Blair cracks down on terror

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Blair cracks down on terror

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair last night unveiled sweeping measures to combat terrorism after the London bombings, including a controversial move to consider opting out of European human rights obligations.

"Let no one be in any doubt that the rules of the game are changing," Mr Blair said.
The Home Office was publishing new rules on deporting the likes of foreign hardline Islamic clerics who advocate terrorism, Mr Blair said, including fostering hatred or advocating violence to further religious beliefs.

"Anyone who has participated in terrorism or has anything to do with it, anywhere, will automatically be refused asylum in our country," he warned.

Efforts would be made to speed up this process, including a possible review of the 1998 Human Rights Act, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law, the Prime Minister said.

In addition, anyone who had been involved in terrorism would be refused asylum in Britain, while extra court capacity would be provided for such cases and hardline groups such as Al Muhajiroun would be proscribed.

After the July 7 attacks in which 52 people and four suicide bombers died in blasts on Tube trains and a bus, and a bungled repeat attempt a fortnight later when the bombs failed, attitudes in Britain have hardened.
Overall, the response of the British people had been "unified and dignified and remarkable", despite some "isolated and unacceptable acts of racial or religious hatred," Mr Blair said. "However, I am acutely aware that alongside these feelings is also a determination that this very tolerance and good nature should not be abused by a small but fanatical minority, and an anger that it has been."

The new measures will include expanded existing powers allowing the Government to strip citizenship from those with British or dual nationality who act in a way that is "contrary to the interest of this country", Mr Blairsaid.

Efforts would be made to set a maximum time limit on all extradition cases involving terrorism.

For British nationals, the Government would extend the use of so-called "control orders", which now allow the use of measures such as a limited use of house arrest for foreign nationals suspected of terrorism.

Mr Blair acknowledged that terror groups used Britain's support of the US-led war in Iraq as a means to attract recruits, but condemned the threat by Osama bin Laden's Al-Qa'ida terror network on Thursday of further atrocities in Britain and the US if they did not pull out of Iraq.

"These very self-same people who are making those remarks yesterday are the people supporting the killing of wholly innocent people in Iraq, wholly innocent people in Afghanistan, innocent people anywhere in the world who want to live by the rules

of democracy," Mr Blair said.

"And that is why, when they try to use Iraq or use Afghanistan or use the Palestinian cause as a means of saying, 'You know, we have justification for what we do', it is a complete obscenity.

"What they are actually doing in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, when the people have voted for democracy, is to try to stop them getting it."

His comments came after a televised warning from al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden's right-hand man Ayman al-Zawahiri of further attacks on the West.

"These policies will bring them more destruction after the explosions of London," said Zawahiri in the video, aired on al-Jazeera.

Zawahiri went on to threaten the US with "horror that would make them forget the horror they saw in Vietnam".

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Op vrijdag 5 augustus 2005 20:22 schreef Klemvast het volgende:

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Hoe duidelijk is "de grens" en "het onderscheid", dat is toch maar de vraag, vrees ik.
Er zijn natuurlijk wel een aantal gevallen waarbij je duidelijk kan zeggen "dit is er over", maar ik ben een beetje bang voor de grijze zone.

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Verder vind ik het wel een krachtig antwoord van Blair, hij was toch al niet echt populair meer bij de bevolking en kreeg de laatste dagen veel kritiek te slikken. Ik denk dat dat ook wel een van de redenen is voor de stoere taal die hij hier uitslaat.

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Op vrijdag 5 augustus 2005 20:42 schreef gelly het volgende:
Wat doen aan de oorzaak van moslim extremisme zet meer zoden aan de dijk gok ik.