The London Blasts: Media Review

DAY 99: 14 October 2005

Contents

Realism - The Ummah And Kashmir / Befriending Russia

Iraq - Cockburn And Thatcher (And Pinter) / Public Opinion

Repression - Protecting The Preachers Of Hatred From Hatred / ID Cards The New Phase

REALISM

REALISM - THE UMMAH AND KASHMIR

Justin Huggler has a piece in the Independent (page 33) on a British volunteer who has left his job in Birmingham to join the relief effort in Kashmir in the wake of the devastating earthquake. Raja Khan's family moved to the UK when he was four, and he has no relatives in Kashmir today:

' "I came because these people are my brother Kashmiris," he said, in a heavy Birmingham accent. "When you see those pictures on TV, children and men and women dying, you know you have to come." '

White British volunteers did exactly the same in the wake of the tsunami disaster in South East Asia. The difference is that this kind of self-sacrificing solidarity by British Muslims - which has been practiced in relation to Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, and now Iraq - has been built not on a universal sense of humanity, but a much more intimate sense of the global Muslim community or ummah.

On the facing page, Justin Huggler has another revealing story, of a life-saving ferry across swollen rapids which is conveying vital supplies of food, medicine, tents and blankets to survivors of an immense landslide. The ferry is operated in dangerous conditions by young militants of Lashkar-e Toiba, 'listed as a "terrorist" group in the West and officially banned by the Pakistani government under Western pressure':

'They have come here from the same madrassa outside Lahore that attracted attention in July, after it emerged that one of the 7/7 London bombers had visited it.'

'But to the desperate people here, the militants of Lashkar-e Toiba are heroes. "The government has done nothing for us," says Said Zurkanian, a resident of Chalabandi. "Only Lashkar has helped us. People died of hunger over there; there was no food for the injured. There are 200 people over there who are urgent need of medical help. If they do not get it they will die. Lashkar is taking it to them." '

'The militants' relief operation is impressively well organised. They have brought their own doctors who have been taken across the river to tend the wounded. The militants take it in turns to work one-hour shifts in teams of eight, ferrying supplies across to Danimay Sahib and bringing out the seriously wounded.'

Not just in Pakistan, but across the region, we find again and again that the failure or indifference of official bodies is countered by the social welfare efforts of Muslim groups condemned as extremists and terrorists.

This is another part of the reality of the ummah.

REALISM - BEFRIENDING RUSSIA

Back on 6 October we commented on the Putin visit to London. Today, FT columnist Philip Stephens comments at greater length, but along similar lines (page 19, or paid-for access):

'The west's policy towards Mr Putin is to be nice to him. Never mind that the Russian leader has stifled democracy and civil liberties; forget the Kremlin's use of arbitrary power to seize the country's energy assets; ignore the bloody conflict in Chechnya; overlook Russian's policy of destabilising any would-be democracies in the Caucasus and central Asia... The important thing is to be nice to him.'

We can either learn from Putin's record in Chechnya, and the rising cost of the insurgency he has provoked, or we can continue to reap as we sow. The war used to be just in Chechnya. Then it was also in Moscow. Now it is in southern Russia as well.

The parallels with Britain and Iraq (and Afghanistan) are matters of deep concern.

IRAQ

IRAQ - ORIGINS - COCKBURN AND THATCHER (AND PINTER)

In today's newspapers, views are given on the Iraq war by Patrick Cockburn, co-author of one of the best books about the 1991 war on Iraq and extremely fine Iraq correspondent for the Independent, and by Margaret Thatcher.

Patrick Cockburn contributes an enormously long essay, a supplement to the Independent, which reviews the course of the war and occupation, and ends by observing that:

'Mr Blair says British and American troops will stay until the job is done, but their very presence means Iraq will never be at peace.'

Margaret Thatcher offered her views on the decision to invade to a friend who told the Washington Post, which are reproduced (and headlined) in the Independent (page 3):

'... when asked whether she would have invaded Iraq given the intelligence at the time, Lady Thatcher replied: "I was a scientist before I was a politician. And as a scientist I know you need facts, evidence and proof - and then you check, recheck and check again." '

'She added: "The fact was that there were no facts, there was no evidence, and there was no proof. As a politician the most serious decision you can take is to commit your armed services to war from which they may not return." '

From the Prime Minister who torpedoed every opportunity to resolve either the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas or the 1990 Kuwait crises peacefully, and who supported the 1986 US air assault on Libya on the basis of bogus allegations about Libyan terrorism, this is a bit rich, if entirely accurate.

