Far-right groups target press

Here is a recent article from the National Union of Journalists which can be viewed here.

Death threats for journalists covering far right demos

Tough and urgent action is needed in response to violence, intimidation and death threats targeting journalists covering far right demonstrations. The call by NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear comes in the wake of specific email threats against photojournalist and investigative reporter Marc Vallée, and video journalist Jason N. Parkinson. The emails follow verbal threats and intimidation aimed at photographers covering a march by the English Defence League in Leeds at the weekend and other EDL protests this year. Professional journalists covering the events have filed reports with the NUJ detailing physical violence, including one being punched in the head, verbal threats, and attempts to seize cameras and smash equipment. The union is to file complaints to the police. Jeremy Dear said: “In a week when yet more photographers have been targeted by right-wing hate website Redwatch, when out on the streets professional photographers are subjected to violence and intimidation by right-wing thugs, there must be tough and urgent action in response to these latest death threats. “These are not idle threats made by kids – these are direct, named threats made by individuals who can be traced – in one case an individual already convicted of stabbing someone. They are designed to silence the media and stop photographers showing the true nature of the protests and protestors. The police must act now before a journalist is killed or seriously injured”. Jason N. Parkinson said: “It is ironic the English Defence League claim they are protesting ‘peacefully’ against Muslim extremism. Then late Saturday night, after returning from covering the Leeds protest, I receive a threatening email from one of their Welsh and English division organisers entitled ‘Fatwa’. “This is exactly the behaviour and tactics of extremism the EDL claim they are against. Someone should remind the EDL that the fundamental root of all democratic society, including in the UK, is press freedom. Intimidation, violence, Fatwas and death threats are not.” Marc Vallée said: “I find it intriguing that only four weeks after attending a BNP press conference – at London’s City Hall – I’m targeted by Redwatch in this way. We should be free to go about our lawful and necessary work without such intimidation. I’m determined that when journalists are targeted in this way the only effective response is a collective one as well as journalistic one.”

I have to admit i walked past some obvious members of the EDL the other day and whilst i did so i covered my badges on my bag in case they worked out my political allegiances. It was later pointed out to me that they probably can not read what my badges say anyway!

My favourite human right

There is one human right granted under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that people remember; freedom of speech, (or more specifically, Article 19, Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and express; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers).

This freedom is flouted time and time again, whether it be freedom to criticise religion, freedom to express any political opinion or freedom to write what you want in print among others.

Recently, there have been flickers of a debate into whether freedom of speech is held above other human rights, and whether this is actually to the detriment of these rights. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/apr/22/freedom-of-speech-human-rights The idea here is that if freedom of speech is put above any other human right, then human rights abusers can be let off, but only as long as we are allowed to moan about it.

I wish to add my own two pennies to this debate. I think freedom of speech is becoming too much the face as the human right, so much so people are misunderstanding what they believe is their God given right.

Let me throw this out there for debate; if it was not for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what is there that should guarantee international human rights?

The UDHM is over and over again used by people to defend their human rights, and quite rightly so. But does this mean they understand the declaration?

Let me introduce to you my favourite human right; Article 30 Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms ser forth herein.

Let me put that in context. A facist saying that we should kick people of a certain race out of this country, even if they were born here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/24/bnp-black-asian-britons) would usually be defended by airing their views through ‘freedom of speech’. Well yes, take that one human right and they can be. But it does not work like that, there are another 29 rights, so now apply article 30, and this statement would breach articles 13, 14 and 15 rights of the groups this facist is attacking. S0, article 16 i.e. freedom of speech, does not count in this circumstance.

This could also apply to religion. Remember those pictures of Mohammed in some western newspapers. Well article 16 would definetly defend this, but, in steps article 30 and BOOM you are now breaching article 18. (Well open to debate).

The point i am trying to make is that to preach your human rights and the human rights of others, you really ought to know and understand them first.

But i feel i should clarify my own ideological positions on the two scenarios i raised.

The first concerning the facist(s), i am split, not between what they are saying is right or wrong; no, i firmly disagree with what they are preaching; but instead by how to deal with this situation. On the one hand i hold dearly the point i made about understanding human rights, but on the other, allowing these views to be aired, then offering the actual facts and a rebuttal would intellectually destroy the facists argument. So instead of pushing their ideas underground and making yourself look like a hypocrite you allow them to preach. However, perhaps instead of allowing them to preach the ‘kicking out’ you allow them to preach the issue of immigration, then allow a debate to commence- if they move towards saying ‘we’ll kick them out’  it is then in breach of human rights and they don’t have a human right to stand behind- then you could ban them from preaching.

The second point about western newspapers reprinting pictures of Mohammed. I am also split. We should not be afraid to upset people and we should be able to print these pictures, but, this should be done with regard to respect. We should respect that other people have these religious beliefs (but not respect when these beliefs are enforced upon others). This shouldn’t however stop criticism of religion.

There is a lot more debate that needs to be taken over human rights, about their place in society and what should be done when these rights are abused, but in my opinion, a greater understanding of these rights is fundamental for people to understand their place in the world and how much freedom they, and others, should have. That is why i am now calling for the preaching of article 30 whenever you encounter a facist trying to hide behind article 16. So go now minions, preach, preach!

