I don’t think that I have posted before about the Monarchy? Which is rather odd since this is supposed to be a political blog yet in 5 years I have never mentioned our Head of State. Today I will not be lining the banks of the River Thames or watch the procession on telly unlike millions of my compatriots.
I am a republican and do not believe that it is right that the head of state should be an unelected heredity monarchy. I do not believe that it is right or proper that our MP’s, our judges, our senior civil servants, our military and police should swear an oath of loyalty not to upholding democracy and the rule of law in our country. Instead it is to Queen and her heirs. This is completely and utterly inequitable, illogical and even frankly absurd whatever way you look at it.
Yet, my views are very much in a minority. According to a recent poll 80% of the population support the monarchy with only 13% calling for a republic.
I think it is important to remember that my opposition is political it is not personal. It has nothing to with the Queen or her family. In fact as someone who believes in a public service ethos there is very few people I can think of who can demonstrate 60 years of such duty.
An elected President would not be without its problems. To me the words “President Thatcher” would have been hard to stomach. Getting rid of the monarchy would probably do little or nothing either to tackle the gross income inequality in our society. The Constitutional monarchies of Japan and Sweden are the most equal societies in the world while the most unequal is of course the Republic of the United States of America.
Constitutionally I suppose since all the major political parties are unquestionably monarchist and a clear majority of MP’s have always supported the status quo then ironically the Queen is our democratically arrived at Head of State. So why I don’t agree with the process I do as a citizen (not a subject) respect my Head of State.
Last week I attended a Jubilee Party at one of the primary schools in my ward. There was a mass of union jacks, patriotic bunting and pictures of the Queen. Hundreds of very excited children, many dressed as princesses and princes, looked upon by doting parents and grandparents. Before tackling the biggest piles of cakes that I have ever, ever seen, the children all sang word perfectly the song “God Bless the Queen” (see words on picture) while waving flags (and the occasional plastic swords). The scene reminds me of similar photographs from past Royal Jubilee’s and Coronation Parties. I don’t think anyone present will ever forget this celebration nor the processions and parades to follow this weekend.
And no matter what I may think or wish I very much doubt this Royal celebration will be the last.
Ed Miliband's announcement today that he supports a cap on political donations of £5k as long as trade union levy payer are allowed to affiliate for £3 each per year could be a basis for some sort of compromise over political funding. A £3 per year levy would work out at about 5 new pence per week (a shilling in old money).
On the one hand I still think what on earth it is the business of anyone but trade unionists how much and where they democratically decide to donate their individual (tiny) affiliation fees?
But I do accept that British democracy has to do something about this cancer of big business and the super rich bankrolling British politics.
Of course the Tories are already being dismissive of Ed's proposals and instead of a £5,000 cap they want a staggering £50,000 individual cap (or £500k for a couple during the course of one government)! Which is just corrupt and corrupting. Not good for any democracy. Sensible Tories know this.
There are significant risks for the trade unions in agreeing to stop making extra contributions on top of levies but also I think huge opportunities. The affiliated unions would have to really concentrate on getting our members to join and participate in the Party in order to progress our values and beliefs. We also have some Labour politicians who pay lip service only to the trade unions and if they want out support will have to get out and do things rather than stand back and just take us for mugs.
The clever money (pardon the pun) at the moment is that the Tories will just refuse to come to a consensus and will try to impose something that suits them. Which I think is plain wrong and stupid. We need to sort out this funding mess. Decent Tories (and there are one or two) hate the idea as much as I do that many of our people (not all) think our political system is abused by the rich and the powerful and is therefore discredited. This is damaging and must be dealt with.
These extremely modest proposals by Ed can potentially only do good.
Yesterday in Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her compatriot and "peace warrior" Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni "Arab Spring" activist Tawakul Karman. They were awarded the prize for 'their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work'
These are three truly remarkable women and there have been too few women Nobel Peace Prize winners (18 in total) when women have to bear the brunt of the consequences of war and violence which is very rarely created by them. Of these three special women I would single out Tawakul Karman a 32 year old journalist and mother of three who by her personal integrity and courage has defied stereotypes and united a revolution which is taking place despite the indifference and double standards of the world. As she herself has written;
“What is truly regrettable, though, is that the world has not shown the least interest in what the Saleh regime does with Yemen and its revolutionaries. Despite this huge number of martyrs, despite the transformation of the country into a huge prison where citizens struggle to get even a drink of water for their children, and despite the use of heavy weapons against civilians, Saleh's regime did not even receive a token verbal condemnation from the United Nations or other world governments – despite our calls to impose sanctions. Yet harsh sanctions were imposed on other regimes that committed lesser crimes.”
