented, these measures would violate Romanian law, as well as the international human rights standards to which Romania is a party,” it added. Such actions are not isolated, however. Civic organization have documented other cases where local authorities in Romania have violated Roma people's right to decent housing through forced evictions and deliberate residential segregation.

The Roma community in Romania is struggling with discrimination, poor literacy rates and massive unemployment. Its official number is around 550,000, although it is widely believed that there are actually at least twice as many Roma in the country.

Many people of Roma origin do not declare their ethnicity due to the widespread prejudice that they face.

Balkan Insight

SWEDISH POLICE BACKTRACK ON 'ETHNIC' PROFILING

Criminals are criminals, their nationalities are a lesser matter," Mauro Gonzalez of the Federation of Chilean Associations in Sweden (Chilenska Riksförbundet) told The Local. The letter sent out by police in Huddinge, a southern suburb of Stockholm, advised residents to be especially vigilant of “South Americans – in particular from Chile”, “Lithuanians” and “Romanians”, after a wave of burglaries in the area. Many felt singled out due to the letter’s references to specific nationalities.

One resident reported the letter to the Ombudsman for Justice (Justitieombudsmannen – JO). “I got this in regards to a neighbourhood watch programme from the local police. I question if it is ok to point the finger at different nationalities this way,” the report read, according to news website nyheter24. The Federation of Chilean Associations in Sweden (Chilenska Riksförbundet) have also publicly complained and asked for an apology from the police. "We feel that it is wrong of the police to link criminal activities to specific nationalities," said Gonzalez.

Anna Schelin at the local police said to nyheter24 that it was the “unfortunate phrasing” of the letter which lay behind the stong reactions. She told the news site that she had received a call from a man who wanted to know why the letter had been sent out. “I had to explain it to him and I think he understood better. The reason behind it is that a lot of burglaries have been committed in the area. There is nothing racist in calling someone a South American or Romanian,” Schelin told the news site.

The police think that the ombudsman will have to decide if sending out the letter was wrong or not, but they stress that they have not meant to offend anyone. “We have had reactions from people who feel offended, so all we can do is apologize and try to explain that sometimes we need to give this kind of information and it is important it is not taken out of its context," said Hesam Akbari at the Stockholm police information department to Sveriges Radio (SR). Akbari added that the perpetrators in this case have come to Sweden solely for this purpose and are not Swedish residents. According to Gonzalez, the federation understands that information has to be sent out to residents warning them of current criminal activity. "But they could warn residents that the perpetrators are from countries other than Sweden, they don't have to link them to specific countries like they did in this case," Gonzalez told The Local.

The Local Sweden

Pig’s head and racist graffiti at mosque site (UK)

Racist graffiti was spray-painted by a Hucknall man on a site earmarked for a Muslim mosque, a court has heard.

Christopher Payne (25), of Beardsmore Grove, was also with a gang who paraded a severed pig’s head, daubed with an anti-Muslim message, at the same spot.

Payne appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court this week and pleaded guilty to causing racially or religiously-aggravated alarm, harassment or distress by words or writing.

He also admitted causing racially-aggravated criminal damage.

Payne is an events organiser for the English Defence League (EDL) — a group that claims to protect against “radical Islam’s encroachment into the lives of non-Muslims”.

In court, he admitted spray-painting the slogan ‘No Mosque Here EDL Notts’ on the pavement at the site near Collington Way, off Derby Road, West Bridgford.

He denied placing the pig’s head on a four-foot high, yellow pole at the location. But he admitte he had been part of the group that travelled to the spot with the head.

The graffiti was discovered on Thursday last week (June 23) by a member of the public along with a severed pig’s head. Payne was arrested last Saturday.

The court heard he was in a pub in Clifton with fellow members of the EDL when he received a text-message from a friend who had the pig’s head.

Daniel Pietryka (prosecuting), said: “It was brought to the pub in a bin liner.”

Mr Pietryka said Payne admitted to the graffiti but had wanted no involvement in placing the pig’s head.

Robert Keeble (defending) said: “Mr Payne accepts that, on arrival, he did use a can of spray paint to write the graffiti on the pavement. He says he did nothing else after that.

“He accepts he received communication from another and that he accepted the pig’s head when it was brought to the pub.

“He accepts that he knew what was going on and did nothing to prevent it.”

District Judge Morris Cooper adjourned sentencing of Payne until Thursday July 21 so a pre-sentence report could be produced by probation officers.

But he warned the 25-year-old that all sentencing options were still open, including custody.

He told him: “You were involved in a course of conduct with others which involved the display of this pig’s head on a stake with grossly offensive comments written on it.”

