Invitation to Public Meeting:
"From Reaction to Revolution:
2001-2011 Human Rights Audit"

2pm on 5th February

At the Friends Meeting House, Euston, London

More than ten years after the ‘war on terror’ commenced,  the prosecution of this war through illegal invasions and occupations of countries and a catalogue of renditions to indefinite detention without trial and torture, it is clear there has been a profound attack on  fundamental human rights and the rule of law.

The consequences of this have been far reaching – a global increase in racism, strengthening of dictatorial and undemocratic regimes as well as producing mass resistance and revolutions against them, it has rippled through politics in this country as the very nature of our democracy has been cast into doubt.

Peace & Progress is organising a meeting to take place in London on Sunday 5th February 2012 to serve as an audit of human rights violations and victories over the last ten years.  It will act as a reminder of what has been lost and therefore of the struggle ahead but also of the successes in that period and the grounds for optimism for the future.

‘From Reaction to Revolution’ will seek to evaluate the position of Human Rights from particular perspectives. The speakers will be:

Massoud Shadjareh, from the Islamic Human Rights Commission in London, has monitored the attacks on Muslim communities and nations and the resistance to oppression in the Arab Spring.
Stephanie Harrison, a prominent human rights lawyer, has represented those detained without trial whilst facing deportation to repressive regimes and those seeking to exercise their right of peaceful protest.  
Sue Conlan, a founding member of Peace & Progress, has specialised in immigration and asylum both as a lawyer and political advocate.

Anyone with an interest in the politics of human rights is invited to attend in order to listen, learn and contribute to the debate.

In order to secure a seat, we are asking people to book and pay for a ticket, at a cost of £5 in advance, please use the email and postal addresses below.

Yours sincerely

Hettie Peplow, Secretary, Peace and Progress
The Warehouse, 54-57 Allison Street, Birmingham B5 5TH
mail@peaceandprogress.org

Babar Ahmad: breaking news
High Court delivers historic ruling

This press release from the Free Babar Ahmad campaign:

The High Court in London has ruled that it was unlawful for Justice Secretary Ken Clarke to refuse the BBC permission to film an interview with British Detainee Babar Ahmad in prison, paving the way for the media to be allowed camera access to a British prisoner for the first time. Babar Ahmad is the longest held-without-charge British detainee in the modern history of the UK, having been in prison since August 2004 (seven and a half years). He is fighting extradition to the US, which accuses him of fundraising for Chechen and Afghan insurgents on the internet. In November 2011, over 140,000 signed an official government e-petition in support of his case, which led to two Parliamentary debates on the issue.

The judgment notes that the case of Babar Ahmad is exceptional for a number of reasons, including the fact that he has not been charged with any offence in the UK and the admission made by the Metropolitan Police that he was assaulted on his arrest. Mr Justice Singh makes an important finding that the unusual combination of factors in this case are such that not only was the decision to refuse permission to the BBC to film an interview with Mr Ahmad wrong, but that an interview has to be allowed: “More than that, in our view, the claimants’ rights in article 10 require that departure in the exceptional circumstances of this case, and the Secretary of State has not been able to justify denying those rights on the facts of this case.” (para 81)...

Click here to read the full release.

Guantánamo Bay: 10 years on
Anniversary events (week commencing 9 Jan)

This press release from Reprieve, on a series of events to mark the 10th anniversary of the detention programme at Guantánamo Bay.

January 11 2012 marks the ten year anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at Guantánamo Bay. Today, 171 prisoners are still held at the notorious detention centre, which President Obama had promised to close.

Legal action charity Reprieve will be supporting human rights organisation CagePrisoners in running a series of events during the anniversary week to raise awareness of the 171 forgotten men that remain in Guantánamo – including British resident Shaker Aamer.

The schedule for week commencing 9 January 2012 is below. For all enquiries, please contact CagePrisoners on +44 (0) 203 167 4416 or email: asim@cageprisoners.com

Babar Ahmad update

Further to our previous update, below, the House of Commons backbench committee has decided to relegate the debate on Babar Ahmad from the Commons Chamber to Westminster Hall. This from the Free Babar Ahmad campaign, which is urging its supporters to contact their MPs to request a full debate:

The difference between the two is that the debate allows MPs to vote on the matter and has the potential to affect Babar Ahmad’s case. The Westminster Hall discussion is an easy way for the Government to wash their hands of the matter by not subjecting the issue for a vote.

The previous three e-petitions which secured 100,000 signatures have all been subjected to a full debate in the House of Commons with a vote rather than being sidelined as a Westminster Hall discussion. It is therefore only fair that the petition to put Babar Ahmad on trial in the UK, which over 125,000 people have signed, also be fully debated and voted on.

We are requesting all campaigners to write to their Member of Parliament as a matter of urgency and request that they attend the Backbench Business Committee meeting when it is scheduled and make representations to the Committee that a full debate is needed on the matter.

For an easy way to get in touch with your MP and a letter template from the Free Babar Ahmad website, please click here. More on the petition and the 100,000 signatures below.

