‘Racist’ London BNP chief threatened with suspension

The BNP's London campaign chief was today facing suspension as a councillor after launching a racist “tirade” against Nigerian church-goers.

Bob Bailey, 44, took an “antagonistic and offensive” tone when a black pastor applied for planning permission to convert Barking offices into a church.
A meeting in Barking town hall was in uproar when Mr Bailey said: “We don't want any more Nigerian churches in the borough.” The public gallery was packed with members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
He said he had visited the premises and told the planning committee meeting last July: “These people eat off the ground.” He added: “We don't want the amount of black children.” A rival councillor called him a “racist pig”.
Barking and Dagenham council's standards committee was meeting today to decide whether to suspend the leader of the 12-strong BNP opposition for up to six months.
A preliminary report by the council's monitoring officer found that Mr Bailey, a former Royal Marine, had brought the authority into disrepute, failed to treat others with respect and may have breached equality laws.

Mr Bailey, who was said by a doctor last year to have a “possible personality disorder” when he claimed that he was banned from driving because of “conspiracy against the indigenous people”, is responsible for the BNP's London campaign in the general election and borough elections.
Barking is the BNP's number one target seat as its national leader Nick Griffin is standing against the sitting Labour MP, Margaret Hodge.
The church, whose 400-strong congregation is predominantly Nigerian, was granted permission to convert offices into a place of worship, despite Mr Bailey voting against.
He was said to have breached planning laws by “closing his mind” and being “biased” against the application. He claimed there were already more than 20 Nigerian churches in the borough — the most in London and more than any other denomination.
The council report said: “Mr Bailey made a series of comments expressed in a derogatory tone. The comments were intended to, and did in fact, cause offence on racial grounds.”
Pastor Thomas Aderounmu, 55, of the Redeemed Church, said today the remarks would encourage ethnic minorities to vote against the BNP in May.
He said: “It was just derogatory statements. He was very specific on Nigeria. I don't know what Nigerians have done to him. It was very personal. Their actions will work against them.”

This Is London

'Orange Order in BNP link'

A LEADING member of the Orange Order is to stand for the BNP in the forthcoming election, it is reported.

Nick Blake, a district master of a Lodge in Devon, England, has been selected as a candidate for the far-right extremist party.
The news comes in the aftermath of the Grand Lodge in Ireland issuing a statement this week vocing its opposition to a planned visit to the UK by Pope Benedict XVI in September.
According to the Irish News, a spokesman for the Grand Lodge refused to comment on the development.
"It's a matter for the grand lodge of England and not a matter for the grand lodge of Ireland at all," he said.

"People stand for all sorts of political parties."
However, English Grand Master Ron Bather declined to disassociate himself from the Orangeman's political role.
"As an institution we try not to interfere with the political views of any of our members.

"We're not a far-right organisation. We have members from all over the world but our members are entitled to stand for whatever political organisation they so wish.

"It doesn't mean that the institution supports those views in any way."
Alliance MLA Anna Lo urged the Orange Order to take action against Mr Blake.
newsletter

MPs join forces in bid to fight the BNP at the polls

Three of Portsmouth's leading politicians have agreed to unite against the BNP at the general election.

While Mike Hancock, Sarah McCarthy-Fry and Flick Drummond may sit on opposing sides of the democratic divide, all have pledged to include anti-fascist messages on their election leaflets and communications.
The pact was made last night at a meeting of Portsmouth Unite Against Fascism at which 130 people pledged their opposition to BNP candidate Geoff Crompton, who will stand in Portsmouth South at the next election.
It was estimated by organiser Simon Magorian as the biggest ever Portsmouth anti-fascist rally.

He said: 'People of all ages and political opinions came. 'They know we can stop the fascists. I was at the Anti-Nazi League Portsmouth launch in 1977. This was bigger. It was the biggest ever.'
Mr Hancock and Ms McCarthy-Fry spoke, along with UAF national secretary Weyman Bennett and local group leaders.
Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Portsmouth South Flick Drummond was in the audience, while Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party, sent apologies.
Ms McCarthy-Fry, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, said: 'We have weeks to debate party politics, but we're all united against the BNP.
'They pretend not to be racists, but very quickly their concern about crime turns into blaming it on asylum seekers.'
Mr Hancock, the Lib Dem Portsmouth South MP agreed: 'Its manifesto is about dividing communities. We stand together against them. We love our city - it's all about its diverse community.
'We will stand up for that, and for each other in the face of these bullies. We will all include clear messages on our communication that we oppose these fascists.'
Weyman Bennett said: 'The BNP is a fascist party attempting to win respectability. But we've already won an important battle.
'Its policies are racist but they fear to admit it in public. That's because people don't want to be associated with racism. Together, we can build on that.'
Lizzie Hug, 18, an art student from Portsmouth, said: 'The rise of the BNP scares me. Racist graffitti is springing up. We have to stand up against it. The UAF can make a difference and it's important people stand up to be counted.'
Paul Smitherman, 58, of Esslemont Road, Southsea, said: 'People here in Portsmouth look at who you are, not what colour your skin is. The BNP isn't a democratic party because they want to take away rights of people on the basis of what they look like. We have to take them on and show them their ideas are rubbish.
portsmouth

