Category: Non-EU Countries

Reverend Jackson Sr called for an end to abuse of police powers

By Tolga Cakir

Reverend Jackson Sr visited King’s College London. Reverend Jackson made a historical speech to audience of students, academics and representatives of non-governmental organisations to promote good policing, peace, justice and equal treatment for all.

Reverend Jackson is founder and president of the Rainbow Push coalition, is one of America’s foremost religious and political figures. Over the past forty years, he has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement in the US. President Bill Clinton awarded Reverend Jackson the nation’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2000.

Reverend Jackson called for an end to ‘racial profiling’ and the abuse of police powers to stop and search, which have undermined trust in the police on both sides of the Atlantic. He lunched StopWatch a new coalition of researchers and NGO’ s which has been formed to highlight the abuse of police stop and search powers, to promote good policing and to stimulate research on alternative ways to create safe and peaceful communities.

Some abstracts from Reverend Jackson’s historical lecture

Stop and search public policy is one of the most contentious public issues. Last year alone, 8 million in US and 1 million in UK car stop search took place. Every person has got a right to walk freely without interference of the state furthermore these powers should be used when necessary, proportionate and fair. These fairness should also used in the recently curtailed controversial “section 44” terrorism powers.

Rate of stop and search for Blacks 27 times higher and for Asians 7 times higher than other racial backgrounds.

Being against racial profiling is for police accountability and to increase public trust in the force.

Many lives have been lost by violent crimes; Nazism against Jews is one of them..

Segregation in Africa was one of them.

Nelson Mandela was victim of them.

Many institutions do racial profiling. The leadership in the institutions must be corrected and I believe this must stop, the abuse of “stop and torment us”. For this we need each other. We should all be free and have a right to move freely without any harassment. Democracy promises equality for gender, race and religion.

Christianity is also against racial profiling. We need to change the institutions behaviours, attitudes, laws and justice.

In Britain and in US police racism does exist. UK terrorism act is violated for protesters and religious profiling. This is totally unjust. This builds walls of separation.

We should detect, react and stop this happening.

We should not fear and fight back.

We should learn to live together.

We should fight back for our dream of a new world and new justice.

Keep faith and keep the hope alive.

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Comments:

Stop Watch: Powers without reasonable suspicion

The focus of community concern has usually been those stop and searches conducted under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (pace), which requires officers to have reasonable suspicion before conducting a stop and search. However, the police are increasingly using other stop and search powers that carry no requirement of reasonable suspicion. These include the recently curtailed controversial “section 44” terrorism powers which allowed police to stop and search people and vehicles in a designated area without individualised suspicion.

Other frequently used powers are those granted under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which allow police to stop and search individuals without reasonable suspicion “in anticipation of violence” and schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows stops in ports and airports for counterterrorism purposes without reasonable suspicion. Police use of these powers has given rise to similar problems as seen on with section 44: arbitrariness, abuse, lack of monitoring and safeguards, and a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities.

Ben Bowling : The abuse of stop and search has driven a wedge between police and communities

Ben Bowling, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at King’s College London – also a member of StopWatch – said, “The abuse of stop and search has driven a wedge between police and communities. It is often unfair and ineffective and can be counter-productive. StopWatch aims to monitor the use of stop and search powers and focus research and public policy on developing good policing. Together we can find fairer and more inclusive ways of creating a safer society”.

Rob Berkeley: Any reforms announced should be fair and inclusive

Commenting, Rob Berkeley, Director of the Runnymede Trust, a member organisation of StopWatch, said: “Given the government’s current review into policing in the UK, it is crucial that any reforms announced are fair and inclusive – particularly in relation to stop and search. StopWatch intends to act as a check on government as it carries out these reforms, as well as address the stark ethnic disproportionalities in stop and search”

For more information;

Stop Watch

c/o Runnymede Trust

7 Plough Yard

London

EC2A 3LP

Email: kjartan@runnymedetrust.org.uk

Telephone: 0207 377 92 22

Further information can be found at: www.stop-watch.org

October 19, 2010
Hillary Clinton’s warning to Britain over cuts in defence budget

Barack Obama’s government has delivered a stark public warning against major cuts in the British defence budget, suggesting that they would undermine Nato and strain the Special Relationship.

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent

Hillary Clinton: 'I think we do have to have an alliance where there is a commitment to the common defence' Photo: AFP/GETTY

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, and Robert Gates, the secretary of defence, both said they were worried about deep reductions in Britain’s Armed Forces and the consequences for international security.

The unusual public intervention came as talks on the defence budget went down to the wire, with defence chiefs making 11th-hour personal appeals to David Cameron against cuts last night.

The Daily Telegraph disclosed last month that US officials were privately concerned that British defence spending was about to fall below 2 per cent of gross domestic product, the minimum standard expected of Nato members. Mrs Clinton and Mr Gates, America’s two most senior figures on international relations and security, made those fears public in separate remarks.

In a BBC interview to be broadcast today, Mrs Clinton was asked whether defence cuts being made in Europe, and specifically in Britain, worried the US administration.

She replied: “It does. The reason it does is because I think we do have to have an alliance where there is a commitment to the common defence.“

Nato has been the most successful alliance for defensive purposes in the history of the world, I guess, but it has to be maintained. Now each country has to be able to make its appropriate contributions.”

