Frances Guy has extensive experience in the Middle East
Israel has criticised Britain’s ambassador to Lebanon for eulogising a recently deceased Lebanese cleric said to have inspired Hezbollah.
Frances Guy wrote on her personal blog that Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah was a “decent man” who rated among the people she most admired.
An Israeli spokesman said Ayatollah Fadlallah was “unworthy of praise”.
The UK foreign office says it has taken down the blog after “mature consideration”.
It said the comments reflected Ms Guy’s personal opinion, not official UK policy.
Ayatollah Fadlallah, Lebanon’s top Shia Muslim cleric, died on Sunday at the age of 74. Thousands of people attended his funeral in Beirut and tributes poured in from all over the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Two days ago, CNN sacked a veteran Middle East editor who wrote on Twitter that she “respected” the late cleric, saying that her credibility had been compromised.
Controversial figure
Ayatollah Fadlallah was customarily described as the spiritual leader of the militant movement Hezbollah when it was formed in 1982 – a claim both he and the group denied.
Ms Guy, who has been ambassador since 2006, wrote on her blog that Ayatollah Fadlallah was the politician in Lebanon she most enjoyed meeting.
“The world needs more men like him willing to reach out across faiths, acknowledging the reality of the modern world and daring to confront old constraints,” she wrote.
Israel’s foreign ministry denounced the comments.
“We believe that the spiritual leader of [Hezbollah] is unworthy of any praise or eulogising,” a spokesman told the Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot.
“If Hezbollah was firing missiles at London and Glasgow, would this leader still be called ‘decent’?” he added.
Ayatollah Fadlallah was a controversial figure.
He was revered as one of Shia Islam’s highest religious authorities and won support from many Muslims for his anti-American stance and his support for the Islamic revolution in Iran.
He advocated suicide attacks as a means of fighting Israel, and has been linked to the 1983 suicide bombings that killed more 300 American troops at the US marine barracks in Beirut.
But he condemned the 9/11 terror attacks and had relatively progressive views on the role of women in society.
‘Personal view’
Hezbollah’s military wing is proscribed in the UK as a terrorist organisation.
But Ms Guy, who has met with Hezbollah officials on several occasions, wrote that Ayatollah Fadlallah’s passing left Lebanon “a lesser place”.
“When you visited him you could be sure of a real debate, a respectful argument and you knew you would leave his presence feeling a better person,” she wrote.
“That for me is the real effect of a true man of religion; leaving an impact on everyone he meets, no matter what their faith.”
The British foreign office said it had removed the blog post as it did not fully reflect the British government’s policy.
“The ambassador expressed a personal view on Sheik Sayyed Fadlallah, describing the man as she knew him,” a spokesman told the BBC.
“While we welcomed his progressive views on women’s rights and interfaith dialogue, we also had profound disagreements – especially over his statements advocating attacks on Israel,” he added.
This afternoon a press conference was held in the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office between Foreign Secretary William Hague and Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu.
The two men seemed to get along quite well and voiced their mutual respect for one another. In their opening statements the focus was on a new era of bilateral cooperation between Turkey and the United Kingdom, whereas in the question and answer session that followed the focus was primarily on the issue of Israel, its recent attack on the Freedom Flotilla, Turkey’s reaction to the assault, and the ongoing siege on Gaza.
William Hague began by saying that the fact that the UK coalition government has been in office for less than two months and has already had meetings with the Turkish Foreign Minister lasting several hours and were on their way to have several more hours of meetings this afternoon shows just how serious they are about their commitment to work closely with the Turkish government.
Hague said, “Turkey is one of the countries with whom we believe elevated ties are highly desirable.” He stated that their long discussion this morning was “extremely positive, detailed and wide ranging, covering our economic relations as well as global issues. We have established an excellent basis, I think, for working closely together as Foreign Ministers. I have great respect for the Minister as someone who has made a huge personal contribution to thinking about Turkey’s foreign policy.”
He further added “there is huge scope for intensified dialogue and cooperation between the United Kingdom and Turkey and I’m delighted to say that we have agreed that our countries will conclude a new strategic partnership in the near future. It will reflect the importance we attach to our relationship and set the stage for closer cooperation in foreign affairs, security, defence and trade. Turkey is a vital NATO ally, a strategic partner for the UK, and Europe’s largest emerging economy and we value Turkey’s unique character as a place where East and West meet together.
