Anti-fascists stage counter-protest in the East End of London, chanting ‘they shall not pass’ amid angry confrontations Large crowds assembled in east London to oppose a demonstration by the far-right English Defence League on Saturday. There were frequent angry confrontations. At one stage EDL members chanted, “You’re scum and you know you are,” to foreign tourists, while an Asian man singled out for abuse shouted back, “I’m as English as you are.” Hundreds of residents and anti-fascist campaigners converged on Whitechapel Road close to the East London Mosque, a target for members of the EDL, amid a police presence of around 3,000 officers, some of who were in riot gear. Muslims accuse the EDL of fostering hate against them through claims that a gradual “Islamisation” of Britain is taking place. As he began his speech, the EDL’s founder, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, 28, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, appeared to be led away by police. He is presently under court restrictions after being convicted of leading a fight at a football match in Luton earlier this year. At one stage, staff at King’s Cross station in north London closed the entrance to the tube, preventing the majority of the EDL supporters gathered outside from travelling to the demonstration close to Aldgate tube for around half an hour. In the end around 1,000 people assembled near East London tube station – 10 minutes from the mosque – at what had been billed as a “static demonstration” to get around a 30-day ban on political marches imposed after the riots by the Home Secretary Theresa May. It is the first time since the Brixton riots 30 years ago that the police had sought powers to stop marches in London, where tensions are still running high. The EDL decision to go ahead with a demonstration was also controversial following the recent massacre of young Norwegian political activists by the anti-Muslim extremist Anders Behring Breivik. Breivik admitted killing 77 people in July when he detonated a bomb in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, before embarking on a shooting spree at a Social Democratic youth camp on the nearby Utøya island. Breivik had previously lauded EDL campaigns against the “Islamisation of Britain” and claimed to have 600 EDL supporters as Facebook friends. Along Whitechapel Road, scores of anti-EDL protesters waved placards carrying portraits of Brievik and Tommy Robinson. Most carried the slogan: “Different faces, same hatred.” Some in the crowd drew parallels with the Battle of Cable Street, several minutes’ walk south, where the local community railed in defiance of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists almost 75 years ago, refusing to let them pass through the East End. The same chant, “They shall not pass,” echoed down the streets on Saturday. Jamie Pitman, who had travelled from Oxford to show solidarity with the residents of Tower Hamlets, said: “Cable Street showed that, in times of austerity and a poor economic climate, fascism and racism can flourish. We need to beat fascism by turning out in bigger numbers than them – not resorting to violence but providing a bigger show of strength.” The mood was defiant, with a number of people dancing to a sound system erected on a parked lorry. The Reverend Alan Green, of St John on Bethnal Green, and one of the organisers of United East End, a coalition of groups opposed to the EDL entering Tower Hamlets, said: “The vast majority of the population are very happy to live together in diversity. We need to show the extent of opposition to the EDL and how the things they say about the area, their rhetoric, is so wrong.” In the afternoon, as more EDL supporters arrived to drink and chant at Aldgate, Martin Smith, of Unite Against Facism, was among those demanding that the EDL should not be allowed access to the borough, but be contained by the police at Aldgate, on the eastern periphery of Tower Hamlets. Dave Wainwright, an organiser of the Unite Against Fascism wing in Leicester, said he had expected violence despite the ban. “In Leicester, the EDL were also banned from marching but that had little effect in terms of minimising their violence,” he said. “It stems from their ideology and a culture of heavy drinking.” Disturbances in Tower Hamlets continued last night as a coach load of EDL supporters was allowed to travel through the borough. By 7pm police had made 12 arrests. English Defence League London The far right Protest Mark Townsend guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Syrian forces are apparently using a brutal new tactic in their push to quell protests: Activists say they are kidnapping injured protesters and even corpses from hospitals, reports the Los Angeles Times . Another two dozen were seized yesterday from hospitals around Damascus, with security forces firing on angry relatives who…
Continue reading …Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong learned about airline security the hard way: He got booted off his Southwest Airlines flight this week because he refused to hike up his baggy pants, reports San Francisco’s ABC 7 . When a flight attendant asked him to comply before takeoff, he responded, “Don’t you…
Continue reading …The CIA developed close working relations with Libya over the last decade and sent at least eight terror suspects there for interrogation—as part of the controversial practice known as rendition, according to documents found by Human Rights Watch in Libya. The group made the files available to news organizations,…