Incidentally, Harold Pinter also has a front-page piece denouncing the war Iraq in the Independent to mark the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature. The news of his award was marked by absurd theatricalities:

'Yesterday’s news that Sir Harold Pinter has just added to his accomplishments by being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature received a blissful moment of the simultaneously absurd and embarrassing that could have been lifted from one of his plays, when – according to the Evening Standard – “A Sky News presenter announced at 12.01pm that Harold Pinter had died, before correcting herself, after a Pinteresque pause, and saying that he had in fact won a Nobel Prize”.' (The Stage)

The man himself said:

'They called me and said you're going to receive a call from the chairman of the Nobel committee and I think I said 'why?'. The chairman said 'You've won the Nobel Prize for Literature.' I was speechless and remained so for another couple of minutes... Why they've given me this prize I don't know.'

 

IRAQ - UK PUBLIC OPINION

The Thatcher article in the Independent also notes that:

'An ICM survey for the [Newsnight] programme found that 31 per cent of people wanted British troops pulled out immediately, while 23 per cent believed a firm date should be set for withdrawal later. Some 40 per cent indicated they should stay until the Iraqi security forces were ready to take over.'

What figure would we get for a staged withdrawal within months to be replaced by UN or other third-party forces?

REPRESSION

PROTECTING THE PREACHERS OF HATRED FROM... HATRED

A couple of days ago, the Telegraph carried this little paragraph (page 4, not online):

'Law would protect militants'

Those who preach the "perverted view of Islam" that inspired the July 7 attacks on London could be protected if the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill becomes law, Lord Mackay, the former Lord Chancellor, said yesterday.'

' "So far as I can see, there is nothing in this Bill that would prevent a perversion of Islam being just as much a religion as Islam itself," he said, as it began its passage through the Lords.'

This makes sense. From one point of view, Christianity, for example, started life as a 'perversion' of Judaism, and one might say the same about the roots of many other religions.

Which means that if the legislation is passed, it will prohibit ministers from uttering hate speech about the preachers of hatred.

Well, it would if the law was neutral. The truth is, though, that the law is made of spiders' webs for the rich and powerful, and made of iron bars for the poor and powerless.

Which side of this divide is the Muslim community? So which end of the law are they likely to experience?

ID CARDS - THE NEW PHASE

Opinion polls have shown that the proposed national identity card is accepted by a majority of Britons - as long as the costs are not significant. The current official projection of the cost of the card to the citizen is £93 for a combined passport-ID card, which is high enough to trigger substantial opposition, according to the polls. (Unofficial estimates are even higher.)

Much of the debate about costs derives from Gordon Brown's lack of enthusiasm for the project, and his steadfast refusal to subsidise the cost of the card from the Treasury. Yesterday the ID enthusiasts took a step which they hope will neutralise public opposition and pave the way to a successful imposition of the ID card-database system on the British people:

'A cut-price national identity card costing £30 is to be introduced, the home secretary, Charles Clarke, announced last night. The budget card will be two-thirds cheaper than the £93 previously quoted for a combined passport/ID card and will be valid for 10 years. Unlike the full identity card, it will not double up as a passport and a driving licence, but could be used as a travel document within Europe.'

'The government plans to start phasing in national identity cards from 2008. The budget cards are expected to appeal to those who want an ID card without waiting for their passport to be renewed. Ministers also hope that the cheaper card, aimed at helping the low paid and pensioners, will help counter the growing unpopularity of the scheme.' (Guardian, page 7)

As No2ID point out in the article, this leaves open questions about the overall costs of the system. The Guardian notes, 'A decision to subsidise one part of the scheme will mean the costs have to be borne by others.'

If the anti-ID card-database campaign relies on cost to be the Achilles heel of the system though, it is setting itself up for a fall. The central fact is that the civil liberties argument has been drained of all its potency for the immediate future, by years of propaganda, and the shock of repeated terrorist atrocities. The other central fact is that the Treasury is entirely capable of reversing its 'self-financing' rule for the ID card-database.

The argument over the national identity database system must find a different point of purchase in national opinion.

 

JNV welcomes feedback

This page last updated 14 October 200