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Doing our bit to combat terrorism & racism

Julian Richardson | 27.07.2005 09:41 | Anti-racism | Repression | Social Struggles | Terror War | World

It's been reported that Lincolnshire Police officers arrested two men yesterday, who had been travelling on the GNER Newcastle to London King's Cross service, at Grantham railway station, following 'tip-offs' given by two off-duty Metropolitan Police officers, who were travelling on the same service.

The arrested men were taken to a Lincolnshire police station, where they were being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, for questioning. The train and the rest of the passengers continued on the journey, Lincolnshire Police said.

This follows hot on the heels of an open-top US tourist bus with "five middle eastern men with rucksacks" being stopped after a tip-off from another passenger. They were all, as expected, released without charge, the so-called "tip-off", somewhat predictably, actually being yet another example of racism and Islamophobia.

However, rather than investigate that crime and arrest and question the people actually making these bogus, vexatious reports in the first place, rooted as they are in racist paranoia, the police seem to be preferring to assist in the perpetuation of these racist attacks, even going so far as to arrest ethnic minorities at gun-point, on no concrete evidence of any wrong doing whatsoever.

So be sure your doing your own bit to help combat both terrorism and racism, within your community.

If you see anyone acting "suspiciously", and that can apparently simply involve - as the police have announced - carrying a ruck-sack, wearing a jumper or jacket in case it gets cold or appearing fidgety, stressed or nervous (isn't that half of London at the moment!?), then be sure to let the police know without delay.

However, unless the person you happen to report as suspicious is from an ethnic minority don't hold your breath any precautionary action will be taken, least of all that they'll stop a train or a bus and send in the a bunch of heavily-armed 'heavies'. As all of us who've lived in London for years and viewed with disgust the extent to which ethnic minorities are routinely harassed by the police, 'honkies' apparently ain't guilty of nothing!

This gross failure - treating a campaign to root out a terrorist insurgency, as an opportunity to give police officers quite literally carte blanche to put into practice brutal, discriminatory & racist ideologies on city streets - will all be sharply brought into focus when we see - as chance may have it at some point - the first white suicide bomber.

And reveal yet another blinkered, failure in "intelligence" when it goes off.

Countering any sort of criminality within society should always be scrupulously colour-blind, and be based on solid evidence and credible intelligence. Not on a simplistic, blanket approach which simply seems to nonsensically and racially say "black people bad" and "white people good".

Julian Richardson

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