A teenager from the Tamworth area with an "unhealthy interest" in explosives and fascist politics has appeared in court alongside a man from Amington, to face charges relating to making potentially-lethal weapons.
The court heard that police found a pipe packed with nails and screws and charged with gunpowder, in the bedroom of the 16-year-old.
He had made the explosive device with chemicals bought off the Internet.
The youngster also had right wing literature from the BNP and the English Defence League, together with Nazi emblems – one of them in the middle of his bed.
His family home was immediately evacuated while explosives and firearms experts were called in to search the property.
As the search entered its third day, another explosive device was reported hidden under a waste oil tank at Tomson's Garage in Glascote Road.
Mr Malcolm Morse, prosecuting, said the device had the appearance of a home-made sawn-off shotgun.
In one of the "barrels" was a firework with the fuse extending out of it.
The device was taken to Sutton Coldfield police station, which later had to be evacuated while experts assessed how dangerous it was.
Some tape holding the barrels together had human hair and fingerprints which belonged to a co-accused, 27-year-old Jonathan Cunningham, of Greenheart, Amington, who was also arrested.
Cunningham said he had put the device under the oil tank to hide it from the police.
He also tried to take the blame for making it, saying he wanted to show the boy how to do it, but Mr Morse told Stafford Crown Court the prosecution did not accept that.
"[The boy] was perfectly capable of making devices of this kind with no assistance."
In court, Mr Morse said the teen had been asked specifically about the right-wing political literature by concerned officers.
"He denied any specific interest in right-wing politics, and he expressed a general interest in the acquisition of pyrotechnic knowledge.
"He denied supporting the views of either the BNP or the English Defence League, that was his explanation.
"It is to an extent contradicted by some evidence from a lecturer at the college where he studies.
"Her recollection is he was outspoken among his peers in support of such views.
"It is the case that while material of this nature was found, material of a contrary view was not.
"The prosecution, in drawing attention to this literature, is making no comment on its content.
"I am merely indicating the presence of it, together with the ingredients and the skill for making explosives," Mr Morse told Judge John Wait.
He said the mother of one of the boy's friends had also handed in a video clip from a mobile phone camera showing an explosive device being detonated in a tree.
The clip was labelled with the teenage defendant's name and the word "bomb".
A police search of the 16-year-old's family home on January 30 this year, was triggered by an eBay seller who was concerned about commodities being ordered.
The boy used his mother's eBay account to buy the chemicals he used to make the gunpowder.
The device loaded with nails and found in the bedroom was examined by the Defence Laboratory and ruled to be capable of dealing a "lethal shot".
Mr Morse said Internet conversations from a chat room dedicated to explosives and firearms had been found on a computer in the house.
The boy's username was "Eng-Terrorman".
He also had access to a Russian film which shows the process of making a gun.
The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate – the only charge that could be applied to the device found in his bedroom, according to Mr Morse.
The boy also admits having an explosive substance and making an explosive substance.
Judge Wait made the boy subject to a three-year controlling order for public safety, with a three-month curfew, a ban on having any explosive material and the recording of any Internet use.
He told the boy: "Anyone who makes such explosives, that in the wrong hands could be used to kill or maim, is committing a very serious offence and putting the public at risk."
The judge said the boy could have put everyone in danger by being used and abused by extreme political organisations.
He added: "That a 14 to 15-year-old boy should be permitted to carry on such activities under the gaze of caring parents is hard to believe.
"The parents saw substantial quantities of material coming in to the house and saw no danger.
"They saw material relating to extreme politics and saw no danger in that."
Co-accused Cunningham, who admitted making an explosive substance and perverting the course of justice, was jailed for 12 months.
Mr Darron Whitehead, for the boy, said: "It would be very easy to simply infer that this young man is a terrorist with hidden agendas. They don't exist in this case.
"There was never at any time, any positive intention to make any aggressive use of the items strewn about his bedroom.
"There is nothing in this case to suggest there was any intention to cause harm to human life."
But Judge Wait responded: "This is a young man who has developed an expertise, who has broadcast it over the Internet, thereby exposing himself and the rest of us to people who would want to cause us serious harm."
Mr Whitehead said the boy's interests in fireworks began as "idle curiosity" and developed into a hobby.
"He plainly has an interest in pyrotechnics. It will no doubt be reported that he developed an unhealthy interest in weaponry.
"The scene met by the police demonstrates that all who visited that house were aware of activities going on inside.
"The youth report makes criticism not only of the boy but also of his parents.
"They are good, hardworking individuals. It appears they not only knew what the boy was doing, they allowed him to have them and indeed involved themselves at stages.
"The garden was littered with fireworks made and ignited over time.
"The neighbours were well aware of the activities and not intimidated by it."
This is Tamworth
Friday, 2 July 2010
BNP member Paul Thompson served six month sentence for violent disorder
One of the candidates standing in a council by-election next week is a convicted football hooligan, The Northern Echo has learned.
British National Party member Paul Thompson was convicted and jailed for six months for violent disorder between two sets of thugs.
He also has a previous conviction for criminal damage after hurling stones through the shop window of a left-wing book store.
Mr Thompson is one of four candidates who is standing for the Darlington Borough Council by-election in the Cockerton West ward. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Jenny Chapman, following her selection at the town’s new MP.
Mr Thompson stood in the 2003 and 2007 council elections, both times in Darlington’s Northgate ward. In 2003 he was last with 151 votes and again in 2007 with 126 votes.
A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Thompson was allowed to stand.
People are barred from standing as a candidate in council elections if they have been sentenced to more than three months imprisonment within the previous five years.
Mr Thompson was jailed for violent disorder in 1998. He was one of nine men involved in trouble between Darlington and Cardiff City supporters in May 1997.
His earlier conviction happened in 1994, when he was given a 12-month conditional discharge.
Ken Booth, regional organiser for British National Party, said the charges were irrelevant and Mr Thompson was entitled to stand for public office.
He added: “It is a long time ago. You get over it and move on. He is not breaking any law by standing, but obviously someone wants to drag up the past. Is this a topical issue? I don’t think so. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Mr Thompson has also previously been criticised by the family of a man murdered in a street attack in 2001 after he produced leaflets attacking the three-year sentence given to his killer. People intervened when he handed out the leaflets because they were of a racist nature.
Mr Booth called the accusations “fictitious and bogus”.
Also standing in the by-election are Jan Cossins, for the Labour Party, David Davies, for the Conservatives, and Brian Jefferson, for the Liberal Democrats.
Mrs Cossins is chairman of Cockerton East Community Partnership and a governor at Branksome School. Mr Davies is a former UKIP candidate and husband of Conservative councillor Kate Davies. Mr Jefferson is chairman of Growing Older Living in Darlington.
The election takes place on Thursday. Labour will maintain its overall control of the council whatever the result of the election. It now has 28 councillors, the Conservative party 18 and Liberal Democrats six.
The Northern Echo
British National Party member Paul Thompson was convicted and jailed for six months for violent disorder between two sets of thugs.
He also has a previous conviction for criminal damage after hurling stones through the shop window of a left-wing book store.
Mr Thompson is one of four candidates who is standing for the Darlington Borough Council by-election in the Cockerton West ward. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Jenny Chapman, following her selection at the town’s new MP.
Mr Thompson stood in the 2003 and 2007 council elections, both times in Darlington’s Northgate ward. In 2003 he was last with 151 votes and again in 2007 with 126 votes.
A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Thompson was allowed to stand.
People are barred from standing as a candidate in council elections if they have been sentenced to more than three months imprisonment within the previous five years.
Mr Thompson was jailed for violent disorder in 1998. He was one of nine men involved in trouble between Darlington and Cardiff City supporters in May 1997.
His earlier conviction happened in 1994, when he was given a 12-month conditional discharge.
Ken Booth, regional organiser for British National Party, said the charges were irrelevant and Mr Thompson was entitled to stand for public office.
He added: “It is a long time ago. You get over it and move on. He is not breaking any law by standing, but obviously someone wants to drag up the past. Is this a topical issue? I don’t think so. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Mr Thompson has also previously been criticised by the family of a man murdered in a street attack in 2001 after he produced leaflets attacking the three-year sentence given to his killer. People intervened when he handed out the leaflets because they were of a racist nature.
Mr Booth called the accusations “fictitious and bogus”.
Also standing in the by-election are Jan Cossins, for the Labour Party, David Davies, for the Conservatives, and Brian Jefferson, for the Liberal Democrats.
Mrs Cossins is chairman of Cockerton East Community Partnership and a governor at Branksome School. Mr Davies is a former UKIP candidate and husband of Conservative councillor Kate Davies. Mr Jefferson is chairman of Growing Older Living in Darlington.
The election takes place on Thursday. Labour will maintain its overall control of the council whatever the result of the election. It now has 28 councillors, the Conservative party 18 and Liberal Democrats six.
The Northern Echo
Anti-Semitic hate crimes rise in 2009: report (Sweden)
The number of anti-Semitic crimes reported in Sweden rose 57 percent last year, mainly in the southern region of Skåne, the national crime prevention council said on Thursday.
Last year, 250 anti-Semitic crimes were reported, primarily in Skåne, the report said, adding the overall number of hate crimes reported in Sweden had remained unchanged.
"In 2009, 5,800 hate crimes were reported. Crimes against foreigners or with racist motives continue to dominate and the reporting of anti-Semitic crimes has increased," the council said in a statement.
Presenting its latest hate crime statistics report, the council added that it did not know if there had been an actual increase in the number of anti-Semitic crimes or merely in their reporting.
Crimes and threats against the small Jewish community in the southern city of Malmö recently received much media and political attention.
Education Minister and Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund met with Jewish community leaders earlier this year after it was reported some Jews decided to leave the city because they felt unsafe.
Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reepalu was criticised in the media for failing to stop the crimes or even fuelling the anti-Semitic sentiment in the city.
Of the hate crimes reported in Sweden in 2009, 71 percent were against foreigners or motivated by race, 18 percent were related to sexual orientation, 10 percent had religious motives (Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, or anti-religious crimes) and one percent were against transexuals.
The Local Sweden
Last year, 250 anti-Semitic crimes were reported, primarily in Skåne, the report said, adding the overall number of hate crimes reported in Sweden had remained unchanged.
"In 2009, 5,800 hate crimes were reported. Crimes against foreigners or with racist motives continue to dominate and the reporting of anti-Semitic crimes has increased," the council said in a statement.
Presenting its latest hate crime statistics report, the council added that it did not know if there had been an actual increase in the number of anti-Semitic crimes or merely in their reporting.
Crimes and threats against the small Jewish community in the southern city of Malmö recently received much media and political attention.
Education Minister and Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund met with Jewish community leaders earlier this year after it was reported some Jews decided to leave the city because they felt unsafe.
Malmö Mayor Ilmar Reepalu was criticised in the media for failing to stop the crimes or even fuelling the anti-Semitic sentiment in the city.
Of the hate crimes reported in Sweden in 2009, 71 percent were against foreigners or motivated by race, 18 percent were related to sexual orientation, 10 percent had religious motives (Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, or anti-religious crimes) and one percent were against transexuals.
The Local Sweden
Swede's remand for Auschwitz theft extended
Anders Högström was extradited to Poland from Sweden in April and initially remanded for three months to give prosecutors probing December's theft more time to question him.
The court in the southern Polish city of Krakow accepted a prosecution request to keep him behind bars until September 9th, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
Högström was arrested in his homeland on a Polish warrant in February. He risks 10 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors have said Högström denies plotting the theft of the gateway sign from the site of the camp in the southern Polish city of Oswiecim, which has became a notorious symbol of genocide by the occupying Nazi Germans.
Polish police recovered the five-metre metal sign - which means "Work Will Set You Free" in German - two days after it went missing.
They arrested and charged five Polish men, three of whom, considered relatively small fry, have already been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
The two others, suspected of playing a far more prominent role in the theft, are to be tried after Högström has been questioned.
In 1994, Högström founded the National Socialist Front, a Swedish neo-Nazi movement he ran for five years before quitting.
He has told Swedish media he was to act as an intermediary to pick up the sign and sell it to a buyer, adding, however, that he informed Polish police about the people behind the plot.
The sign, which had been cut into three parts, was returned by investigators to the Polish state-run Auschwitz museum on January 21st, less than a week before commemorations for the 65th anniversary of the camp's liberation by Soviet troops.
Of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, 1 million were murdered at Auschwitz, mostly in the camp's notorious gas chambers, along with tens of thousands of others including Poles, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war.
The Local Sweden
RACIST THUGS DEFACE LAWRENCE MEMORIAL (UK)
Three men are being hunted after they were filmed vandalisinga memorial plaque for race murder victim Stephen Lawrence.The trio, with T-shirts covering their faces, were caught on CCTV pouring a substance over the pavement plaque.
Cctv operators immediately alerted the police but the men ran off before officers got there in the early hours of Monday.
Police were unable to confirm reports that the substance was petrol but were carrying out forensic tests on it.
The memorial is at the spot in Eltham, South East London, where 18-year-old student Stephen died in April 1993.
Sixth former Stephen had been walking with a friend to a bus stop when they were attacked by a gang of six white youths shouting racist abuse.
Stephen was stabbed to death.
Five men were arrested but no one has ever been convicted.
Stephen's death led to the Macpherson Inquiry declaring the Metropolitan Police to be "institutionally racist" following their bungled handling of the investigation into his murder.
Yesterday Scotland Yard appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward to the police.
