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| Europe |
| More on the Finsbury mosque raid... |
| 2003-01-20 |
| Sheikh Abu Hamza, who was not arrested, claimed the raid was both part of a "war" against Muslims and retaliation for the stabbing of an officer during a raid in Manchester. "It is disgusting. The police have never been denied access to the mosque," he said. "What can people have in a mosque? I think it was a provocative act. It was silly and illogical. I am not a military person. I am not an institution. I am a preacher. When did you last hear of a church being raided when someone has been arrested? These people do not have principles." When was the last time you heard of a church being the nexus of terrorism in an entire country? Police insisted the raid was carried out sensitively, and said they had not entered parts of the mosque used for prayer, instead focusing on office and accommodation areas. They said they had "no quarrel" with ordinary worshippers at the mosque, and had been handing out leaflets suggesting alternative places of worship. Strongly suggesting, one would hope... But Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Trotter said: "Public safety is our number one requirement and we will go anywhere that we have to, in order to pursue those that pose a threat to this country." He said the raid had been highly successful, and he expected it to lead to "more action in the future" as "part of our absolutely determined effort to keep the country safe". So far, we're not particularly impressed. Scotland Yard used to be chock full of smart guys. New Scotland Yard seems chock full of social workers... BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said: "It's part of this whole nationwide operation to try to wrap up this network of suspected Algerian militants here in Britain." Ohfergawdsake! It's not just Algerians! |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #4 I think I would prefer that police be polite and correct in their behavior, rather than "sensitive." It's comforting, and adds to the feeling of society's stability when policemen address the public as "sir" or "ma'am," even if forced by the moment's circumstances to thump knobs on their heads. It implies they wouldn't be thumping knobs if they didn't have to, and I think it develops a habit of respect that flows both ways - as I understand used to be the case in Britain. "By adhering to the outward forms, we train ourselves to the inward norms." I think somebody said that, but I might have just made it up. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-01-20 23:42:37 |
| #3 "Police insisted the raid was carried out sensitively...." Pretty scarey oxy-moron...I hope it isn't catching on this side of the pond.... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-01-20 15:19:35 |
| #2 From Reuters: Seven men were arrested at the North London Central Mosque during a police raid that was part of a wider probe into the discovery of ricin poison. "Police have recovered a stun gun, one blank-firing imitation firearm and one CS gas (tear gas) canister during the search of the Finsbury Park mosque," the spokeswoman said. "Police have also recovered a large quantity of documents including passports, identity cards and credit cards. These have been taken away for examination and the search is ongoing. "Six of the men arrested were north Africans and one was east European. They were taken from inside the mosque and two adjacent homes and are still being questioned. These are people involved in terrorist activities, we believe," Assistant Police Commissioner Andy Trotter told Reuters. "The intelligence has been justified by what we have found...a number of very interesting documents." Oooh,documents! I love nice hard physical evidence. They are hard to deny in court. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-01-20 12:57:12 |
| #1 I lived in Britain for some years as political correctness was taking hold and the Brits were discovering self-flagellation over their colonial past. It has been one downhill race since then, with "multiculturalism" and "diversity" taking front seat at the expense of the very identity of the country, not to mention the things we have considered "English" for the longest time -- some good, some bad, but on balance quite adequate for giving Britain a steady plank to stand on. With the Blairite "New Labour" dismantling the very vestiges of Britishness in order to satisfy this weird inner need to debase and degrade one's own culture, history, and tradition, British law enforcement couldn't escape. "Sensitivity" training and "community relations" have overtaken every last bit of common sense in dealing with criminals in a fitting manner. Against this background, try to imagine the hard struggle that you'll have to wage to seriously energize the pinkish Brit government establishment against human-killing Islamo-terrorists. In days past, Sheik Abu Hamza not only would have been barred from entering Britain, he would have been sent down a deep black hole as a pre-emptive measure. The great contradiction of course is that Britain readily and willingly engages her military in the war against the Laden-ites, but seems wimpy and flaccid when it comes to dealing with the domestic front.... |
| Posted by: Nik Karanikos 2003-01-20 11:13:45 |