“Never Again, today means not closing our doors to refugees fleeing persecution. Don’t let Michael Howard dishonour the victims of the Holocaust with his quotas for asylum seekers. Never Again means Never Again.”
“Never Again, today means not closing our doors to refugees fleeing persecution. Don’t let Michael Howard dishonour the victims of the Holocaust with his quotas for asylum seekers. Never Again means Never Again.”
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell shouted these words as 1,000 guests left the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament today, 27 January 2005.
He was promptly arrested, dragged from the Hall, wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and eventually detained in the Sargeant-At-Arms office, on charges of “Contempt of Parliament” and under “Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986.”
“I did not disrupt the service. I waited until the commemoration was over, and until after the Queen and Prime Minister had departed,” said Mr Tatchell.
“I pleaded with the departing audience that Michael Howard’s proposal for a quota of 15,000 asylum seekers a year would mean genuine refugees from genocides in the Congo, Darfur and West Papua being refused asylum in the UK.
“The Holocaust Memorial Day service commemorated the victims of Nazism. Several speakers warned against future genocides. It was entirely in keeping with the spirit of Holocaust Memorial Day to remind people of our collective responsibility to take in refugees fleeing contemporary torture and mass murder.
“It is hypocritical to remember the Jewish victims of the 1930s, while ignoring Tory plans to deny asylum to people fleeing persecution today.
“Michael Howard’s threat to refugee rights needs to be exposed and defeated.
“The best way to commemorate victims of the Holocaust is to give refuge to people fleeing modern-day genocides.
“My protest was merely putting into effect the Statement of Commitment on page 11 of the official Holocaust Memorial Day programme: the pledge to ‘fight these evils’ of ‘genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination,’” said Mr Tatchell.
Mr Tatchell attended Holocaust Memorial Day as an officially invited guest.
He was detained for two hours in the Sargeant-At-Arms office in the Houses of Parliament, before being released at 5.45pm.
The protest was witnessed by Mr Tatchell’s OutRage! colleague, Brett Lock and by the editor of the Pink Paper, Tris Reid-Smith. Neither man was aware Mr Tatchell planned to stage a protest.
ENDS
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell shouted these words as 1,000 guests left the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament today, 27 January 2005.
He was promptly arrested, dragged from the Hall, wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and eventually detained in the Sargeant-At-Arms office, on charges of “Contempt of Parliament” and under “Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986.”
“I did not disrupt the service. I waited until the commemoration was over, and until after the Queen and Prime Minister had departed,” said Mr Tatchell.
“I pleaded with the departing audience that Michael Howard’s proposal for a quota of 15,000 asylum seekers a year would mean genuine refugees from genocides in the Congo, Darfur and West Papua being refused asylum in the UK.
“The Holocaust Memorial Day service commemorated the victims of Nazism. Several speakers warned against future genocides. It was entirely in keeping with the spirit of Holocaust Memorial Day to remind people of our collective responsibility to take in refugees fleeing contemporary torture and mass murder.
“It is hypocritical to remember the Jewish victims of the 1930s, while ignoring Tory plans to deny asylum to people fleeing persecution today.
“Michael Howard’s threat to refugee rights needs to be exposed and defeated.
“The best way to commemorate victims of the Holocaust is to give refuge to people fleeing modern-day genocides.
“My protest was merely putting into effect the Statement of Commitment on page 11 of the official Holocaust Memorial Day programme: the pledge to ‘fight these evils’ of ‘genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination,’” said Mr Tatchell.
Mr Tatchell attended Holocaust Memorial Day as an officially invited guest.
He was detained for two hours in the Sargeant-At-Arms office in the Houses of Parliament, before being released at 5.45pm.
The protest was witnessed by Mr Tatchell’s OutRage! colleague, Brett Lock and by the editor of the Pink Paper, Tris Reid-Smith. Neither man was aware Mr Tatchell planned to stage a protest.
ENDS
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why just howard????
28.01.2005 02:18
i can't imagine peter tatchell just limiting his abuse to those in power to just
the tory leadership
huh?????
is this damage affect?
by labor schemers
Karl Rovers of the Neo nazi labor party
[from an earlier post and now repeated here]
i tip my hat to peter Tatchell
during the above event
Stephen Fry made the absolutely brilliant comment
after describing what 6 million as a number would mean
"6 city of Birmingham's
a line of people reaching to Moscow and back again
then he went on to say that this way of understanding lead us into the same trap
that we assign numbers to dehumanize the real situation
as the nazis did
they gave everyone a number
[via their Hollerith tabulating machine]
and it is now we must become aware of the dangers this UK, and other governments
pose in their quest against a terror that they do not have to disclose any details about because of national security...
indefinate detentions without evidence
or house arrest
or ID cards that make us entitled to be free!!!
Peter Tatchell
i salute you
you have always represented HUMANITY
i can only hope he won't be given the TREATMENT
I will watch and observe as ever...
capt wardrobe