Investigating officer Det Con Nic Sargant said: "We would like to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the Well Hall Road area of Eltham on Monday morning."
A 19-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident and was released on bail until September pending further police inquiries.
Anyone with information about the plaque vandalism should call Det Con Sargant on 020 8853 1212.
This is the latest in a string of attacks on the memorial.
In March 1998, shortly before the start of a public inquiry into the murder, vandals chipped and poured paint on the plaque. The same happened the following year, despite 24-hour camera surveillance.
And in 2008, yobs attacked the Stephen Lawrence Centre by smashing windows, worth £120,000, with bricks.
The £10million centre in Deptford, South East London, centre promotes architecture, which Stephen had planned to pursue as a career.
The cost of the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, South East London, the education facility built in memory of the murdered teenager
The Mirror
DUTCH TEENS HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT EQUAL RIGHTS FOR IMMIGRANTS
Dutch 14 and 15-year-olds have more doubts about granting equal rights to immigrants than their peers in many other countries, according to an international research project partly carried out by Groningen University researchers. Only some 45% of 'native' youngsters in the Netherlands, Britain and Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium) believe in equal rights for immigrants, the research shows. In most other European countries, around 50% of youngsters believe in equality for all citizens. In a pre-general election poll, Geert Wilders' anti-immigration and Islam party PVV was the big winner under high school pupils. The researchers looked at attitudes to citizenship in 39 countries and found only one in four Dutch school pupils understood what active citizenship actually means. In Finland and Denmark, between 55% and 60% of young teens were aware of their civic responsibilities. International report [PDF]
The Dutch News
The Dutch News
MOROCCO, CONCERNED ABOUT INCREASING ISLAMOPHOBIA (Kazakhstan)
Morocco voiced "growing" concern about the increasing Islamophobia, Morocco's Ambassador to the international organizations Omar Znibar said on Tuesday in Astana (Kazakhstan). Speaking at a conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Znibar underlined the importance to "strongly condemn the confusion, made by the media and some public discourses, between any religion and terrorism". The Moroccan delegation attending the event reiterated its call on the OSCE to adopt a declaration and/or decision on fighting discrimination against Muslims, similar to the anti-Semitism declaration that was issued by the organisation at Berlin conference. Morocco’s openness, tolerance and attachment to promoting good neighbourhood, respecting minority rights and encouraging the peaceful settlement of conflicts, enabled the Kingdom to play a crucial role in terms of dialogue between cultures and religions, Znibar added. The delegation also stressed the need to establish a partnership between States, civil society and the media in order to promote the values of tolerance, dialogue and mutual respect. Morocco commended the OSCE’s efforts to fight anti-Semitism, Zniber said, recalling that the Kingdom was the first Arab country to sign an agreement with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to cooperate in the fields of archives and the opening of classified files relating to the past anti-Semitic persecution and actions.
The OSCE High-Level conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, held on June 29-30, focuses on Sharing positive experiences and best practices in boosting tolerance and non-discrimination.
Morroco Board
The OSCE High-Level conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, held on June 29-30, focuses on Sharing positive experiences and best practices in boosting tolerance and non-discrimination.
Morroco Board
Croydon BNP member Charlotte Lewis investigated for race crime
The former animal rights campaigner and BNP election candidate for Carshalton and Wallington, advocated the murder of illegal immigrants in the wake of the recent Cumbrian massacre.
Right-wing activist Charlotte Lewis, from Thornton Heath, wrote on her Facebook page that mass-murderer Derrick Bird should have come to London and slaughtered illegal immigrants rather than his "fellow British people".
Miss Lewis was reported to the police after someone reading the comments decided she had gone too far in her racist rhetoric.
Detectives have logged the complaint as a crime and are now deciding whether or not they can prosecute her for inciting racial hatred.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “We can confirm the MPS are investigating a complaint that has been made to them regarding alleged comments made. Detectives from Croydon CID are dealing but no arrests have been made.
Her tirade is the latest in a string of hate-filled rants and calls for violence against "pakis" through her Facebook page.
The latest post reads: "Ok, so I may well get in to trouble for saying this - but I've got to get it off my chest.
"I wish that Derrick Bird could have come down to London & shot dead some illegal immigrants, rather than killing his fellow British people.
"If that offends you then tough; it's my opinion and I'm entitled to it."
Her comments refer to taxi driver Derrick Bird, who went on a killing spree in west Cumbria on June 2, shooting dead 12 people and injuring 11 others.
Her latest Facebook rant was highlighted by website Hope Not Hate, Searchlight's campaign to counter racism and fascism in elections and beyond.
Gerry Gable from Searchlight said: "I think anybody advocating the murder of illegal immigrants should be prosecuted.
"People may view Charlotte Lewis as being a bit potty, but the overwhelming interest in firearms of the BNP tells a much more serious story."
Sutton Guardian
Thursday, 1 July 2010
BNP heavyweight supports Eddy Butler leadership challenge
Eddy Butler, who is challenging Nick Griffin for the BNP leadership this summer, has announced that Nick Cass, the popular former Yorkshire BNP organiser, will be his running mate to become deputy chairman of the BNP in the event of a Butler victory.
In a “BNP TV” video posted on YouTube and some BNP-supporting websites, Cass explains that Griffin does not have the time to be BNP leader because since his election to the European Parliament he is focusing his attention “across the water”. Party members feel that the leadership has become detached from them, he adds.
Cass, 36, says that Butler is asking sensible questions to which members want to know the answers, but the party leadership is ridiculing them. He has been “shocked” by the campaign against Butler. He expected the party, in which he has been an activist for 20 years, to be “straight-talking and honest”, not to come out with smears against Butler.
Cass is helping Butler in the hard task of obtaining the signatures of 20% of BNP members of two years’ standing. He says every senior BNP officer in Yorkshire wants change in the leadership. The BNP’s Liverpool branch, a centre of activity in the region in which Griffin is an MEP, also supports Butler.
It did not take long before Griffin’s supporters went onto the attack on one of the most extreme nazi web forums with a thread –withdrawn after a few hours – titled “Nick Cass Scum Traitor”, in which commenters suggested that Cass might be a Searchlight agent, state asset or, worse from a nazi viewpoint, Jewish.
The insult was ironic. Cass with his wife and three children have appeared on many BNP election leaflets as the typical wholesome white family that votes BNP.
It was also highly unlikely. Cass sports a prominent “tree of life” tattoo on his right arm, between shoulder and elbow. This symbol, also known as the life rune, is a favourite among nazi groups worldwide, several of which have adopted it as their logo. Under Hitler it was the symbol of the SS Lebensborn project, which encouraged SS troopers to have children out of wedlock with “Aryan” mothers and kidnapped children of Aryan appearance from the countries of occupied Europe to raise as Germans. To white supremacists today the tree of life signifies the future of the “white race”.
The tattoo was pictured in Sky TV’s BNP Wives documentary. The same programme revealed that Cass had instructed his wife, Suzy, to insist on a white European midwife when giving birth to their children, which reveals his attitude to women as well as his racism.
This is not the first time that Cass has fallen out with BNP colleagues. It was widely reported in 2007 that Cass was sacked from the job of BNP party manager two minutes before a meeting, after he had been given a role for which he was unsuited. Cass disputes this, saying that he resigned so that he could spend more time with his family.
The announcement of Cass’s support for Butler put paid to malicious rumours from the Griffin camp that Butler was putting forward Lawrence Rustem as deputy leader. Rustem, a former BNP councillor in Barking and Dagenham, suffers from the fatal flaw in the eyes of the BNP’s racist members that he is of part Turkish Cypriot descent.
Griffin supporters have also tried to link Butler with Sharon Ebanks, a former BNP activist who fell out with the party after Griffin reneged on a promise to meet her legal expenses for a challenge to a council election result in Birmingham that the party encouraged her to mount. She is widely derided in the BNP because of her West Indian father.
Meanwhile the anti-Butler blog run by Paul Golding, the BNP’s national communications officer, has listed reasons why Butler is unsuitable to lead the BNP. Butler is accused of being “bland and boring and grey and colourless”, “rude and arrogant”, having “no intellectual ability whatsoever”, “pure repellent”, “defeatist”, a “raging control freak” and, horror of horrors, “arranging the most disgusting food ever served at a BNP event”, a feat that takes some doing, judging by the reports we have received of typical BNP catering.
Griffin, in contrast, has “heaps of charisma”, is an “accomplished writer and intellectual”, “affable”, a “visionary” and “able to command respect and loyalty”. Unfortunately for Griffin, a growing number of BNP members are rejecting Golding’s sycophancy.
Hope not Hate
In a “BNP TV” video posted on YouTube and some BNP-supporting websites, Cass explains that Griffin does not have the time to be BNP leader because since his election to the European Parliament he is focusing his attention “across the water”. Party members feel that the leadership has become detached from them, he adds.
Cass, 36, says that Butler is asking sensible questions to which members want to know the answers, but the party leadership is ridiculing them. He has been “shocked” by the campaign against Butler. He expected the party, in which he has been an activist for 20 years, to be “straight-talking and honest”, not to come out with smears against Butler.
Cass is helping Butler in the hard task of obtaining the signatures of 20% of BNP members of two years’ standing. He says every senior BNP officer in Yorkshire wants change in the leadership. The BNP’s Liverpool branch, a centre of activity in the region in which Griffin is an MEP, also supports Butler.
It did not take long before Griffin’s supporters went onto the attack on one of the most extreme nazi web forums with a thread –withdrawn after a few hours – titled “Nick Cass Scum Traitor”, in which commenters suggested that Cass might be a Searchlight agent, state asset or, worse from a nazi viewpoint, Jewish.
The insult was ironic. Cass with his wife and three children have appeared on many BNP election leaflets as the typical wholesome white family that votes BNP.
It was also highly unlikely. Cass sports a prominent “tree of life” tattoo on his right arm, between shoulder and elbow. This symbol, also known as the life rune, is a favourite among nazi groups worldwide, several of which have adopted it as their logo. Under Hitler it was the symbol of the SS Lebensborn project, which encouraged SS troopers to have children out of wedlock with “Aryan” mothers and kidnapped children of Aryan appearance from the countries of occupied Europe to raise as Germans. To white supremacists today the tree of life signifies the future of the “white race”.
The tattoo was pictured in Sky TV’s BNP Wives documentary. The same programme revealed that Cass had instructed his wife, Suzy, to insist on a white European midwife when giving birth to their children, which reveals his attitude to women as well as his racism.
This is not the first time that Cass has fallen out with BNP colleagues. It was widely reported in 2007 that Cass was sacked from the job of BNP party manager two minutes before a meeting, after he had been given a role for which he was unsuited. Cass disputes this, saying that he resigned so that he could spend more time with his family.
The announcement of Cass’s support for Butler put paid to malicious rumours from the Griffin camp that Butler was putting forward Lawrence Rustem as deputy leader. Rustem, a former BNP councillor in Barking and Dagenham, suffers from the fatal flaw in the eyes of the BNP’s racist members that he is of part Turkish Cypriot descent.
Griffin supporters have also tried to link Butler with Sharon Ebanks, a former BNP activist who fell out with the party after Griffin reneged on a promise to meet her legal expenses for a challenge to a council election result in Birmingham that the party encouraged her to mount. She is widely derided in the BNP because of her West Indian father.
Meanwhile the anti-Butler blog run by Paul Golding, the BNP’s national communications officer, has listed reasons why Butler is unsuitable to lead the BNP. Butler is accused of being “bland and boring and grey and colourless”, “rude and arrogant”, having “no intellectual ability whatsoever”, “pure repellent”, “defeatist”, a “raging control freak” and, horror of horrors, “arranging the most disgusting food ever served at a BNP event”, a feat that takes some doing, judging by the reports we have received of typical BNP catering.
Griffin, in contrast, has “heaps of charisma”, is an “accomplished writer and intellectual”, “affable”, a “visionary” and “able to command respect and loyalty”. Unfortunately for Griffin, a growing number of BNP members are rejecting Golding’s sycophancy.
Hope not Hate
Roma arson attack proceedings postponed until September
Ostrava, North Moravia, June 30 (CTK) - The Czech court dealing with the arson attack on a Romany family in Vitkov, north Moravia, Wednesday adjourned the case until September 6.
A baby girl suffered severe burns and her parents were injured as a result of the attack committed in spring 2009. Four right-wing extremists suspected of throwing three Molotov cocktails in the house face life imprisonment if their guilt is proved.
The closely-watched trial was launched on May 11. Originally, it was to continue in August but it was postponed until September due to holidays of the judge, attorney and defence lawyers.
The judge was to hear Wednesday witness Martina Ondrejikova who told the police that one of the suspects took a burn ointment from her a few hours after the attack.
She said previously she thought that the man might be one of the attackers but did not report her suspicion to the police because she was afraid of a possible revenge from both local neo-Nazis and Romanies.
Ondrejikova refused to give testimony though she earlier told the police that she knew two of the suspects and the extremist movement as her husband played in a neo-Nazi band.
The key witness in the case, a local firefighter, who helped police trace the alleged culprits, has received anonymous threats and he fears to testify in court.
According to the prosecution, the act was to make extremist groups more visible and was connected with the 120th birth anniversary of Adolf Hitler.
Prague Monitor
A baby girl suffered severe burns and her parents were injured as a result of the attack committed in spring 2009. Four right-wing extremists suspected of throwing three Molotov cocktails in the house face life imprisonment if their guilt is proved.
