BNP member rules discriminate indirectly, court told

The BNP's new membership rules "indirectly" discriminate against black and Asian people, the UK equalities watchdog has told a court hearing.

The BNP has voted to admit non-white members but still requires them to sign up to its principles, the Central London County Court was told.

A judge will rule on Friday whether the new rules contravene race laws.

The BNP, which voted on the new rules last month, denies its planned new constitution is discriminatory.

Party members backed changes to its constitution to allow "non-indigenous Britons" to join, after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) took legal action.

'Disadvantage'
The court heard that prospective members had to sign up to principles including a duty to oppose the promotion of any form of "integration or assimilation" that impacted on the "indigenous British", and a requirement to support the "maintenance and existence of the unity and integrity of the indigenous British".

Robin Allen, QC, representing the EHRC, said: "That is something which we would submit is indirectly discriminatory.

"They will put persons who do not fall into the indigenous British category at a disadvantage."

He argued the principles could be interpreted to oppose mixed marriages and could force people to deny their own identity.

Mr Allen said: "We simply say from the commission's point of view we are statutorily obliged to encourage diversity and recognise diversity as part of the British state in its widest sense.

"We're indifferent as to the expression of views as long as they are lawful. It's the condition of access that we take exception to."

'Welcome'
The new, 12th, version of the BNP constitution states that members have to agree to two party officials - one male and one female - visiting their home for up to two hours, the court heard.
Mr Allen said this could be used to enable potential members to be intimidated, although there was no evidence it had been used in that way.

But Gwynn Price Rowlands, for the BNP, told the court there were "significant numbers" of members who were mixed race or in mixed marriages, along with "several" Jewish members.
He said: "They (the BNP) make it clear that they would welcome more applications from ethnic minorities."

Mr Rowlands told the court he "could not understand" how a black or Asian person supporting the concept of British nationalism could be discriminatory.
He added that the BNP was "simply putting their principles forward and allowing any ethnic minority member to join and support and espouse those principles".
Judge Paul Collins said he would issue his judgement on the issue on Friday.

BBC news

BNP awaits court decision on membership change

The British National Party will find out on Friday if its decision to end its whites-only membership rule means it complies with race relations laws.

The party voted last month to let black and Asian people join.

This came after the Equality and Human Rights Commission had threatened the BNP with a possible court injunction over its membership policy.
London Central County Court will give a judgement on whether the change means the party now complies with the law.
The BNP has not revealed the exact nature of its membership change, but it is thought it has removed references to "indigenous British" people.

This would pave the way for black and Asian people to be admitted to the party for the first time.
BBC News

SPANISH BOOKSHOP OWNER JAILED FOR SPREADING NEO-NAZI PROPAGANDA

A Spanish court has sentenced a bookshop owner to two years and nine months in prison for spreading racist propaganda, justice officials said Monday. Pedro Varela spread ideas favourable to genocide that denigrated Jews, blacks and other groups, the court said. He apparently did this through the books he sold at his Barcelona bookshop, and by organizing lectures. Prosecutors had asked for a four-year prison sentence. Varela was also ordered to pay a fine of 2,880 euros (3,945 dollars). His defence had argued that Varela belonged to no political party and that there were no banned books in Spain. Varela had already been handed seven months in prison on similar charges, in 2008. At that time, he avoided being jailed, because he lacked a criminal record.

DPA

Welsh Branch of English Defence League Lies Are Exposed.

A video has been uploaded on to the You Tube website today that exposes the hypocrisy of the Welsh branch of the EDL.
The Welsh Defence League maintained that the neo-Nazi salutes and anti-Nazi flag burning that were done during its Swansea march were not carried out by any members of the group, but rather it had been infiltrated by outsiders.
This video proves their claim to be a total fabrication.