Payne was granted conditional bail, despite police concerns. He is subject to a curfew between 10 pm and 5 am daily.

He has also been ordered to stay out of West Bridgford and must not go within 200 metres of a mosque.

Payne must also have no public association with the English Defence League.

THREE other men, including Wayne Havercroft, of Bestwood Village, have also been charged in connection with the racist behaviour.

Havercroft (31) appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court alongside Nicholas Long (21), of Arnold, and Robert Parnham (19), of Clifton.

The trio admitted causing religiously aggravated alarm, harassment or distress. But all three denied a second charge of religiously-aggravated criminal damage.

Their cases were adjourned until Monday September 5 when they will appear at the court again.

Hucknall Dispatch

Anti-Islam insults 'not acceptable' in city protest march (UK)

Muslim leaders say insults against Islam during a march in Cambridge by the English Defence League (EDL) will not be acceptable.

The newly-formed Cambridge Muslim Council has issued a policy statement in response to the far-right group’s rally on Saturday, July 9.

It has also called on Muslims not to take part in the counter-protest arranged by Unite Against Fascism and the Trades Union Council.

Muslims are being urged not to resort to violence and to ignore any taunts from the marchers protesting against the building of a mosque in Mill Road.

The group’s emergency response committee said: “We wholeheartedly embrace everyone’s democratic right to freedom of expression. Nevertheless we emphasise that with this right comes responsibility. We hope the sensitivities of the Muslim community will not be infringed.

“The usage of disparaging remarks, insults or any incendiary allusion to our beliefs, values, or to any of what Muslims hold sacred, will not be acceptable.

“The Muslim community will not resort to any counter-protest or deploy any violent means.”

It also announced “routine affairs within the mosques will not be suspended on the day” but added: “We have serious concerns about the safety and security of sites of religious importance, properties and members of our community.

“We are ready to extend all possible co-operation to the police and emergency services to ensure nothing untoward happens in that hour of extreme urgency.

“We request all members of the wider Muslim community (local and national) to show their support through solidarity of ideals rather than violent altercation on the day.

“We encourage them to engage their local community in constructive dialogue.”

It appealed to Muslim groups outside Cambridge not to come for the march.

Mirza Baig, vice-chairman of the council, told the News: “We hope it will be business as usual in Cambridge on the day of the march and ask Muslim groups outside of Cambridge to stay away. We do not want to make this march more than it is.”

Police have said they will not tolerate violence.

EDL leader Tommy Robinson expects around 400 protesters.

A member of the group was refused a breakfast booking for 1,000 people at The Regal pub, St Andrew’s Street.

Cambridge news

Seven anti-facists face jail for an attack on two 'Nazis' (UK)

Seven anti-fascist protesters are facing jail today for plotting to ambush two men making their way to a 'neo-Nazi' event.

The masked and hooded demonstrators lined a railway platform waiting for their targets to get off a train, and attacked on hearing the command: "Kill the Nazis", the court heard.

Patrick O'Donovan was punched and kicked to the ground and his companion Michael Heihl was chased onto the tracks at Welling station, Kent, the jury was told.

Ringleader Andrew Baker, 40, Ravinder Gill, 39, Sean Cregan, 44, Philip de Sousa, 37, Austen Jackson, 40, Thomas Blak, 34, and Jonathan Wood, 22, were convicted of conspiring to commit violent disorder.

Four others were cleared after a trial at Blackfriars Crown court. The seven found guilty will be sentenced in August and face a maximum sentence of five years.

Mr O'Donovan and Mr Heihl were set upon as they made their way to a nearby pub in March 2009 which was holding a rock concert organised by the reight wing extremists Blood and Honour.

The defendants had earlier joined up to 35,000 demonstrators on a Put People First march through central London as part of the G20 protests.

They met at London Bridge station before travelling by train to their intended target.

During the trial, Mark Trafford, prosecuting, said: "Whatever these people's actual views about life, politics or anything else, whatever groups they may or may not be members of, they didn't deserve to be attacked in this way. The attack was vicious."

Police later used mobile phone records and CCTV footage to link the attackers to the scene.
Baker, of Basildon, Blak, of Hackney, Wood, of Leeds, Jackson, of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, Gill, of Bedford, Cregan, of Streatham, and de Sousa, of Brighton, were found guilty of conspiring to commit violent disorder.

This is London

BNP chief leads Mr Monkey protest at town hall (UK)

The leader of the British National Party (BNP) was in South Tyneside yesterday to make a town hall protest over taxpayers’ cash being used to unmask a mystery blogger.

