BNP to be taken to court by creditors (UK)

The British National Party (BNP) is being taken to court by its creditors including a North- East printing firm which is owed thousands.

The far-right party’s central office owes the Newton Press, in County Durham, about £16,500 for printing its newspaper, Freedom.

It is understood the firm is one of several UK firms taking the BNP to court in an action headed by an as yet unnamed solicitor.

The £16,500 has been described as loose change compared to the overall figure being sought from the party, which is allegedly £500,000 in debt.

Party leader Nick Griffin is expected to meet North-East organisers in County Durham today, where he will face tough questions over the party’s finances.

As a political party the BNP is an unincorporated association which cannot technically be declared bankrupt.

However, creditors could hold Mr Griffin personally liable along with party members who entered into contracts.

Freedom’s former editor, Martin Wingfield, said he enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the Newton Press for about two years until he stepped down, in July last year.

But, when asked about the recent debt, he said: “I understand the case is going to court, so at present, I cannot comment further.”

The BNP’s money woes were highlighted recently when a letter purporting to be from the party’s head office offered creditors 20p for every pound of debt.

It was dismissed by some members as a fake, but the BNP’s former North-East organiser, Ken Booth, said it was genuine.

He said party members in the North-East were disgusted to learn of the 20p in a pound offer and he had fought for the Newton Press to be paid.

In contrast to the national position, Mr Booth said the North- East office has always operated on a pay-as-you-go basis and as such had no debts.

Mr Booth, who was removed from his post by Mr Griffin when he threatened to raise the debts issue, said: “It goes against the BNP’s core principle of local jobs for local people.

“As far as I can see this is a decent North-East firm that has done a good job and deserves to be paid and I don’t know why it hasn’t been.

“Central party is £500,000 in debt but it’s on a record turnover of £2.3m.

“No one is accusing anyone of stealing money, it’s just mismanagement.

“The general consensus of the members in the North-East is that Nick Griffin should shoulder the responsibility and step down.”

The Newton Press, which publishes the community newsletter, Newton News, declined to comment.

BNP central office spokesman John Walker said: “We could not comment on matters which are internal to the party and the businesses we deal with.”

The Northern Echo

Hate crime teacher speaks out (UK)

A teacher who was subjected to homophobic abuse has spoken of his relief after the perpetrator was convicted of harassment.

The man, who does not want to be named, said he was subjected to months of abuse after moving into a flat in Chelmsford.

He moved into the property last year and about a month later the trouble started as 38-year-old Jason Kingsnorth started making homophobic comments, including shouting insults from his window.

Kingsnorth, of Falmouth Road, Chelmsford, was given a police caution in January this year after a complaint was made and for a few weeks the problem subsided.

But between January and May of this year Kingsnorth’s harassment continued.

The teacher and his partner were approached when they were alone and said they were left in fear that violence may be used.

However, Kingsnorth was arrested and has now been convicted of harassment and handed a 16-week suspended sentence at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

Speaking to the EADT, the teacher said he hoped more people suffering from hate crimes would come forward.

He said: “After the caution what happened, I would say, was more traumatic. It was all the time – little comments, nothing specific, muttering under his breath or he would repeatedly slam the door.

“There was an incident when I came home one evening and he was ranting and raving so I just walked past him.

“I felt it was definite intimidation and I did not know what he was capable of, but in some ways it would have been easier if it had been a physical thing as I was left constantly worried.

“I think he was a bully, picking on what he thought was a weakness and thought he could get away with it. It is the sort of thing I see in the playground and it is not nice in the playground and against adults it is just as bad.”

The victim started to compile a diary of the harassment which proved invaluable to police and Essex Crown Prosecution Service in securing the conviction.

Kingsnorth was arrested and a restraining order was put in place and he has since moved away from the flats.

The teacher added that the support he got from the witness care unit at the court which made a big difference to the daunting experience of giving evidence against Kingsnorth.

“If people do not go to the police, they won’t know what could be done for them. I would advise anyone having similar problems to keep a diary of it.

“What happened made me quite nervous in my own home to be honest so there was a real relief when he was gone. We were suffering from the October to April but there are people out there who it has been happening to for longer and they may just be putting up with it.

Prosecutor Joseph Stickings said: “The victims suffered at the hands of this man over a prolonged period of time purely because of their sexual orientation.

“His campaign of harassment against these two gentlemen caused them great unnecessary emotional suffering and they were unable to relax in their own home.

“We are grateful to the victims for coming forward and pleased this case has reached a successful conclusion. The CPS will continue to take offences of this nature very seriously and remain committed to prosecuting them through the court system.”

EADT

Neo-Nazi Groups, Extremist Crime Increasing Rapidly in Russia, Senior MVD Official Says

Major General Sergey Girko, the head of the Scientific Research Institute of the Russian Federation Ministry  of Internal Affairs, says that there are now more than 150 neo-Nazi groups in his country and that both their number and the number of extremist crimes is rising rapidly.

Speaking to an international conference in Moscow on combating extremist and terrorist groups and crime today, Girko acknowledged that for that reason as well as many others, “the operational situation in the area of countering extremism on the territory of the Russian Federation remains complicated” (www.vnii-mvd.ru/news/1128).

Girko said that “every year” the number of crimes of an extremist nature in Russia has been growing. “If in 2007, there were 356 such crimes registered” – a 35 percent increase over the year before – “then in 2008, this figure increased to 460 (up 29 percent) and in 2009 to 548 (up 19 percent).”

The current year has been no exception to this pattern, the MVD general said. During the first six months of the year, there were 370 such crimes recorded, up by 39 percent over the same period in 2009. And that figure suggests that there will be a comparable increase for the entire year as well.

