I've never met Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit but he reckons I am a very bad European along with the 1400 other peace activists from the Gaza Freedom March who are trapped in Cairo on New Year's Eve.
Gheit made this unexpected demonisation via his Foreign Ministry to the local media after telling them that 100 "good Europeans" had been found to send to Gaza. The lucky hundred had been "selected" because they were the only truly peaceful members of the Gaza Freedom Marchers delegation, whereas the rest of us were conspiracists and anarchists, the media was told. As I say, I've never met the man but he obviously has a long distance relationship with the truth.
His government's treatment of the Gaza Freedom Marchers in Cairo and the latest Viva Palestina Convoy heading for Al Arish after being refused a ferry at Aqaba is shameful and his betrayal of the people of Gaza is unforgivable. Not content with digging himself into a very deep hole, it seems he is still digging ... but sadly not for Gaza's victory or freedom.
The feckless politician delivered a serious propaganda blow to the already damaged image of his government and if I were Hosni Mubarak, I personally wouldn't put him in charge of a cabbage patch. He obviously thought that by sending 100 "Good Europeans" on two buses to Gaza the world's media would overlook the fact that a 250-vehicle mercy convoy has been forced to make a 72-hour detour from the Port of Aqaba to Al Arish because of him. And he foolishly thought that the remaining 1300 Gaza Freedom Marchers would disappear quietly out of Cairo and return to one of the 42 countries from which they came. His plan back-fired spectacularly when the 100 "Good Europeans" decided to boycott the buses the next morning.
Desperately trying to drag a victory from the jaws of defeat, his security officers pleaded with anyone, just anyone to get on the bus to Gaza. I bet a few of us "Bad Europeans" would have been able to board either bus as the security officers began coralling people on to the buses despite their protests that they didn't want to go. And to add to his total humiliation, the very brilliant and courageous Holocaust hunger striker Hedy Epstein really rained on his parade when she announced she was not leaving her 1400 comrades behind. Once she refused to get on either bus that was it. His spectacular end-of-year-show turned from a show stopper to a farce.
To revive a colourful US presidential election image - it didn't matter how much lipstick the Egyptian Foreign Minister tried to put on this pig, it still looked like a pig! As a result the buses went off, half empty, and several hours late, bound for the Gaza border and despite desperate attempts to pick up passengers on the way it seems no one wanted to be seen as a stooge for Gheit. Spaniards and Brits who had earlier been put under 'hotel arrest' in Al Arish for daring to leave Cairo were told they could get on the buses to Gaza. No one wanted a ticket.
You would think at this stage there might be some humility or even apologies being issued from the Foreign Ministry, but the FM's reaction towards those of us who want to show solidarity and give aid and comfort to the good people of Gaza is nothing short of astonishing. And if he thinks I am a "Bad European" for showing compassion to my brothers and sisters in Palestine, then what does that make him? Of course his reaction to this column if anyone translates it for him, will probably be to have me booted out of Egypt for daring to hold up a mirror to his rather foolish visage.
And just for the record, I am not insulted in the least that he thinks I am a "Bad European". Such a label from this weasel politician is like a badge of honour for me and my fellow Europeans - and let's not forget the large American presence among the Gaza Freedom Marchers either. Yes, Ahmed Aboul Gheit will be acutely aware Egypt receives nearly two billion dollars in aid from the US, and so he's probably too afraid to take a pop at our American friends in the FGM.
By the way, I spent much of yesterday with hundreds of stranded French activists who have set up a makeshift camp outside their embassy in the Egyptian capital. The atmosphere at the French camp, surrounded by hundreds of riot squad officers, was just plain wicked ... they are indeed very bad, bad Europeans and I'm proud to be part of their resistance. Better to be bad than sad.
British journalist Yvonne Ridley is a founding Friend of Viva Palestina, George Galloway's RESPECT party and a presenter for the Rattansi & Ridley show and The Agenda on Press TV. She and film-maker Warren Biggs are making a documentary about the Gaza Freedom Marchers.
Bradford celebrates a multicultural city
Tuesday 7th September 2010
United Against Fascism/ We are Bradford hold a Rally in the centre of Bradford to counter a racist organisation the EDL marching through their town.