Tawakul Karman
Tawakul Karman became the international public face of the 2011 Yemeni uprising that is part of the Arab Spring uprisings. She has been called by Yemenis the "Iron Woman" and "Mother of the Revolution."She is a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize and the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate to date.
She stopped wearing the traditional niqab in favour of more colourful hijabs that showed her face. She first appeared without the niqab at a conference in 2004. Karman replaced the niqab for the scarf in public on national television to make her point that the full covering is cultural and not dictated by Islam. She told the Yemen Times in 2010 that:
“Women should stop being or feeling that they are part of the problem and become part of the solution. We have been marginalized for a long time, and now is the time for women to stand up and become active without needing to ask for permission or acceptance. This is the only way we will give back to our society and allow for Yemen to reach the great potentials it has.”
She has alleged that many Yemeni girls suffer from malnutrition so that boys could be fed and also called attention to high illiteracy rates, which includes two-thirds of Yemeni women. She has advocated for laws that would prevent females younger than 17 from being married. In an Arab world which in many places squanders the talents of half its people she is a rare and very clear voice.
Contrast the hope around these 3 women with the craven intimidation by the self appointed Chinese dictatorship who still imprison last year’s laureate Liu Xiaobo, his wife (without charge) and harass his family and supporters. Ahead of this year’s ceremony for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, past laureates and human rights groups announced a committee in support of Liu, a writer who is serving an 11-year sentence after writing a manifesto for democratic change. The committee - which includes South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu - voiced fears that Beijing is silencing Liu's family and friends after first carrying out an "international wave of intimidation."
Liu Xiaobo
"The international community seems to have forgotten that a year after the award ceremony, Liu Xiaobo remains in prison in China and in harsh conditions," the committee said in its first statement issued Thursday. The committee calls on all those committed to freedom of thought and opinion to join the committee in its efforts to obtain the release of Liu Xiaobo," it said.
Liu Xiaobo's empty chair at the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony
Liu, a former professor, co-authored Charter 08, a bold petition calling for political reform in one-party Communist-ruled China. He was convicted of subversion and sentenced to 11 years in prison on Christmas Day 2009. China responded furiously to the Nobel Peace Prize and cut off political dialogue with Norway, which administers the award. Relations remain tense a year later. In the past year, rights groups say that Chinese authorities only allowed Liu to leave prison briefly when his father died and have put his wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest without charges.
Liu Xiaobo is the only detained Nobel Peace Prize winner. Myanmar last year freed peace laureate and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she spent nearly two decades under house arrest. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued separate appeals Thursday for China to free Liu, with both advocacy groups fearing that Beijing is becoming more intransigent over human rights.
A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on 5th July 1989.
Congratulations and respect to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman. Congratulations and respect to Liu Xiaobo still fighting against the “Great Dictatorship” which continues to imprison him for peacefully expressing an opinion. What is right will win out.
“I do not feel guilty for following my constitutional right to freedom of expression, for fulfilling my social responsibility as a Chinese citizen. Even if accused of it, I would have no complaints.”
—Liu Xiaobo at his “trial” by the Great Dictatorship, 23 December 2009
This list is at Wikipedia. It is curious that a democratic nation has a congress which some members have more than 40 years of service. John Dingell 55 years! It is more than Qaddafi's 43 years dictatorship, not comparing the work of the both, for sure.
The Nobel Peace Prize is the only one of the Five Nobel Prizes awarded by Norway and the committee has a history of making controversial decisions which have been vindicated by history. The prizes have been awarded to (amongst others) the Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi (as far back as 1991), the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), and the Irishman Sean McBride who has the distinction of being the only recipient of both the Nobel and Lenin Peace Prizes.
If the Chinese government had it their way, Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo would never receive his rightful recognition
Earlier this month, three women were named recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting women's rights and women's participation in peace-building. Yet, the winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, Chinese human rights defender Liu Xiaobo, still languishes behind prison bars for seeking to promote peaceful political and social reforms in China.
In the days surrounding International Human Rights Day (December 10), you can shine a light for Liu Xiaobo and for others whose rights have been denied.
Amnesty International is asking you to take one simple action: Write a letter.
This can be a letter of passion and outrage to a government guilty of repressing free expression and denying other human rights. Or it can be a letter of solidarity and hope sent directly to someone who needs reassurance that they are not alone.
