11) HYSTERICAL MEDIA WHIPS UP FAR-RIGHT

From www.morningstaronline.co.uk

     Far‑right fanatics cashed in on the May 22 murder of a British soldier with attacks on three mosques and dozens of other racist incidents. Aided and abetted by an ill‑judged media frenzy following the death of off‑duty soldier Lee Rigby at the hands of self‑styled "jihadists", extremists from the English Defence League fought with police near the scene of the killing.

     Anti‑racist campaign group Hope Not Hate said the far‑right acted swiftly to cash in on the atrocity: "As soon as the identity and motives of the perpetrators were known, EDL, BNP and National Front supporters rushed to whip up hatred and incite violence. Thousands more vented their racist and Islamophobic hate online. Dozens of other incidents were reported."

     Hope Not Hate said it stood "against the violent and sickening jihadist ideology that motivated these attackers just as we stand against the racists and fascists who will target all Muslims in response."

     Lindsey German of the Stop the War Coalition said of the far‑right reaction: "Racists like the EDL turned up in Woolwich to try to further foster Islamophobia. But this treatment of Muslims goes to the top of government and is spewed out daily in the press."

     The Muslim Council of Britain described the murder as "a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly ‑ our thoughts are with the victim and his family."

     Train drivers union ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said the union was "appalled" by the attack. "At the same time we are disgusted by right‑wing groups who are callously exploiting this personal tragedy for their own ends. Our union is horrified at the intrusive and sensational way the media has covered today's tragedy... To stir up hatred in order to sell newspapers or advertising is perverse."

     In a May 24 editorial, the Morning Star wrote: "Communities across Britain should be on guard against the efforts of troublemakers to set us against each other in the wake of the sickening butchery of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

     "The tanked‑up yobs of the English Defence League have already sought to fish in these troubled waters and expressed their love for British freedoms by heaving bottles at the police. But it is not just the far‑right fringe that poses a threat to people's unity. Too many right‑wing politicians and newspapers have kept up a constant drip‑drip propaganda campaign against national and religious minorities, especially Muslims, as alien to British society.

     "Neither the Woolwich attack nor the views expressed after it can be pinned on our Muslim fellow citizens. In common with the vast majority of people in Britain, from whatever ethnic or religious background, they regard what took place in Woolwich as alien and unjustifiable. Some Muslim organisations and individuals have gone public in their condemnation, but this should not be a demand targeted generally at Muslims.

     "The tiny minority of Muslims who carry out atrocities are no more representative of Islam than Tony Blair's easy recourse to illegal mass slaughter in Iraq and Afghanistan can be laid at the door of the Catholic church or individual Christians. Such crimes are the responsibility of those who carry them out no matter how loudly they claim to be acting on behalf of an entire community.

     "However, as horrific and unjustifiable as the random killing of a British soldier in London is, it cannot be separated from the western powers' support for imperialist carnage in north Africa, the Balkans and central and western Asia, including Palestine.

     "One of the men filmed on smartphones after the soldier's murder articulated the argument that people in many Muslim countries have routinely witnessed human destruction delivered remotely on their streets. Bombs and rockets are programmed from thousands of miles away to be fired from warplanes or drones in supposed `precision' strikes. These targeted assassinations, which often kill bystanders, are dubbed `bug splats' by some keyboard warriors, equating them to the squashing of an insect.

     "George W. Bush and his loyal lieutenant Blair always ascribed ridiculous motives to al‑Qaida and other groups seeking to bomb civilian targets in Europe and the US. `They hate our way of life and our freedoms,' they intoned piously rather than admit the reality that civilians in western countries were being targeted in acts of revenge for what our governments were perpetrating overseas.

     "Government security services forecast after the invasion of Iraq that this would be likely to happen. However, the immediate reaction of the political elite to such mayhem is to demand that society stands together against `terrorism,' as though this makes any sense.

     "Working people will continue with their normal lives because they have no other choice, but pro‑war politicians portray this as embodying `resistance' to extremism and, by extension, support for `our boys' in Afghanistan and whatever new war our political masters next have in mind.

     "Compassion for the murdered soldier and sympathy for the troops, because of the harsh and dangerous conditions they endure on occupation duties, should never extend to backing for the unjustifiable overseas wars ordered by venal politicians. We should unite against those who would divide us and demand a more ethical foreign policy from our warmongering leaders."

(The above article is from the June 1-15, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)