British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday declared an all-out war on extremists and foreigners who come to Britain and abuse their responsibilities. In an uncompromising tone and hard-line stance on extremists, the prime minister announced sweeping new powers in the wake of the 7/7 London suicide bombings and the failed 7/21 attacks. And he gave notice that he will recall Parliament early in September to debate the powers and to push them through. Already he has confirmed that Britain is to ban extremist organizations such as Hizbut Tahrir and Al-Muhajiroon, whose unofficial head is Omar Bakri Mohammed. Omar fears a retrospective application of the new powers, which would mean deporting him to his native Syria, where he is wanted on various charges. The announcement signaled the government's intention to tackle this issue head on and to keep the momentum of the fight against terrorism going, at a time when Blair is poised to go on his annual holiday, and his two senior ministers are already away.
âWe are today signalling a new approach to deportation orders. Let no one be in any doubt, the rules of the game have changed,â stressed Blair. âWe welcome people here who are peaceful and law-abiding. People who want to be British citizens, should share our values and our way of life. But if you come to our country from abroad, donât meddle in extremism. Because if you meddle in it, or get engaged in it, you are going to go back out again. Coming to Britain is not a right. And even when people have come here, staying here carries with it a duty.â
The sweeping new measures include a new law making it an offense to âcondone or glorify violence and extremismâ. There will also be a database of individuals involved in hate and terror, and anyone on the list who is a foreign national will be kept out of the country or deported. There will be a maximum time limit for extraditing terrorist suspects. One Algerian has been held in the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison for 10 years and has still not been extradited to France for trial.
The measures will make it easier for the government to deport foreign nationals who advocate terrorism, and Blair warned that if necessary, he may amend Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which is incorporated into the UK Human Rights Act. Article 3 refers to the Shalal Case in 1996 when the European Courts ruled that where deportees were faced with torture or the death penalty on return to their home countries, this outweighed any national security considerations for the sending countries.