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Turkish announcement appears to rebuff attempts by UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon to end its row with Israel Turkey is to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza at the International Court of Justice, amid a worsening diplomatic crisis between the once close allies. The announcement by Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu appears to rebuff UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon’s attempt to defuse the row over Israel’s armed assault on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which nine people were killed. Turkey dramatically downgraded its relations with Israel, cutting military ties with its former ally and expelling the country’s ambassador over his government’s refusal to apologise for the killings of eight Turkish citizens and a Turkish American last May. Ban said today that the two countries should accept the recommendations of a UN report that examined the incident. The report found Israel had used “excessive and unreasonable” force to stop the flotilla approaching Gaza, but that it was justified in maintaining a naval blockade on the Palestinian enclave. But Davutoglu later dismissed the report, stating it had not been endorsed by the UN and was therefore not binding. “What is binding is the International Court of Justice,” he told Turkey’s state-run TRT television. “This is what we are saying: let the International Court of Justice decide. “We are starting the necessary legal procedures this coming week.” Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon said his country had nothing to apologise for and accused Ankara of raising tensions for its own reasons. “The problem here is on the Turkish side …. They were not ready for a compromise and kept raising the threshold,” Ayalon said on Israeli TV. “I think we need to say to the Turks: as far as we are concerned, this saga is behind us. Now we need to cooperate. Lack of cooperation harms not only us, but Turkey as well.” The UN investigation, chaired by Geoffrey Palmer, a former New Zealand prime minister, focused on the events on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish-flagged vessel which was the largest ship in a flotilla aimed at breaking the Gaza blockade, on 31 May last year. It was boarded by Israeli commandos who were met with resistance by spro-Palestinian activists on board, nine of whom died. Davutoglu said the investigation contradicted an earlier report by the UN Human Rights Council in September, which found Israeli forces violated international law , “including international humanitarian and human rights law”. He warned Israel that it risks alienation among Arab nations by resisting an apology. “If Israel persists with its current position, the Arab spring will give rise to a strong Israel opposition, as well as the debate on the authoritarian regimes,” Davutoglu said. The UN secretary general said earlier that strong ties between Turkey and Israel, which both share a border with Syria, were important for peace and stability in the Middle East. “I sincerely hope that Israel and Turkey will improve their relationship,” he added. “Both countries are very important countries in the region, and their improved relationship will be very important in addressing all the situations in the Middle East, including the Middle East peace process.” But Ban, speaking in Canberra on Saturday after talks with the Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, would not be drawn on findings of the UN report on the flotilla incident last summer. “I’m not in a position to say any specific comments on the substance of the findings and recommendations of the panel’s report,” he said. “My only wish is that they should try to improve their relationship and do what they can to implement the recommendations and findings.” Turkey said on Friday that the Israeli ambassador, Gabby Levy, and other senior Israeli diplomats would have to leave their posts by Wednesday and that Turkey’s representation in Israel would be downgraded to the junior level of second secretary. Turkey Israel Europe Middle East Ban Ki-moon International court of justice David Batty guardian.co.uk
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Rebel leaders in town of Tahouna say convoys seen leaving military bases ahead of assault on town expected in days Members of the Gaddafi family were believed to have fled the town of Bani Walid on Saturday after residents raised rebel flags in a show of defiance. Rebel leaders in the nearby town of Tahouna said loyalist convoys had been seen leaving military bases ahead of an assault on the town, expected within days. Some were believed to be the remnants of the Khamis Brigades, which were controlled by Muammar Gaddafi’s son Khamis until he was apparently killed in a rebel ambush nine days ago. “There was a surprise movement this afternoon,” Tripoli’s rebel military commander, Abdul Hakim Belhaj, said. “The Gaddafi brigades appear to have abandoned their checkpoints.” “The radio station is under the control of the revolutionary people, and flags have been put up on a lot of the high buildings in Bani Walid.” Belhaj said the approaches to the town were not yet fully secure, but estimated that 90% of Bani Walid was now backing the rebels. Three of Gaddafi’s sons – Mutassim, Saif al-Islam and Saadi – are believed to have been staying in the military bases, while the Warfalla tribe, which controls Bani Walid, debated their future. Rebel