On related matters, Mr Hague said, “We value Turkey’s advice and opinions on issues such as Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East Peace Process and the Western Balkans…Our talks this afternoon will focus on Turkey’s path to EU membership which the United Kingdom strongly supports. This government is clear that for the European Union to turn its back on Turkey would be an immense strategic error and we will encourage Turkey’s EU aspirations….”
He mentioned that Prime Minster, David Cameron hopes to make an “early visit to Turkey which will be another milestone in building closer ties between our countries.”
On his part, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Davutoglu began his talk by commenting on the historic relations between Turkey and Britain and mentioned that the first ever Turkish ambassador outside Turkey was sent to London in 1793.
He said that there had been approximately 13 billion dollars in foreign trade between Turkey and Britain in 2008, which dropped somewhat in 2009, but that they now hoped to increase it again, “not just to 13 billion dollars but to 20 billion dollars in the coming years!” He also announced their joint plans to work together to establish a Turkish – British University in Turkey.
Davutoglu said they had also discussed the “recent attacks by Israel against the civilian flotilla in the Eastern Mediterranean. I explained to my colleague our perspective that that attack occurred in international waters, and there were civilian casualties and there should be accountability for this from the perspective of law. It is not only a political case; it is a legal case for us.“
In the question and answer session Davutoglu was asked if reports that Turkey would sever ties with Israel unless they apologised over the Gaza flotilla was accurate. He responded by saying the following: “As I have said this is a legal case. The fact is eight Turks and one American citizen was killed in international waters. So there is a crime. Now there are some simple questions. Who killed these nine civilians in international waters? It was not in the territory of Israel. It was not [in] Israeli waters. They did not violate Israeli territory. They did not harm any Israeli citizens. Now the question is who killed them? Everybody knows who. Then the second question: on what basis were they killed? Who has the right to kill civilians in international waters? All of us, all civilised societies, we are accountable and we are responsible. We are accountable to our societies because we are democracies and we are accountable to the international community because we are members of the UN system and we are all obliged to respect international law. Now if somebody, Israel or any other country, did not respect these [conventions] then the next [issue] is that there should be accountability. Accountability means if somebody says, ‘OK it was a mistake’, then they should apologise and we can talk about our future relations, compensation and other things. If they think that they did not make any mistake, then we have another alternative, accept an international investigation. An international investigation by the UN will decide who killed these civilians, on what basis and what are the consequences. These are the two options. An [internal] investigation is not acceptable to Turkey because the accused party cannot be prosecutor and judge at the same time. Now we expect Israel to either apologise and accept its crime or to accept an international investigation. I think that this is a just and fair request from Turkey. If they do not follow these two alternatives then of course Turkey, as a respected nation and state, has full rights to take any measure to protect the rights of its civilians, of citizens. There is one American citizen, so of course it is an America decision what to do for him, but for us it is the dignity of the state to protect the rights of our citizens. Whatever is needed for this we will take action…. If Israel wants to improve relations with us then they should accept accountability and do all the necessary actions to prevent the deterioration of our relations. Two years ago in 2008 we were running the negotiations between Israel and Syria and we had a very good co-operation… so this was not the decision of Turkey. The deterioration of Turkish Israeli relations was because of the decisions and violations of the Israeli government against International law.”
The governing body of Freemasonry in the UK has called in external PR help in a drive to shrug off a ‘secret society’ image.
Image overhaul: Freemasons
Since its inception in the 18th century, the practice of Freemasonry has been well known for allegedly using secret handshakes and other obscure rituals.
But the United Grand Lodge of England is keen to shed more light on its shadowy practices as the organisation approaches its 300th birthday in 2017.
The Lodge, which governs Freemasonry in England, Wales and the Channel Islands, has appointed Bondy Consulting as a retained consultancy to build greater awareness of Freemasonry and ensure the practice’s long-term future.
Grand secretary of the United Grand Lodge Nigel Brown said: ‘Freemasonry is now run as a modern business and it is important our communication reflects this. Freemasonry plays a unique role in society today and it is vital we encourage people to talk openly about it and dispel the many unfounded myths associated with it.’
Freemasonry has 250,000 members, including 30,000 overseas. It is one of the world’s largest non-religious, non-political, fraternal and charitable organisations.
Bondy founder Jessica Bondy said: ‘We have been appointed to combat common misconceptions including those of secrecy. There are no secrets in Freemasonry and we need to encourage people to talk openly about it. Information is totally accessible for anyone that wants it and anyone can come into Freemasons’ Hall.’