The closely-watched trial was launched on May 11. Originally, it was to continue in August but it was postponed until September due to holidays of the judge, attorney and defence lawyers.
The judge was to hear Wednesday witness Martina Ondrejikova who told the police that one of the suspects took a burn ointment from her a few hours after the attack.
She said previously she thought that the man might be one of the attackers but did not report her suspicion to the police because she was afraid of a possible revenge from both local neo-Nazis and Romanies.
Ondrejikova refused to give testimony though she earlier told the police that she knew two of the suspects and the extremist movement as her husband played in a neo-Nazi band.
The key witness in the case, a local firefighter, who helped police trace the alleged culprits, has received anonymous threats and he fears to testify in court.
According to the prosecution, the act was to make extremist groups more visible and was connected with the 120th birth anniversary of Adolf Hitler.
Prague Monitor
BULGARIA'S PRESIDENT FEARS REVIVAL OF HATE CRIMES
The recent neo-Nazi attacks in Bulgaria have caused the Bulgarian Antifascist Union to meet with the country’s President Georgi Parvanov to discuss their fears for revival of extreme ideological incidents in the country, caused by hate and aggression. “There should not be a statesman who does not realize the difference between the conflicts between football fans and the attacks caused by ideological and racist intolerance,” said Parvanov who shared the Union’s fears. At the meeting, the Honorary Chair of the Bulgarian Antifascist Union, Velko Valkanov, and the Chair of the Union, Chavdar Stoimenov, have expressed to the Bulgarian President their fears of xenophobic and neo-Nazi actions in the country. The President said that the Bulgarian society needs to reach a national reconciliation and added that this process happens through reading and understanding of history, as well as through giving a clear political assessment of these actions and not through denial and misinterpretation of the past. He also pointed out that the country should not allow leniency towards the arousing tendency of republication of Nazi and other anti-Semitic literature. Bulgaria’s President has confirmed his position for moral recognition of the contribution of the Bulgarian anti-fascists in the global resistance.
Novinite
Novinite
SUSPECTED ARSONIST CAUGHT ON TAPE PRAISING ‘DUDES’ WHO SHOT HUNGARIAN ROMA (Czech Rep.)
New evidence emerged on Monday at the trial of four neo-Nazis accused of racially-motivated attempted murder after throwing petrol bombs through the windows of the home of a Roma family last year. A two-year-old girl was horrifically burned in the attack, which has received unprecedented attention here in the Czech Republic.
A scratchy police surveillance recording of suspected arsonist Jaromír Lukeš, recorded several weeks after the attack on the Roma family in Vítkov, North Moravia, last year. In the recording - played to Ostrava Regional Court on Monday – the two discuss how well the attack had gone and how the police would never track the group down. A voice – allegedly belonging to Lukeš – then expresses envy at a similar attack in Hungary, where a 27-year-old Roma man and his six-year-old son were shot dead as they fled their burning home: “In Hungary they chucked their petrol bombs in, waited for them to run out, and then shot them. Total dudes they are.” Experts are hesitant to draw any direct link between the attacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary, although from the police wiretaps it appears Czech neo-Nazis could at least have been partly inspired by the spate of race killings in Hungary in recent years. Robert Kushen is the Executive Director of the European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest. On the phone from New York, he told me advocacy groups were still waiting for courts in Central Europe to send a clear signal that racially motivated murder cannot be tolerated. “The trial in the Czech Republic is encouraging, but we have to see what the final verdict is. We’re hoping there will be a severe penalty assessed to serve as a deterrent.
In Hungary for a long time there was no effective action taken against some very serious violent incidents resulting since 2008 in nine deaths. We understand there will hopefully be an indictment handed down some time in the fall, but thus far we haven’t seen it.”
After hearing the recordings Jaromír Lukeš told the judge he had deliberately lied about the attack because he suspected his friend of being a police informer and wanted to catch him out. That argument may not stand up in court, but his lawyer says the wiretaps were illegal and is lobbying for them to be rejected as evidence.
Radio Prague
A scratchy police surveillance recording of suspected arsonist Jaromír Lukeš, recorded several weeks after the attack on the Roma family in Vítkov, North Moravia, last year. In the recording - played to Ostrava Regional Court on Monday – the two discuss how well the attack had gone and how the police would never track the group down. A voice – allegedly belonging to Lukeš – then expresses envy at a similar attack in Hungary, where a 27-year-old Roma man and his six-year-old son were shot dead as they fled their burning home: “In Hungary they chucked their petrol bombs in, waited for them to run out, and then shot them. Total dudes they are.” Experts are hesitant to draw any direct link between the attacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary, although from the police wiretaps it appears Czech neo-Nazis could at least have been partly inspired by the spate of race killings in Hungary in recent years. Robert Kushen is the Executive Director of the European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest. On the phone from New York, he told me advocacy groups were still waiting for courts in Central Europe to send a clear signal that racially motivated murder cannot be tolerated. “The trial in the Czech Republic is encouraging, but we have to see what the final verdict is. We’re hoping there will be a severe penalty assessed to serve as a deterrent.
In Hungary for a long time there was no effective action taken against some very serious violent incidents resulting since 2008 in nine deaths. We understand there will hopefully be an indictment handed down some time in the fall, but thus far we haven’t seen it.”
After hearing the recordings Jaromír Lukeš told the judge he had deliberately lied about the attack because he suspected his friend of being a police informer and wanted to catch him out. That argument may not stand up in court, but his lawyer says the wiretaps were illegal and is lobbying for them to be rejected as evidence.
Radio Prague
Tory MP bids to 'ban the burka' (UK)
A Tory MP has launched an effort to pass a law banning Muslim women from wearing the burka.
Philip Hollobone will attempt to steer legislation through the Commons to regulate the wearing of "certain facial coverings".
The Kettering MP said his Bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public "which would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils".
He told the Press Association: "I think it's inappropriate to cover your face in public, whether it's a burka, a balaclava or anything else.
"We are never going to get along with having a fully integrated society if a substantial minority insist on concealing their identity from everyone else."
Mr Hollobone has previously described the burka as "offensive" and "against the British way of life".
His comments have attracted criticism but also a "great deal of support", he said.
The MP said the British public like to smile and greet one another in the street but "you simply can't have that degree of interaction with people if you can't see their face".
The backbencher was one of 20 MPs drawn in a ballot for the chance to get a Private Members' Bill on the statute book.
His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill had its first reading in the Commons on Wednesday, a formality which allows the legislation to be printed. Because Mr Hollobone was only drawn 17th in the ballot, his Bill stands little chance of progress.
MSN News
Philip Hollobone will attempt to steer legislation through the Commons to regulate the wearing of "certain facial coverings".
The Kettering MP said his Bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public "which would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils".
He told the Press Association: "I think it's inappropriate to cover your face in public, whether it's a burka, a balaclava or anything else.
"We are never going to get along with having a fully integrated society if a substantial minority insist on concealing their identity from everyone else."
Mr Hollobone has previously described the burka as "offensive" and "against the British way of life".
His comments have attracted criticism but also a "great deal of support", he said.
The MP said the British public like to smile and greet one another in the street but "you simply can't have that degree of interaction with people if you can't see their face".
The backbencher was one of 20 MPs drawn in a ballot for the chance to get a Private Members' Bill on the statute book.
His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill had its first reading in the Commons on Wednesday, a formality which allows the legislation to be printed. Because Mr Hollobone was only drawn 17th in the ballot, his Bill stands little chance of progress.
MSN News
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Coalition must tackle issues fuelling far right (UK)
The apparent failure of the British National Party to secure a parliamentary seat at the May 2010 general election has obscured the growth in support for far right groups.
In 2001 the BNP picked up 47,000 votes, in 2005 it had grown to 192,000. This year it was 563,000.
Based on a new analysis by iCoCo of the voting patterns for far right groups, this appears to be part of an underlying trend of gathering support which threatens the stability of the UK’s communities, and would lead to the need for greater spending by local government and their partners on dealing with tensions.
Under a proportional representation system the BNP would have picked up12 seats for the BNP.
Many people do have real concerns about migration and change within their neighbourhoods and we dismiss these concerns as ‘ignorant’ or ‘racist’ at our peril.
There is no doubt that the increased population numbers and changes in composition of local populations have increased pressure on local services and these do have to be understood and addressed.
It is true they are often exaggerated by the far right – but some are very real and pressing and are most keenly felt in poorer areas who already feel that they are under the greatest pressure.
In engaging with those arguments, there will no doubt be some racist views with which to contend, but for the most part people are simply concerned about the pace of change and will respond to debates which acknowledge the problems and where there is a willingness to address them.
Communications are key. We have to remember that the far right are constantly putting out messages, spreading alarm with misinformation and false rumours. Counter messages therefore have to be at least as pervasive and persuasive.
Formal publications, and even myth busting leaflets, may well only serve to reinforce the myths, or they may be disbelieved on the basis that ‘they would say that wouldn’t they’ or simply unread.
Again, there is no substitute for face to face engagement and debate, in which local people are involved and, whenever possible, are recruited as the champions in their local community.
There is also a need to engage with communities in different ways.
In particular, it is dangerous to depend upon self-appointed community leaders who may simply be the community ‘gatekeeper’ and who use their position to control communications to preserve their position of influence.
We need to develop a new model of ‘gateway’ community leaders who are willing and able to open their communities to wider and more varied influences and to empower them to do things for themselves.
It is therefore also necessary to have a much better ‘map’ of local communities which is constantly updated to reflect the changing patterns of diversity – and also to recognise the diversity within particular communities.
In long established communities, social capital and leadership has been slowly eroded. Working Men’s clubs, trade unions, local shops, clubs and societies have been under pressure and in some cases all but disappeared.
These local institutions also provided an opportunity to ‘air’ their views and discuss concerns about what is happening (or what they perceive to be happening) in their communities.
In common with many other parts of society, there is some evidence that the ‘glue’ of social networks which helped to bind local areas together has given way to an individualised community in which families provide their own entertainment and have little time for their neighbours.
This is to some extent recognised in the Coalition’s commitment to a ‘big society’. In the context of poorer, insular and disaffected communities, we therefore need to ask how civil society can be rebuilt to give people the opportunity to learn about others, come to terms with change and develop shared interests.
There is a danger in regarding the BNP as a spent force. They lost ground because of campaigns to oppose them on the ground in places like Barking and Dagenham, but also all of the minority parties were squeezed by the media focus on the three main parties, especially around the televised debates.
That may not be the case next time. We have to recognize that they do tap into real concerns, as the ‘bigoted woman’ incident showed and we need more debate, not less, to answer these concerns.
But we also need to recognize that whilst the BNP is part of the legitimate democratic framework they do stir up tensions in local communities and are often accompanied by more extreme far right groups who peddle hatred.
These tensions then have to be dealt with by public agencies and community groups who have to try to calm things down and offer reassurance – a costly exercise in both social and monetary terms.
Reuters
Professor Ted Cantle is executive chair, Institute of Community Cohesion at Coventry University. The opinions expressed are his own.-
In 2001 the BNP picked up 47,000 votes, in 2005 it had grown to 192,000. This year it was 563,000.
Based on a new analysis by iCoCo of the voting patterns for far right groups, this appears to be part of an underlying trend of gathering support which threatens the stability of the UK’s communities, and would lead to the need for greater spending by local government and their partners on dealing with tensions.
Under a proportional representation system the BNP would have picked up12 seats for the BNP.
Many people do have real concerns about migration and change within their neighbourhoods and we dismiss these concerns as ‘ignorant’ or ‘racist’ at our peril.
There is no doubt that the increased population numbers and changes in composition of local populations have increased pressure on local services and these do have to be understood and addressed.
It is true they are often exaggerated by the far right – but some are very real and pressing and are most keenly felt in poorer areas who already feel that they are under the greatest pressure.
In engaging with those arguments, there will no doubt be some racist views with which to contend, but for the most part people are simply concerned about the pace of change and will respond to debates which acknowledge the problems and where there is a willingness to address them.
Communications are key. We have to remember that the far right are constantly putting out messages, spreading alarm with misinformation and false rumours. Counter messages therefore have to be at least as pervasive and persuasive.
Formal publications, and even myth busting leaflets, may well only serve to reinforce the myths, or they may be disbelieved on the basis that ‘they would say that wouldn’t they’ or simply unread.
Again, there is no substitute for face to face engagement and debate, in which local people are involved and, whenever possible, are recruited as the champions in their local community.
There is also a need to engage with communities in different ways.
In particular, it is dangerous to depend upon self-appointed community leaders who may simply be the community ‘gatekeeper’ and who use their position to control communications to preserve their position of influence.
We need to develop a new model of ‘gateway’ community leaders who are willing and able to open their communities to wider and more varied influences and to empower them to do things for themselves.
It is therefore also necessary to have a much better ‘map’ of local communities which is constantly updated to reflect the changing patterns of diversity – and also to recognise the diversity within particular communities.
In long established communities, social capital and leadership has been slowly eroded. Working Men’s clubs, trade unions, local shops, clubs and societies have been under pressure and in some cases all but disappeared.
These local institutions also provided an opportunity to ‘air’ their views and discuss concerns about what is happening (or what they perceive to be happening) in their communities.
In common with many other parts of society, there is some evidence that the ‘glue’ of social networks which helped to bind local areas together has given way to an individualised community in which families provide their own entertainment and have little time for their neighbours.
This is to some extent recognised in the Coalition’s commitment to a ‘big society’. In the context of poorer, insular and disaffected communities, we therefore need to ask how civil society can be rebuilt to give people the opportunity to learn about others, come to terms with change and develop shared interests.
