'BNP suspension is against party code of conduct'

Three British National Party (BNP) members from Cornwall have been suspended indefinitely for criticising leader Nick Griffin.

Parliamentary candidate James Fitton, who stood in the St Austell and Newquay constituency, has also accused the party of breaking its own constitution after he was suspended. Two other members, Peter Mullins, from Liskeard, the party's former regional organiser for the South West and Simon Bennett, from Camelford, who designed and maintained the BNP's website, have also been suspended.

In a letter from party bosses, Mr Fitton is said to have been suspended for a "serious breach of BNP code of conduct" but the letter does not state any specific reason – something Mr Fitton says is against the party's own constitution.
He said: "Myself and two others in Cornwall have been suspended along with a member in Torbay and there's been members suspended in the East and West Midlands."

Section 9.9 of the BNP constitution states: "The individual member concerned should, as soon as practically possible thereafter, have in writing details of the alleged offence."

Mr Fitton also accuses the party of bending the rules to suit its own needs, after a member who joined in February became sub-region organiser for Devon and Cornwall in April.

Party rules state that members are on probation for two years and are unable to attain any positions within the party during that time.

All three members of the party have been vocal in their criticism of Nick Griffin in recent months and the party's attitude towards Cornish members.

Mr Bennett, a member for five years, has accused Mr Griffin of "entrenching himself" as the leader.

"There's been a vast majority of members up for removal, there's a climate of fear. But the truth is more important," he said.

Mr Mullins said: "There is a pyramid structure within the party and at the apex is Nick Griffin. What he says happens. He doesn't do democracy and it's virtually a dictatorship."

"They've kissed goodbye to the whole of Cornwall and literally thrown us in the bin."

Both Mr Mullins and Mr Bennett recently attended a meeting in Leicestershire, where a vote was carried to support Eddy Butler, from Essex, as a potential challenger for the leadership.

This is cornwall

Quebec police arrest teen for inciting hatred on Facebook (Canada)

A Quebec teen is in trouble for allegedly inciting hatred through the social networking site Facebook.

Police say the teen was arrested today and is charged with using his profile page to spread hatred against different minority ethnic groups.

The 17-year-old faces two charges: one of uttering threats and one of inciting hatred on the Internet.

The boy is being tried as a minor, so his identity cannot be revealed.
Provincial police Sgt. Patrick Lowe says police began investigating in February after receiving a complaint from a citizen.

The arrest comes as Statistics Canada reported this week that hate crimes jumped by about 35 per cent across the country in 2008 compared to the previous year.

The agency did mention that the spike could simply be the result of better reporting by police across the country.

CTV News Canada

Barcelona to ban Islamic veils in some public spaces

Barcelona has become the first large Spanish city to announce a ban on the wearing of full Islamic face-veils in some public spaces.

The ban was designed to include any head-wear that hindered identification, officials said.

At least two towns in Catalonia, the region that includes Barcelona, have already announced bans.

Belgium and France have both recently taken steps towards restricting the use of full veils in public.

Barcelona's city council said the ban would be largely symbolic, since it was uncommon to see women in the city wearing the full veil.
"Barcelona will forbid the use of the burqa, niqab and any other item which hinders personal identification in any of the city's public installations," a council statement said.

The ban would cover public spaces such as municipal offices, public markets and libraries - but not the streets.
The mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, said the measure was aimed purely at ensuring people could be identified, and would therefore include balaclavas, motorbike helmets and ski masks.

"In no way does it target religious belief," he said.

The ban is scheduled to take effect in Barcelona after the summer.
The Conservative Popular Party (PP) called for the ban to be extended to all public places, including on the street.
Full veils have already been banned in public spaces in the Catalan towns of Lleida and El Vendrell.

Others are reported to be considering similar measures.

BBC News

REPORT DETAILS FEW CASES OF ANTI-SEMITIC VIOLENCE IN RUSSIA

Only six of 234 xenophoic attacks in Russia last year were against Jews, though anti-Semitism remains a problem in the country, according to a new report. The survey, which was released last week in Moscow, was prepared by Russian experts on anti-Semitism for the World Jewish Congress. The xenophobic attacks resulted in 80 deaths and at least 300 injured, the survey said. Of the six attacks against Jews, four occurred in Moscow; in three cases the targets were Israeli citizens. In 2007 and 2008, eight attacks against Jews had been registered each year. The anti-Semitic vandalism included nine cases of defilement of buildings occupied by Jewish organizations, and 11 cases of violating Jewish cemeteries or Holocaust memorials. The report authors attributed the low level of anti-Semitic violence not to the eradication of anti-Semitism, but because Russian Jews are hard to differentiate from the population at large. The victims were mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews whose mode of dress made them stand out. The authors said that anti-Semitic propaganda has largely moved to the Internet, including social networks. Live Journal, the most popular blog service in Russia, is a hot spot for such propaganda, since its abuse team allows popular neo-Nazi bloggers to remain on the site.


