Category Archives: Foreign Affairs

Misguided and Dangerous

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Two horrible acts of terrorism took place this week, firstly the killing of two innocent hostages in an Australian cafe and secondly, the slaughter of 132 children in their Pakistan classrooms. All were victims of Muslim extremism.

Sadly, as has been clearly demonstrated in recent years, there is nothing the West can usefully do about the atrocities committed by the Taliban in their own countries. They are beyond our control and the only hope is that the oppressed citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries ruled by Muslim fanatics will somehow rise up and overthrow their tyrannical rulers.

We can, however, do something about the threat within our own countries. The Sydney terrorist was evidently known to Australian police and was in fact on bail when the hostage-taking and subsequent murders took place.

I have no idea why he was allowed out on bail but I do know that in the UK certain criminals from ethnic minorities remain at large because our police are too frightened to arrest them and the courts are reluctant to apply due process of law for fear of accusations of racial or religious prejudice. Such misguided policies are a recipe for disaster as the killing of the soldier, Lee Rigby, on a London street last year clearly demonstrated.

The task of the police and judiciary in any democracy is to act fairly and impartially irrespective of colour, nationality or religious belief. To act in accordance with the rules of political correctness rather than common sense is both dangerous and foolish in the extreme.

A Trading Community

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Last week APEC (the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) met in Beijing for their annual convention. This trade group comprising over twenty countries, including the USA, Canada, China, Russia, Japan, Singapore, Chile, Peru and Australia, was set up in 1988 with the sole aim of advancing trade between its member states.

It now comprises 54% of world trade with few tariffs and minimal red tape. It has no common currency, no common defence policy nor any form of political union, but why should it? It is a trading community and nothing more.

Just like the European Common Market was supposed to be.

Hitting the Target

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After 30 years the Band Aid Christmas record is to be re-launched as Band Aid 30, but instead of Bob Geldoff telling us to give our “F+++ing money” to relieve famine in Africa we are now being urged to hand it over to defeat the threat of the Ebola virus in the same continent. It’s a nice idea. If only it were that simple.

It isn’t, of course, and I can immediately think of two reasons why many people may decide to make their charitable donations elsewhere.

Firstly, whilst I have no doubt that the members of Band Aid 30 have the best of intentions in releasing their Christmas record (and at the same time pushing their careers a little further into the limelight!) it does seem a little incongruous for the general public to be told by multi-millionaire pop-stars what to do with their hard earned money. Incongruous and patronising; why don’t these stars just quietly divert some of their own private fortunes to such a worthy cause? Maybe they do.

Secondly, the original Band Aid 1984 was hardly an unqualified success with subsequent reports showing that millions of pounds worth of aid ended up paying for weapons, mansions, luxury cars and boats for corrupt rebel warlords. I am sure that a sizeable proportion of the aid went to the appropriate targets but that isn’t enough.

If the public are to be encouraged to provide charitable relief they need to know that that relief is going to the intended beneficiary. Can Bob Geldoff and his friends provide such a guarantee?

Pie in the Sky

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Today, September 5th, is the anniversary of the final break-up of the Soviet Union or USSR in 1991. The Russian leader presiding over this long awaited event was Boris Yeltsin, a man who (not least because of his alcoholism and eccentric behaviour) often seemed one of the more human leaders of what Ronald Reagan called the “Evil Empire”.

Following the Soviet break-up, and clearly in one of his more lucid moments, Yeltsin said “Let’s not talk about communism. Communism was just an idea, just pie in the sky”.

Such a pity that millions had to lose their lives before that truth was finally accepted and articulated.

Preventing Genocide

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The West, led by the USA, is surely right to provide aid and protection for the hundreds of thousands fleeing from Islamic extremists in the newly established Caliphate (Islamic State)in northern Iraq and Syria.

The extremists have made clear their desire to cleanse the world of all who fail to follow Islam and for them the slaughter of innocents is merely part of their Jihad, their holy war against non-believers. Over the last few months Christians and other minorities in northern Iraq have been given an ultimatum, convert to Islam or die and thousands have indeed been put to death for failing to convert. Such genocide is nothing new and it was only a hundred years ago that the Turks began the extermination of over 1.5 million Armenian Christians in what is still known as the Armenian massacre.

Few politicians in the West have the courage to speak out openly about the alarming spread of Islamic extremism since, of course, any criticism of a minority or foreign culture, no matter how heinous, usually leads to accusations of being racist or right wing. They should put those fears aside because the threat is real and the brutal beheading of the American journalist James Foley, evidently by one of several British Muslim extremists fighting alongside the ISIS terror group, was a stark reminder of how deep and close to home the problem is.

To take action against these fanatics is not to victimise Muslims since the majority want no more than to live in peace just like the rest of us. The fact is that many Muslims are equally concerned by the actions and policies of the extremists within their own religion but they are too frightened to do anything about it.

Islamic extremism is without doubt the single biggest threat to world peace and security and, quite frankly, anybody who doubts this is either living in denial or is away with the fairies. The threat is real and constant and we underestimate it at our peril. We must ensure that those who govern us do all that they can to protect us and that we also – preferably through the United Nations – do all we can to prevent further acts of genocide from occurring anywhere in the world.

Lamenting the Past

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I read a newspaper article earlier this week describing the “shame” and “dark past” of certain English cities (primarily Bristol and Liverpool) for their role in the slave trade and describing how their success and wealth was built on the back of that odious trade.