Liu Xiaobo is just one case featured in this year's annual Write for Rights - Global Write-a-thon - Amnesty's largest global human rights event. Sign up now and let your letters be counted! Since Amnesty's founding 50 years ago, people throughout the world have joined together in classrooms, coffee houses and community centres to take action. They were united by a simple, yet powerful, tool for change - the letter.
Need proof that written words are powerful? Look no further than Liu Xiaobo - whose words of hope and freedom is seen as such a threat by authorities in China that they have imprisoned him because of them.
Now he and others need you to carry their torch by picking up a pen. You don't need to be a Nobel Prize winner to Write for Rights! Stand with human rights supporters around the world by joining the Global Write-a-thon.
Connect to Amnesty and the Global Write-a-thon here;
Controversial human rights issues in China include policies such as capital punishment, the one-child policy, the social status of Tibetans, and lack of protections regarding freedom of press and religion. One of the foremost areas of concern is a lack of legal rights, for want of an independent judiciary, rule of law, and due process. Another prominent area of concern is lack of labour rights, which is related to the hukou system, the absence of independent unions, and discrimination against rural workers and ethnic minorities. Yet another area of concern is the lack of religious freedom, highlighted by state clashes with Christian, Tibetan Buddhist, and Falun Gong groups.
Amnesty International has long called for Liu’s release. We need now more than ever to send a loud and clear plea for Liu’s release. The incarceration of the Nobel Peace Prize winner by the self appointed clique of the Chinese Communist Party is an affront and an outrage.
The Nobel Peace Prize is the only one of the Five Nobel Prizes awarded by Norway and the committee has a history of making controversial decisions which have been vindicated by history. The prizes have been awarded to (amongst others) the Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi (as far back as 1991), the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), and the Irishman Sean McBride who has the distinction of being the only recipient of both the Nobel and Lenin Peace Prizes. Judging by the howling from the Chinese Dictatorship the committee have got it right again with the award of the 2010 prize to Chinese dissident and author of Declaration 08, Liu Xiaobo.
Naoto Kan, the Japanese prime minister, joined the US, Germany and several other European nations in criticising the imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo and calling for greater freedom in China. China accuses pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo of inciting a rebellion. Mr Kan called on China to respect universal human rights, adding that it would be “desirable” to release the 54-year-old former literature professor who was jailed for 11 years last December on charges of “inciting subversion of state power”.
China expressed outrage last week over the Nobel committee’s decision to award its prestigious Peace Prize to incarcerated Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo. But the real outrage is China’s treatment of those who dare to speak truth to power. We should be thrilled for Liu and the spotlight the award places on his unrelenting fight for fundamental freedoms and human rights in China. But Liu won’t be able to celebrate his win with the rest of the world from the confines of his prison cell.
Adding insult to injury, Chinese authorities have placed Liu’s wife Liu Xia under house arrest, likely preventing her from receiving the award in Norway on Liu’s behalf. They’ve also cracked down on activists celebrating Liu’s achievement. Liu Xiaobo needs your help.
Liu, a 54-year old author and scholar, is a prominent government critic who has repeatedly called for human rights protections, political accountability and democratisation in China. In 2009 Liu was charged with "inciting subversion of state power" and given an 11-year prison sentence after an unfair trial for co-authoring a proposal for political and legal reform in China.
Amnesty International has long called for Liu’s release. We need now more than ever to send a loud and clear plea for Liu’s release.
The tanks of Tiananmen Square
Urge Chinese authorities to release Liu Xiaobo immediately.
This award can only make a real difference if it prompts more international pressure on China to release Liu, along with the numerous other prisoners of conscience languishing in Chinese jails for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Now is the time to act.
Numerous human rights organizations maintain a litany of grievances against the Chinese government. Controversial human rights issues in China include policies such as capital punishment, the one-child policy, the social status of Tibetans, and lack of protections regarding freedom of press and religion. One of the foremost areas of concern is a lack of legal rights, for want of an independent judiciary, rule of law, and due process. Another prominent area of concern is lack of labour rights, which is related to the hukou system, the absence of independent unions, and discrimination against rural workers and ethnic minorities. Yet another area of concern is the lack of religious freedom, highlighted by state clashes with Christian, Tibetan Buddhist, and Falun Gong groups.