  JTA                                  

PROTESTS TURN TO ANTI-ROMA VIOLENCE (Serbia)

Protests began after 17 year-old Dejan S. was murdered. Police have a Roma, also 17, in custody, in suspicion that he committed the murder. In the wake of the murder, police have already arrested five people suspected of spreading racial, religious and ethnic hate. Police have been protecting the Roma in Jabuka for several days now. Locals have been verbally abusing the Roma and throwing stones at their homes over the last several days on a regular basis. Every night, the non-Roma residents of the village gather in front of the village school for what they call peaceful protests, but some local administration and the Roma calling the gatherings racist and nationalist. Panèevo Police Chief Zvezdav Radojkoviæ said that police were ready to react at any moment and that they, joined by Gendarmerie, were in front of every Roma household offering protection. “The number of villagers gathering is increasing. We now have a situation where the incident (the murder) is being forgotten and (the protesters) are now trying solve local communal problems. We are trying to talk to these people and to tell them that police are here not only to investigate, but also to stop further incidents from occurring,” he said. Panèevo Mayor Vesna Martinoviæ also visited the village. “We came to Jabuka in order to try and decrease the tensions through talks, to stress the unfortunate nature of the tragedy that occurred and to stop such a tragedy for occurring again on a larger scale, and the number of people that is coming out every night to protest points in that direction,” she said. The murder of Dejan S. by a Roma boy his age was made public last week, with reports that he was killed over a pair of stolen sneakers and disoaraging messages on the social networking website Facebook. The locals said that they would only talk to the mayor and Radojkoviæ if those arrested for supporting inter-ethnic tensions were released from prison, which was refused. There was no protest held on Monday night, with increased police presence in the village now, Gendarmerie included.


B92

'BLATANT RACISM' PUTS ONE IN FOUR ETHNIC MINORITIES OFF TOP CAREERS (uk)

A study of 1,500 people from all major ethnic backgrounds, including white Britons, also found half were not interested in joining the armed forces, more than a third (38pc) were deliberately avoiding the police and 44pc were ignoring a career in politics due to perceived racism. Nearly half believed the police was a racist profession, rising to 72pc for black Caribbeans, the report by equality campaigner Race for Opportunity revealed. Perceptions of racism, a lack of clear role models and family disapproval were cited among the main reasons for drawing the line under certain career paths. Sandra Kerr, national campaign director, said: “It is shocking that not one of the careers in the survey was seen as completely devoid of racism and that blatant racism is still prevalent in the workplace.” More than a fifth of the people surveyed said they had been offended by a racial remark in their place of work. Chinese were the most egregious victims, with 35pc citing an example, followed by a quarter of Pakistanis. She said businesses failed to tackle race as seriously as gender, and called on organisations from the public and private sector to ramp up ‘positive action’ in recruitment - where businesses target people from underrepresented groups to apply for a role. “For business there is much to be done in the areas of recruitment and progression in particular. HR directors can be driving forward this change by reviewing all marketing material, committing to diverse shortlists for all vacancies and promoting ethnic minority role models within their organisation,” she said. “The challenge is to ensure that for ethnic minority candidates, the door to the city law firm is as open as the call centre, and that being a public leader is as normal as sitting behind a supermarket till,” she added. Race for Opportunity is part of membership group Business in the Community. It was set up in 1995 to improve employment prospects for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.


The Telegraph

EDL police ‘heavy handed’, says MP

BOLTON’S newest MP has accused Greater Manchester Police of heavy-handed tactics during March’s English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism rallies.

Now Yasmin Qureshi, who was elected as Bolton South East MP last month, is calling on GMP to drop charges against anti-fascist activists arrested on the day.

But GMP says its offers were the subject of “hostility and aggression” from protesters.

Ms Qureshi was on the UAF front line at the protest against the EDL’s rally in Victoria Square on March 20 and is leading the new national campaign calling on police not to prosecute left-wing protesters.

The newly formed Justice4Bolton campaign is arguing the use of conspiracy laws, rather than charges relating to specific incidents which would require greater evidence, “indicates a move towards de-legitimatising protests against the rise of fascism in the UK”.

Ms Qureshi said: “I did not see or hear any activity amongst the protesters that I would have described as violent disorder, though there were some police officers who, in my view, were being heavy-handed in some cases.
“I supported the aims of the protest against the English Defence League in Bolton and I was there.”

Justice4Bolton has already won the support of trade unions, anti-fascist organisations and influential MPs including former Northern Ireland and Wales Secretary Peter Hain.

Thousands of UAF and EDL demonstrators held counter-demonstrations in Victoria Square on March 20. Police made more than 70 arrests, with more than 50 of those UAF supporters.
Among those arrested on the day were Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, and Rhetta Moran, joint secretary of Greater Manchester UAF.

Mr Hain said: “The UAF has worked very hard to get rid of the British National Party and the fascist threat and should be congratulated, not prosecuted.”

But police deny they were heavy-handed.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan, said: “Everyone has a democratic right to protest. We respect that right and spent weeks consulting people locally and nationally and meticulously planning this event to ensure a demonstration could go ahead safely.

“Were it not for their professionalism and bravery, many others would have been seriously injured.

“As an investigation into the disorder is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further."”

This is Lancashire