There is a danger in regarding the BNP as a spent force. They lost ground because of campaigns to oppose them on the ground in places like Barking and Dagenham, but also all of the minority parties were squeezed by the media focus on the three main parties, especially around the televised debates.
That may not be the case next time. We have to recognize that they do tap into real concerns, as the ‘bigoted woman’ incident showed and we need more debate, not less, to answer these concerns.
But we also need to recognize that whilst the BNP is part of the legitimate democratic framework they do stir up tensions in local communities and are often accompanied by more extreme far right groups who peddle hatred.
These tensions then have to be dealt with by public agencies and community groups who have to try to calm things down and offer reassurance – a costly exercise in both social and monetary terms.
Reuters
Professor Ted Cantle is executive chair, Institute of Community Cohesion at Coventry University. The opinions expressed are his own.-
Tories reinstate racist texts row councillor (UK)
A Tory councillor who admitted sending racist texts from his mobile phone has been reinstated by the board of the Conservative Party.
Cllr Richard Powell, a 24-year-old language school consultant, was suspended after it was revealed that he sent offensive texts over a six-month period.
But his membership has been “immediately reinstated” after he agreed to attend a diversity awareness course.
Cllr Powell, who represents Westbourne and West Cliff on Bournemouth council, still faces possible sanctions after the case is discussed at a group meeting at the town hall tomorrow.
His attendance on the course has been welcomed by councillors from all political groups in Bournemouth.
But they have voiced concerns that it may not be enough to repair the Conservatives’ tarnished reputation in the town.
Fellow Conservative Cllr Nick King told the Daily Echo: “It is all very well going to a training course but he needs to understand how that fits with the role of a councillor.
“We have to represent everybody. You can’t do or say anything that to you might be funny but to others might be grossly offensive. Even your private actions can have an impact on how people perceive you.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Claire Smith added: “I am certainly glad that he is undertaking the training but it does concern me that the reputation of all councillors has been damaged in this fiasco.”
Cllr Powell is one of four Conservative councillors currently under investigation and Cllr Smith added: “People are just disgusted with councillors in Bournemouth at the moment – they are tarring us all with the same brush, unfortunately.”
Christopher Hammond, community development officer at the Dorset Race Equality Council, said it was “content that the standards committee has addressed the issue” in recommending that Cllr Powell attend training.
He added: “However, we do feel that it is imperative all councillors act in a manner which is in keeping with their public position in both their private and official capacity, acting as community champions for all of their constituents regardless of race, sexuality, disability or religion.”
Bournemouth echo
Cllr Richard Powell, a 24-year-old language school consultant, was suspended after it was revealed that he sent offensive texts over a six-month period.
But his membership has been “immediately reinstated” after he agreed to attend a diversity awareness course.
Cllr Powell, who represents Westbourne and West Cliff on Bournemouth council, still faces possible sanctions after the case is discussed at a group meeting at the town hall tomorrow.
His attendance on the course has been welcomed by councillors from all political groups in Bournemouth.
But they have voiced concerns that it may not be enough to repair the Conservatives’ tarnished reputation in the town.
Fellow Conservative Cllr Nick King told the Daily Echo: “It is all very well going to a training course but he needs to understand how that fits with the role of a councillor.
“We have to represent everybody. You can’t do or say anything that to you might be funny but to others might be grossly offensive. Even your private actions can have an impact on how people perceive you.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Claire Smith added: “I am certainly glad that he is undertaking the training but it does concern me that the reputation of all councillors has been damaged in this fiasco.”
Cllr Powell is one of four Conservative councillors currently under investigation and Cllr Smith added: “People are just disgusted with councillors in Bournemouth at the moment – they are tarring us all with the same brush, unfortunately.”
Christopher Hammond, community development officer at the Dorset Race Equality Council, said it was “content that the standards committee has addressed the issue” in recommending that Cllr Powell attend training.
He added: “However, we do feel that it is imperative all councillors act in a manner which is in keeping with their public position in both their private and official capacity, acting as community champions for all of their constituents regardless of race, sexuality, disability or religion.”
Bournemouth echo
Neo-Nazi claims life at risk for testifying in murder trial (USA)
Kyle Robert Gray, an admitted member of the American Nazi Party, testified that he was the driver on Sept. 27 when Kandin Eric Wilson shot and killed Susana Pelayo-Perez during a bungled robbery.
In exchange for his testimony, Gray got a plea agreement that will allow him to serve between 20 to 34 years in an out-of-state prison for his protection.
“You’re not just talking. You’re testifying,” Deputy District Attorney Nathan Whitney said. “What do you think could happen to you?
“If they can get a hold of me, I’ll be killed,” Gray said.
Gray explained the structure of the party: how “prospects” like Wilson serve a probationary period before they become soldiers who follow orders from a general.
At the time of the shooting, he said there were about four party members in Colorado Springs. Wilson, known by his street name “Trailer,” had been turned down previously for acceptance before being given a probationary period in September 2009.
Wilson’s attorney, Philip L. Dubois, has suggested that the real gunman was a higher-up within the party for whom Gray is covering.
Dubois debunked some of the party terminology, asking if party members held elections or lobbied the Legislature.
No, Gray replied.
“The ANP is nothing more than a street gang, isn’t it?” Dubois asked.
“More so a prison gang,” Gray replied.
“So you were just out on the streets temporarily,” the attorney countered.
Dubois asked Gray about the tattoos he got when he became a soldier while in prison in 2007.
Gray pointed to an SS symbol next to his right eye and described another of an iron cross on his torso.
When Dubois asked him what SS stood for, Gray said it was a German word for “bodyguard.”
“So whose body are you supposed to be guarding?” the lawyer asked.
“My own,” Gray replied.
“I guess, one might say, Mr. Gray, isn’t that what you’re doing right now?”
Testimony continues tomorrow. The trial is expected to conclude later this week
Gazette
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Harassment and Abuse the English Defence League (EDL) way
Here’s a video that has been uploaded to the You Tube website of the East Anglian Division of the EDL abusing the staff at their local KFC outlet.
Please support the uploaders You Tube channel.
Please support the uploaders You Tube channel.
Councillor found guilty of racial harassment over 'coconut' jibe (UK)
Shirley Brown, the first black Liberal Democrat elected to Bristol city council, called Asian opponent a 'coconut' during heated debate, court told.
A black councillor has been found guilty of racial harassment after describing an Asian political opponent as "a coconut" during a heated debate today.
Shirley Brown, 48, the first black Liberal Democrat elected to Bristol city council, who employed the term about a Conservative, Jay Jethwa, denied committing an offence.
Bristol magistrates court heard the term was used to accuse someone of betraying their heritage by pandering to white opinion, just as a coconut was brown on the outside but white in the middle.
She was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £620 in costs. The chairman of the bench, Simon Cooper, told her the remark had been "purely gratuitous" and could have stimulated racial hatred.
"You made a mistake for which you have to accept responsibility," he added. "It is a sad case."
Brown's remark came as she argued against a Conservative attempt in February 2009 to cut funds to the council's Legacy Commission, established in 2008, the year after the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British empire.
Jethwa had said spending £750,000 of taxpayers' money "righting the wrongs of slavery" did not make sense. Ian Jackson, prosecuting, said Brown "was heard to say: 'In our culture we have a word for you which many in this city would understand, a coconut.
"And at the end of the day I just look at you as that. And the water's either worth throwing away or drinking it'."
Jethwa, 42, did not hear the remark during the council meeting but watched it later on a webcast.
She wept as she told the court: "I was completely shocked and I was numb and had to rewind the footage to see if it was only me she had directed the comment to. I was very, very upset and distressed.
The word is doubly insulting as it insults both me and the white population."
She considered Brown's remarks about the water as "racist" and "to mean that my comments were worth throwing out.
The Conservative party lodged a formal complaint and a member of the public then complained to Avon and Somerset police, who launched a criminal investigation.
Brown was suspended for a month by the council's standards committee last summer for using "offensive and abusive language", although it did not judge the remarks racist.
The punishment was overturned in September after Brown appealed.
Brown, councillor for the ethnically diverse ward of Ashley, Bristol, denied racially aggravated harassment at a previous hearing.
Speaking after the hearing Jethwa said: "I am satisfied with the court's decision.
"It vindicates the decision to prosecute. It sends out a message that such calculated insults will not be tolerated from any quarter."
The Guardian
A black councillor has been found guilty of racial harassment after describing an Asian political opponent as "a coconut" during a heated debate today.
Shirley Brown, 48, the first black Liberal Democrat elected to Bristol city council, who employed the term about a Conservative, Jay Jethwa, denied committing an offence.
Bristol magistrates court heard the term was used to accuse someone of betraying their heritage by pandering to white opinion, just as a coconut was brown on the outside but white in the middle.
She was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £620 in costs. The chairman of the bench, Simon Cooper, told her the remark had been "purely gratuitous" and could have stimulated racial hatred.
"You made a mistake for which you have to accept responsibility," he added. "It is a sad case."
Brown's remark came as she argued against a Conservative attempt in February 2009 to cut funds to the council's Legacy Commission, established in 2008, the year after the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British empire.
Jethwa had said spending £750,000 of taxpayers' money "righting the wrongs of slavery" did not make sense. Ian Jackson, prosecuting, said Brown "was heard to say: 'In our culture we have a word for you which many in this city would understand, a coconut.
"And at the end of the day I just look at you as that. And the water's either worth throwing away or drinking it'."
Jethwa, 42, did not hear the remark during the council meeting but watched it later on a webcast.
She wept as she told the court: "I was completely shocked and I was numb and had to rewind the footage to see if it was only me she had directed the comment to. I was very, very upset and distressed.
The word is doubly insulting as it insults both me and the white population."
She considered Brown's remarks about the water as "racist" and "to mean that my comments were worth throwing out.
The Conservative party lodged a formal complaint and a member of the public then complained to Avon and Somerset police, who launched a criminal investigation.
Brown was suspended for a month by the council's standards committee last summer for using "offensive and abusive language", although it did not judge the remarks racist.
The punishment was overturned in September after Brown appealed.
Brown, councillor for the ethnically diverse ward of Ashley, Bristol, denied racially aggravated harassment at a previous hearing.
Speaking after the hearing Jethwa said: "I am satisfied with the court's decision.
"It vindicates the decision to prosecute. It sends out a message that such calculated insults will not be tolerated from any quarter."
The Guardian
RACIST AND HOMOPHOBIC ATTACKS INCREASING IN DERRY (N. Ireland)
There has been a rise in racist attacks in the Foyle area over the last year. Police said there were 17 more incidents compared to the previous 12-month period. Homophobic attacks increased from eight to 10.The figures came to light after two men were assaulted in Londonderry at the weekend. They said they were targeted because they are gay. The couple, aged 22 and 38, were beaten by three men in the city centre at about 0200 BST on Saturday morning. The police are treating it as a homophobic attack. "I believe there are low-level hate incidents that happen on a day and daily basis," said Inspector Tony Callaghan. "Whether it's race based, religion based, sectarian, homophobic or relating to disabilities. People out there are suffering in silence." The men attacked on Saturday morning suffered cuts and bruising to their faces. One of the men, who did not want to be identified, said it had affected both of them badly. "I'm terrified of going to bed, I'm terrified walking down the street," he said. "I've got to walk my fella to his work because he's terrified. "It's just absolutely soul destroying and it's not on."
'Sinister'
David McCartney from gay support group Rainbow Project said the impact of a hate attack was "quite extraordinary". "It's not that random, violent assault," he said. "There is something more sinister and more hateful and hurtful to it and you're left feeling you don't belong. "You're left feeling you're not a part of this community, you're singled out, set apart and picked upon." Foyle MP Mark Durkan said the attack was "sickening". "Regardless of whether it expresses itself in the sort of wanton attack on this gay couple or in the subtle prejudice we see all too often, homophobia is inexcusable. "As a community we need to show our solidarity with those who suffer this awful prejudice. And we need to show those who attack them that it is they who are in the tiny minority in this society."
BBC News
'Sinister'
David McCartney from gay support group Rainbow Project said the impact of a hate attack was "quite extraordinary". "It's not that random, violent assault," he said. "There is something more sinister and more hateful and hurtful to it and you're left feeling you don't belong. "You're left feeling you're not a part of this community, you're singled out, set apart and picked upon." Foyle MP Mark Durkan said the attack was "sickening". "Regardless of whether it expresses itself in the sort of wanton attack on this gay couple or in the subtle prejudice we see all too often, homophobia is inexcusable. "As a community we need to show our solidarity with those who suffer this awful prejudice. And we need to show those who attack them that it is they who are in the tiny minority in this society."
BBC News
Nazi-sympathising teen targeted Birkenhead shop to assault Sri Lankan owners (UK)
Two Nazi-sympathising teens targeted a corner shop to assault the Sri Lankan owners.
Judge David Aubrey QC told Robert Phillips, 19, and Michael Walters, 18, their behaviour was “racist and it was despicable and it was upon vulnerable people” as he put them both behind bars.
He added: “You targeted these premises. You inflicted violence upon the proprietors and you shouted thoroughly offensive racist remarks at the proprietors.”
Liverpool crown court heard when the pair were arrested in the wake of the attack, police found offensive material including Nazi symbols and stickers at their homes and on their mobile phones. Philips even had a Adolf Hitler screen saver on his computer.
