Nigerians in the UK urge boycott of British Airways
UKWatch.net - 9 May 2008
British Airways has been criticised over its handling of a forced deportation and its treatment of Nigerian passengers on a flight from Heathrow airport. Passengers on board the 27 March BA flight to Lagos began to protest about the manhandling of Augustine Eme, a Biafran independence activist, who was allegedly being restrained by up to five police officers while pleading not to be sent back to Nigeria where he feared he would be killed. (Eme’s brother has already been killed and his wife and children are missing.) The police promptly removed Eme from the flight, but returned to arrest another passenger, Ayodeji Omotade. This prompted other passengers to complain about his detention, which resulted in the pilot ordering all 136 economy class passengers off the flight. Omotade, who is from Kent, was on the flight to attend his brother’s wedding in Nigeria but was detained by police for ten hours following his arrest. In that time police confiscated 1,603 that Omotade had on him, stating that they had strong reason to believe the money came from criminal activities. Omotade was then returned to Heathrow without any money and having missed his brother’s wedding. He has also been banned for life from travelling with British Airways. The flight did eventually go to Lagos, but with only Eme and first class passengers on board. British Airways defended its removal of the economy passengers, on the basis that their behaviour constituted a security threat to staff. The incident has prompted calls for a boycott of BA from within the Nigerian community in the UK. Over one thousand people signed a petition sent to the Nigerian government demanding a written apology to all the passengers. The petition also called on BA to compensate Omotade and lift the lifetime ban against him, as well as lifting any criminal charges against him. The Nigerian president, Umaru Yar’Adua, has ordered an investigation into the incident at Heathrow. British Airways recently came under fire from one of its own pilots for ignoring racism amongst its staff. Captain Doug Maughan, who has worked for BA for fifteen years, recently accused management of failing to deal with his complaints about frequent racist remarks made by senior BA employees.

Oppose Unjust Proposals of the Counter Terrorism Bill
UKWatch.net - 9 May 2008
Yet another Counter-Terrorism Bill is now before Parliament. These proposals would extend the injustice of current ?anti-terror powers?, which make exceptions to the normal criminal law, especially its protection of suspects through the right to a fair trial. The proposed powers are based on the Terrorism Act 2000, which defined terrorism so broadly as to include simply the threat of violence to property in an attempt to influence a government, anywhere in the world. Such a broad definition could include many normal political activities in this country and any resistance to oppressive regimes abroad. That Act also created ?terrorist? offences of associating with particular organizations, sharing a platform with their members, and helping them financially, e.g. simply by selling publications. Since the Terrorism Act of 2000, ?anti-terrorism? measures have imposed much injustice, particularly on Muslim and migrant communities. Of over 1200 people arrested under anti-terrorism laws, less than 5% have been convicted of ?terrorism? offences, few of these involving any plans for violent activities. A key effect has been to create a climate of fear ? fear that political activity, or simply talking to the wrong people, will bring arrest or house raids. The proposed new powers would extend current injustices, especially punishment without trial, in several ways: Detention without charge would be extended from 28 days to 42 days ?Terrorism suspects? could be detained without charge for six weeks. Before 2000 it was 4 days. Neither government nor police have given any convincing reason why so long is needed. Post-charge questioning of ?terror suspects? ? presumed guilty? ?Terror suspects? could be subjected to further questioning after a criminal charge, even up to the trial date. Saying nothing could count against them at trial. At present, people once charged can refuse to answer until their trial, without their silence being interpreted as a sign of guilt or deception. ?Terrorist connection? would justify a heavier sentence Judges could give people longer sentences for ?ordinary? offences if they had a ?terrorism connection? ? for example, allegedly supporting a banned ?terrorist? organization. Confiscation of property without trial Convicted ?terrorists? could have their property confiscated ? such as bank accounts, vehicles, computers or even a house. The special procedure would not be a normal trial; it could involve secret evidence. Extra punishment without trial beyond the original sentence Convicted ?terrorists? could face a ban on foreign travel once released from jail. This would be done by a special order, not a trial. Those convicted could also face a requirement to tell the police where they go whenever they sleep away from home, in some cases for life. New offence for volunteers of not giving information to police Volunteer workers, for example in a youth project or charity, could be prosecuted for not telling police about suspected ?terrorist? activities. People might be over-suspicious and report imagined activities because they are afraid of being criminalised for concealment. New offence of providing information about the armed forces The Bill would make it an offence to seek or communicate information about the armed forces which could be useful to terrorism. This could apply simply to peace protestors telling each other, for example, what happens at a military base. Hiding evidence about police killings Some inquests could be held in secret, without juries. Sensitive material about how and why a person was killed by the police or army would be hidden away; they would never be held properly to account. Ask your MP to oppose those proposals of the Counter-Terrorism Bill. Support the due process rights of all ?suspects?. Model letter to send your MP can be downloaded at http://www.campacc.org.uk/Library/MP_letterCTB08_260208.doc DEMONSTRATE against the Counter-Terrorism Bill on Monday 12 May 2008, 5-7pm 10 Downing Street. Details available at www.cacc.org.uk