Babar Ahmad petition reaches 100,000 signatures needed for debate in parliament

The following press release is from the Free Babar Ahmad campaign:

Over 100,000 people in Britain have now signed an official e-petition urging the government to put British detainee Babar Ahmad on trial in the UK, instead of extraditing him to the US. The petition has been actively supported by a wide range of celebrities, including world boxing champion, Amir Khan, comedians Mark Thomas and Marcus Brigstocke, and actor Robert Llewellyn, who have been appalled by Ahmad’s ongoing detention without trial. He is now in his 8th year of detention, making him the longest detained-without-trial British citizen in the modern history of the UK. Now that over 100,000 people have signed the petition, the matter becomes eligible for parliamentary debate.

The family of Babar Ahmad stated: “Our solicitors have prepared a fresh file of evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer proving that the CPS should have prosecuted Babar in 2004. Over 100,000 members of the British public now ask the DPP to confirm that he will instruct independent counsel to conduct an urgent full re-review of this case so that Babar Ahmad can be put on trial in the UK. We also ask the coalition government to confirm that a full parliamentary debate will be held about Babar’s case with a view to putting him on trial in the UK. Our family would like to thank every single person who either signed or supported this petition. We are overwhelmed by the amount of support for Babar’s case. This shows that the British public is still prepared to stand up against injustice. The government must now take a bold stance on this issue and stop sweeping it under the carpet like it has done for the last seven years."

A number of senior politicians and lawyers have also spoken out in support of the petition. The Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP, Member of Parliament for Tooting said: “As Babar’s Member of Parliament, I have worked with his family and legal team for a number of years arguing that any trial should be held in the UK.” Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP called for Babar to “either be charged and tried here or released; his long and seemingly unending detention is a travesty of justice.” Leading civil liberties lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC described Babar’s ongoing detention without trial as “extraordinary hardship”, adding that it would be “monstrous and scandalous if Babar Ahmad were extradited to the US”.

Click here to visit the Free Babar Ahmad website.

UPDATE: transcript of Gareth Peirce's
Memorial Lecture for Corin Redgrave:
Torture and the Death of Justice: Where are we now?

The event went ahead and was very successful. Many attended who had known Corin over many years as an activist and as an artist. Eddie Gilfoyle and his sister Sue and husband Paul Caddick were among those present, whom Corin had supported in their campaign. We reproduce Paul’s letter here.

Click here to read the full transcript of Gareth's lecture.

P&P Briefing: Can we learn lessons about nuclear power from Chernobyl and Fukushima?

25 years on from Chernobyl, the disaster at Fukushima has once again raised questions about the potential environmental and health implications of reliance on nuclear power. This Peace & Progress briefing examines the issue in detail.

European Race Audit:
Breivik, the conspiracy theory and the Oslo massacre

The Institute of Race Relations has released a briefing paper on the recent killings in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik. An extract:

"In a closed court hearing on 25 July 2011, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik admitted killing seventy-seven people on 22 July in two successive attacks in and around the Norwegian capital – the first on government buildings in central Oslo, the second on the tiny island of Utøya, thirty-eight kilometres from Oslo. But he denied criminal responsibility, on the basis that the shooting spree on the Norwegian Labour Party summer youth camp, which claimed sixty-nine lives, was necessary to wipe out the next generation of Labour Party leaders in order to stop the further disintegration of Nordic culture from the mass immigration of Muslims, and kick start a revolution to halt the spread of Islam."

Read the rest of the paper here.

Dale Farm Update:
P&P submission to Basildon Council, 2005

As the threat to Dale Farm intensifies, following the serving of the eviction order by Basildon Council, Peace & Progress is making its submission to the council available online once more, as we believe it presents all the arguments clearly and provides useful background information for anyone interested. It was submitted by Peace & Progress in 2005. As part of the campaign the late Sylvia Dunn, Dale Farm resident and campaigner for travellers' rights, stood against then Tory leader Michael Howard in the 2005 and general election as a Peace & Progress candidate.

Please click here to read the submission.

P&P Briefing Update
EU Asylum and Immigration Policy:
still mired in contradictions

“Political leaders all over Europe have been quick to condemn the violence in Libya, in Syria, in the Ivory Coast, and to congratulate our North African neighbours in their fight for democracy and freedom.  But when it comes to dealing with the consequences of those developments, and particularly when it comes to dealing with the men, women and children coming to Europe for protection or in search of a better life, European leaders have not been as supportive”

Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, 22 June 2011

As a result of the turmoil in North Africa, actively supported or encouraged by European governments, there has been a massive displacement of people fleeing the violence. Over one million Libyan nationals have left Libya, mostly to Tunisia and Egypt. In the month of May alone, over 65,000 had gone to the West African state of Niger, six times the number that had reached Lampedusa by that date. Since the beginning of 2011, over 48,000 have reached Italy from Libya and Tunisia, many of them displaced from their own sub-Saharan countries by conflict and trapped in Libya as a result of previous agreements between the EU and Libya to keep them there...

To read the full briefing update, please click here.

After the Riots

Equality Trust

The Equality Trust was founded in 2009 by Bill Kerry, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. It campaigns to increase awareness, both in politics and among the public, of the damage to society caused by inequality. We are members of the Equality Trust; below is an extract from their latest bulletin to members with some very useful material. You can also click here to visit the Trust's website.

The disturbing riots across England that occurred last week are crying out for sober analysis and positive ideas that can prevent these scenes from being repeated... Yesterday it was announced that there will be an inquiry into the causes of the riots - the Trust will of course be responding, but we need your help to ensure that the relevance of inequality is fully recognised and widely understood at this crucial time. If you can, please take one or more of the following actions, directing people back to the evidence whenever possible:

1. write letters to your local or regional press - this is particularly important if you live in an area directly affected by the riots. It is quick and easy to email your local newspaper through our website and you should have a good chance of success.
2. write letters to a national newspaper, this is most effective and most likely to be printed if you can respond quickly to a specific article.
3. contribute to discussions on the social media sites that you use, and post your comments after online newspaper articles.
4. organise a local public meeting to discuss the riots in the context of inequality.

Although you will doubtless have your own points to make, some key aspects you may like to highlight are:
- Levels of crime and violence are strongly linked to inequality – see our recent Research Digest # 1.
- The UK has very low levels of trust – barely 1 in 3 of us thinks that “most other people can be trusted”.
- Low levels of trust undermine community cohesion and produce low levels of social capital (social interaction) which is a breeding ground for mistrust, misunderstanding and antagonism.
- High levels of health and social problems, more common in poorer communities anyway, are further exacerbated by inequality leading to desperation in some people.
- According to UNICEF, the UK is one of the worst places in the developed world to be a child or teenager.
- Inequality encourages status competition and a “me first” approach to life which can be witnessed across society – from bankers to MPs to looters.
- Greater equality would improve the overall quality of social relations in the UK and reduce the chances of a repeat of the riots.

Any help you can give in the coming days, weeks and months will be very gratefully received. If you don't have time to write a letter or organise a meeting, then perhaps you could make a donation to help us continue our work? Our Facebook page is a great way of keeping up with the latest media coverage; please do sign up and tell your friends, family and colleagues about it...

Anarchy and Austerity: Budget Cuts
and Social Unrest in Europe 1919-2009

This discussion paper from the Centre for Economic Policy Research, by Jacopo Ponticelli and Hans-Joachim Voth, is particularly pertinent following the recent riots. It provides a fascinating study of the relationship between budget cuts and social unrest, from 1919 to 2009. Please click here to read the full study.

Petition: Protecting Human Rights

Those who want the Human Rights Act repealed, and wish for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, are busily exploiting the recent riots to press home their demands. It is therefore more important than ever that they are vigorously opposed.

This petition, on the government e-petitions site, presses the government to uphold the ECHR in the face of a growing clamour for withdrawal.

Please click here to view and sign the petition.

Click here to read earlier news about the IRR's response to David Cameron's speech in Munich earlier this year.

Free Babar Ahmad: Petition

The following is from the Free Babar Ahmad campaign:

This month marks the seventh anniversary of Babar Ahmad's imprisonment without trial following an extradition request from the US. To mark the 7 year milestone, Babar Ahmad's family have set up an e-petition on the official government website urging them to put him on trial in the UK. The family are aiming to get 100,000 signatures to force a parliamentary debate in his case. They have also released a photograph of family members to mark the 7th anniversary.

Babar's nephew Ibraheem said, 'I was 7 weeks old when Uncle Babar went to prison, now I am 7 years old.'

Ashfaq Ahmad, father of Babar Ahmad said: “This anniversary brings back dreadful memories of that day seven years ago when I received a call from the police telling me that my son had been arrested. Babar – it’s been 7 years but we will not let you be forgotten."

The Free Babar Ahmad campaign are urging all UK supporters to sign this petition to the British government to place Babar on trial in the UK .

We need 100,000 signatures before 10 November 2011 for the issue to become eligible for parliamentary debate.

Click here to sign the petition.

Click here for previous news on Babar Ahmad.

Stop the Evictions:
Come to Dale Farm

Below is information from Dale Farm spokesman Grattan Puxon, on a variety of upcoming events and ways to participate in the campaign to save the Dale Farm community from eviction. (You can also click here to read all our previous Dale Farm news).

'The Big Lie'

George Osborne and David Cameron are desperately trying to re-inflate the banking bubble by pumping money from our public services to fund corporation tax cuts, selling the bailed out banks back to the city and allowing the obscene bonus bonanza to resume while declaring ‘we are all in it together’. That is a big lie. The failure to reform the banking system makes the next crash inevitable. But as Mervyn King The Governor of the Bank of England has pointed out “The price of this financial crisis is being borne by people who absolutely did not cause it.”

The coalition government has, without pause for thought, debate and without mandate rolled out a programme of cuts and privatisations which will fundamentally alter the structure of British society. The deficit is real, destructively real, but it was not caused by nurses, teachers, social and public sector workers but it is they who have picked up the tab.

To read the statement in full, please click here.

False Economy

False Economy is a union funded website which explains why cuts are the wrong cure for our current financial situation. Click here to read False Economy's proposed alternative approach to dealing with the deficit.