PM says those who don't hold 'British' values will be shunned by government
David Cameron will today signal a sea-change in the government fight against home-grown terrorism, saying the state must confront, and not consort with, the non-violent Muslim groups that are ambiguous about British values such as equality between sexes, democracy and integration.
To belong in Britain is to believe in these values, he will say. Claiming the previous government had been the victim of fear and muddled thinking by backing a state-sponsored form of multiculturalism, the prime minister will state that his government "will no longer fund or share platforms with organisations that, while non-violent, are certainly in some cases part of the problem".
In a major speech to a security conference in Munich, he will demand: "We need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism."
He will say that "some organisations that seek to present themselves as a gateway to the Muslim community are showered with public money while doing little to combat extremism. This is like turning to a rightwing fascist party to fight a violent white supremacist movement."
Cameron's aides, aware the speech may prove highly controversial, refused to identify the organisations in his sights, but it is clear one target is the Muslim Council of Britain.
Last night some Muslim groups criticised the prime minister for making the speech on the same day that the English Defence League is holding its biggest ever demonstration, in Luton.
Cameron will also make clear that his tougher stance extends to unambiguous support for the democracy movement in Egypt: "I simply don't accept that there's a dead-end choice between a security state and Islamist resistance."
His remarks suggest that a Home Office-led review into the government Prevent programme, being overseen by Lord Carlile, is going to lead to major changes.
It also suggests that he has sided unambiguously with figures such as Michael Gove inside his cabinet rather than his party chairman, Lady Warsi, who has complained of fashionable Islamophobia.
Cameron will argue many young men have been drawn to extremism due to a rootlessness created by the weakening of a clear collective British cultural identity.
He will say: "Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.
"We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values. So when a white person holds objectionable views – racism, for example – we rightly condemn them. But when equally unacceptable views or practices have come from someone who isn't white, we've been too cautious, frankly even fearful, to stand up to them."
He will warn his audience: "Europe needs to wake up to what is happening in our own countries. We need to be absolutely clear on where the origins of these terrorist attacks lie – and that is the existence of an ideology, Islamist extremism."
This ideology he says, is entirely separate from Islam, and "at the furthest end includes those who back terrorism to promote their ultimate goal: an entire Islamist realm, governed by an interpretation of sharia".
But he adds: "Move along the spectrum, and you find people who may reject violence, but who accept various parts of the extremist world-view including real hostility towards western democracy and liberal values.
"If we are to defeat this threat, he says, its time to turn the page on on the failed policies of the past. So first, instead of ignoring this extremist ideology, we as governments and societies have got to confront it in all its forms."
Echoing Tony Blair after 9/11, he rounds on the soft left that "lump all Muslims together, compiling a list of grievances and arguing if only governments addressed them, this terrorism would stop".
Inayat Bunglawala, chair of an anti-extremist group called Muslims4Uk, said: "Mr Cameron's remarks are ill-judged and deeply patronising. The overwhelming majority of UK Muslims are proud to be British and are appalled by the antics of a tiny group of extremists and so will hardly be pleased with his lecture on integration.
"Ironically, the PM's comments come on a day when the viciously Islamophobic English Defence League are to stage their biggest demonstration yet on our streets. Integration works both ways and we would expect Mr Cameron and his government to be openly challenging these EDL extremists. Instead, he and his senior ministers have to date remained totally mute. It is disgraceful."
In opposition the Tories began considering the policy on Muslims, which critics say risks branding many as extremists even though they do not espouse violence.
Critics say it is based on flawed neo-Conservative thinking and risks backfiring, while supporters say it is necessary to tackle those who are fellow travellers with violent extremists.
The Guardian
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Czech police charge Litvínov man for wearing banned Workers' Party logo (Czech Rep)
Police in Most have charged a 24-year-old man from Litvínov with showing sympathy for a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms. Police spokesperson Ludmila Světláková said the man was spotted at a bus stop wearing a cap with the logo of the banned Workers' Party (Dělnická strana - DS). The Supreme Administrative Court dissolved the DS last year. The man has not been taken into custody. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.