Fuel For Thought
UKWatch.net - 9 May 2008
As of 15 April, all petrol and diesel sold at British filling stations has to be blended with biofuels. The British government, through the Renewable Fuel Transport Obligation (RFTO), and the European Union have continued to push ahead with biofuel expansion despite scientific studies which show that this is one of the quickest ways of heating the planet, and despite United Nations (UN) agencies warning that biofuels are fuelling a catastrophic food crisis. In February this year two peer-reviewed studies on biofuels were published in the journal Science. These studies showed that converting land for biofuels releases vastly more carbon than is “saved” by burning less fossil fuels. They confirm that for every hectare of land used for bioenergy crops, another hectare of natural land will be converted for biofuel or food production. The “carbon debt” from putting more land under intensive agriculture will take at least decades, but in many cases centuries, to repay. Right now people in Argentina’s Buenos Aires are choking from smoke produced by some 300 fires burning across 70,000 hectares of what used to be biodiverse farmland and ecosystems. Farmers are burning land in order to create new pastures for cattle as previously grazed fields are now devoted to the more profitable production of soya. Just six months ago Paraguay experienced its worst ever fires, and earlier this year the Brazilian government admitted that deforestation and forest fires in the Amazon basin were rising again – all because of high soya prices. While tens of millions of hectares of forests are facing destruction, biofuels are now widely acknowledged to have triggered, or at least worsened, the worst global food crisis in decades. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, global food prices have risen by 57 percent in the past year. However, staple food prices in many countries of the global south have doubled or even trebled, causing millions more people to go without enough food. Agrofuels are helping to push up prices in at least three ways: they are rapidly pushing up the demand for food, they are tying the price of food to the rapidly increasing price of oil and they are giving agribusiness, in alliance with energy companies, even greater control over food markets and prices. Nonetheless the EU, with the apparent consent of the British government, is set to approve a new Fuel Quality Directive this summer. The British government has warned privately that this will create a biofuel target of more than 25 percent by 2020. Further legislation for a different 10 percent mandatory biofuel target has also been announced. Governments will not cease to support the agrofuel industry regardless of the cost to people, the environment and the climate, without strong popular opposition. We are seeing the beginning of a protest movement in Britain and elsewhere, with demonstrations outside Downing Street and some ten other places when the RFTO was introduced. More such protests will and need to follow – including a Day of Action Against Agrofuels, organised as part of this year’s Climate Camp, on 6 August. (www.climatecamp.org.uk).

Heckler at the Back
UKWatch.net - 9 May 2008
NO KOCH JOKES PLEASE AS PROTESTERS TARGET GUN FIRM HECKLER & KOCH... Campaigners in Nottingham have the world’s second largest seller of small-arms, Heckler and Koch, firmly in their sights. One would have thought that a city infamous for its gun crime would be a poor location for a warehouse full of guns. Not according to H&K, who do great business equipping war-mongers on any side. Proud owners of H&K weaponry include the brutal militias of Darfur – the Janjaweed. Funnily enough, despite the outcry against the massacres in Darfur, they obviously weren’t quite bad enough to stop selling weapons to the perpetrators. Even a recent arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against a senior Sudanese politician accused of selling H&K weapons to the Janjaweed hasn’t seemed to stem the flow of H&K guns to a militia accused by everyone including the US of committing genocide. (H&K guns also fill the arsenals of the US Dept of Homeland Security, US Navy Seals & the FBI amongst others). H&K have a ‘strategic partnership’ with the world’s largest mercenary company Blackwater (see SchNEWS 572). H&K supply the guns to the Iraqi and Afghan puppet governments, and Blackwater provide the training (perhaps they also supply child-sized targets for their students). There was a plan for H&K to produce special edition ‘Blackwater’ weapons – complete with the Blackwater logo on them. However, after Blackwater made the headlines for killing 17 innocent Iraqis (not the first time that Blackwater have killed innocent Iraqis, but the first time that it made the news in a major way), the plan was shelved. Nearly 100 people showed up this Tuesday (6th) to march against H&K at their Nottingham facility, accompanied by large numbers of police who, in the words of one protester were ‘their usual sinister selves’. The