The EDL claims to be opposed to radical Islam, but anyone who looks into the EDL will find football hooligans, Islamophobics, Nazis, and BNP supporters. The police this time round seem to be fairly peaceful with the UAF and EDL had many arrested as they broke police lines.
We need a Mayor who will stand up for Tower Hamlets
Abjol Miah
Wednesday 25th August 2010
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.
That is one of the principles on which Respect will ask for your vote in October. Labour's selection process has been a humilating farce, revealing the disunity and incompetence at the heart of that party. How can Labour's candidate be trusted to get the best out the mayoralty for local families? Every move they make will in fact have to be done with the approval of Labour Head Office - and the sad truth is that by Autumn that will most likely mean warmonger David Miliband.
This brings us to what Respect believes the Mayor of Tower Hamlets should do. The Tory and Lib Dem government have now made it clear that they consider places such as Tower Hamlets prime targets in their attempts to devastate living conditions for millions of people. The cuts in public spending that they are introducing will be felt very sharply here. Local government jobs are under serious threat and the housing budget has evaporated. Not only is London the guinea-pig for destroying NHS funding, it has emerged this week that we are also on the frontline of David Cameron's Big Society plans. Be in no doubt that the Big Society is in fact the Big Con: taking huge chunks out of the welfare state and demanding that already overworked charities and voluntary organisations pick up the pieces.
This climate calls for clear and determined political leadership in our Borough. The Town Hall should become a centre of opposition to the government's cuts, and the newly elected Mayor should do everything in her or his power to defend local residents from the Coalition government's damaging policies. At the same time, where priorities can be shifted to improve the situation this should be done. A pro-active strategy that sought to attract trade with India, China and Bangladesh would generate wealth and opportunities that could shield us from the worst of the 'Age of Austerity' and generate investment that would help us grow, not cut, our way into recovery. Scrapping Labour vanity projects like Council free-sheet East End Lives would mean more money where it was really needed - frontline public services. The Mayor would be a high-profile focus point, demanding better housing and services for Tower Hamlets residents and exposing the damage of David Cameron and Nick Clegg's policies.
And of course, as last month's visit to Tower Hamlets by the English Defence League makes clear, we need a Mayor that will take an uncompromising stand against anti-Muslim racism, and all discrimination and bigotry. In the tough years ahead of us, there will be some who want to scapegoat Muslims and others and blame those communities for society's problems. A Respect Mayor will not concede a single inch to racism. Instead, we will all stand united in defence of our Borough and fight together to win a better deal for everyone.
Over the next few months we will be putting forward Respect's policies for a fairer, better Tower Hamlets.
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.
He came to Britain after harrowing hardship and has prospered. He spent weeks in the Turkish mountains eating grass to survive. Upon reaching Manchester, he studied at Manchester College for two years, winning the Principals Merit classification for his studies. He has lived with a Christian woman who he calls 'mum' and has recently been harboured at the Farghana Institute in Whalley Range, Manchester, where he has learned much of the peaceful nature of Islam.
It is evident that Khawaja is at serious risk from both sides in the Afghan war and should be granted asylum. The Afghanistan war is a product of US and British adventures and we have a responsibility to help its victims.
He is an example of how those brought up in violent conflict can turn away from violent doctrines. It is a scandal that politically motivated deportations and cuts in funding for immigrants to make their case in court are increasing under the Con Dem government.
Khawaja's life and case are the very meaning of the term 'political asylum'.
What can you do?
1. Contact Immigration Minister, Damian Green, MP
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA Tel: 020 7219 3518 Fax: 020 7219 0904 greend@parliament.uk
If you live in GORTON CONSTITUENCY, contact GERALD KAUFMAN at his office on 0161 652 6326 to leave a message. House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA Tel: 020 7219 5145 Fax: 020 7219 6825 kaufmang@parliament.uk
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.
Jerry Hicks, with over a quarter of the nominating period to go, has already secured more than the required nominations to be able to declare that he will be a candidate in the coming election, gaining support from every region and sector of the union.
He argues that there is no need for any cuts to public services, pay and pensions but that the collection of the £100bn worth of tax evasion by the very wealthy and big business should pay for the crisis that is not of 'our' making.