Bondy, a former MD at Ketchum, also said: ‘There is no sec ret handshake – this is one of the myths.’
As part of the PR drive, the agency will also promote Freemasons’ Hall, which has featured in a number of Hollywood blockbuster movies.
Bondy was selected after a competitive agency pitch.
Ironically, both Bondy and the United Grand Lodge were tight-lipped about the Freemasons’ previous PR support.
The Methodist Church today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories becoming the first major Christian denomination in Britain to officially adopt such a policy.
The decision was made at the church’s Conference in Portsmouth, an annual gathering which decides Methodist policy. The official stance of the church, the fourth largest Christian denomination in Britain, will be to boycott any products made on Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Lay Methodists will also be encouraged to follow the church’s lead.
The move will inevitably put Methodists on a collision course with Britain’s Jewish community. The Board of Deputies of British Jews had already expressed concern over a 50-page report which had been compiled by a Methodist committee and sent to all its churches before the conference explaining why a boycott was justified.
In December, Defra introduced new advice on labelling, recommending that packaging of products imported from the West Bank should distinguish between Palestinian areas and Israeli settlements.
Christine Elliott, Secretary for External Relationships, said, “This decision has not been taken lightly, but after months of research, careful consideration and finally, today’s debate at the Conference. The goal of the boycott is to put an end to the existing injustice. It reflects the challenge that settlements present to a lasting peace in the region.
Ben White, campaign coordinator for ‘A Just Peace for Palestine’, said: “This is a clear show of support from Jews and Christians who understand that a real peace for both peoples requires justice. It stands in stark contrast to the disingenuous threat that listening to the call of Christian Palestinians and upholding international law and human rights will damage ‘inter-faith relations’ – on the contrary, inter-faith dialogue is not facilitated by ignoring serious questions about injustice.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/methodists-launch-boycott-over-west-bank-2014827.html, 30 June 2010
AFP – Turkey’s foreign minister warned Thursday his country was entitled “to take any measure to protect the rights of civilians” in relation to Israel’s killing of nine people on a Gaza-bound aid ship.
On a visit to London, Ahmet Davutoglu was asked whether Turkey would be prepared to cut diplomatic ties with Israel following the deadly flotilla attack in May which killed eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen.
“We expect Israel either to apologise … or to accept an international investigation. I think this is a just and fair request from Turkey,” he said after talks with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in London.
“If they do not follow these two alternatives, then of course Turkey… have full rights to take any measure to protect the rights of civilians”.
Davutoglu added: “If Israel wants to improve relations with us, then they should accept accountability and do all the necessary actions to prevent deterioration of our relations.”
Turkey has also called for Israel to pay compensation for the deaths, which sparked an international outcry.
Davutoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey would “not stay indifferent” if its conditions for Israel were not met.
Israel has insisted it would “never apologise for defending its citizens”.
The 5th Turkish Festival aims to fundamentally develop the profile of regional culture in Turkey; to participate in the processes of integration between world cultures; to attract a wider audience to the new generation of artists, activating the processes for Turkish Art forms, and contributing to the uprising of Turkish Art and Cultural recognition on an international platform; to allow a new generation of Turkish Artists to appear, encourage the appearance and development of Artists and the Art industry, and integrate Turkish Culture in an international Platform.
This event shall consist of cultural, performing arts such as ethnic music, folk and traditional dancing, cultural arts, ethnic food and handcrafts. We also propose to transform the venue into a Turkish Bazaar with stalls serving the best of Turkish food, drink, spices, textile, leather goods music and crafts.
TURK FESTIVALI 17 VE 18 TEMMUZ TARIHLERINDE YAPILIYOR
Her yıl yapılan Turkish Forum UK tarafindan duzenlenen . Turk Festivalinin 5’İnci 17 temmuz cumartesi gunu saat 12’de
asagidaki adreste basliyor. 18 Temmuz pazar gunu de tum gun surecek festivale hepinizi bekliyoruz. IKi gun boyunca festivale 100 binden fazla ziyaretci bekleniyor. Lutfen aileniz, arkadaslarinizla karnaval senliginde gecen festivale katilmanizi onemle bekliyoruz..
ADRES;””Festival’in yapılacağı Potters Fields Park’ın adresi ‘Tooley Street/The Queens Walk, Southwark, London SE1 2AA’dır. Londra Büyükşehir Belediyesi binası yakınında ve Tower Bridge’in Güney Londra kesimindeki ayağına yakındır”