Tonight Aylesbury is deserted at the end of a tense and economically damaging day after English Defence League protestors descended on Aylesbury's Market Square chanting 'England' repeatedly and engaging in some audible racist chanting. As I predicted the effect on Aylesbury of this racist Rent-a-mob descending was fairly dramatic with the Town Centre in a complete lockdown and over 600 Police on duty including mounted police, Police from Wales and the Police Helicopter overhead. For a Town Centre where a normal policeman cannot be found on a Saturday this is a dramatic and expensive change. No Market took place in Market Square, The main shopping centres and bus station closed as did most shops in the Town Centre, many of which were boarded up. EDL members wouldn’t quiet appreciate the economic damage they have done as few of them appear to be economically active.
However their attempted invasion of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire failed today. The EDL’s racist, swaggering; Islamophobic supporters hoped they could take over the town and intimidate Muslims and ordinary people. They failed.
They hoped Asians and black people and trade unionists would be too scared to demonstrate against them. They failed. Around 200 anti-EDL demonstrators, overwhelmingly local people including trade unionists and 75 Asian people, gathered in the town’s Vale Park in a show of anti-racism and support for multiculturalism.
Twelve people have been arrested during the protest which attracted more than 800 people. The EDL, which says it opposes "militant Islam", organised the protest in Aylesbury's Market Square. A police spokesman said that "on the whole" the protest had been peaceful but there had been "some disorder". Eight of the people arrested were being held on suspicion of carrying offensive weapons.
Several "disorders" were dealt with by riot officers as more than 800 English Defence League supporters gathered in Aylesbury, Thames Valley Police said. Demonstrators were believed to have hurled coins, glass bottles, plastic flag sticks and cans at officers. Officers had to deal with a surge against police lines in the Market Square.
The EDL protest presented a "major challenge for the town", officers said. The organisation, which describes itself as "a counter-Jihad movement", has held several demonstrations in recent months in Manchester, Bolton and Dudley. Police said there were fewer protestors than the EDL had anticipated.
Supt Richard List, of Aylesbury police, said: "We made it very clear to the EDL at the outset that we would not tolerate any disorder on the day and that there would be a significant police presence. "The police operation will continue until we are totally satisfied that there are no risks or threats to public safety. “He added “We are a tolerant, successful and proud town - we all need to remember our tremendous strengths at this difficult time. I would like to express my sincere thanks to you all."A counter protest was held in Vale Park earlier, but has since dispersed.
Andrew Grant, the chief executive of Aylesbury Vale District Council said afterwards that “a range of entertainment has been organised for Monday by the Town Centre Partnership to help welcome people back to the town". Indeed – the vast majority of local people will be glad the EDL have gone.
Aylesbury last Saturday was its usual relaxed weekend self enjoying a sunny day enlivened by St. George’s day celebrations on a subdued scale. In Kingsbury Square the cafes and pubs had plenty of tables outside as people enjoyed the weather with their children and had a drink or snack whilst enjoying the Morris Dancing. There was also a Dragon roaming around attracting the kids and a little street train with a loco called “George” bringing the kids around the pedestrianised centre of the town. In the Market Square, overlooked by the statue of the local MP John Hampden whose refusal to pay the “ship tax” (Buckinghamshire is not on the coast!) to Charles I precipitated the English Civil War, the market traders jostled for custom from their colourful stalls as they have done for over four hundred years in this the County Town of Buckinghamshire. In the courtyard of the King’s Head, an ancient coaching inn owned by the National Trust, locals and visitors were enjoying the live music and the traditional ale from the Chiltern Brewery.
Market Square, Aylesbury
But what a difference a week will make in this town of 70,000 people. There is a sizable minority of Muslims in Aylesbury who are mostly from Pakistan controlled Kashmir where they have fled from conflict and work hard to provide a better future for themselves and their children. We have a Mosque and some of the best schools in the UK and by and large everybody rubs along quiet well. There is, as in any large town, a lumpen proletariat and there have been in the past some racist incidents whose reports generally include the words “skinheads” and “drink” but we pride ourselves on community relations and have had a Muslim Mayor.
Aylesbury has a mixture of London commuters and busy local employment and is set in the attractive and rich farming area of the Vale of Aylesbury close by the Chiltern Escarpment and the area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as the Chiltern Hills. It is a good and improving place with a good quality of life which is appreciated by the inhabitants who include sturdy yeomen of Buckinghamshire and many who have moved here from elsewhere including a large Italian and Irish community and more recently Polish. It is an inclusive place and we are particularly protective of disabled people who are very visible in the Town Centre on a normal Saturday as Stoke Mandeville Hospital with the National Spinal Injuries Centre is nearby. That was last Saturday. Next Saturday will be different, very different.