Cops fined over racist remarks (Sweden)

Two police officers have each been docked five days' wages for racist slurs made during disturbances in Malmö's Rosengård district in December 2008.
The comments came to light when a police video was presented as evidence in a court case against one of the alleged ring leaders for the unrest.

In the film sequence, officers make a number of racist and threatening comments

“You little monkey son of a bitch. Should I make him sterile when I catch him?" said one police officer on the tape.
"Yeah, he’s going to get beaten so badly that he won’t be able to stand on his own two legs," answered a colleague.
The police disciplinary measure follows an internal investigation after criminal charges against the officer were dropped last summer.
"Your statements are totally unacceptable and are in serious contravention of the values that should run through all police work," the disciplinary committee told the officers.
One of the officers was initially suspected of having committed agitation against ethnic groups (hets mot folkgrupp) in connection with police efforts to quell disturbances in which a number of people with immigrant backgrounds were involved.

The investigation revealed that the radio traffic was being monitored by the head of the unit, who was sitting at the front of the van.

The officer in question sat furthest back. There was limited communication due to the disturbances. On that occasion, police were using a new radio system with encrypted transmissions.

The unit head said the officer's statement was not heard by anyone outside of the van.
The Local Sweden

Lesbian Holocaust memorial plan upsets historians (Germany)

Holocaust scholars on Thursday attacked a bid to include images of kissing lesbians in a monument dedicated to the thousands of homosexuals persecuted by the Nazis, saying it distorted history.

The monument was erected in May 2008 opposite the city's large memorial to the six million Jewish Holocaust victims.

It is currently comprised of a concrete slab with a window through which viewers can watch a video of a "never-ending" kiss between two men.
Under the original plans, the video is to change every two years to feature two women locked in an embrace, meaning the switch is due in May.
But Alexander Zinn, a board member of the foundation that maintains the former Nazi concentration camps near Berlin, said such a move would distort history as there were no known Holocaust victims targeted for being lesbian.
"Historical truth must remain the focus," Zinn told AFP.
He has banded together with other Holocaust experts and fired off a letter of protest to Culture Minister Michael Neumann and Berlin's openly gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit.
Neumann defended the plans as true to the original concept of the memorial in addressing present-day discrimination against lesbians and gays as well as the plight of homosexuals at the hands of the Nazis.

"The option of using a lesbian film motif in the memorial is in no way meant to put on the same level the persecution of homosexual men and women under the Nazi regime," he said in a statement.

"Research shows that the persecution of lesbian women by the Nazi regime was not comparable to that of homosexual men. This is also clearly explained in a plaque on the memorial."
It is estimated that the Nazis sent between 5,000 and 15,000 gay men to concentration camps together with Jews, political opponents, gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses and others considered undesirable.
Once there, few were killed right away. Rather, they were held under degrading conditions, and subjected to hunger, disease, abuse and exhaustion. Very few returned.
A jury is to take a decision about the next video used at the memorial in the coming weeks.
The Local Germay

Union urges papers to ban BNP adverts

Newspapers warned of consequences of accepting political ads in the election

Editors of local newspapers in London boroughs targeted by the BNP have been called on to reject political advertising by the far-right party.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bectu, the media and entertainment union, and the campaign group, Expose the BNP, have written to local newspapers in Barking and Dagenham, Romford and Havering urging them to resist pressure from the BNP.
The party is fielding 154 candidates at the general election.
In 2008, Archant London, one of the country's biggest media groups, caused outrage after it printed BNP adverts for the Greater London Authority elections in its London newspapers, including the Ham & High and Hackney Gazette.

Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the NUJ, said: "Newspapers should not take money from an organisation that advocates racist policies that would directly discriminate against the communities they serve.
"Publishing ads from far-right organisations seriously threatens the reputation of a company's titles and journalists."
Alexandra Fawcett, a media lawyer at Mishcon de Reya, said: "Newspapers are entitled to publish or reject adverts as they see fit.
"In deciding whether to run the BNP's adverts, each paper will weigh the financial benefit of publishing against the likely reputational damage of associating their brand with an organisation like the BNP.
"As a private company, a paper's decision isn't open to challenge under the Human Rights Act even though refusing to run the adverts might impact on the BNP's right to free speech."
Mary Brodbin, of Expose the BNP, observed: "The BNP is not a normal, respectable or legitimate political party –- it is an organisation that aims to disenfranchise a significant section of British society, and it encourages violence to achieve those ends.
"No newspaper can afford to be associated with the BNP and its methods."
A spokesman at the Board of Deputies praised the campaign and said: "The BNP are entitled to peddle their twisted ideology just as newspaper editors and the NUJ are entitled to contribute to the fight against them by seeking to curtail their advertising campaigns.
"The NUJ is to be congratulated for its principled stance."
The Board is urging communities to "support any party of their choice which stands opposed to the destructive politics of hatred, to vote for freedom not fear, partnerships not prejudice, and hope not hate".
A spokesman for the BNP said that the appeal was "disgraceful" and an "outrageous" attempt to "silence free speech".

the jc

BNP barred from election debate (UK)

The British National Party has sensationally been barred from attending an election debate this evening.

A row had broken out locally after Hastings MP Michael Foster refused to share the stage with his BNP rival Nick Prince at the hustings at the Crown House, Marina, St Leonards.
This led to Tory hopeful Amber Rudd and Lib Dem candidate Nick Perry also pulling out of the event.

This would have left just representatives of the BNP, United Kingdon Independence Party and the English Democrats.
However, the organiser of the event confirmed to the Observer this afternoon that the BNP candidate had had his invitation taken away.
Brett McLean arranged the debate in his role as head of the local Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and described Mr Foster's stance as "a nail in the coffin for democracy".
However, he has been left facing an embarrassing climb-down after the national heads of the FSB ordered him to exclude the far-right party.
He explained to the Observer: "I was told that the FSB wants nothing at all to do with the British National Party."
The Observer was unable to contact Mr Foster to ask whether he would now reconsider appearing.
However, the MP had previously said he would turn up to the hustings - which gets underway at 6pm - and leave if the BNP were present.
Anti-fascists have also planned a series of demonstrations outside the venue and everyone going in will have to agree to be searched.
Bexhill Observer

Suspect in hate crime attack turns himself in (Oregon, USA)

A second suspect in an alleged hate crime attack against a Jewish man in Eugene, Ore., has turned himself in.

The suspect was charged Wednesday with second-degree assault in connection with the attack.
Police first made an arrest in the case Monday.

The Jewish man, 33, was attacked twice an hour apart on Saturday night near the University of Oregon campus, according to the Oregonian newspaper. Two men punched and kicked him and, during the second assault, shouted anti-Semitic slurs.

Eugene Police Sgt. Kris Martes told KVAL News that the assault is considered a hate crime.
"The purpose and the motivation behind the crime, according to the victim, is his religious orientation," Martes said.

The alleged attackers, all transients, reportedly knew each other


JTA

FACEBOOK GROUP AGAINST ROMANES LANGUAGE IN CZECH SCHOOLS: 40 000 STRONG

group that disagrees with the decision to introduce Romanes language instruction in the Czech schools has started up on the social networking site Facebook. By Monday afternoon it had more than 40 000 fans, Lidové noviny (LN) reported yesterday. Last week the paper reported on the Czech Education Ministry’s intention to introduce Romanes as an elective subject at schools. Shortly thereafter, a group entitled “Petition against teaching Romanes at Czech schools” was created on the internet. The instruction in Romanes would be an elective subject. Strong racist and xenophobic comments on the idea are cropping up on the internet. LN reports that police may investigate the Facebook group. Detectives normally follow all such groups and their web pages. "If the content published is illegal, people who contribute to the pages could face prosecution,” police spokesperson Pavla Kopecká said. LN reports the group includes mostly high school students and youth. According to Gabriela Hrabaòová, director of the Czech Government Council for Roma Community Affairs, it is evident that there is a need to perform Roma outreach in the schools. "This group corresponds to the society-wide anti-Roma mood. The general awareness about the Roma could be changed if teachers were to speak about Roma culture and history with children in schools,” Hrabaòová said. The Czech Education Ministry has long planned to get more Romani children into elementary schools. Currently, these children often end up in former “special schools”, which are intended for children with light mental disability. Moreover, the ministry wants teachers themselves to focus on Roma culture and history, for example, during civics or history lessons. In many cases, school would be the first place children could learn information about the Roma that would be neither racist nor xenophobic. The Czech Government agrees with the ministry’s intentions and has recently approved a National Action Plan which counts on regular schools including more disabled children, as well as more Romani children, into mainstream education. Romanes language instruction would only be attended by children who have a genuine interest in it. LN reports that under no circumstances would it be introduced across the board as an obligatory subject, as most of the Facebook group members believe.