FIT Team (See www.fitwatch.blogspot.com) made their (always unwelcome presence) and did what they do best – blatantly intimidate people all day with video cameras; following some people home. Interestingly, local media also came under pressure; Trent FM, who had shown some enthusiasm about reporting the demo, received a word in their ear from both H&K’s press office as well as the police, warning hacks that it would be ‘irresponsible’ to publish the fact that H&K has a warehouse full of weapons in Nottingham, as it may prompt criminals to try and steal them. In response the campaigners pointed out to the radio station that H&K’s address was published at Company House, as well as in several business directories. About the radio station being leaned on, the campaigners said that “If the security policy of H&K and Notts police relies on no-one finding out the company’s location, then clearly it is they who are irresponsible, not our campaign and not the media. A large warehouse stocked with high-power assault rifles and submachine guns with inadequate security to prevent a robbery is clearly a significant danger to the public, and publicisng such a danger is very much in the public interest.” The H&K warehouse, located at Easter Park, Lenton Lane, Nottingham, is next to the ‘Trent Vineyard’, an evangelist church that held the funeral of Danielle Beccan, a 14 year old girl who was killed in a drive-by shooting. At her funeral service the then mayor of Nottingham said, “Guns have no place at all in our community – not in Nottingham, not in my city nor any other city in Britain.” One campaigner told us “The arms trade relies on secrecy. Most people abhor the idea of factories and warehouse making and selling weapons around the world, and arms companies know this. By lifting the lid on the business, anti-arms protesters can make a put the pressure on the government/corporate killing machine to stop killing for profit.” * http://nottsantimilitarism.wordpress.com

Out-thought by the Tories
UKWatch.net - 9 May 2008
We could be at a turning point in the political life of the country. The electoral alliance that brought New Labour to power is disintegrating. Popular indifference towards the government is hardening into outright dislike. While the government pretends nothing is wrong, David Cameron’s new Conservatives are staking out ground that once belonged to the left, talking about a social recession, taking the ideological initiative, hungry to win. Look at some of the rightwing thinktanks and you discover a profound shift in Tory thinking. It seeks a break from Thatcher and Hayek. The project is significant: to build a basic emotional connection with the people. Last week’s results suggest it is beginning to work. This new pro-social, compassionate Conservatism is intellectually backed up by a focus on fraternity. The left, they argue, is wrong to think fraternity is another word for equality. And the Thatcherites are wrong to think that liberty will take care of fraternity. Fraternity is about society, wellbeing, and relationships. The Labour government, it argues, has failed because it has abandoned the fraternity of ethical socialism in favour of state management. The government’s response has been woefully inadequate: it argues that the Tories have no policies, or they’re old Etonians with a financial black hole in their plans. They’re copying us. We’ll scrutinise their policies, expose their elitism. We’re for the many, they’re for the few. But these arguments miss the point. James Purnell has come out fighting: “We have a vision of the good society that the Conservatives cannot match.” Yet this is precisely what the Labour government lacks. Rather than dismiss Cameron and Boris as Eton toffs, we should ask why is it that they are connecting with people. This government has lost the language of ethical politics – relationships, values, even social justice. It does not discuss fraternity or a culture of care and empathy. It doesn’t know how to speak to people’s insecurities. Its silence over the super-rich is matched by the harsh language deployed against migrants or welfare recipients. It has no vision of a more democratic way of governing. The joys, pleasures and frustrations of everyday life pass it by. Faced with a crisis it triangulates rightward. Initiative after initiative blurs into a white noise. It offers to listen. The danger is it hears only the echo of its own jargon. And yet Cameron’s Conservatism is built on a major contradiction. It believes in social justice but thinks the state is the problem. Markets are the solution to social recession, economic development and the ecological crisis. But as the credit crunch leads us towards recession, markets won’t deliver security, let alone social justice. Yet the government can’t exploit this contradiction, owing to its own blind faith in markets. Its time to take on the new Conservatism. We have to expose its own tensions and weaknesses. We must also spell out our own version of the good society. First, we need to reclaim fraternity – it’s not about brothers, it’s about togetherness in adversity and in joy. It goes to the heart of the question of what being human means. Fraternity is about living with and for others, building unity out of people’s differences. Labour must re-establish its belief in equality. Equality is the moral standard of fraternity. It is the ethical core of social justice. It holds that each person is irreplaceable and of equal worth. As the dust settles on these elections, Labour needs to rediscover its soul. Jon Cruddas is Labour MP for Dagenham. Jonathan Rutherford is editor of Soundings journal and professor of cultural studies at Middlesex University cruddasj@parliament.uk