officials in Tahouna and Tripoli had told tribal leaders that the town would soon be attacked if the tribe did not surrender the Gaddafis. The impetus for the apparent departure seemed to be a local uprising, which saw green loyalist flags torn down and regime checkpoints on Bani Walid’s outskirts evacuated. It was not immediately clear whether the uprising was localised to one area, or had spread to other parts of Bani Walid. Rebels were planning to send forays into town to test the mood of the people, who had largely been loyal to the ousted Gaddafi regime since the fall of Tripoli. They had expected to confront 500-600 loyalist soldiers with about 2,000 rebels. Residents had, in recent days, given the leaders of Tahouna’s rebel brigade regular updates on the whereabouts of Saif al-Islam and Mutassim, suggesting cracks in tribal solidarity. Tribal leaders had earlier told rebels they felt bound by custom to protect their guests. If military units carrying the Gaddafi sons have fled, they have few places to run to. The main road south-west is controlled by rebels after about 60 miles, meaning it is likely they would be forced to take a more difficult escape route through barren landscapes which become ever more treacherous the further south they go. More troubling for any overland escape is that it would be detectable by Nato surveillance aircraft, which could track every move. Nato continues to play an active role in Tripoli and in the hunt for Colonel Gaddafi, with the RAF bombing six targets in Bani Walid over the past week. Gaddafi is believed to have spent time in the town eight days ago before heading south. His whereabouts are unknown, but Nato and rebel officials believe he is hiding somewhere in an area from the southern town of Sabha to the Algerian border – a vast tract of land on the fringes of the Sahara desert, where he can count on the protection of Tuareg tribesmen. Two weeks after the battle for Tripoli, which rapidly ousted his 42-year regime, southern Libya remains largely a no-go zone for rebels. Sabha, a city of 500,000 people, is still thought to be in loyalist hands. Negotiations with tribes in Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte have so far proved fruitless. Officials from the National Transitional Council have extended by a week a deadline they had earlier given for negotiations aimed at averting an invasion of the coastal city. Bani Walid and Sirte have been without electricity and water for more than a week. However, humanitarian aid has been allowed into both places. Tripoli also remains without mains water, with Gaddafi loyalists having cut the supply to the capital from just north of Sabha, fuelling speculation that they could have used the country’s greatest engineering feat, the Great Man Made River, to escape to the south. Libya Middle East Africa Muammar Gaddafi Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
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Officials issue rebuttal of report priests were told to keep quiet about abuse and hits back at criticism by Irish PM The Vatican has issued a tough rebuttal of a report claiming it told priests in Ireland to keep quiet about sexual abuse and described criticism by the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, as “unfounded”. The Vatican sought to dismantle, point by point, claims made by the report, ordered by the Irish government and released in July, which prompted Kenny to condemn the Vatican as riddled with “dysfunction, disconnection and elitism”. In the ensuing row, the Vatican took the highly unusual decision to recall its ambassador from staunchly Catholic Ireland, with one spokesman in Rome describing its “surprise and disappointment”. The groundbreaking report into abuse in the diocese of Cloyne highlighted a 1997 Vatican letter which expressed “serious reservations” about a policy drawn up the year before by Irish bishops requiring abusers to be reported to the police. It found the diocese then failed to report nine out of 15 complaints made against priests between 1996 and 2005 which “very clearly should have been reported”. The findings encouraged Irish politicians, led by Kenny, to claim the Vatican’s letter had effectively crippled the Irish church’s efforts to tackle the abuse within its ranks. Breaking with years of traditional subservience to the Vatican by Irish politicians, Kenny said: “The rape and torture of children were downplayed or ‘managed’ to uphold, instead, the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and ‘reputation’.” The Vatican’s response listed the reasons why the diocese’s poor track record on abuse could not be blamed on the 1997 letter by the then Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Luciano Storero. While the response conceded that the Vatican viewed the bishops’ guidelines on police reporting as a mere “study document” and not binding, it stated that this was because Irish bishops had described it as such. “The [Vatican] congregation for the clergy did express reservations about mandatory reporting,” it said, adding that this was only because of concerns of clashing with the work of church tribunals in rooting out paedophile priests. Fears were also raised that the Irish guidelines would overlap with new powers handed to US bishops by the Vatican to stamp out abuse, which were extended to Irish bishops in 1996. “Meeting canonical requirements to ensure the correct administration of justice within the church in no way precluded cooperation with the civil authorities,” the Vatican document