Some thoughts on the politicisation of the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes
FT | 23.08.2005 16:18 | Analysis
Is a serious issue being hijacked by certain political groups to further their own ends rather than to find out the truth?
There's an interesting article in today's Evening Standard about the various political groups that have latched on to the de Menezes family's campaign to find out the truth and bring Jean Charles's killers before the courts.
I, for one, am slightly troubled by this. While many of the people offering to help the family no doubt have their best interests at heart, it is quite clear — and has been so since 22 July — that there are certain elements keen to hijack this tragedy to further their own political views and ambitions.
While all of the statements that come straight from the mouths of the victim's family have been about their hunger for truth and justice, the 'official' campaign being run on their behalf in this country tend to have the Dave Spart-esque tone of the Socialist Workers, a group well-known for piggy-backing on absolutely any cause going in order to flog a few papers. Several senior SW types are also involved in the campaign, and one of Galloway's former aides is acting as a spokesman.
We keep hearing demands for both Blair's to resign, of using the campaign to fight against erosions of civil liberties in the UK, and of direct links to the war in Iraq, none of which tally with what JC's family in Brazil seem to be saying. Given that they speak very little English, it's entirely possible that they have no clear idea of what is being done in their name.
It's not just the campaign officials who seem to be "making the most" of the killing, either; right back at the first demos outside Stockwell station you could see anti-war and anti-Israeli banners in the crowd, and the usual suspects on Indymedia and similar sites are more than happy to use this as a peg for their "all coppers are evil scum" diatribes.
I suspect that I'm about to get flamed from here to Inverness and back for daring to a) hang anything of an Evening Standard story and b) take a line that suggests George Galloway's mates are not all lovely people who only fight for the common good, but I'm feeling rather uncomfortable about the way this is going.
I, for one, am slightly troubled by this. While many of the people offering to help the family no doubt have their best interests at heart, it is quite clear — and has been so since 22 July — that there are certain elements keen to hijack this tragedy to further their own political views and ambitions.
While all of the statements that come straight from the mouths of the victim's family have been about their hunger for truth and justice, the 'official' campaign being run on their behalf in this country tend to have the Dave Spart-esque tone of the Socialist Workers, a group well-known for piggy-backing on absolutely any cause going in order to flog a few papers. Several senior SW types are also involved in the campaign, and one of Galloway's former aides is acting as a spokesman.
We keep hearing demands for both Blair's to resign, of using the campaign to fight against erosions of civil liberties in the UK, and of direct links to the war in Iraq, none of which tally with what JC's family in Brazil seem to be saying. Given that they speak very little English, it's entirely possible that they have no clear idea of what is being done in their name.
It's not just the campaign officials who seem to be "making the most" of the killing, either; right back at the first demos outside Stockwell station you could see anti-war and anti-Israeli banners in the crowd, and the usual suspects on Indymedia and similar sites are more than happy to use this as a peg for their "all coppers are evil scum" diatribes.
I suspect that I'm about to get flamed from here to Inverness and back for daring to a) hang anything of an Evening Standard story and b) take a line that suggests George Galloway's mates are not all lovely people who only fight for the common good, but I'm feeling rather uncomfortable about the way this is going.
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