Moreover, Girko continued, “the number of radical groups based on the ideology of national, racial and religious tolerance also continues to grow.” According to MVD figures, there are now “more than 150 radical neo-fascist groups” in Russia “whose members profess a cult of nationalism and racial superiority” and seek to implement it with violence.

The MVD institute director said that “we very well understand that statistics are not an absolutely exact barometer” in this area. “As law enforcement practice shows, at the initial stage, extremist crimes are sometimes classified as having been committed for other reasons” all the more so because extremist groups are often combined with ordinary criminal ones.

“In Russia,” he continued, “particularly in recent years,” the powers that be have adopted “a complex of legislative and organizational measures in order to react in an adequate fashion to the existing threats from the side of organized criminal formations of an extremist and terrorist direction.”

Among these steps, Girko said, has been “the creation of a government system of countering extremism in which a particular place undoubtedly belongs to law enforcement organs.” They in turn have created inside the MVD a special department, whose staff specializes in providing advice on how to respond to and then prevent extremist crime.

His own institute, Girko said, conducts research and makes recommendations in this area in order to “raise the level” of the understanding of front-line officers in the struggle with this kind of crime and to generalize on the findings of investigators so that what one group learns all can benefit from.

The institute’s research, he continued, shows how complicated and multi-faceted is the task of those who seek to combat such crimes, and Girko suggested that what is “required” now is the involvement of “all institutions of government power” in this struggle, with each being responsible for one or another sector.

While a great deal has been accomplished, Girko said, “work in this direction in many regions [of the Russian Federation] is not being carried out at all or is being carried out in an ineffective way.” In all too many places, such activities are limited to declarations of good intentions rather than continuing action.

Girko concluded by saying that Russia’s fight against extremist crimes can only benefit from the experiences of others who have assembled in Moscow for this conference, and he said that the speeches and deliberations of the group would be published so that they could benefit everyone who is engaged in this struggle.

Georgian Daily

Racist graffiti daubed on Shrewsbury day centre (UK)

Racist graffiti, including a Nazi swastika, has been daubed across the front of a Shrewsbury day care centre for adults with learning disabilities.

 Police have appealed for anyone who might have information about the vandalism to come forward after the offensive and racist messages and symbols were scrat-ched into the fascia boards on the front of the building.
The incident happened at the Albert Road Day Centre, in Sundorne, between about 4.30pm on Tuesday and 12.30pm on Wednesday.

Miriam Hulme, who volunteers at the centre for Mencap, said: “It’s disgusting that people have done this and I just wish they realised how it reflects on our people, they get upset, and it doesn’t look good for a community facility.

“We rent the building from the council and now they will have to use money to repair it that could be used to help our members.

“I wish whoever did it could see the good the centre does and how much our members enjoy going there.”
Constable Emma Watson, who is investigating the incident, said the signs would need to be repainted in order to remove the graffiti.

She said: “The venue is a day centre for adults with learning disabilities and has been a target for vandals previously.

“If anyone has any information as to who was responsible for the damage, please could they contact police on 0300 333 3000.

She added: “If you know something but do not want to be identified, then please call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. The operator will not even ask for your name and a reward is sometimes offered.”

The centre allows adults with learning disabilities to access opportunities in the community and in house.

Shropshire Star

Gabon deports several Whites for racism (Africa)

Authorities in Gabon recently expelled several European nationals for racism. 

Those expelled are mainly expatriates who worked in the oil sector. According to the local media, Blacks in the Central African country continue to fall victim to racism at the hands of some Whites.

Many Europeans working in the Gabonese oil industry at Port-Gentil, the country’s economic capital, were expelled between late September and early October for racism, l’Union, a local newspaper, announced on Thursday.

Sharon Lyndah Bayliss, former chief financial officer at KCA Deutag, is among the deported expatriates. Known for her repeated tendency toward the anti-social behavior pattern, Sharon had already received a deportation notice coupled with a ban on residing in Gabon, prior to the recent deportation.

But, according to l’Union, "It is rumored that deals within both the oil industry and the national security services facilitated her return to Gabon".

Another expatriate, Ms. Corinne Fizz, chief financial officer at Weatherford, was escorted to the central African country’s border for "racism and discrimination against other employees of the company."

There are also reports that Vincent Perez, who works with ISMS, a company founded by his Father, was expelled for ’’outrageous’’ remarks towards the Gabonese authorities.

"Subhuman beings"

The scourge of racism and segregation, according to observers, is rife in Port Gentil. "Some bars and restaurants, including the famous San Lorenzo and the Ranch, consider the presence of Black customers as an intrusion," the newspaper reads.

Meanwhile, many Gabonese have expressed shock over the emergence of such anti-social behaviour among European expatriates who have since time immemorial enjoyed some of the most friendly conditions in the country.

However, ages "after the abolition slavery and colonization, they continue to view blacks as subhuman’’ Arsene Sema, a young Gabonese, complained.

A few months ago, the National Union of Oil Employees (ONEP), during a strike action, had called on the government to involve expatriates from the country’s oil sector in Union activities, because many of them (White workers) are illegal.

Some also argue that those so-called illegally employed White expatriates hold some of the most important positions of responsibility.

Afrik-News

Schoolchildren learn about evils of racism (UK)

Hundreds of Lanarkshire schoolchildren attended an event aimed at combating racism.

Around 300 pupils from primary schools in Rutherglen and Cambuslang were invited to the Show Racism the Red Card event at Rutherglen Town Hall.

Run by South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, it was part of a three-day event, which included sporting activities.

Show Racism the Red Card is an anti-racist campaigning and educational charity which uses role models, such as professional footballers, to help educate people about the damage caused by racism.

Councillor Gerry Convery, chairman of South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, said: “The message being sent out is that racism has no place with us, either in sport or in any other part of our daily lives.

“This is a worthwhile event and a great way to break down barriers.”

Evening Times