On the day of the attack, on November 15 last year, the skin-head pair were dressed in army fatigues and boots. They targeted Mathiyaparanam Kokularajan and his wife Komathy as they pulled the security shutters down on their shop, The Corner Store, on Argyle Street South, Birkenhead.
Eric Lamb, prosecuting, told how they ran over the street shouting racist insults. As the couple tried to flee the skin-heads chased them. Philips then pushed Mrs Kokularajan into her husband, before they rained blows on him.
Judge Aubrey, who described Philips as the “ring-leader”, then described how he kicked the couple.
He said: “You even kicked an innocent a woman who was going about her business.
“When I look at you now, it really is almost impossible to find the words for it.”
The judge sent Phillips, of East Prescot Road, Knotty Ash, to a Young Offenders' Institute for 14 months and Walters, of Sandon Road, Wallasey, for eight months after they both admitted common assault.
Gerald Pachter, defending Phillips, told the court there was a different side to his client, whose family were appalled by his actions.
Speaking after the court case Mr Kokularajan described the terrifying attack and said: “We had closed our shop for the evening when we noticed two boys walking straight towards us. They called my wife a p***, kicked her in to the street and hit me around the head. It was shocking because most people are friendly around here.”
Liverpool Echo
Judge David Aubrey QC told Robert Phillips, 19, and Michael Walters, 18, their behaviour was “racist and it was despicable and it was upon vulnerable people” as he put them both behind bars.
He added: “You targeted these premises. You inflicted violence upon the proprietors and you shouted thoroughly offensive racist remarks at the proprietors.”
Liverpool crown court heard when the pair were arrested in the wake of the attack, police found offensive material including Nazi symbols and stickers at their homes and on their mobile phones. Philips even had a Adolf Hitler screen saver on his computer.
On the day of the attack, on November 15 last year, the skin-head pair were dressed in army fatigues and boots. They targeted Mathiyaparanam Kokularajan and his wife Komathy as they pulled the security shutters down on their shop, The Corner Store, on Argyle Street South, Birkenhead.
Eric Lamb, prosecuting, told how they ran over the street shouting racist insults. As the couple tried to flee the skin-heads chased them. Philips then pushed Mrs Kokularajan into her husband, before they rained blows on him.
Judge Aubrey, who described Philips as the “ring-leader”, then described how he kicked the couple.
He said: “You even kicked an innocent a woman who was going about her business.
“When I look at you now, it really is almost impossible to find the words for it.”
The judge sent Phillips, of East Prescot Road, Knotty Ash, to a Young Offenders' Institute for 14 months and Walters, of Sandon Road, Wallasey, for eight months after they both admitted common assault.
Gerald Pachter, defending Phillips, told the court there was a different side to his client, whose family were appalled by his actions.
Speaking after the court case Mr Kokularajan described the terrifying attack and said: “We had closed our shop for the evening when we noticed two boys walking straight towards us. They called my wife a p***, kicked her in to the street and hit me around the head. It was shocking because most people are friendly around here.”
Liverpool Echo
Neo-Nazi White returns to court (USA)
William A. White, Roanoke's most vociferous racist and the self-proclaimed commander of a neo-Nazi organization, again faces criminal charges.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision released Monday, reinstated a charge that White encouraged violence against the foreman of a Chicago jury that convicted a fellow white supremacist years ago.
"Although First Amendment speech protections are far-reaching, there are limits," a three-judge panel from the court wrote.
The ruling reverses a judge's dismissal of the charge on free-speech grounds last July, before White was convicted of similar charges in Roanoke.
White, serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, now faces the prospect of being returned to Chicago. He is charged with posting the name, address and telephone number of the foreman of a jury that convicted neo-Nazi leader Matthew Hale in 2004 of plotting to have a federal judge killed.
Although White made no direct threats against the juror, prosecutors had argued that his words must be viewed in the context of other material on overthrow.com, the now-defunct website that carried his inflammatory rhetoric.
The court of appeals noted that White once wrote that "everyone associated with the Matt Hale trial has deserved assassination for a long time."
White, who moved to Roanoke in 2004 and created the American National Socialist Workers Party, is currently serving time in a federal prison in Beckley, W.Va.
After years of pushing the line between free speech and illegal conduct, he was convicted in December of making racially motivated threats against people in Missouri, Delaware and Virginia.
Nishay Sanan, a Chicago attorney who represents White, said he plans to ask the full court of appeals to review Monday's decision.
In dismissing the charge last July, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman noted that White broke no laws when he dug up the publicly available contact information for the juror and posted it to overthrow.com.
As for the government's argument that White's intent to have the juror harmed was betrayed by other posts on a website viewed by violent racists, Adelman wrote: "An intimidating context alone does not remove the protection of the First Amendment."
That may be true, the higher court conceded. But such a question should be decided by a jury at trial, it said, not by a judge on a motion to dismiss.
Whether White is guilty of soliciting harm against the juror turns on his intent at the time he made the posts, which can best be determined once a jury hears additional evidence, the court ruled.
The ruling appears to open the door for prosecutors to bring up other posts on overthrow.com in which White has written that the "enemies" of the white supremacy movement should be harassed, intimidated and lynched.
Shortly before he was arrested in October 2008, White was preparing to distribute a magazine with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama on the cover. The illustration showed Obama's head in the sights of an assassin's rifle, with the cross hairs extended to form a swastika. Below the image was the headline:
"Kill this n-----?"
When White's appeal was argued earlier this year, appellate Judge Richard Posner picked up on the government's assertion that White's carefully selected words amounted to a coded solicitation.
Posner brought up the words of King Henry II of England, who supposedly once asked aloud, "Will no one rid me of this pestilent priest?" before his knights took the hint and killed Thomas Becket.
Queried by Posner about the case, Sanan said the king should be given the same protection today that White was afforded under the First Amendment.
"Not punishable?" Posner retorted. "You're kidding."
roanoke
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision released Monday, reinstated a charge that White encouraged violence against the foreman of a Chicago jury that convicted a fellow white supremacist years ago.
"Although First Amendment speech protections are far-reaching, there are limits," a three-judge panel from the court wrote.
The ruling reverses a judge's dismissal of the charge on free-speech grounds last July, before White was convicted of similar charges in Roanoke.
White, serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, now faces the prospect of being returned to Chicago. He is charged with posting the name, address and telephone number of the foreman of a jury that convicted neo-Nazi leader Matthew Hale in 2004 of plotting to have a federal judge killed.
Although White made no direct threats against the juror, prosecutors had argued that his words must be viewed in the context of other material on overthrow.com, the now-defunct website that carried his inflammatory rhetoric.
The court of appeals noted that White once wrote that "everyone associated with the Matt Hale trial has deserved assassination for a long time."
White, who moved to Roanoke in 2004 and created the American National Socialist Workers Party, is currently serving time in a federal prison in Beckley, W.Va.
After years of pushing the line between free speech and illegal conduct, he was convicted in December of making racially motivated threats against people in Missouri, Delaware and Virginia.
Nishay Sanan, a Chicago attorney who represents White, said he plans to ask the full court of appeals to review Monday's decision.
In dismissing the charge last July, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman noted that White broke no laws when he dug up the publicly available contact information for the juror and posted it to overthrow.com.
As for the government's argument that White's intent to have the juror harmed was betrayed by other posts on a website viewed by violent racists, Adelman wrote: "An intimidating context alone does not remove the protection of the First Amendment."
That may be true, the higher court conceded. But such a question should be decided by a jury at trial, it said, not by a judge on a motion to dismiss.
Whether White is guilty of soliciting harm against the juror turns on his intent at the time he made the posts, which can best be determined once a jury hears additional evidence, the court ruled.
The ruling appears to open the door for prosecutors to bring up other posts on overthrow.com in which White has written that the "enemies" of the white supremacy movement should be harassed, intimidated and lynched.
Shortly before he was arrested in October 2008, White was preparing to distribute a magazine with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama on the cover. The illustration showed Obama's head in the sights of an assassin's rifle, with the cross hairs extended to form a swastika. Below the image was the headline:
"Kill this n-----?"
When White's appeal was argued earlier this year, appellate Judge Richard Posner picked up on the government's assertion that White's carefully selected words amounted to a coded solicitation.
Posner brought up the words of King Henry II of England, who supposedly once asked aloud, "Will no one rid me of this pestilent priest?" before his knights took the hint and killed Thomas Becket.
Queried by Posner about the case, Sanan said the king should be given the same protection today that White was afforded under the First Amendment.
"Not punishable?" Posner retorted. "You're kidding."
roanoke
Monday, 28 June 2010
JEWISH DANCE GROUP STONED IN HANOVER, GERMANY
German police are investigating the stoning of a Jewish dance group trying to perform on the street in the city of Hanover. Youths reportedly shouted "Juden Raus" (Jews Out) as they attacked the dancers of the Chaverim ("Friends" in Hebrew) dance troupe last weekend. Police said several Muslim immigrant youths were among the attackers and two youths were being questioned. A German Jewish leader said she feared growing anti-Israeli sentiment.
'So awful'
The group was trying to perform in Hanover's Sahlkamp district, which has a large immigrant community. One of the dancers was injured in the leg and the troupe cancelled the performance after the attack. Police said one German suspect aged 14 and a 19-year-old of North African origin were being questioned. Alla Volodarska, of the Progressive Jewish community of Hanover, told Associated Press news agency she had spoken to the dancers involved. "What happened is just so awful. The teenagers started throwing stones the moment our dance group was announced, even before they started dancing." Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the Die Welt newspaper that anti-Semitic feelings were widespread in both far-right and Muslim communities in the country. "It particularly saddens me that those anti-Semitic views can already be seen with such vehemence among children and youths," she said.
BBC News
'So awful'
The group was trying to perform in Hanover's Sahlkamp district, which has a large immigrant community. One of the dancers was injured in the leg and the troupe cancelled the performance after the attack. Police said one German suspect aged 14 and a 19-year-old of North African origin were being questioned. Alla Volodarska, of the Progressive Jewish community of Hanover, told Associated Press news agency she had spoken to the dancers involved. "What happened is just so awful. The teenagers started throwing stones the moment our dance group was announced, even before they started dancing." Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the Die Welt newspaper that anti-Semitic feelings were widespread in both far-right and Muslim communities in the country. "It particularly saddens me that those anti-Semitic views can already be seen with such vehemence among children and youths," she said.
BBC News
BNP faces financial turmoil if found in contempt of court
Nick Griffin could have his assets seized if high court rules that leader breached order to amend party's constitution.
Fresh from its disastrous showing at the ballot box on 6 May, the British National party now faces financial turmoil with its assets threatened by court action. The high court is to decide whether Nick Griffin and two other BNP officials should face contempt of court proceedings in which their assets could be confiscated under a "writ of sequestration". The assets include Griffin's MEP salary, investments and pensions and any property that they might own. The case shows that no political party is above the law.
The contempt proceedings were brought by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) after the BNP was accused of failing to remove potentially racist clauses from its constitution. The BNP had been in breach of the Race Relations Act 1976 by admitting only white people to the party, but it revised its constitution in February to say it would allow people of any descent or origin to join, but only if the individual "agrees with or supports or does not oppose or does not disagree with the principles of our party".
However, the principles of the party in this amended constitution are still in terms of promoting indigenous over non-indigenous interests, including maintaining the "integrity of the indigenous British" and "restoring and maintaining" the indigenous British as "an overwhelming majority" (indigenous being defined by those that settled in these islands between 11500BC and 6 July 1189).
It is not difficult to see how this is contrary to the Race Relations Act 1976, because by signing up to the principles, any non-indigenous member would have to give up their racial and cultural identity. The BNP has also not changed its rule preventing new members from attending any party meeting until they have been interviewed by two BNP officials. A court in March ruled that this was intimidatory and directed against non-indigenous applicants.
If the high court rules that the BNP is in breach of the March order and gives permission to the EHRC to issue the writ, then it will appoint four commissioners. Two to three of the commissioners will be "authorised and commanded" to take possession of the BNP's assets. These assets will be kept in the hands of the commissioners until the BNP complies with the order to make its constitution free of racial discrimination.
Not only would this be a bitter pill for the BNP to swallow ideologically, it would also be financially punitive. A commissioner can cost up to £1,000 a day, and if the BNP has its assets confiscated, it will cost them up to £3,000 a day for those assets to be held. The BNP faces a period of financial turmoil.
The Guardian
The contempt proceedings were brought by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) after the BNP was accused of failing to remove potentially racist clauses from its constitution. The BNP had been in breach of the Race Relations Act 1976 by admitting only white people to the party, but it revised its constitution in February to say it would allow people of any descent or origin to join, but only if the individual "agrees with or supports or does not oppose or does not disagree with the principles of our party".
However, the principles of the party in this amended constitution are still in terms of promoting indigenous over non-indigenous interests, including maintaining the "integrity of the indigenous British" and "restoring and maintaining" the indigenous British as "an overwhelming majority" (indigenous being defined by those that settled in these islands between 11500BC and 6 July 1189).
It is not difficult to see how this is contrary to the Race Relations Act 1976, because by signing up to the principles, any non-indigenous member would have to give up their racial and cultural identity. The BNP has also not changed its rule preventing new members from attending any party meeting until they have been interviewed by two BNP officials. A court in March ruled that this was intimidatory and directed against non-indigenous applicants.
If the high court rules that the BNP is in breach of the March order and gives permission to the EHRC to issue the writ, then it will appoint four commissioners. Two to three of the commissioners will be "authorised and commanded" to take possession of the BNP's assets. These assets will be kept in the hands of the commissioners until the BNP complies with the order to make its constitution free of racial discrimination.