said. The document pointed out that mandatory reporting of abuse was not law in Ireland at the time. “Given that the Irish government of the day decided not to legislate on the matter, it is difficult to see how Archbishop Storero’s letter… could possibly be construed as having somehow subverted Irish law.” It admitted the Vatican’s “shame” over the “terrible sufferings which the victims of abuse and their families have had to endure” in Ireland, but stated the blame for abuse in Cloyne after 1997 was squarely with the diocese. Maeve Lewis, the Irish director for the anti-child abuse campaign group One in Four, said the response was a let-down. “Once again the Vatican has failed to take responsibility for a culture which prevails in the Catholic church which facilitates the sexual abuse of children,” she said. . “In the response, they seek to justify actions and present themselves as having been misunderstood, whereas people in the church were using Vatican writing and thinking to find a way to avoid reporting abuse to civil authorities. “I hope the Irish government now maintains its stance, which represented Irish thinking.” Vatican Ireland Italy Religion Catholicism Europe Tom Kington guardian.co.uk
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Officials issue rebuttal of report priests were told to keep quiet about abuse and hits back at criticism by Irish PM The Vatican has issued a tough rebuttal of a report claiming it told priests in Ireland to keep quiet about sexual abuse and described criticism by the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, as “unfounded”. The Vatican sought to dismantle, point by point, claims made by the report, ordered by the Irish government and released in July, which prompted Kenny to condemn the Vatican as riddled with “dysfunction, disconnection and elitism”. In the ensuing row, the Vatican took the highly unusual decision to recall its ambassador from staunchly Catholic Ireland, with one spokesman in Rome describing its “surprise and disappointment”. The groundbreaking report into abuse in the diocese of Cloyne highlighted a 1997 Vatican letter which expressed “serious reservations” about a policy drawn up the year before by Irish bishops requiring abusers to be reported to the police. It found the diocese then failed to report nine out of 15 complaints made against priests between 1996 and 2005 which “very clearly should have been reported”. The findings encouraged Irish politicians, led by Kenny, to claim the Vatican’s letter had effectively crippled the Irish church’s efforts to tackle the abuse within its ranks. Breaking with years of traditional subservience to the Vatican by Irish politicians, Kenny said: “The rape and torture of children were downplayed or ‘managed’ to uphold, instead, the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and ‘reputation’.” The Vatican’s response listed the reasons why the diocese’s poor track record on abuse could not be blamed on the 1997 letter by the then Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Luciano Storero. While the response conceded that the Vatican viewed the bishops’ guidelines on police reporting as a mere “study document” and not binding, it stated that this was because Irish bishops had described it as such. “The [Vatican] congregation for the clergy did express reservations about mandatory reporting,” it said, adding that this was only because of concerns of clashing with the work of church tribunals in rooting out paedophile priests. Fears were also raised that the Irish guidelines would overlap with new powers handed to US bishops by the Vatican to stamp out abuse, which were extended to Irish bishops in 1996. “Meeting canonical requirements to ensure the correct administration of justice within the church in no way precluded cooperation with the civil authorities,” the Vatican document said. The document pointed out that mandatory reporting of abuse was not law in Ireland at the time. “Given that the Irish government of the day decided not to legislate on the matter, it is difficult to see how Archbishop Storero’s letter… could possibly be construed as having somehow subverted Irish law.” It admitted the Vatican’s “shame” over the “terrible sufferings which the victims of abuse and their families have had to endure” in Ireland, but stated the blame for abuse in Cloyne after 1997 was squarely with the diocese. Maeve Lewis, the Irish director for the anti-child abuse campaign group One in Four, said the response was a let-down. “Once again the Vatican has failed to take responsibility for a culture which prevails in the Catholic church which facilitates the sexual abuse of children,” she said. . “In the response, they seek to justify actions and present themselves as having been misunderstood, whereas people in the church were using Vatican writing and thinking to find a way to avoid reporting abuse to civil authorities. “I hope the Irish government now maintains its stance, which represented Irish thinking.” Vatican Ireland Italy Religion Catholicism Europe Tom Kington guardian.co.uk