The Mr Monkey blog has made vile and malicious comments about councillors, South Tyneside Council officers, and other figures in the borough, which led to landmark proceedings forcing social network giant Twitter to hand over personal information – including that of Coun Ahmed Khan.

Council chiefs are insisting less than £75,000 was used to fund the fight, and plaintiffs have said that money would be paid back from any proceeds of libel action.

But Nick Griffin and about 30 members of his party – one dressed in a monkey costume – were on the steps of South Shields Town Hall claiming that figure was likely to be £250,000.

Mr Griffin also made allegations about the Shields Gazette, claiming the paper had not covered the issue in depth – despite a number of front-page stories. Mr Griffin, who was in the region for a meeting, said: “I’m here today to let the South Tyneside public know exactly how their money is being spent.

“The council cannot sue for libel, and instead have put their legal action in the names of councillors and an employee. It’s a waste of the taxpayers’ cash, and everyone should be aware of this.

“The support we have received while standing here has been very positive.” Police were present at the demonstration, which lasted about 30 minutes, and one man was arrested for a public order offence after throwing an egg at a BNP member. The 42-year-old was later released with no further action.

However, not all passers-by realised the stunt was in connection with the online blog.

A 28-year-old man said: “To be honest, I saw the BNP and then saw a man in a monkey suit. I just assumed they were being derogatory towards certain races.

“It wasn’t until I stood for a good few minutes and listened to what Griffin was saying that I realised it was connected to the blog, which I admit I don’t know that much about, but had heard of. I guess in a way I do see what they’re trying to achieve, because I do think it was a waste of cash, which could be spent on more worthy things.

“But then it’s also wrong that some people had to put up with awful things being published about themselves. It’s a tricky one.”

Gazette editor John Szymanski said: “The Gazette has continued to inform the South Tyneside public about the Monkey blog and efforts to unmask its author.

“We have carried in-depth and extensive coverage both in the newspaper and online about the fight to stop this blog in its tracks.

“This ludicrous publicity stunt by the BNP shows what a clearly ill-informed and misguided party it really is. Thankfully, the BNP holds little sway in South Tyneside and has very little influence with its nonsensical claims and extremist rantings.”

A police spokesman said: “Police in South Tyneside were informed about a protest and carried out the role of monitoring the situation to ensure all parties involved behaved in a lawful manner.

“As expected, the event was peaceful and passed smoothly.”

South Tyneside Council declined to comment.

Shields Gazette

Minister apologises to Roma gypsy family for police brutality (Serbia)

Serbian police minister Ivica Dacic Tuesday issued an apology to a Roma family for police brutality in a case that shocked the public and sparked protests by human rights organisations. Dacic received a Roma youth, Danijel Stojanovic and his father Gani, after it was discovered that Danijel was brutally beaten by police in the eastern city of Vrsac four years ago. The scandal wound up on the popular Youtube video-sharing website and caught public attention after one of three policemen who took part in the beating sold his mobile telephone on which he filmed the beating in Vrsac police station.
Apologizing to Danijel, now 22, Dacic said two police officers had been arrested over the beating and legal proceedings were under way for a third who had in the meantime retired, Dacic said. Police claimed Stojanovic and his father were involved in criminal activities, but Dacic said these allegations could not justify the policemen’s brutal behaviour. “It is in the public interest that citizens think well of police, not badly,” Dacic said. “I hope this event will be a turning point for police and for the Stojanovic family and that all will draw a lesson from it,” he added. Police brutality was widespread in Serbia due a lack of reform including internal controls, according to Ivan Kuzmanovic, an official from Serbia’s Helsinki Committee for Human Rights group.

His organization had interviewed about 300 prisoners in Serbian jails and more than 200 of them complained that they had been subject to “some sort of torture” by police, Kuzmanovic told Belgrade television B92.

Adnkronos

Neo-Nazi violence up in eastern Germany: Report

Neo-Nazi violence is on the rise in eastern Germany even though overall national figures are down, Die Welt newspaper reported quoting an official report due out on Friday.

While acts of neo-Nazi violence dropped by 14.5 per cent nationwide in 2010 compared to the previous year, they were up 4.8 per cent in the five eastern states which used to form former communist East Germany, the paper said quoting a yearly report by the Office for the Defence of the Constitution.

Out of a total of 706 violent acts by extremist right-wingers, 306 - or 40 per cent - were carried out in the economically depressed former East Germany which is home to just 15 per cent of the country's population.

The eastern state most affected by violence in 2010 was Saxony-Anhalt where a neo-Nazi party this year narrowly failed to win the five per cent of the vote needed to enter the local parliament.

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a domestic intelligence service, said the number of extreme right-wingers had fallen by 1,600 to some 25,000 nationwide.

The Straits Times