JEWISH SCHOOL IN BULGARIA VANDALIZED

Anti-Semitic graffiti was spray painted on the walls of a Jewish school in the capital of Bulgaria. A Star of David equated with a Nazi swastika and the words "stop occupation" were spray painted on the wall of the Dimcho Debeljanov Jewish School, the only Jewish school in Sofia. The vandalism occurred on Sunday, according to the European Jewish Press. It is apparently linked to current events in Israel. “This act of vandalism has been made a week before the Jewish holiday of Pesach and the Christian Easter. At a time when all people, without difference in ethnicity or religion, should open their hearts for the good, these vandals have sown hate; hate which verges on terrorism… We appeal to citizens and to civil society to react definitely against such acts and to remember that whoever sows hate today reaps storms tomorrow,” read an official statement from Shalom, which represents the Jewish community of Bulgaria. There are about 5,000 Jews living in Bulgaria. “Bulgaria is justifiably proud of its friendly and protective relations with its Jewish community. World ORT trusts that this outstanding tradition will be translated into constructive efforts to ensure that the ugly upsurge in anti-Semitism seen in so many parts of the world does not manifest itself in your beautiful country,” World ORT, which supports the school, said in a letter sent to Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education.


JTA

THOUSANDS SET TO PROTEST AUSTRIAN FAR-RIGHT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Up to 5,000 protesters were expected at a demonstration against Austrian far-right presidential hopeful Barbara Rosenkranz in Vienna on Thursday, organizers said. Rosenkranz's nomination has sparked an outcry across the country, as media and politicians of various parties have condemned the Freedom Party politician for her criticism of the law that bans revisionist propaganda and neo-Nazi activities. Although Rosenkranz has retracted the comments and made clear she does not doubt the existence of gas chambers in Hitler's concentration camps, she remains a controversial figure ahead of the April 25 election. The demonstration in front of the Hofburg presidential office was organized largely with the help of a social network group on the internet that has attracted over 88,000 members. Support comes also from various leftist organizations and parties, former centre-right Vice Chancellor Erhard Busek, and by Jewish and Muslim groups. 'We don't want such a racist politician to enter the Hofburg,' said Wolfgang Moitzi, the head of the Social Democrat's youth organization and an organizer of the event. According to the latest polls, current President Heinz Fischer of the Social Democrats is expected to win a second term in this largely ceremonial office, with 81 per cent of the votes. Last week's poll by News magazine saw Rosenkranz at 19 per cent. No other major parties fielded candidates, owing to Fischer's popularity and the fact that a challenger has so far never defeated an incumbent in a presidential election.


dpa

Neo-Nazi's estranged wife admits kicking police (New Zeland)

The estranged wife of convicted murderer Hayden McKenzie has been sentenced to community work after she admitted spitting into a police officer's mouth and kicking two officers in the groin.

Kylie Jade McKenzie, 28, of Westport, admitted in Westport District Court obstructing police, resisting police, and three charges of assaulting police.

Prosecuting, Sergeant Mark Harris said McKenzie, a solo mother, had been at the Cosmopolitan Hotel on New Year's Eve drinking with her family.

Her family had left the bar and taken their glasses of alcohol onto the street.

After a scuffle, police had arrested McKenzie's brother and she became aggressive.

She tried to pull police from her brother to stop them handcuffing him. She then spat directly into a police officer's mouth and continued to shout abuse. After attempting to run from police, she kicked two officers in the groin.

Defending, Doug Taffs said his client had been under an enormous amount of stress.

She had "lost the plot (and) everything snapped" when she saw police arrest her brother.

Her husband was in prison for his involvement in two murders: Korean backpacker Jae Hyeon Kim in 2003 and Westport man James Bambrough in 1999.
During the period when both murders occurred, he was a member of a violent neo-Nazi gang.

His client had been desperately in love with Hayden McKenzie and felt badly let down, although she had since filed for divorce.
Mr Taffs said McKenzie had helped police with their inquiries into her husband's involvement in the murders and had faced threats as a result.
Judge Emma Smith acknowledged the stresses McKenzie had faced in her life.

However, that did not justify her behaviour.

"I cannot abide spitting, it's designed to cause distress and it did," Ms Smith said.
McKenzie pleaded guilty to all charges and Judge Smith convicted her on three charges of assault and sentenced her to 80 hours of community work. She was convicted and discharged for obstructing and resisting police.
NZ Herald