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Huge crowds assemble to oppose ‘static’ protest by far-right English Defence League in Tower Hamlets Huge crowds are assembling before a planned demonstration by the English Defence League (EDL) in east London, vowing to defend the community from the far-right group. Amid a police presence of around 3,000 officers, hundreds of residents and anti-fascist campaigners converged along Whitechapel Road close to the East London mosque, a self-proclaimed target for some members of the EDL. Muslims accuse the group of fostering hate against them. At around 1.20pm, staff at King’s Cross station closed the entrance to the tube, preventing the majority of the EDL supporters gathered outside from travelling to the demonstration around Aldgate East tube for around half an hour. The EDL supporters then made their way towards Aldgate East, and police said they expected around 1,000 would attend the protest. Earlier, the RMT train drivers’ union said it would shut down Liverpool Street station on health and safety grounds if the EDL gathered there. Tensions have been heightened by the actions of the anti-Muslim extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who admitted killing 77 people in July when he detonated a bomb in the Norwegian capital, Oslo before embarking on a shooting spree at a youth camp on the nearby Utøya island. The EDL demonstration is its first since the killings by Brievik, who had praised the organisation in the past and claimed to have 600 EDL supporters as friends on Facebook. Along Whitechapel Road, scores of anti-EDL protesters waved placards carrying portraits of Brievik and Tommy Robinson, the founder of the EDL. Beneath ran the message: “Different faces, same hatred.” Some in the crowd drew parallels with the Battle of Cable Street, several minutes’ walk south, where the local community railed in defiance of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists almost 75 years ago, refusing to let them pass through the East End. Jamie Pitman, who had travelled from Oxford to show solidarity with the residents of Tower Hamlets, said: “Cable Street showed that, in times of austerity and a poor economic climate, fascism and racism can flourish. We need to beat fascism by turning out in bigger numbers than them – not resorting to violence but providing a bigger show of strength.” The mood was defiant, with a number of people dancing to a sound system erected on a parked lorry. Reverend Alan Green, of St John on Bethnal Green and one of the organisers of United East End, a coalition of groups opposed to the EDL entering Tower Hamlets, said: “The vast majority of the population are very happy to live together in such diversity. “We need to show the extent of opposition to the EDL and how the things they say about the area, their rhetoric, is so wrong.” Claire Laker-Mansfied, 22, of the campaign group Youth Fight For Jobs, said: “We should have the right to defend our community against racist thugs and their racist lies about jobs and housing.” Martin Smith, of Unite Against Facism, was among those hoping that the EDL would not be allowed access to the borough, with police looking to contain the group at Aldgate, on the eastern periphery of Tower Hamlets. One concern is that pockets of EDL might pretend they are not part of the official demonstration and attempt to converge upon the Whitechapel mosque area. The EDL “static” demonstration comes after the home secretary, Theresa May, banned the group from marching in Tower Hamlets on police advice. But Dave Wainwright, an organiser of the Unite Against Facism wing in Leicester, predicted violence despite the ban. “In Leicester, the EDL were also banned from marching but that had little effect in terms of minimising their violence,” he said. “It stems from their ideology and a culture of heavy drinking. Yes, it will be violent.” It is the first time since the Brixton riots 30 years ago that police have requested powers to stop marches in London. English Defence League Police The far right Theresa May Mark Townsend Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Milly Dowler family solicitor claims private detectives compiled file on lawyers dealing with claims against News of the World A solicitor acting for victims of phone hacking has given police an alleged dossier compiled by private detectives about him and other lawyers dealing with damages claims against the News of the World. Mark Lewis, who represents the family of the murder victim and phone-hacking target Milly Dowler, said the dossier – believed to contain information about the lawyers’ lives – was aimed at securing an “unfair advantage” in legal cases. News International would not confirm the accuracy of the alleged document, but said none of its current executives had sanctioned activity of this type. Lewis, who has acted for phone-hacking victims including the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor, said: “Someone thought it was a good idea to see if they could get information. It is entirely reprehensible and completely wrong. “It doesn’t scare me, it doesn’t bother me, but it is an apparent attempt to try to gain an improper advantage.” He said the file appeared to have been put together between December 2010 and January this year, “long after” he represented Taylor but before he represented the Dowler family. Lewis said he had passed the dossier, and other claims that his phone might have been hacked, to police: “As soon as I was notified about it, I reported it to the police, who are investigating it,” he said. A News International spokesman said: “Current News International executives did not sanction any activity of this type.” The issue is likely to be raised with the former News of the World legal manager Tom Crone when he gives evidence before the Culture select committee on Tuesday. Phone hacking News of the World News International Newspapers Tom Crone Milly Dowler guardian.co.uk
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