The borrowed iconography of the EDL including Constantine the Great's motto " In this sign I will conquer"
On Saturday 1st May our town is being high jacked by a self appointed Rent-a-Mob called the English Defence League or EDL. The effect is palpable. Aylesbury Bus Station will be closed, many small shops are closing at 12, they gave been advised by the Police to not have chairs and tables outside, keep shutters down and consider if they want to really open. The fear is well founded as the video taken by a neutral outsider at a recent EDL “Rally” in Stoke on Trent where 17 people were arrested shows. So next Saturday May the 1st these strangers are going to use our town to contrive conflict where none exists. So next Saturday in Aylesbury Town Centre there will be no buses, no old people, no children, no disabled people and no shoppers. There will also be no pubs open in the town. Here are the details from these Brave English Defenders own website;
“Initially, point 'A' was chosen as a muster area due to it having a small cluster of pubs that would serve as a meet point for our supporters to socialise in before the demonstration. However, the local licensing authority has visited these pubs and as an upshot of that, they have decided to close on the day. We would like to point out that at every single EDL demonstration; no pub has ever received any damage whatsoever. A business that could take three weeks worth of business in the space of a couple of hours deciding to close? I don't know what was said to them, but it sure must have been scary.”
Some Brave Army the EDL marching on its accelerated alcohol consumption?
Kingsbury Square, Aylesbury where all the pubs and cafes will close next Saturday
Some England, some defence? And who are the EDL? Well they have no discernible policy, have not been elected or stood in any democratic process and their web site consists of one long sneer against Muslim people quoting liberally from extremist and unrepresentative Muslim preachers to justify their obsessive fixation with “defending” the English against Islam?
The national leader of the English Defence League has warned that Saturday's demonstration in Aylesbury could be the first of many after a bitter row erupted with police and council bosses. Officers were hoping to keep EDL members on the outskirts of town before a rally in Market Square, to prevent skirmishes with counter demonstrators. But yesterday Tommy Robinson – not his real name – said EDL protestors are now planning to evade police and instead gather in Vale Park – where an anti-EDL demonstration is due to be held.
King's Head Aylesbury
He said: "If our demonstration doesn't go how we want it to go, we'll come back in six weeks. No other place has tried to block us like this one has." The EDL fell foul of police and council chiefs after trying to put up a stage and use loudspeakers – which they need a licence for. At a tense meeting on Monday, they were also told that they were not allowed to carry wooden framed banners. Coach loads of EDL members would have been met by police and escorted to Market Square, where they would have been contained inside solid barriers. Robinson said ominously: "We don't think they're doing well if they want it to go peacefully."
Here is a thoughtful article in the Guardian about this entirely bogus “protest” which is hijacking our town next Saturday by local resident and Labour Parliamentary Candidate in the forthcoming General Election, Kathryn White.
So in Aylesbury next Saturday let us keep our nerve with these unwanted and unwelcome visitors. As Communities Minister John Denham pointed out, “The tactic of trying to provoke a response in the hope of causing wider violence and mayhem is long established on the far-right and among extremist groups.” Let us remind ourselves of the EDL’s origins which highlights the ambiguous position that the BNP holds in regards to this new combination of football hooligan gangs and street racists. The BNP, and the NF before it, used to openly embrace football hooligans as useful muscle with a fierce nationalist pride. However, demonstrations and punch ups no longer fit with the image that the BNP tries to project, and so the EDL has filled a gap in far right politics that the BNP voluntarily vacated in its pursuit of votes.
The flower of England?
So does England need these “Defenders?” Well, England has defended itself fairly well in the past and I presume will do so very well in the future and the EDL membership will make no contribution either way. Like the ludicrous Nick Griffin, the convicted racist who leads the BNP, who surrounds himself in photo ops with make believe soldiers in battle fatigues the EDL will seek to use the last refuge of a scoundrel and these shower of aggressive, unemployed yobs will wrap themselves in false patriotism, a patriotism which probably doesn’t include not being dole scroungers? You have to wonder about the mentality of people whose idea of a good day out on a Bank Holiday weekend is to hold a market town and its diverse inhabitants to ransom. There is no point in me telling them not to come to Aylesbury for their tribal cow stomping because, lets face it, these yobs didn’t get where they are today by listening to others. There is also the practical point that if they were to get themselves tanked up, fight the other side in a macho male tribal display and then go home and watch their yobbery on TV after a footie match it would cost them a lot more than these members of the underachieving Master Race can afford.
Preserve us from such sham defenders; preserve us from such sham patriots.