Mr Gates attended a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels yesterday, where he delivered his own warning. “My worry is that the more our allies cut their capabilities, the more people will look to the US to cover whatever gaps are created,” he told reporters on his flight to Belgium. “At a time when we are facing stringencies of our own, that’s a concern for me.”

Later, he told the Nato meeting: “As nations deal with their economic problems, we must guard against the hollowing out of alliance military capability by spending reductions that cut too far into muscle.”

The American intervention will increase tensions within Whitehall over the scale of the defence cuts to be announced next week.

Britain is one of a handful of European Nato members that meets the 2 per cent standard. Officials believe that defence spending could fall as low as 1.7 per cent of GDP.

George Osborne, the Chancellor, is pressing for a 10 per cent cut in the defence budget, which Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, is resisting fiercely. Sources said the two sides were discussing a “midpoint” compromise of around 6 per cent. That would represent a political victory for Dr Fox but would still leave the Services facing painful losses.

The Royal Navy could lose its amphibious landing capability, meaning Britain would be unable to mount another campaign like that in the Falklands. The future of Harrier and Tornado jets also hangs in the balance. Navy insiders said cutting the Harriers would mean that Britain’s first new aircraft carrier would enter service in 2016 with no British aircraft to fly from it.

The heads of the Navy, Army and RAF went to No 10 last night for private meetings with the Prime Minister to warn of the “serious consequences” of the Treasury plan.

“The PM should be aware that the cuts the Treasury is looking for are ridiculous,” said a senior military source. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, tried to play down US fears, insisting: “We will remain a very serious country in defence matters.”

The National Audit Office today will disclose that the “black hole” in the order book for defence equipment grew by £3.3 billion in Labour’s final year in office. The decision to delay construction work on the new carriers will add £650 million to their final cost, taking the eventual bill to £5.9 billion, the watchdog will say.

A £2.7 billion increase in the cost of Typhoon jets was caused by a decision to buy 16 additional aircraft, in order to meet international obligations to Germany, Italy and Spain.

, 14 Oct 2010

October 15, 2010
Daughter of Sarah Ferguson in Car Crash

PRINCESS BEATRICE has been left shaken after she was involved in a car crash on Monday morning (11Oct10).

The 22-year-old daughter of Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson was driving to study at London’s Goldsmith’s College when her car collided with a bus and a coach.

Beatrice’s BMW was reportedly crushed between the two large vehicles, but the royal was unhurt in the horrific accident.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police says, “Police are aware of a damage-only collision. There were no injuries and no further action will be taken.”

Last year (09) the same car was stolen when the Princess went shopping and left the keys in the ignition. It was later safely returned to her.

PRINCESS BEATRICE has been left shaken after she was involved in a car crash on Monday morning (11Oct10).
The 22-year-old daughter of Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson was driving to study at London’s Goldsmith’s College when her car collided with a bus and a coach. Beatrice’s BMW was reportedly crushed between the two large vehicles, but the royal was unhurt in the horrific accident.A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police says, “Police are aware of a damage-only collision. There were no injuries and no further action will be taken.”Last year (09) the same car was stolen when the Princess went shopping and left the keys in the ignition. It was later safely returned to her.

Daily Star

October 13, 2010
Cyber attack threat ‘real’, warns spy chief

Britain’s critical national infrastructure faces a “real and credible” threat of cyber attack, the head of the UK’s electronic spying agency warned.

In a highly unusual public speech, GCHQ Director Iain Lobban said that Britain’s future economic prosperity depended upon developing effective defences against a cyber assault.

Speaking on Tuesday night to International Institute for Strategic studies, he said that the massive growth of the internet had opened up new vulnerabilities with opportunities for attack by both hostile states and criminals.

While GCHQ is more usually associated with electronic intelligence-gathering, Mr Lobban stressed that it also had a security role, referred to as “information assurance”.

He said that they had already seen “significant disruption” to government computer systems caused by internet “worms” – both those that had been deliberately targeted and others picked up accidentally.

Each month there were more than 20,000 “malicious” emails on government networks, of which 1,000 were deliberately targeted at, while intellectual property theft was taking place on a “massive scale” – some relating to national security.

The increased use of government services online – with the prospect of over £100 billion-a-year in tax and benefits payments being processed online – only added to the security challenge.

ITN

October 13, 2010
Chomsky says Northern Ireland is model for Kurdish solution

Noam Chomsy

BARRY J WHYTE

Noam Chomsky, the American linguistics professor, believes that the Northern Ireland peace process can offer a model for solving the Kurdish problem.

Chomsky, who is in Istanbul Bilgi University for the 7th annual “Gathering in Istanbul for Freedom of Expression,” said that careful examination of the Irish and Spanish models will provide the key to success. He said that he is in favour of a general amnesty for Kurdish guerillas, which was a key factor in convincing Irish Republicans to join the talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement.

He also pointed out that there had been some recent positive developments on the Kurdish issue in Turkey.

Chomsky teaches at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

, October 11, 2010

October 12, 2010
Proposal to Cede Cyprus to Greece

Proposal document from National Archives to cede Cyprus to Greece.

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October 7, 2010