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Muslim anti-war protesters abuse British soldiers as 'baby killers' during homecoming parade
A homecoming march by British troops returning from Iraq was today marred by ugly scenes as Muslim anti-war protesters hurled abuse at the parading soldiers.

Around 20 men in Islamic dress yelled 'terrorists' and held placards denouncing the soldiers as 'butchers of Basra' and 'baby killers' as they marched through Luton in Bedfordshire. Other signs described the 200 men and women from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment as 'Criminals, Murderers Terrorists'.

The atmosphere further deteriorated when locals waving St George's flags turned on the protesting group chanting 'Scum' and 'No surrender to the Taliban'. Officers and dog handlers were drafted in to keep the sides apart and five people were arrested for public order offences. A police spokesman said the arrested men were members of the crowd watching the march, rather than the protesters.

The regiment, known as The Poachers, had just returned from their second sixth-month tour in Iraq within two years.

Luton's Mayor Councillor Lakhbir Singh said: 'The Royal Anglian Regiment was given freedom of the town some years ago and we are proud to welcome them back.'

As the parade finished in St George's Square in front of the Duke of Gloucester, police had to force the protesters into a small area reserved for them at the town's Arndale Shopping Centre. Superintendent Andy Martin said: 'Bedfordshire Police has been involved in the planning stages of this event from the beginning and were on hand to ensure members of the public who wished to watch it could do so safely while anyone wanting to exercise their right to lawful protest could also be accommodated

'Disappointingly a small number of people chose to cause a disturbance during the parade, which was quickly contained by officers. The rest of the event concluded without further problem.'

Critics questioned why police had protected the protesters from the angry crowds in Luton rather arresting them immediately for inciting racial hatred.

Tory MP and former infantry commander Patrick Mercer said: 'Police must make a judgement at the time but it is not palatable to me.'

He added: 'It is because of men like The Poachers that these individuals have the freedom to speak about these things. That, clearly, must be a good thing but it doesn't make it any more acceptable. I don't believe that our soldiers have misbehaved on operations and it is a sad indictment that otherwise decent people believe this nasty piece of xenophobic rhetoric.'

The 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, recruit from throughout the counties of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. The Army's website describes them as 'a county based Regiment, bound together by a closely-knit family spirit'.

It adds: 'Our approach is classless, based on mutual respect and trust, where developing and believing in our soldiers is paramount. We are a forward-looking, self-starting and welcoming team for whom the mission remains key. By living this ethos, we the Royal Anglian Regiment aspire to constantly deliver excellence. We make it happen.'

Two members of the regiment - Private Adam Morris, 19, and Private Joseva Lewaicei, 25, from Fiji, were killed when their Land Rover was destroyed by a bomb outside Basra in May 2006. Nine members of the 1st Battalion were killed during a 2007 tour of Afghanistan.

Luton's population has long been one of the most ethnically diverse in the East of England. According to the Office of National Statistics in 2005 19.3 per cent of the population of Luton was Asian or Asian British, compared to 3.1 per cent in the East of England as a whole. The 2005 figures also reveal that town had a white population of 68 per cent, compared to an East of England average of 92.8.

A Government report warned in November that Luton was one of the main centres of Islamic extremist activity in Britain, alongside London and Birmingham. The document described the kinds of people caught up in extremist activity in the UK. It said: 'The majority of extremists are British nationals of south Asian, mainly Pakistani, origin but there are also extremists from north and east Africa, Iraq and the Middle East, and a number of converts.

'The overwhelming majority of extremists are male, typically in the 18-30 age range. The main extremist concentrations are in London, Birmingham, with significant extremist networks in the South East, notably Luton.'

The town achieved notoriety when it emerged that the four bombers who blew up 52 people on the London Underground on July 7 2005 had congregated at Luton train station before heading to King's Cross.
Posted by: Beavis 2009-03-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=264639