We need a Mayor who will stand up for Tower Hamlets

Wednesday 25th August 2010

Abjol Miah

In the next few weeks, all the major parties of Tower Hamlets will select and announce their candidate for the Borough's first directly elected mayor.

For those of us in Respect, it's a proud moment. We obviously didn't perform as well as we'd have liked in the May elections, but we were overjoyed that the referendum to change the way the council worked and introduce an accountable mayor won the backing of more than 60% of voters. We had played a central and active role in the campaign to secure a 'yes vote'. Whilst the three other parties made excuses for why they could not support the proposal, we showed we had our ear to the ground and understood the widespread desire amongst Tower Hamlets residents for a change at the very top. A new way of doing things.

This is not deportation. It is murder

Monday 23rd August 2010

Mohammed Amin Khawaja is about to be forcibly deported on 24 August from the detention centre in Dungavel, Lanarkshire through Edinburgh Airport. Why should we care?

Mohammed Amin Khawaja is 18 years old and was seized by UK Border Agency officials immediately after his birthday. He spent over a year trying to reach Britain from his home in Ishkamish in the Takhar province in North Eastern Afghanistan. He was trained from the age of 11 by the Taliban for whom his father and uncle were commanders. His father and sister were killed by NATO forces and he was betrayed by his uncle, who seeks his inheritance. At 15, Khawaja was arrested by Afghan police and NATO forces and tortured, suffering loss of vision, hearing, seizures, psychiatric distress and loss of mobility. He was to be sent to Bagram air base, the notorious prison complex near Kabul. Khawaja escaped and discovered that the Taliban had placed a price on his head while in a refugee camp in Pakistan.

Can we do it? Yes we can

Wednesday 18th August 2010

Could an ordinary member win the election for General Secretary of the Country's biggest union?

Unite, Britain's largest and most influential Trade Union, gears up for the election of its General Secretary. This election comes at a time when the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition is about to announce its plans for massive cuts to be set out in their Autumn Budget in October. All eyes will be on where any possible fightback may emanate. Given the size and make up of Unite, which represents over 1.5 million members in all sectors of the economy, this makes the election for the union's General Secretary the most significant union election for decades.

Complain to the BBC - Death in the Med

Tuesday 17th August 2010

Last night (16 August) the BBC broadcast a Panorama programme entitled 'Death on the Med'. It claimed to reveal 'what really happened' when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara on 31 May 2010.

The programme was extremely biased, portraying the activists on board as violent terrorists who set out to kill Israeli soldiers.

Please write to the BBC asking the following questions:

Viva Palestina - Global Lifeline to Gaza

Thursday 12th August 2010

Across the world, several teams are preparing to set off on a 4,000km drive to the besieged region of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. From New Zealand to Canada, and from Ireland to South Africa, volunteers are collecting medical aid and fundraising for vehicles.

They will set off from their respective homelands in mid September and travel to London. There, they will meet up with the "Viva Palestina, Global Lifeline For Gaza Convoy". Over 250 people in 100 vehicles will set off and undertake a journey that will see them drive through France and Italy. Teams from across Europe will join en route, swelling the numbers of vehicles and volunteers. By ferry they will cross to Greece and then overland to Turkey.

Fifth Gaza Aid Convoy to Leave London 18th September

Saturday 24th July 2010

The Viva Palestina Lifeline 5 aid convoy to Gaza will leave London on Saturday 18th September. This is the fifth aid convoy involving Viva Palestina. This one will have three separate convoys leaving from London, Casablanca and Doha and all of them joining together in El Arich in Egypt. The London convoy will travel across Europe, down through Turkey and Syria where they will then be joined by the convoy from Doha and be shipped from Latakia to El Arish. At El Arish they will be joined by the convoy from Casablanca. They will then enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing,