Tony Blair has
attempted to exploit the July bombings in London
to re-assert political
leadership after a year in
which - despite his reelection - the New
Labour star has been on
the wane. Here NORMAN TRAUB
outlines on the new
assault on civil liberties,
while PHIL HEARSE gives an edited verion of his report to the recent AGM, on the broader features of the new situation and the response needed from the left. Tony Blair's reaction to the London Bombings has been to introduce a raft of measures, which will further erode the democratic rights of the people in Britain.
He invoked the "fight against terrorism" as the justification for his actions. He even castigated the judiciary for having stopped him from detaining foreign nationals indefinitely without trial.
He warned them if they blocked the measures he was taking to deport 'extremist Muslim clerics', he would Introduce new legislation amending the Human Rights Act if necessary to override their objections.
Shortly after he made these announcements demonstrators were arrested for defying a law not to demonstrate in Parliament Square without permission. It is worth recalling what Lord Hoffman, one of the judges who declared Blair's internment policy unacceptable, stated in his judgement "the real threat to the life of the nation comes not from terrorism but from laws such as these. It calls into question the very existence of an ancient liberty of which this country has, until now, been very proud - freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention".
The path Blair has chosen to counter resistance to his rule by further restricting democratic rights must lead to further confrontations with those opposed to him. All layers of society are being jolted into taking up their positions in this conflict.
In the present situation Blair is exploiting the climate of fear that exists as a result of the London bombings to turn the attention of the population away from the real causes of terrorism.
The authorities ordered the re-arrest of Muslim clerics and other alleged terrorist sympathisers, who were under control orders. They now face the grim prospect of being deported to countries like Jordan and Algeria, where torture is routinely practised in prison. A senior UN representative has warned that he will cite the British government for violation of human rights over its planned deportation.
Blair has also threatened to close down mosques preaching hate and denounced Muslim organisations such as Hibz ut Tahrir, which he says he will ban. A new offence of incitement to terrorism is being proposed.
Since the London bombings, assaults on Muslims have multiplied and one Muslim was killed in a racist attack. On July 5, the police raided the igra Learning Centre and bookshop run by a well known charity, smashing down the door of the shop and wrecking it. There is widespread apprehension among Muslims and a sense of their being under siege.
Religious persecution of the Muslims, which like economic and political discrimination is part of the practice of racist oppression, is rooted in British society in which the state plays a central role. It has reached new dimensions in the wake of the London bombings.
The media are involved in a witch-hunt of Muslim institutions. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and its associate the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) are accused of promoting ideas which feed extremism.
One BBC documentary cited as one example: the "conviction that Islam is a superior faith and culture which Christians and Jews in the west are conspiring to undermine". Madeleine Bunting's reply to this in The Guardian was apt: "this is ridiculous, I've yet to meet a member of any faith who doesn't believe in the superiority of their beliefs, while fear of being undermined is similarly common".