Not only would this be a bitter pill for the BNP to swallow ideologically, it would also be financially punitive. A commissioner can cost up to £1,000 a day, and if the BNP has its assets confiscated, it will cost them up to £3,000 a day for those assets to be held. The BNP faces a period of financial turmoil.
The Guardian
Two gay men attacked in Londonderry (Northern Ireland)
Two men who were assaulted in Londonderry at the weekend have said they were targeted because they are gay.
The couple, aged 22 and 38, were beaten by three men in the city centre at about 0200 BST on Saturday morning.
They suffered cuts and bruising to their faces. Police are treating it as a homophobic attack.
One of the men, who did not want to be identified, said it had affected both of them badly.
"I'm terrified of going to bed, I'm terrified walking down the street," he said.
"I've got to walk my fella to his work because he's terrified.
"It's just absolutely soul destroying and it's not on."
BBC News
The couple, aged 22 and 38, were beaten by three men in the city centre at about 0200 BST on Saturday morning.
They suffered cuts and bruising to their faces. Police are treating it as a homophobic attack.
One of the men, who did not want to be identified, said it had affected both of them badly.
"I'm terrified of going to bed, I'm terrified walking down the street," he said.
"I've got to walk my fella to his work because he's terrified.
"It's just absolutely soul destroying and it's not on."
BBC News
3 FAR-RIGHT YOUTH ARRESTED DURING BULGARIA'S GAY PARADE
Three young men have been arrested for attempting to attack the participants in the 3rd annual Sofia Pride gay parade taking place in the Bulgarian capital Saturday. Several other far right extremists have attempted to provoke the participants in the gay parade including through verbal abuse but their intentions have been prevented by the police, the Interior Ministry announced. Earlier on Sunday, some 100 nationalist and far-right youth gathered for an anti-gay parade rally with slogans such as “Gays want death for Bulgarians”, “Homosexuals out of Bulgaria, to keep our children pure”, “Bulgaria is a place for normal people – gays should go to jail” and “All the gays, go to Uganda”, there were several provocation attempts during the Sofia Pride parade itself but those foiled by the police. A total of 300 police officers were commissioned Saturday to guard the 3rd Sofia Pride gay procession. The 2010 provocation attempts pale in contrast to the first edition of the parade in 2008 when the police arrested several dozen skin heads throwing Molotov cocktails at the participants.
Novinite.com
Novinite.com
RACIAL VIOLENCE: THE BURIED ISSUE (uk)
Research published by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), reveals dangerously high levels of racial violence in the UK - a violence which is spreading into new areas.
As mainstream parties compete as to which can reduce immigration fastest - ostensibly to defuse community fears - no one asks who actually bears the immediate fall-out of such tensions - Black and Minority Ethnic, asylum-seeker/refugee and migrant communities. As far as the authorities are concerned the Macpherson inquiry (set up in the wake of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993) has dealt with racial violence. It no longer exists, it is no longer a problem issue. But the IRR's report, Racial violence: the buried issue, reveals that, on average, five people a year in the UK have lost their lives to racial violence since Stephen's death - a total of eight-nine victims in seventeen years.
And analysis of 660 racial attacks in 2009 reveals that certain groups of people are particularly at risk: 'dispersed' asylum seekers, newly-arrived migrant workers, those who look Muslim and/or work in isolating trades such as taxi-cabbing, food take-aways, small shops and eateries. The map of violence has changed quite dramatically since studies were first done a generation ago, when primarily areas like Southall, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham witnessed the most racial attacks and racist murders. Such areas are now, in part through struggles against racism, more 'at ease' with their diversity. Today racial violence is on the rise in towns, cities and villages which are only now beginning to change demographically - with the arrival of asylum seekers, migrant workers, overseas students, and the natural movement of settled BME families from the larger conurbations.
According to the report's authors: 'The governments' line that community tension is based solely on new immigration to the UK is partial and opportunistic. The UK is now witnessing an ever-expanding mosaic of different racisms based on different local conditions. And politicians themselves are responsible, through their neglect of poor disadvantaged areas, policies including the demonisation of certain groups and rhetoric around the war on terror, for creating, particularly in areas where competition over scarce resources is keenest, a climate in which racial violence will flourish. The drastic economic cuts of the new government can only make things worse.'
Key statistics
* 89 people have lost their lives in attacks with a racial element since the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
* Victims of attacks are overwhelmingly Asian (45%); Black (18%); Migrant workers (10%). Men are usually the victims of attacks (80%).
* Attacks take place on the street (37.6%); in the home (12%), taxi/taxi offices (10%), takeaways, restaurants, pubs and bars (8.6%); shops (8%); religious institutions and/or people in their vicinity (4.3%).
* 34% of attacks took place at the weekend when perpetrators are often under the influence of drink and drugs.
Download the IRR's Briefing Paper: Racial violence: the buried issue Here (pdf file, 300kb).
Read the IRR's Factfile on the Racially Motivated Murders (Known or Suspected) 2000 onwards
The Institute of Race Relations
As mainstream parties compete as to which can reduce immigration fastest - ostensibly to defuse community fears - no one asks who actually bears the immediate fall-out of such tensions - Black and Minority Ethnic, asylum-seeker/refugee and migrant communities. As far as the authorities are concerned the Macpherson inquiry (set up in the wake of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993) has dealt with racial violence. It no longer exists, it is no longer a problem issue. But the IRR's report, Racial violence: the buried issue, reveals that, on average, five people a year in the UK have lost their lives to racial violence since Stephen's death - a total of eight-nine victims in seventeen years.
And analysis of 660 racial attacks in 2009 reveals that certain groups of people are particularly at risk: 'dispersed' asylum seekers, newly-arrived migrant workers, those who look Muslim and/or work in isolating trades such as taxi-cabbing, food take-aways, small shops and eateries. The map of violence has changed quite dramatically since studies were first done a generation ago, when primarily areas like Southall, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham witnessed the most racial attacks and racist murders. Such areas are now, in part through struggles against racism, more 'at ease' with their diversity. Today racial violence is on the rise in towns, cities and villages which are only now beginning to change demographically - with the arrival of asylum seekers, migrant workers, overseas students, and the natural movement of settled BME families from the larger conurbations.
According to the report's authors: 'The governments' line that community tension is based solely on new immigration to the UK is partial and opportunistic. The UK is now witnessing an ever-expanding mosaic of different racisms based on different local conditions. And politicians themselves are responsible, through their neglect of poor disadvantaged areas, policies including the demonisation of certain groups and rhetoric around the war on terror, for creating, particularly in areas where competition over scarce resources is keenest, a climate in which racial violence will flourish. The drastic economic cuts of the new government can only make things worse.'
Key statistics
* 89 people have lost their lives in attacks with a racial element since the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
* Victims of attacks are overwhelmingly Asian (45%); Black (18%); Migrant workers (10%). Men are usually the victims of attacks (80%).
* Attacks take place on the street (37.6%); in the home (12%), taxi/taxi offices (10%), takeaways, restaurants, pubs and bars (8.6%); shops (8%); religious institutions and/or people in their vicinity (4.3%).
* 34% of attacks took place at the weekend when perpetrators are often under the influence of drink and drugs.
Download the IRR's Briefing Paper: Racial violence: the buried issue Here (pdf file, 300kb).
Read the IRR's Factfile on the Racially Motivated Murders (Known or Suspected) 2000 onwards
The Institute of Race Relations
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Germans celebrate the diversity of their 'multiculti' World Cup team
Germany's football team is the most ethnically diverse in the country's history
Yagiz Dogan is hankering after a pair of orange and silver trainers similar to those worn by German footballer Mesut Ozil. "I'm saving up for them, after all he's my hero," says the 15-year-old, who lives in a flat in the Berlin district of Neukölln with his Turkish parents and grandparents.
Yagiz has hung a German flag from the window, much to the confusion of his mother. "Of course I want Germany to win the World Cup," he says.
He also thinks it's fine that Ozil, the German-born son of Turkish immigrants, has chosen to play for Germany rather than Turkey.
"What should be strange about that? He was born here, brought up here, he speaks the language, understands the culture – just like me. I can identify with him."
The boy could be speaking for Ozil himself. But what's clear from talking to him is how natural it is for a whole generation of young Germans – known as "Generation M" or "multiculti" – that their national football team comes from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Not only is this German team the youngest it has been since 1934 – half the squad are 24 or under – it is also the most ethnically diverse it has ever been. No fewer than half of the players were either born outside Germany, are the sons of immigrants, or have one non-German parent. And what's more, says national coach Joachim Löw, "they have a strong sense of identification with the eagle on their breasts and with the nation as a whole".
The effect of such a radical transition cannot be overstated in a country that for years did not consider itself a land of immigration, and where foreigners brought in to fill the skills gap were deliberately called "guest workers" on the understanding, or hope, that they would go home.
The change has come about thanks to a 1999 revamp of citizenship laws. Half the current team's players would not have been allowed in just over a decade ago.
Some bloggers on far-right websites railed in anger following Germany's swashbuckling 4-0 defeat of Australia a fortnight ago, insisting that the team was now "no longer German". But the team has won over the hearts of most Germans, who are delighted by the verve and fearlessness the new generation has injected into the game.
Ozil, arguably the star of this current team, who scored the winning goal in Wednesday's match against Ghana, said that he sees his "Turkish side" coming out in his technique and feel for the ball, "and the give-it-your-all attitude to my game is the German part of me".
The Guardian
Yagiz Dogan is hankering after a pair of orange and silver trainers similar to those worn by German footballer Mesut Ozil. "I'm saving up for them, after all he's my hero," says the 15-year-old, who lives in a flat in the Berlin district of Neukölln with his Turkish parents and grandparents.
Yagiz has hung a German flag from the window, much to the confusion of his mother. "Of course I want Germany to win the World Cup," he says.
He also thinks it's fine that Ozil, the German-born son of Turkish immigrants, has chosen to play for Germany rather than Turkey.
"What should be strange about that? He was born here, brought up here, he speaks the language, understands the culture – just like me. I can identify with him."
The boy could be speaking for Ozil himself. But what's clear from talking to him is how natural it is for a whole generation of young Germans – known as "Generation M" or "multiculti" – that their national football team comes from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Not only is this German team the youngest it has been since 1934 – half the squad are 24 or under – it is also the most ethnically diverse it has ever been. No fewer than half of the players were either born outside Germany, are the sons of immigrants, or have one non-German parent. And what's more, says national coach Joachim Löw, "they have a strong sense of identification with the eagle on their breasts and with the nation as a whole".
The effect of such a radical transition cannot be overstated in a country that for years did not consider itself a land of immigration, and where foreigners brought in to fill the skills gap were deliberately called "guest workers" on the understanding, or hope, that they would go home.
The change has come about thanks to a 1999 revamp of citizenship laws. Half the current team's players would not have been allowed in just over a decade ago.
Some bloggers on far-right websites railed in anger following Germany's swashbuckling 4-0 defeat of Australia a fortnight ago, insisting that the team was now "no longer German". But the team has won over the hearts of most Germans, who are delighted by the verve and fearlessness the new generation has injected into the game.
Ozil, arguably the star of this current team, who scored the winning goal in Wednesday's match against Ghana, said that he sees his "Turkish side" coming out in his technique and feel for the ball, "and the give-it-your-all attitude to my game is the German part of me".
The Guardian
BNP leader Nick Griffin grooms his daughter to replace him
But they believe Griffin has no intention of relinquishing his vice-like grip on the party he has led since 1999 – despite his pledge to step down by 2013.
They expect him to copy his 82-year-old French Fascist ally Jean Marie Le Pen, who has ensured his daughter Marine is in pole position to replace him as head of France’s National Front.
Last year Jennifer was appointed a director of Adlorries, a company that controls a substantial proportion of the BNP finances, under her married name Jennifer Matthys.
She was also given a crucial role as party membership secretary, working in the BNP’s main call centre in Belfast, where she lives.
Jennifer, who was leader of the BNP’s youth wing as a teenager, has been at her father’s side at important party events. Earlier this month she was used as the public face of the party in a promotional film.
Griffin’s manoeuvring risks sparking further revolt among the party faithful, who have openly questioned his leadership since the BNP was humiliated in May’s national and local elections.
Simon Bennett, the former BNP webmaster who quit his job on the eve of the election in a row over alleged corruption and incompetence, said: “He knows his days are numbered and installing his daughter is the perfect Plan B.
“She would be the nominal leader but he would be the real power behind the throne.”
The Mirror
EHRC case against the BNP now moves from County Court to the High Court.
So far very little news about this is emerging and we have no trust in the BNP ‘s website reporting of these events.
However as they are the only ones reporting this incident its well worth reading as this could be another huge nail being hammered into the BNP’s coffin.
BNP Website
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Germany to Launch Exit Program for Militant Islamists
Germany has been offering programs for people who want to leave the neo-Nazi scene for years. Now, in a bid to combat the threat of Islamist terrorism, authorities are setting up a telephone hotline for those keen to give up jihad.