Police officers say the original version of the DS logo represents the promotion of various movements and organizations (some of which no longer exist) whose activities are based on an ideology combining the contemporary concept of neo-Nazism, Nazism itself, racism and xenophobia. "Given that the person charged had previously been a member of the DS who regularly organizes and participates in right-wing extremist events, it is evident that he could and should have been aware of the meaning of the symbol he was publicly expressing his sympathy for," Světláková said. News server Romea.cz has determined that the man charged is probably the chair of the Litvínov chapter of the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS), Petr Križanovič, whose prosecution has been reported on the party's website.
The charges were filed by Miroslav Kováč, who at the time was working as a Roma police assistant in Litvínov. "I filed charges against Mr Křižanovič and I know he was interrogated by the criminal police in Most. I was also summoned as a witness,“ Kováč told news server Romea.cz.
In the charges he filed, Kováč wrote the following: "On 5 November 2010, I and my coworker Marek Nistor were standing at the crosswalk across from the elementary school at the Janov housing estate between 8 and 8:30 AM. A man unknown to us got off the bus (his name is allegedly Křižanovič and he lives at Janov) wearing the logo of the dissolved political party, the DS, on his baseball cap…. As far as the danger to society posed by this illegal behavior, I personally see it (the wearing of a baseball cap with the logo of the dissolved DS party, which is an expression and promotion of sympathy for a movement such as those described in section 260 of the Criminal Code) as presenting a high danger to society, as the Janov housing estate has long been an excluded locality with a predominance of Roma residents. Janov residents have very vivid memories of the attempted pogrom against them committed by the DS in 2008, as well as subsequent such attempts made in Přerov and other towns, such as the attempted murder of an entire Roma family in Vítkov by DS members. This citizen, through his actions, behavior, promotion of the DS and his sympathies, is publicly provoking or potentially provoking conflict with other Janov residents which could lead to a wave of ethnic and racial unrest, either locally or nationwide. In the past, the police response to suppress the unrest in Litvínov caused by the four or five visits the DS made to the town cost the state CZK 10 million.“
As news server Romea.cz previously reported, the town of Litvínov originally filed criminal charges against the three Roma police assistants, including Miroslav Kováč, for stopping the man and removing his baseball cap. Police have declined to press charges and are addressing the incident as a misdemeanor. Despite this, the Litvínov town hall will not be rehiring the assistants and has given this incident as their excuse.
The Supreme Administrative Court dissolved the DS last February, finding that its ideology, program and symbols included chauvinistic and xenophobic elements, a racist subtext, and were related to National Socialism. The court found that the party was inciting violence and striving for a radical change in the democratic order. According to the verdict, the party was attempting to artificially incite the sense that foreigners and immigrants pose a danger to Czech society.
Police in Most pressed similar charges earlier this year against an 18-year-old man who participated in an event sponsored by the DSSS, which is the successor to the banned Workers' Party. Police officers have also begun prosecuting the Vice-Chair of the Workers' Youth organization, Lucie Šlégrová, for the content of a speech she gave at a DSSS event. Police say she publicly expressed a positive relationship toward a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms, expressed solidarity with the ideology of German Nazism, and promoted German National Socialism.
Romea
Police officers say the original version of the DS logo represents the promotion of various movements and organizations (some of which no longer exist) whose activities are based on an ideology combining the contemporary concept of neo-Nazism, Nazism itself, racism and xenophobia. "Given that the person charged had previously been a member of the DS who regularly organizes and participates in right-wing extremist events, it is evident that he could and should have been aware of the meaning of the symbol he was publicly expressing his sympathy for," Světláková said. News server Romea.cz has determined that the man charged is probably the chair of the Litvínov chapter of the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS), Petr Križanovič, whose prosecution has been reported on the party's website.
The charges were filed by Miroslav Kováč, who at the time was working as a Roma police assistant in Litvínov. "I filed charges against Mr Křižanovič and I know he was interrogated by the criminal police in Most. I was also summoned as a witness,“ Kováč told news server Romea.cz.
In the charges he filed, Kováč wrote the following: "On 5 November 2010, I and my coworker Marek Nistor were standing at the crosswalk across from the elementary school at the Janov housing estate between 8 and 8:30 AM. A man unknown to us got off the bus (his name is allegedly Křižanovič and he lives at Janov) wearing the logo of the dissolved political party, the DS, on his baseball cap…. As far as the danger to society posed by this illegal behavior, I personally see it (the wearing of a baseball cap with the logo of the dissolved DS party, which is an expression and promotion of sympathy for a movement such as those described in section 260 of the Criminal Code) as presenting a high danger to society, as the Janov housing estate has long been an excluded locality with a predominance of Roma residents. Janov residents have very vivid memories of the attempted pogrom against them committed by the DS in 2008, as well as subsequent such attempts made in Přerov and other towns, such as the attempted murder of an entire Roma family in Vítkov by DS members. This citizen, through his actions, behavior, promotion of the DS and his sympathies, is publicly provoking or potentially provoking conflict with other Janov residents which could lead to a wave of ethnic and racial unrest, either locally or nationwide. In the past, the police response to suppress the unrest in Litvínov caused by the four or five visits the DS made to the town cost the state CZK 10 million.“
As news server Romea.cz previously reported, the town of Litvínov originally filed criminal charges against the three Roma police assistants, including Miroslav Kováč, for stopping the man and removing his baseball cap. Police have declined to press charges and are addressing the incident as a misdemeanor. Despite this, the Litvínov town hall will not be rehiring the assistants and has given this incident as their excuse.
The Supreme Administrative Court dissolved the DS last February, finding that its ideology, program and symbols included chauvinistic and xenophobic elements, a racist subtext, and were related to National Socialism. The court found that the party was inciting violence and striving for a radical change in the democratic order. According to the verdict, the party was attempting to artificially incite the sense that foreigners and immigrants pose a danger to Czech society.
Police in Most pressed similar charges earlier this year against an 18-year-old man who participated in an event sponsored by the DSSS, which is the successor to the banned Workers' Party. Police officers have also begun prosecuting the Vice-Chair of the Workers' Youth organization, Lucie Šlégrová, for the content of a speech she gave at a DSSS event. Police say she publicly expressed a positive relationship toward a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms, expressed solidarity with the ideology of German Nazism, and promoted German National Socialism.
Romea
Oldest form of racism' rears head as attacks against Jews rise (UK)
Last year there were 639 reports of bigoted violence and abuse against the Jewish community.
It is the second highest number of anti-Semitic incidents ever recorded by the Community Security Trust (CST). The charity, which monitors anti-Semitism in the UK, said these included street attacks, hate mail, threats, and the vandalism and desecration of Jewish property.
Although the figures were significantly lower than 2009, when 926 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded, fuelled by the ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces, researchers say they reflect a continuing long-term trend.
The number of physical and verbal attacks against Jews has doubled over the past decade and John Mann, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism, said the figures were a "sad and timely reminder", adding: "Our focus is absolute and we will continue to do all we can to ensure these numbers go down over the coming years."
The CST said the raid on the Gaza aid flotilla in May and prominent Jewish festivals in September led to two spikes in the number of incidents. There were 114 violent anti-Semitic attacks in the UK last year, down from 124 in 2009. But worryingly, the number of violent assaults rose as a proportion of the overall total, from 13 per cent in 2009 to 18 per cent last year.
London (219), Manchester (216), Hertfordshire (40) and Leeds (21) had the highest number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents in the country. It's no coincidence that these areas are home to four of the country's largest Jewish communities, but nevertheless the rising trend is cause for concern.
"We have this pattern that whenever there's a crisis in the Middle East involving Israel we see a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Britain," says CST spokesman, Dave Rich. "But what I think is worrying is after 2009 we expected a big fall last year and although the number of incidents did fall by a third, the trend over the past 10 years is heading upwards and what we are seeing is street racism that is becoming more embedded."
Among the incidents reported was an assault on a Jewish man in Leeds who was standing at a cash machine when a car containing three or four men drove past. One of the occupants shouted "Jude" before they pelted him with eggs. In January last year, the words "F*** the Jews" with a swastika were drawn on a desk at Leeds University, while in Manchester a Jewish-looking man was about to get into his car when a large group of children shouted, "Hitler is coming" at him and threw a brick through his rear window.Such shocking behaviour will rightly upset people, but does the increase in the number of incidents being reported mean racial tension is rising?
"The numbers are a lot higher now and that is partly because we have become more integrated within the Jewish community, so we expected the report rate would increase. But that alone can't explain the year-on-year rise we are seeing," says Mr Rich.
"It could be because we get these spikes and the figures never quite go back to where they were before. There are different types of anti-Semitism and sometimes it relates to anti-social behaviour. It doesn't define Jewish life in this country, but it's a problem that is present for people and the more Jewish you look the more likely you are to be targeted."