He is in the unique position of being an ordinary member of the Union whereas the other three candidates are all appointed senior officials - Assistant General Secretaries.
The contrasts don't end there. He (Jerry Hicks) believes in elections of all union officials where none of the others do. He, if elected, would only take an average member's wage where the others all would claim the six-figure salary.
He is the one candidate who argues that fundamental change is needed in the union's relationship with New Labour which he describes as being - too close, too cosy, paying too much for far too little. He argues for a restriction of support to only those MPs or councillors who vote for and actively campaign for Unite's policies, of which a priority would be the repeal of all anti-trade union laws.
This means the election will be especially significant, as it will run concurrently with the election for the leader of the Labour Party. Indeed on that basis it would be very questionable if any of the Labour leadership contenders other than Diane Abbott would be supported by Unite under Hicks.
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:
Why was Israel's 'right' to board the ship presumed throughout the programme?
Why did the programme completely fail to mention that Israel's siege of Gaza has been declared illegal by the UN? The assumption was made that Israel has the right to blockade Gaza, while the motives of those attempting to break an illegal blockade were questioned.
Why did Jane Corbin not mention the bombs, rockets and white phosphorus dropped on Gaza by Israel during Operation Cast Lead over a three week period in 2008/9, killing 1,400 people? She did, however, mention the 'thousands of rockets' fired from Gaza into Israel, but did not say over what time period.
Why was the Israeli evidence of how and when they killed the activists unquestioned? Activists who were on the top deck of the ship say the first person was killed - shot from a helicopter - before any Israeli had even landed on the deck. However, none of these activists were interviewed.
Activists shot footage of the Israeli attack, but their cameras, laptops and other recording equipment was taken by the Israelis and has not been returned. Why was this point not raised during the programme, or put to the Israeli spokespeople?
Why were the autopsy reports - which reveal that each victim was shot several times at close range, in a way that can't constitute self-defence - not used, or even mentioned?
Why was there no footage of the Israeli assaults on the activists - which led to nine deaths?
Jane Corbin never questions the use of the word 'terrorists' to describe the activists, or their alleged willingness to attack the commandos. Why does she then fail to examine why there were no fatalities or serious injuries among the Israeli commandos, when these 'terrorists' were so willing to attack?
Why were there no interviews with any of the British activists on board the ship, or with any of the journalists who were on board?
Why was it not pointed out that the IDF has admitted doctoring the audio footage used in the programme, that the BBC claims was broadcast from the captain's deck?
You can find more points to make on the PSC website
Write: BBC Panorama, MC4A1, Media Centre, Media Village, 201 Wood Lane, London, W12 7TQ
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.
Once they reach Turkey, they will be joined by a large delegation from IHH, the organisation who organised the recent Flotilla that was attacked by Israel leaving 9 people dead. IHH were partners on the last Viva Palestina convoy, and their involvement once more will be a major boost to this convoy.
From Turkey, the convoy will travel to Syria, where they will be joined by a large Middle East convoy that will include people and vehicles from all over the Middle East. Over 350 vehicles and 700 people should reach the port city of Latakia in Syria in early October. From there, they will sail to Al Arish in Egypt. The sailing route will take them past the scene of the recent Flotilla attacks, and no doubt will prove to be an emotional journey.
Following inspection in Al Arish, they will meet up with another convoy of aid that will have set off from Casablanca in Morocco. Once they have met up, they will make the short drive towards the Rafah border, and hopefully, over 500 vehicles and 1,200 people will cross into Gaza on October 10th.
This will be the largest convoy of aid to reach Gaza in the past 4 years, and the largest anywhere since the 2nd world war. People from all over the world are joining the convoy, including teams from New Zealand, Canada, Pakistan, Jordan, USA, Argentina, and practically every European country.
Viva Palestina is a registered British charity, started by George Galloway following the attacks on Gaza 18 months ago. Viva Palestina have successfully delivered three land convoys of aid to Gaza in the past 18 months. Over 1,000 people in over 500 vehicles loaded with millions of pounds worth of humanitarian aid have entered Gaza, breaking the inhumane siege imposed on the region by Israel and Egypt.
