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Very Important

Disco Dave | 20.04.2005 23:05 | Anti-racism | Indymedia | Repression | London

PLEASE READ NOW!!!

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 has been 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

Disco Dave

Comments

Hide the following 2 comments

Remember Redwatch??? The Abuse Of Free Speech By Racist Criminals

20.04.2005 23:26

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 Truth About The BNP's Free Speech

20.04.2005 23:59

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.

Anti Fascist