I don’t doubt for a minute that every decent minded person in the country feels nothing but revulsion at what happened two hundred years ago and beyond but it seems to me that we British do have an almost unique tendency to self-flagellate.

The fact of the matter is that Great Britain, the USA, the French, Spanish, Portuguese and every other nation boasting an empire participated in the slave trade and yes, of course, it is something to be ashamed of.

However, it would be nice if those critics of our country’s history would present a more balanced argument and celebrate the fact that Great Britain, through the efforts of Englishmen such as Granville Sharp and William Wilberforce, became, in 1807, the first western nation to abolish the slave trade and then in 1833 to abolish slavery completely. Can credit not be given for the fact that Great Britain then devoted much time and effort in ensuring that nations like the USA, France and Portugal eventually followed suit?

Whatever is said about our past, the sad fact remains that slavery is alive and well and is still openly practiced in many parts of the world. Would it not be more useful if the country’s detractors, instead of lamenting the past, devoted their efforts in trying to ensure that this affront to human dignity is removed from our planet once and for all?

Bitter Irony

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As Iraq erupts into a bloody civil war between Shia and Sunni Muslims the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, stated that he would not rule out working with Iran to help resolve the conflict.

How ironic, that after the US-led invasion of Iraq and subsequent removal of dictator, Sadam Hussein (who at least held the country together), the USA is even considering working with its former sworn enemy and member of the so-called “Axis of Evil”.

What a mess and what a tragedy for the people of Iraq, the majority of whom, I’m sure, want nothing more than to be left alone and allowed to live in peace.

Falklands Republic

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Last week Argentina’s football team posed for a photograph in front of a huge professionally prepared banner stating in Spanish that the Falkland Islands (or Las Malvinas as Argentina refers to them) are Argentine property.

Legally and factually this is incorrect since the islands, through the democratic decision of the occupants, remain British territory. In spite of this the fact remains that Argentina’s age old claim to the south Atlantic islands is alive and well.

In 1982 Argentina seized the Falklands by force and were then swiftly defeated and removed by a British task force. Since then the islanders have reaffirmed their desire to remain with the UK. This clearly doesn’t impress Argentina and the danger remains that some hot-headed dictator in a desperate bid to gain popularity might try to invade the islands just as General Galtieri did in 1982.

Since 1982 the UK’s military power has been dramatically reduced and it would be a lot harder to win back the islands by force as we did back then. Perhaps more significantly I doubt whether there would be the political or public will to take any action at all. So, assuming that this is true what is to be done to avert possible catastrophe?

Well, short of threatening to bomb Buenos Aires or sell the islands to Argentina (both extremely unlikely!) it seems to me that the best way forward would be to hand the problem over to the United Nations. This could be done by the Falklands declaring themselves an independent republic (whilst remaining part of the Commonwealth) and then, on the basis of a feared invasion by Argentina, request that the UN sends in a peace-keeping force to protect them. That should make the Argentines think twice!

Tolerating Equality

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Last week a woman in Pakistan was stoned to death for marrying against the wishes of her family. This act of barbarism took place outside the courtroom where the woman, who was three months pregnant, was being tried for the crime of marrying the man she loved rather than the one chosen by her father. What made it even worse is that the murder took place in front of the local police, who made no attempt to intervene and prevent the crime.

Also last week, in neighbouring India, two young girls were gang raped and then hanged with two policeman arrested as prime suspects. In Sudan, last month, a young woman was sentenced to death by a Muslim court for refusing to renounce her Christian beliefs. The sentence was suspended for two years so that she can spend time with her newly born daughter and husband.

And it was only a few weeks ago that nearly three hundred schoolgirls were kidnapped by Muslim thugs in Nigeria because the education of women is against their religious beliefs. They still haven’t been released.

So what can we do about it? Probably very little other than make official protests to the governments of these countries and threaten economic sanctions or the withdrawal of financial aid. Some may wonder why we provide aid in the first place.

What we can do and what we must do is continue to lead by example and show, that in the United Kingdom our laws provide complete equality for all citizens irrespective of sex or religious belief. We should continue to welcome all peoples of the world to our country and give them the full protection of our laws but only on the express condition that they accept and obey those laws.

In spite of what some of our more liberal politicians and church leaders have said to the contrary we must never tolerate any religion that does not share our fundamental belief that all men and women are equal. We are a civilised country and must remain so.

 

Happy?

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Over the last few months or so a craze has been sweeping social media sites where people, irrespective of age, nationality or sex, have posted footage of themselves joyfully singing and dancing along to the smash hit “Happy” by the American singer Pharrell Williams.

This song, as its name implies, is a celebration of the good things in life. It does exactly what it says on the packet and as well as being a catchy, cheerful little ditty it is one of the best-selling songs of the last year or so..

The video footage accompanying the release of the song inspired what can only be called a phenomenon as people the world over compete to show their happiness and exuberance whilst cavorting along to the song in a huge variety of locations.

The whole thing is no more than an innocent display of harmless fun, except in the view of the easy going and tolerant Iranian government which last week arrested and locked up six of its citizens for daring to join in that fun and enjoy themselves.

As this blog has stated on more than one occasion, how lucky we are to live in the West. Islam fundamentalism, freedom and fun for all? I don’t think so.