Skip to content or view screen version

Urgent Anti-Racism

Protest now | 20.04.2005 21:43 | Anti-racism | Indymedia | Social Struggles

Broadcasters have a responsibility not to incite racial attacks. Please ensure they act responsibility and pull the plug on the BNP's hatred and lies.

Adolf Hitler used the freedom of the press in his attempt to destroy mankind. The BBC and commercial broadcasters must be reminded to act accordingly.


Protest against the British National Party's party political broadcast and call on the BBC to pull the plug on race hatred

BBC1 and BBC2 are set to transmit the first party political broadcast by the BNP in the general election campaign on Thursday 21st April. The BBC is not obliged under the law to transmit the broadcast. There are precedents for restrictions being put on the fascist and racist BNP - its previous broadcasts were either stopped entirely or subject to severe restriction due to their offensive content. Wherever the BNP have a presence, racist attacks increase. Prominent members of the BNP including its leader Nick Griffin have recently been charged under the section 18 of the Public Order Act which outlaws incitement to racial hatred.

A letter will be handed in, calling on the BBC to not to broadcast the BNP's message of race hate.

You can make a complaint...

By phoning the BBC: 08700 100 222
or Textphone: 08700 100 212
or by email: Go to the BBC website complaints page  http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/ and click on 'email: send your complaint'

You can also write to the BBC:
BBC Complaints, PO Box 1922, Glasgow G2 3WT

You can complain to OFCOM on the content of the broadcast by emailing:  contact@ofcom.org.uk

You can also call on the other broadcasters not to broadcast the BNP's election material:

ITV:  dutyoffice@itv.com
C4:  viewerenquiries@channel4.co.uk
C5:  customerservices@five.tv


Please let us know the details of your complaint by cc'ing  unite@natfhe.org.uk

For more information: www.uaf.org.uk 020 7388 4916


Protest now

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

The BNP Don't Believe In Free Speech

20.04.2005 22:36

The BNP does not believe in free and balanced reporting. The BNP uses physical threats to try and intimidate journalists. They put details of journalist whose coverage they don‘t like on race-hate websites, to make them targets of attack.

NUJ members in the north of England have passed a dossier to police on these threats. They are just part of a BNP campaign to silence those who do not agree with their vile racist policies.

But there ARE journalists and newspapers around the country that do investigate and expose the BNP and their lies, and the NUJ applauds and supports them.

The NUJ defends the rights of journalists and stand with others to defend media freedom. The BNP has no respect for media freedom or trade union rights.

We will resist all intimidation by the BNP It is a fascist party. There is no place for racism and fascism in this country.

NUJ


The Fash Are Doomed!!!

20.04.2005 22:53

Yeah, mate. Fash are liars.

Try as they might, they won't infiltrate true anti-fascists.

You might as well start rubbing on that baby oil, while pleasuring yourself in-front of your portraits of Hitler, lol.

THE FASH ARE DOOMED TO DEFEAT!!!


Mickey Mouse


Free Speech Is Hate Speech - motivates racial attacks

20.04.2005 23:19

Opponents of No Platform argue that it is a denial of free speech but this is to misunder-stand both free speech and No Platform. Firstly, free speech is not an absolute and there are laws in Britain which place restrictions on what can be said, so that it is illegal, for example, to incite racial hatred. When fascists are allowed a public platform they frequently use the opportunity to stir up racial hatred and violence against black people, Jews, anti-racists and others.

Secondly, the right to free speech brings with it particular responsibilities, such as not violating other people's freedom. Fascism as an ideology is inherently opposed to free speech, freedom of movement and the right to live one's life without fear or oppression. Freedom of speech is very important, but so is the right to live without fear of the discrimination, hatred and violence that fascism represents. The fascists of today, such as the British National Party, do not really believe in free speech but they will be quick to exploit liberal arguments in favour of it for their own purposes. The BNP uses the mantle of free speech to stir up racial hatred and deny the Holocaust.

Let us not forget that the BNP would deny all black people not only the right to speak but also the actual right to live in Britain.

Members of the BNP have suggested in print that the party would follow in the footsteps of Hitler and the Nazis if it could, and forcibly silence all its opponents through a campaign of intimidation, imprisonment and murder. Writing in The Rune recently, Nick Griffin stated that, if in power, the BNP would execute "the politicians, those in charge of the media, police chiefs and those responsible for creating this multi-racial hellhole". Fascists will manipulate arguments about free speech but the reality is that they would welcome the chance to deny millions of people their own rights to free speech. In a free and democratic society, to allow the BNP and other nazis to cloak their genocidal hatred in the flag of free speech is to degrade and undermine the concept of tolerance.

Jonn Dough


Naive

24.04.2005 07:15

If you think complaining to the BBC will do any good, you are sadly mistaken. All the BBC cares about is that you send it cash so it can carry on broadcating drivel and propaganda. You get fined by the goverment if you don't cough up. The BBC is one of the most unaccountable corporations in the world - it doesn't even have shareholders to answer to. Your complaints to the BBC will go straight into the corporate waste paper basket. Remember, if you pay the BBC licence, YOU are paying for BNP party political broadcasts to be shown. Think carefully before renewing the licence an funding those BBC jobs for another year.

pete


What a laugh

24.04.2005 11:22

NUJ members standing for media freedom - what a joke. The NUJ defends the BBC licence fee, which forces people to buy TV off the BBC before they can receive it free from other organisations. Of course, the NUJ couldn't care less about the freedom of people to buy what media they want, all they want to do is to preserve the thousands of NUJ jobs at the BBC. If you stand for media freedom, you cannot be in favour of the BBC licence fee. If you don't pay the BBC, you are likely to lose all your freedom - you'll end up in prison. That's a system the NUJ support, because their jobs come before our freedom.

don


what a load of fuss...

25.04.2005 00:33

...about nothing! did anyone see the broadcast? it didnt seem to have any actual content! what a load of shit, i don't get who that broadcast was supposed to convince to vote BNP? the speech at the end was hillarious too, spent all his time whinning about being censored then didnt actually say anything. classy.

amused