Orwell had a time machine and saw today and my number 9

When i read about this new Confidential Intelligence Unit (CIU) being set up (well it has been about since 1999 according to some sources) to spy on homegrown extremists, i got worried. Not because i am an extremist, as people who know me would say, i would never ever hurt anyone, which means i ain’t attacking no one. The reason i got worried is because part of it’s goal of spying on ‘radical’ left-wing and right-wing groups includes peace protestors… Let that sink in, PEACE protestors. How the hell does homegrown extremists and peace protestors get shoved in the same pot and become one and the same. [http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/secret-police-unit-set-up-to-spy-on-british-domestic-extremists/]

I reacon its just another political tool to destroy debate and soon allow New Labour, the Tories and maybe the Lib Dems to pull the covers over their shared bed and become one big party, i.e. the only party. First the CIU need to destory the smaller parties. Bye bye Greens and RESPECT, but i will not miss the BN… can’t finish it…

Anyway, back on track. It got me thinking about Orwell’s 1984 again, as most of New Labour’s and Jaqui Smith’s policies make me do. I thought, ‘well they could take our freedoms, but they surely can never steal our emotions, our feelings, our compassion, our LOVE’. Then, that same day, i saw this: [http://www.recentnews.co.uk/Kissing-ban-at-railway-station/17242]. They say it is not to be taken seriously, that it’s lighthearted and it is not a rule that is going to be strictly enforced. But then is that not the best way to bring about a policy that would be so unpopular if enforced that it would actually bring 30million plus people onto the streets? Don’t worry, i am not seriously saying this is another example of an Orwellian state etc etc. But, i would not be surprised if this sort of scheme is slowly launched at other railway stations, then at supermarkets, then on the streets, then at pubs… maybe one day we will each have CCTV in our homes making sure that we are not swapping slaiva out of fear that we may forget the time and forget to go to bed at 8:30pm.

Here’s my number 9 for my personal favourite albums released in 2008:

9. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

I said just before i told you my number 10 that my top 10 included bands that i feel should deserve more recognition, and are perhaps not well known. Well, that does not neccessarily apply for this band- the biggest band in my top 10.

There has been so much said of this album and band that i really do not think i need to say much more.

But i just want to say why i love this album so much. I have been really getting into the simple cultural things in life, such as films like Napoleon Dynamite and Juno, which are so easy to watch, really down to earth, and also the music that goes with those films as well, the single acoustic guitar, one chord one string at a time, simple lyrics that tell you things straight. This is what this album reminds me of.

Admittadely the lyrics are really intelligent, and they do not lead you down one emotional road, so you can take them to whatever meaning you want. Regardless, the music is so cheerful. It makes you happy. How can you not smile when you hear a song like Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa?

I really do not want to say much more about this album, but  that i have still met people who have not heard of this band, and when i tell them i am into Vampire Weekend i often get the response “oh, i didn’t realise you like that sort of music”. Quality.

Personal favourites on the album Oxford Comma and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Previous:

10 – The Magnetic Fields – Distortion

English Fundamentalism

I have just been reading an interesting article on the Guardian website about the documentary film maker Sean Langan who has just recently been released by the Taliban after 3 months.

I would like to quote Langan in relation to his only glimpse of the outside world- a small hole in the wall of his ‘cell’ that was embraced with a view of an apricot tree; “It kept me going, thinking about the outside world and English values that could be lost, like tea and sympathy and tolerance and basic humanity.”

This is a man who has been locked up and psychologically tortured for 3 months, yet he still acknowledges basic English principles: sympathy, tolerance and basic humanity, and the fear that his situation could make him abandon them. It is a shame that a majority of English people are willing to throw these principles away when they are in the warmth, comfort and safety of their own homes and there is the slightest threat of a terrorist attack or they see a group of Polish workers on the way to work.

The article also led me to view the arrogance of those fighting the British in Afghanistan in their views of the West; “Mr C asked me once if it was true that western women married frogs. He had seen a children’s fairytale and believed that it was true.” This is not something confined to just a minority in Afghanistan. The rise in Islamophobia is fuelled by the fear and belief that all Muslim’s want to do is destroy ‘Western values’ and end British lives. [I put commas around Western values, as i believe a majority of those in power in both Britain and America have no dignified values at all]. In reality, this belief is the upside-down version of the truth. In reality, the majority of those who follow the Islamic faith pose no harm to the West at all. There is however a very small minority of Islamic Fundamentalists who appear to want to (i say appear because really the 9/11 attack was not against the West but an attempt to polarise the people in the Middle East into either fundamentalism or secularism- helped afterwards by America’s War on ‘Error).

Johann Hari wrote a brilliant piece on the latest Big Brother and how fundamental and secularist Islam is clashing within the Big Brother house. The point of the article is to explain the reality of the current situation. Islam is not about killing as many people who disagree with you as possible, but at the same time, there are fundamentalists who believe it is. This debate tends to be forgotten by the right-wing media, which wrongly portrays Muslims as a threat. Hari suggests that this clash is finally an example of proper reality television. There are many other aspects of Hari’s article that i could write on, yet to grasp the context of the debate you should read it yourself.

Judging by how some people are reacting to the threat posed by Fundamental Islam and their over the top reactions to immigration into this country, i would suggest that there is a growing sense of English (British) Fundamentalism growing. If they think that all Muslims are Fundamentalists, then it is safe to say that these English Fundamentalists are just as bad as the Islamic Fundamentalists they are afraid of.

To view the Guardian’s article on Langan, click here.

To view the Johann Hari article, click here.

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On a completely separate topic, here is another Langan quote; “I am alive. And I’ve realised that freedom is the air we breathe.” Out of all the things i could say, all i will say is that if the air we breathe is true freedom, then irresponsible oil companies and Governments are clutching onto not only our freedoms, but the freedoms of the next generation, and the generation after that, and the generation after that, and on and on. Why, therefore, aren’t more people fighting for our own freedoms if not the freedoms of others?