Labour's Rotherham MP Denis MacShane, author of Globalising Hatred: The New Anti-Semitism, is concerned by what is happening. "Anti-Semitism has resurfaced recently in a very worrying way, so that people are attacked simply because they are Jewish, not because of the views that they hold. People are forgetting where anti-Semitism can lead, it's the oldest form of racism," he says. "It has moved away from the anti-Semitism of the 30s, but it's back out there in a way that it wasn't 25 or 30 years ago."
Which is why it still needs to be tackled. "We expose it, we report it and we don't allow it to resurface. I would like to see one of the big universities in our region starting a course dedicated to the study of anti-Semitism that looks at it in both historical and contemporary terms."
Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East (Lab), says although we are a much more tolerant and accepting society these days, there are still small pockets of communities that feed on ignorance and prejudice.
"If I talk to Jewish people about anti-Semitic crime they will say it was ever thus and ask if it is happening to others, and sadly the answer is 'yes'."
Yorkshire Post
It is the second highest number of anti-Semitic incidents ever recorded by the Community Security Trust (CST). The charity, which monitors anti-Semitism in the UK, said these included street attacks, hate mail, threats, and the vandalism and desecration of Jewish property.
Although the figures were significantly lower than 2009, when 926 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded, fuelled by the ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces, researchers say they reflect a continuing long-term trend.
The number of physical and verbal attacks against Jews has doubled over the past decade and John Mann, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism, said the figures were a "sad and timely reminder", adding: "Our focus is absolute and we will continue to do all we can to ensure these numbers go down over the coming years."
The CST said the raid on the Gaza aid flotilla in May and prominent Jewish festivals in September led to two spikes in the number of incidents. There were 114 violent anti-Semitic attacks in the UK last year, down from 124 in 2009. But worryingly, the number of violent assaults rose as a proportion of the overall total, from 13 per cent in 2009 to 18 per cent last year.
London (219), Manchester (216), Hertfordshire (40) and Leeds (21) had the highest number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents in the country. It's no coincidence that these areas are home to four of the country's largest Jewish communities, but nevertheless the rising trend is cause for concern.
"We have this pattern that whenever there's a crisis in the Middle East involving Israel we see a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Britain," says CST spokesman, Dave Rich. "But what I think is worrying is after 2009 we expected a big fall last year and although the number of incidents did fall by a third, the trend over the past 10 years is heading upwards and what we are seeing is street racism that is becoming more embedded."
Among the incidents reported was an assault on a Jewish man in Leeds who was standing at a cash machine when a car containing three or four men drove past. One of the occupants shouted "Jude" before they pelted him with eggs. In January last year, the words "F*** the Jews" with a swastika were drawn on a desk at Leeds University, while in Manchester a Jewish-looking man was about to get into his car when a large group of children shouted, "Hitler is coming" at him and threw a brick through his rear window.Such shocking behaviour will rightly upset people, but does the increase in the number of incidents being reported mean racial tension is rising?
"The numbers are a lot higher now and that is partly because we have become more integrated within the Jewish community, so we expected the report rate would increase. But that alone can't explain the year-on-year rise we are seeing," says Mr Rich.
"It could be because we get these spikes and the figures never quite go back to where they were before. There are different types of anti-Semitism and sometimes it relates to anti-social behaviour. It doesn't define Jewish life in this country, but it's a problem that is present for people and the more Jewish you look the more likely you are to be targeted."
Labour's Rotherham MP Denis MacShane, author of Globalising Hatred: The New Anti-Semitism, is concerned by what is happening. "Anti-Semitism has resurfaced recently in a very worrying way, so that people are attacked simply because they are Jewish, not because of the views that they hold. People are forgetting where anti-Semitism can lead, it's the oldest form of racism," he says. "It has moved away from the anti-Semitism of the 30s, but it's back out there in a way that it wasn't 25 or 30 years ago."
Which is why it still needs to be tackled. "We expose it, we report it and we don't allow it to resurface. I would like to see one of the big universities in our region starting a course dedicated to the study of anti-Semitism that looks at it in both historical and contemporary terms."
Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East (Lab), says although we are a much more tolerant and accepting society these days, there are still small pockets of communities that feed on ignorance and prejudice.
"If I talk to Jewish people about anti-Semitic crime they will say it was ever thus and ask if it is happening to others, and sadly the answer is 'yes'."
Yorkshire Post
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)