Could it be that Islamists just need a helping hand to turn their back on extremism? That, at least, is what Germany is hoping -- and has set up a new program to facilitate the process.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, will launch the so-called exit program at the end of June, agency chief Heinz Fromm announced Monday, speaking at the presentation of the service's annual report for 2009 in Berlin. The agency is to set up a telephone hotline that militant Islamists can call if they want to leave radical Islamist groups. Multilingual specialists will be available to give potential quitters advice in Turkish or Arabic, as well as German, Fromm said, without giving further details of the program.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière described the scheme as a "valuable preventative effort." Fromm however warned against overly high expectations for the scheme. "We'll have to wait and see if it gets a big response," he said. The agency's programs for neo-Nazis wanting to quit their milieu, which have been running for several years, have only met with moderate success.
'Feelings of Insecurity'
According to the intelligence agency's findings, the number of members and supporters of radical Islamist groups in Germany increased in 2009 by around 5 percent compared to the previous year. Germany now has 29 Islamist organizations with an estimated 36,000 members, the largest of which is the Turkish association Milli Görüs, described by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as "anti-democratic."
Fromm and de Maizière warned of an ongoing threat to Germany from Islamist terrorism. In 2009, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution registered an "unprecedented" series of Islamist propaganda messages directed at Germany, warning of attacks against German targets if the country did not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The messages were intended to influence the outcome of the September 2009 general election. The promised attacks did not, however, materialize. There have been seven serious attempts to carry out Islamist terror attacks in Germany since 2000, according to the agency.
So-called "homegrown" terrorism poses a particular threat in Germany. The members of radical Islamist groups include young Germans who have converted to Islam, a phenomenon de Maizière attributed to "situations of loss and insecurity" during puberty. "Feelings of inferiority" make young people vulnerable to being inducted into the radical Islamist scene, he said.
Violence from Both Sides
The agency also recorded a sharp rise in acts of violence motivated by left-wing extremism in 2009, which rose by more than 50 percent to over 1,100. The number of arson attacks increased from 62 in 2008 to 113 in 2009. Arson attacks on cars in cities such as Berlin and Hamburg have been the focus of much media attention in the last couple of years. Fromm played down the threat of terrorist acts by left-wing extremists, however. Although some people in the far-left scene play with "the idea of attempting something like that, (those ideas) are not currently finding support," Fromm said.
There was a small drop in acts of right-wing violence in 2009, down to 891 acts from 1,042 in 2008. De Maizière stressed that, despite the fall, the threat of far-right violence should not be "neglected."
Spiegel
Could it be that Islamists just need a helping hand to turn their back on extremism? That, at least, is what Germany is hoping -- and has set up a new program to facilitate the process.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, will launch the so-called exit program at the end of June, agency chief Heinz Fromm announced Monday, speaking at the presentation of the service's annual report for 2009 in Berlin. The agency is to set up a telephone hotline that militant Islamists can call if they want to leave radical Islamist groups. Multilingual specialists will be available to give potential quitters advice in Turkish or Arabic, as well as German, Fromm said, without giving further details of the program.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière described the scheme as a "valuable preventative effort." Fromm however warned against overly high expectations for the scheme. "We'll have to wait and see if it gets a big response," he said. The agency's programs for neo-Nazis wanting to quit their milieu, which have been running for several years, have only met with moderate success.
'Feelings of Insecurity'
According to the intelligence agency's findings, the number of members and supporters of radical Islamist groups in Germany increased in 2009 by around 5 percent compared to the previous year. Germany now has 29 Islamist organizations with an estimated 36,000 members, the largest of which is the Turkish association Milli Görüs, described by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as "anti-democratic."
Fromm and de Maizière warned of an ongoing threat to Germany from Islamist terrorism. In 2009, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution registered an "unprecedented" series of Islamist propaganda messages directed at Germany, warning of attacks against German targets if the country did not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The messages were intended to influence the outcome of the September 2009 general election. The promised attacks did not, however, materialize. There have been seven serious attempts to carry out Islamist terror attacks in Germany since 2000, according to the agency.
So-called "homegrown" terrorism poses a particular threat in Germany. The members of radical Islamist groups include young Germans who have converted to Islam, a phenomenon de Maizière attributed to "situations of loss and insecurity" during puberty. "Feelings of inferiority" make young people vulnerable to being inducted into the radical Islamist scene, he said.
Violence from Both Sides
The agency also recorded a sharp rise in acts of violence motivated by left-wing extremism in 2009, which rose by more than 50 percent to over 1,100. The number of arson attacks increased from 62 in 2008 to 113 in 2009. Arson attacks on cars in cities such as Berlin and Hamburg have been the focus of much media attention in the last couple of years. Fromm played down the threat of terrorist acts by left-wing extremists, however. Although some people in the far-left scene play with "the idea of attempting something like that, (those ideas) are not currently finding support," Fromm said.
There was a small drop in acts of right-wing violence in 2009, down to 891 acts from 1,042 in 2008. De Maizière stressed that, despite the fall, the threat of far-right violence should not be "neglected."
Spiegel
Boy made nailbombs with chemicals bought on eBay
Police found a pipe packed with nails and screws and charged with powder in the 16 year old’s bedroom, and a pipe with a firework inside hidden under a waste oil tank at a nearby petrol station.
The youngster also had literature from the right wing groups the British National Party and the English Defence League, together with Nazi emblems.
Officers were tipped off by the eBay seller who was concerned about the commodities being bought. The family's house in Tamworth, Staffs, was immediately evacuated while explosives and firearms experts searched the property for three days.
They found the device, loaded with nails, in his bedroom. It was examined by the Defence Laboratory and found to be capable of producing a "lethal shot". Two days later they found the device with a firework inside.
Stafford Crown Court heard internet conversations from a chat room dedicated to explosives and firearms had been found on a computer in the house.
Malcolm Morse, prosecuting, added that the mother of one of the boy's friends had handed in a video clip from a mobile phone camera showing an explosive device being detonated in a tree. The clip was labelled with the boy’s name and claiming ownership of the device.
The boy, who cannot be named, admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate – the only charge that could be applied to the device found in his bedroom, said Mr Morse. He also admitted having an explosive substance and making an explosive substance.
Judge John Wait made the boy subject to a three year controlling order for public safety. He told him he was a danger to the public and added that he found it hard to believe that his parents had let him carry on making explosive substances and not seen the danger of the combination with extreme politics.
Defending, Darron Whitehead, said: "It would be very easy to simply infer that this young man is a terrorist with hidden agendas. They don't exist in this case.
"There was never at any time, any positive intention to make any aggressive use of the items strewn about his bedroom.
"There is nothing in this case to suggest there was any intention to cause harm to human life."
He said the boy’s interest began with fireworks before developing into a wider interest in pyrotechnics.
Mr Whitehead said the boy’s parents and his neighbours all knew about his interests and were not concerned about him.
One of the boy’s friends, Jason Cunningham, 27, from Tamworth, admitted making an explosive substance and perverting the course of justice. He was jailed for 12 months.
The Telegraph
FRANCE'S NATIONAL FRONT: WILL MARINE LE PEN TAKE THE REINS?
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who heads France's National Front party, has long peppered politics with right-wing bons mots. (Nazi occupation was "not especially inhumane," he once said.) Now his daughter, Marine Le Pen, is showing that she, too, can make headlines. She called on President Nicolas Sarkozy to step down if implicated in a bribery case dating to 1995. She recently knocked France's racially diverse World Cup soccer team: "I don't see myself represented by this France team." And after police on June 15 banned a provocative "pork sausage and booze" party that was to be held in a heavily Arab-Muslim quarter of Paris, Ms. Le Pen said, "the French state has capitulated once again."
Succession campaign in full swing
Her higher visibility comes as a National Front succession campaign is in full swing. The senior Le Pen is set to retire as champion of a proud France that, he's long said, is being invaded and cheated by foreign hordes, Brussels bureaucrats, and globalization. He also decries what he calls excessive Jewish influence in the media. An often-vicious party fight is under way between Ms. Le Pen and Bruno Gollnisch, Mr. Le Pen's stalwart right-hand man. The battle is over the face and direction of the far right, whose influence here has always outweighed its numbers. Ms. Le Pen, tall, blond, and articulate, wants to move the Front away from the splendid isolation of its 5 to 12 percent vote and appeal to a mainstream that has also moved right. She has rebuffed her dad's anti-Semitism and speaks inclusively of gays and feminists – while nourishing an anti-immigrant, antiburqa, anti-Islam line that plays to a silent majority. Mr. Gollnisch, serious, gray-haired, a professor and ultranationalist who speaks Japanese and Malay and is deeply loyal to Mr. Le Pen, wants the party to remain a haven for fellow travelers. His anti-Semitism is intact; a 2004 speech saying Holocaust facts are a "dispute of history" landed him in court. Most French think the daughter, with her populist touch, will win. But in party ranks, Gollnisch is seen as a standard-bearer who put in time and hard work. He told Le Figaro newspaper: "I want … to defend the French identity, which appears more threatened than ever."
"She's a pure product of her father, and she's got the leader's name. That has weight," says Arun Kapil of the American University in Paris. "But to the card-carrying party member, Gollnisch has legitimacy. He goes way back to the '70s." He adds, "If Marine wins, the Front national has a chance to break out … if Gollnisch wins, they retreat to 2 percent." Gollnisch insists that he has the moxie to move the party out. He casts himself as a "little guy from the provinces." But so far he isn't even talking to the main center-right party of Mr. Sarkozy, where the voters are. His hatred for political correctness is reputedly visceral. "He prefers to fish in silent, dark waters," a Paris political analyst says. His outreach is to figures like Philippe de Villiers, a denizen of the extremes who opposes the European Union, the euro, Islam, and Turkey in Europe; who wants riot police to use live ammunition; and who this month tried to ban a heavy-metal concert as "Satanist." Ms. Le Pen, meanwhile, is taking on figures like Sarkozy and getting quoted almost daily. On the socialist left, she is compared to Sarah Palin, especially after claiming a feminist mantle. And the return home this week of France's World Cup team, disgraced by its poor performance on and off the field, has only given Ms. Le Pen's earlier statements added weight. Much of the national reaction to the team's behavior was racially loaded, prompting urban affairs minister Fadela Amara to warn against "building a highway for the National Front."
Party witch hunt
Gollnischians snarl that Ms. Le Pen, a tool of Zionists, is conducting party witch hunts to out his supporters. "She is an empty shell … compatible with anything," says former Front vice president Jean-Claude Martinez. Gollnisch is "faithful to the fundamentals of the Front, whose program he wrote," says analyst Philippe Cohen. "When Marine is 'divisive,' Gollnisch says he is ready to rally the scattered forces of the extreme right." Mr. Le Pen is silent on the internal struggle. He has long been the face of the European far right, and a powerful influence as the mainstream scrambled to match his ability to capture popular discontent. In 2002, he shocked Paris by facing Jacques Chirac in the national runoff. In 2007, his party did poorly. But Sarkozy's victory was partly based on adopting Le Pen positions and siphoning votes. Whether the daughter can move the party into power politics is unclear. In The New York Times recently, she described the trials of being a Le Pen, but affirmed core party views: "There has been a withdrawal into non-French identities because we sapped French nationality of its content.… So how can someone be proud? We spend all our lives saying, 'We are ... colonizers, slavery promoters.' " The Le Pens, in any event, seem here to stay. Mr. Le Pen's granddaughter, Marion Marechal Le Pen, ran in the March local elections. She's 19.
CSMonitor
Succession campaign in full swing
Her higher visibility comes as a National Front succession campaign is in full swing. The senior Le Pen is set to retire as champion of a proud France that, he's long said, is being invaded and cheated by foreign hordes, Brussels bureaucrats, and globalization. He also decries what he calls excessive Jewish influence in the media. An often-vicious party fight is under way between Ms. Le Pen and Bruno Gollnisch, Mr. Le Pen's stalwart right-hand man. The battle is over the face and direction of the far right, whose influence here has always outweighed its numbers. Ms. Le Pen, tall, blond, and articulate, wants to move the Front away from the splendid isolation of its 5 to 12 percent vote and appeal to a mainstream that has also moved right. She has rebuffed her dad's anti-Semitism and speaks inclusively of gays and feminists – while nourishing an anti-immigrant, antiburqa, anti-Islam line that plays to a silent majority. Mr. Gollnisch, serious, gray-haired, a professor and ultranationalist who speaks Japanese and Malay and is deeply loyal to Mr. Le Pen, wants the party to remain a haven for fellow travelers. His anti-Semitism is intact; a 2004 speech saying Holocaust facts are a "dispute of history" landed him in court. Most French think the daughter, with her populist touch, will win. But in party ranks, Gollnisch is seen as a standard-bearer who put in time and hard work. He told Le Figaro newspaper: "I want … to defend the French identity, which appears more threatened than ever."
"She's a pure product of her father, and she's got the leader's name. That has weight," says Arun Kapil of the American University in Paris. "But to the card-carrying party member, Gollnisch has legitimacy. He goes way back to the '70s." He adds, "If Marine wins, the Front national has a chance to break out … if Gollnisch wins, they retreat to 2 percent." Gollnisch insists that he has the moxie to move the party out. He casts himself as a "little guy from the provinces." But so far he isn't even talking to the main center-right party of Mr. Sarkozy, where the voters are. His hatred for political correctness is reputedly visceral. "He prefers to fish in silent, dark waters," a Paris political analyst says. His outreach is to figures like Philippe de Villiers, a denizen of the extremes who opposes the European Union, the euro, Islam, and Turkey in Europe; who wants riot police to use live ammunition; and who this month tried to ban a heavy-metal concert as "Satanist." Ms. Le Pen, meanwhile, is taking on figures like Sarkozy and getting quoted almost daily. On the socialist left, she is compared to Sarah Palin, especially after claiming a feminist mantle. And the return home this week of France's World Cup team, disgraced by its poor performance on and off the field, has only given Ms. Le Pen's earlier statements added weight. Much of the national reaction to the team's behavior was racially loaded, prompting urban affairs minister Fadela Amara to warn against "building a highway for the National Front."