The user who uploaded this is called BNPInfo and hs channel and great videos can be found by
Clicking here

ANTI-FASCIST, ROMA GROUPS HOLD DEMO AT HEROES' SQUARE (Hungary)

Anti-fascist groups were joined by Roma representatives and NGOs for a demonstration against discrimination, violence and extremism on Saturday. The event attracted around 5,000 people, the organisers said. Participants including Helmut Scholz, MEP of the Party of the European Left, stood in front of the central monument in Budapest's at Heroes' Square to pay tribute to six Roma who were killed in the series of attacks targeting their community. Laszlo Teleki, the prime minister's commissioner in charge of Roma affairs, said that legislation which bans hate speech against minority groups had, unfortunately, not been a cross-party affair. Surprisingly, the amendment to the Penal Code on punishing Holocaust denial by up to three years imprisonment on February 22, spearheaded by the ruling Socialists, had been opposed not only by Fidesz as a whole, but by a Fidesz Roma MP and two other opposition Roma MPs, he said. The demonstration was organised in protest against a commemoration by Hungarian and German neo-Nazi groups which had been planned to take place today at Heroes' Square. The neo-Nazi party called off the demonstration at the last minute even though a court had overturned a police ban of the event. Groups of young skinheads in black uniforms and boots appeared during the event in Heroes' Square. Police checked their identity cards and asked them to leave. In another incident, a group of anti-government demonstrators shouted abuse at a participant of the event, who said he was Jewish, but police intervened.

politics

LATVIAN RULING PARTY TO APPEAL AGAINST BAN ON WAFFEN SS MARCH

Latvia's ruling New Era party said on Sunday it would appeal against a decision by the Latvian capital's legislature to ban a demonstration by Waffen SS veterans and their supporters on March 16. The decision to ban the Waffen SS veterans demonstration was made by the Riga Duma on Friday. The New Era party argued on its web site that the ban on the Waffen SS march violated the fundamental democratic rights of the freedom of meetings, incited national strife and exacerbated relations in Latvian society. Latvia annually holds demonstrations by former legionnaires of the Latvian Waffen SS legion on March 16. The Baltic state's president said two years ago that he did not consider the legionnaires, many of whom participated in mass killings of Jews, to be Nazis. The country's antifascist organizations and opposition parties hold protests and try to prevent demonstrations, which sometimes results in clashes. The Riga Duma banned all events dedicated to the anniversary of the Latvian Waffen SS legion's establishment after being advised to do so by law enforcement agencies. The WWII continues to be a contentious issue in relations between Russia and both Estonia and Latvia, over the Baltic states' perceived glorification of Nazi collaborators. Parades in honor of Waffen-SS veterans, involving veterans from the Latvian Legion and the 20th Estonian SS Division and their supporters, are held annually in the two Baltic states. In April 2007, Tallinn was hit by mass protests after the Estonian authorities ordered the removal of a Soviet WWII monument, along with the graves of Soviet soldiers who fought against Hitler's forces.

en.rian

ALGERIA PROTESTS FAR-RIGHT FRENCH POSTER

Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front issued the poster in southern France ahead of regional elections that start Sunday and end March 21. The poster shows a woman in a black face-covering Muslim veil next to a map of France covered over by an Algerian flag. Minarets dot the map. "We have officially protested," Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said. "It is up to the French state to take the necessary measures when foreign countries' symbols are denigrated." France has the largest Muslim population in western Europe, estimated at 5 million. The center-right government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against head-to-toe veils and is moving toward banning them in many public places. Critics contend the move is a political ploy to divert attention from more substantial issues and is aimed at attracting far-right voters in the regional elections.

ap.org

Decision on BNP 'whites-only' rule

The British National Party (BNP) is due to find out if the decision to scrap its whites-only membership policy was enough to meet race relations laws.

Last month the far-right party voted to approve changes to its constitution to allow black and Asian people to become members.

The vote followed the threat of a possible court injunction over its whites-only membership by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
The BNP will be back at Central London County Court on Tuesday, where a decision is expected on the legality of the new constitution.
Following the change in the constitution, millionaire Asian businessman Mo Chaudry said he would apply to join the party to "fight them from the inside".

But he was told his application would be blocked. Speaking ahead of Tuesday's hearing, Mr Chaudry, 49, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, said: "I'm hoping the court will take a robust approach and question the real intent of the change in the constitution.

"They have no real intention of allowing people like me into the fold. It is just a camouflage to appease the system."
Pakistan-born Mr Chaudry, who is worth £60 million, runs a string of businesses around Stoke-on-Trent, which has eight BNP members on the city council.

The decision to change the BNP constitution came after the far-right party held an extraordinary general meeting in Essex on February 14. Following the meeting, BNP leader Nick Griffin said he soon expected to welcome the party's first non-white member, a Sikh called Rajinder Singh.

Lawyers from the EHRC have been considering the precise wording of the new rules to decide whether they believe the constitution is still discriminatory
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