Party witch hunt
Gollnischians snarl that Ms. Le Pen, a tool of Zionists, is conducting party witch hunts to out his supporters. "She is an empty shell … compatible with anything," says former Front vice president Jean-Claude Martinez. Gollnisch is "faithful to the fundamentals of the Front, whose program he wrote," says analyst Philippe Cohen. "When Marine is 'divisive,' Gollnisch says he is ready to rally the scattered forces of the extreme right." Mr. Le Pen is silent on the internal struggle. He has long been the face of the European far right, and a powerful influence as the mainstream scrambled to match his ability to capture popular discontent. In 2002, he shocked Paris by facing Jacques Chirac in the national runoff. In 2007, his party did poorly. But Sarkozy's victory was partly based on adopting Le Pen positions and siphoning votes. Whether the daughter can move the party into power politics is unclear. In The New York Times recently, she described the trials of being a Le Pen, but affirmed core party views: "There has been a withdrawal into non-French identities because we sapped French nationality of its content.… So how can someone be proud? We spend all our lives saying, 'We are ... colonizers, slavery promoters.' " The Le Pens, in any event, seem here to stay. Mr. Le Pen's granddaughter, Marion Marechal Le Pen, ran in the March local elections. She's 19.
CSMonitor
Greens MP and pal attacked by 'racist' football fans (Austria)
Greens MP Werner Kogler was given a "beer shower" as he acted as a go-between at an open air World Cup party.
The financial issues expert said today (Fri) he reprimanded a group of four young men shouting racist slurs before they spilled beer over his head at the venue in the city centre of Graz on Wednesday night.
Kogler claimed the youths provoked other football enthusiasts watching Germany playing Ghana by shouting paroles like "shitty niggers".
The politician – who is his party’s front runner for the 26 September provincial elections of Styria – announced one of his mates suffered a broken cheekbone as the situation got out of hands. The attacker was arrested, he added.
Austrian Greens Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Ulrike Lunacek revealed recently a protester threw stones at her during a demonstration for gay rights in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.
Lunacek said the route of the "Rainbow Pride Bratislava 2010" march was changed after the incident, adding that the attacker was put in custody.
Austrian Times
The financial issues expert said today (Fri) he reprimanded a group of four young men shouting racist slurs before they spilled beer over his head at the venue in the city centre of Graz on Wednesday night.
Kogler claimed the youths provoked other football enthusiasts watching Germany playing Ghana by shouting paroles like "shitty niggers".
The politician – who is his party’s front runner for the 26 September provincial elections of Styria – announced one of his mates suffered a broken cheekbone as the situation got out of hands. The attacker was arrested, he added.
Austrian Greens Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Ulrike Lunacek revealed recently a protester threw stones at her during a demonstration for gay rights in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.
Lunacek said the route of the "Rainbow Pride Bratislava 2010" march was changed after the incident, adding that the attacker was put in custody.
Austrian Times
Met boss: Day I took on racist yobs who called me 'Paki'
Scotland Yard's most senior Muslim officer has told how he challenged a gang of yobs who racially abused him while he was off duty.
Chief Superintendent Dal Babu was walking to a church confirmation when he was subjected to shouts of "Paki, Paki." The father-of-two blocked the men's path until help arrived, as they tried to jostle him and push past.
Two people have now been convicted over the abuse.
The Harrow borough commander, who was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, told how he was on his BlackBerry getting directions to the church in St Albans when he walked past a pub and saw three men. One shouted: "Paki, Paki."
In a witness statement, Mr Babu, 47, who lives in London, said one of the white men asked: "Come on Paki what you going to do about it?" Mr Babu added: "He beckoned me to come towards him with his hand. The two other men were laughing and started to walk towards me. I am unfamiliar with St Albans and was concerned I was going be assaulted. The man in the grey top continued to shout.
"I decided I should identify myself as a police officer and call for assistance. I then crossed the road and produced my warrant card and said, 'I am Chief Superintendent Babu from the Metropolitan Police I want to speak to you. I phoned 999. The three men started to surround me and I noticed all of them smelt of intoxicating liquor. I said, 'I want you to stay here, There is CCTV that will capture everything you do.'"
Two of the men tried to walk away but, said Mr Babu: "I blocked their path ... they pushed past me, the man in the yellow top pushed me causing my BlackBerry to fall and come apart." But he managed to hold on to two of them until uniformed officers arrived. The abuse took place last month. At Hertford magistrates' court, Jamie Healy, 27, of Watford, was given a community order after pleading guilty to a public order offence. Michael Dimaio, 24, of St Albans, is awaiting sentence after admitting causing racial aggravation.
Mr Babu, one of 10 children of Indian migrants, joined the Met in 1983 and is a founding member of the National Association of Muslim Police. He helped build bridges between police and Muslim communities after the 9/11 and the 7/7 bombings.
This is London
Chief Superintendent Dal Babu was walking to a church confirmation when he was subjected to shouts of "Paki, Paki." The father-of-two blocked the men's path until help arrived, as they tried to jostle him and push past.
Two people have now been convicted over the abuse.
The Harrow borough commander, who was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, told how he was on his BlackBerry getting directions to the church in St Albans when he walked past a pub and saw three men. One shouted: "Paki, Paki."
In a witness statement, Mr Babu, 47, who lives in London, said one of the white men asked: "Come on Paki what you going to do about it?" Mr Babu added: "He beckoned me to come towards him with his hand. The two other men were laughing and started to walk towards me. I am unfamiliar with St Albans and was concerned I was going be assaulted. The man in the grey top continued to shout.
"I decided I should identify myself as a police officer and call for assistance. I then crossed the road and produced my warrant card and said, 'I am Chief Superintendent Babu from the Metropolitan Police I want to speak to you. I phoned 999. The three men started to surround me and I noticed all of them smelt of intoxicating liquor. I said, 'I want you to stay here, There is CCTV that will capture everything you do.'"
Two of the men tried to walk away but, said Mr Babu: "I blocked their path ... they pushed past me, the man in the yellow top pushed me causing my BlackBerry to fall and come apart." But he managed to hold on to two of them until uniformed officers arrived. The abuse took place last month. At Hertford magistrates' court, Jamie Healy, 27, of Watford, was given a community order after pleading guilty to a public order offence. Michael Dimaio, 24, of St Albans, is awaiting sentence after admitting causing racial aggravation.
Mr Babu, one of 10 children of Indian migrants, joined the Met in 1983 and is a founding member of the National Association of Muslim Police. He helped build bridges between police and Muslim communities after the 9/11 and the 7/7 bombings.
This is London
School sends home more than 20 children for racist chants during World Cup game
A school suspended more than 20 children after they started chanting racial abuse during a playground showing of a World Cup game.
Education chiefs at the Pent Valley Technology College in Cheriton, Kent, confirmed today that 'a number of children' had been suspended or excluded following an outbreak of 'racial taunting'.
More than 100 children at the secondary school were watching a match after school bosses decided to rig up a giant screen in the playground so pupils could watch lunchtime games.
The incident - which involved around 25 children taunting children of other nationalities - is believed to have taken place during the Honduras v Chile game on June 16.
Head teacher Mario Citro said that a group of youngsters had been sent home from school after 'abusive and racist comments' were made.
He refused to say how many had been suspended or if any had been permanently excluded, but did say that 'a number' of pupils had been excluded.
A source at the school, however, said between 20 and 25 children had been sent home immediately following the incident.
Mr Citro said that the incident was captured on CCTV and that some students had behaved in an 'intimidating manner'.
He added: 'A group of youngsters was making abusive and racist comments to the ones who aren't English.
'Some were trying to be horrible to some of our children from other countries - that is behaviour we don't accept.'
Mr Citro, who said staff take a 'hard line' on racism, addressed a school assembly in the wake of the incident telling children that any racist behaviour would not be tolerated.
He said: 'I reminded the students that what happened was something we would never accept at Pent Valley.
'I reinforced our stance against racism and reminded them how proud we are of our mixed community and how we've always got on together.'
A spokesman for Kent police confirmed that racist chanting had 'got out of hand', but said the school had handled the incident itself.
The spokesman said: 'Some children got suspended after some England chanting got out of hand and ended up racist in tone.
'We were told about it but not called out as the school managed it quickly.'
Mr Citro refused to confirm how many pupils at the 1,300 student school were suspended or excluded, adding: 'A number of children have been excluded but I'm always concerned about people's privacy.'
Daily Mail
Education chiefs at the Pent Valley Technology College in Cheriton, Kent, confirmed today that 'a number of children' had been suspended or excluded following an outbreak of 'racial taunting'.
More than 100 children at the secondary school were watching a match after school bosses decided to rig up a giant screen in the playground so pupils could watch lunchtime games.
The incident - which involved around 25 children taunting children of other nationalities - is believed to have taken place during the Honduras v Chile game on June 16.
Head teacher Mario Citro said that a group of youngsters had been sent home from school after 'abusive and racist comments' were made.
He refused to say how many had been suspended or if any had been permanently excluded, but did say that 'a number' of pupils had been excluded.
A source at the school, however, said between 20 and 25 children had been sent home immediately following the incident.
Mr Citro said that the incident was captured on CCTV and that some students had behaved in an 'intimidating manner'.
He added: 'A group of youngsters was making abusive and racist comments to the ones who aren't English.
'Some were trying to be horrible to some of our children from other countries - that is behaviour we don't accept.'
Mr Citro, who said staff take a 'hard line' on racism, addressed a school assembly in the wake of the incident telling children that any racist behaviour would not be tolerated.
He said: 'I reminded the students that what happened was something we would never accept at Pent Valley.
'I reinforced our stance against racism and reminded them how proud we are of our mixed community and how we've always got on together.'
A spokesman for Kent police confirmed that racist chanting had 'got out of hand', but said the school had handled the incident itself.
The spokesman said: 'Some children got suspended after some England chanting got out of hand and ended up racist in tone.
'We were told about it but not called out as the school managed it quickly.'
Mr Citro refused to confirm how many pupils at the 1,300 student school were suspended or excluded, adding: 'A number of children have been excluded but I'm always concerned about people's privacy.'
Daily Mail
Racist violence migrates to the country (UK)
Researchers at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) analysed 660 racist attacks across Britain last year and found growing evidence to suggest that violence against minorities has shifted to rural areas and towns.
The IRR said hatred and bigotry had spread in less than a generation thanks to a broad spread of asylum seekers, migrant workers, overseas students and the movement of settled ethnic minority families. Prejudice was also being fanned, they concluded, by mainstream political parties competing with one another over which could cut immigration the fastest.
"What has emerged is that the map of violence has changed quite dramatically since studies were first done of such violence in the 1970s," the authors wrote.
"It is no longer poor, deprived areas of London such as Southall, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham, which witnessed many of the racial attacks and racist murders a generation or two ago, that are now so prone to serious attacks. Not only are black and ethnic minority communities now more established there but also a whole history of struggle against racism has strengthened these communities."
They added: "But what was significant was that ethnic minorities in a whole host of cities, towns and areas, not traditionally associated with such violence, now appear to be experiencing it. These are areas which have traditionally been very white and are not affluent. In some cases, core industries have gone and a whole generation of young people are without a future."
The authors said minority ethnic groups, asylum seekers and migrant communities are bearing the brunt of these tensions. They found asylum seekers, newly-arrived migrant workers and people who look Muslim are most at risk of attack, while trades that isolate individuals, such as cab driving, serving in takeaways and staffing small shops were found to be the most dangerous. IRR researchers say at least 89 identifiably racist murders have taken place in Britain since Stephen Lawrence was killed while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south London, in 1993 – an average of five a year. Of the victims, 39 were Asian, 25 were black, four were white British and three were white eastern Europeans.
Lee Bridges, who analysed official crime statistics for the report, found that while racist attacks had decreased in London over the past decade, they have dramatically risen in proportion elsewhere.
In 1999/2000, London recorded 23,401 racist incidents, 49 per cent of the national total. By 2007/8 that number had dropped to 9,866, a 58 per cent reduction. Last year, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Thames Valley and Lancashire accounted for 28 per cent of the national total, a 103 per cent increase on 10 years ago.
Case Study: Indian sailor died after attack by gang of 20 youths
Gregory Fernandes, a 32-year-old sailor from Goa in India, was walking back to the cargo ship he worked on in Fawley, Hampshire when he and a friend were set upon by a 20-strong gang of youths. It was October 2007. Mr Fernandes was his family's breadwinner. A passerby broke up the fight and drove Mr Fernandes to his cargo ship, but he dropped dead from a heart attack.
Police concluded that the attack, which took place in a normally quiet backwater of Hampshire, had clear racist overtones. The gang had been shouting "Paki" during the assault. In January 2008, the Fernandes family expressed concern at the police investigation and the failure to charge anyone in connection with his death. Three young boys were later charged with his murder. At their trial in February 2009, the three admitted lesser charges of manslaughter. In March 2009, Stephen Pritchard, 18, Daniel Rogers, 18, and Chay Fields, 16, were sentenced to six-and-a-half years. A 15-year-old boy admitted GBH on Mr Fernandes' friend and was given a 12-month detention and training order. Another 15-year-old who admitted assault was given an 18-month supervision order.
The Independant
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