PM ambushed on civil liberties by Peter Tatchell

Nice post from Peter....Gordon Brown would put many of us in cages given the opportunity...

Gordon Brown heckled at Taking Liberties exhibition

London – 30 October 2008

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was heckled as he finished his speech
opening a new exhibition at the British Library last night (29 October
2008).

The new exhibition is entitled: Taking Liberties - The Struggle for
Britain's Freedoms and Rights.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell took a few liberties of his
own, confronting Gordon Brown with the question:

"Prime Minister, having seen this exhibition, can you tell us what you
have learned about the preservation of liberty, given that the Labour
government has done more to undermine civil liberties than any
government since World War Two?"

"Gordon Brown ducked his head down and shuffled his feet, declining to
reply," said Mr Tatchell.

"He was caught out, embarrassed and speechless. I am surprised that he
did not even attempt to defend the government's record."

As the Prime Minister prepared to leave the exhibition Mr Tatchell
challenged him again; this time about what he called the "framing" of
two London-based Balochistan human rights campaigners, Hyrbyair Marri
and Faiz Baluch.

See details below.

"They are on trial in London on charges of terrorism concocted by the
agents of the former Pakistani dictator, Pervez Musharraf," said Mr
Tatchell.

"How can Gordon Brown talk about defending liberty when his government
supported the Musharraf dictatorship and is now colluding with false
charges against Baloch activists who are defenders of democracy and
human rights?

"The Prime Minister's speech praised the British tradition liberty but
Labour's policies are undermining it. The extension of detention
without charge to 28 days, restrictions on the right to protest near
parliament, increased interception of phone calls and emails and
planned IDs cards are all symptoms of ever greater state surveillance
and snooping. Labour is expanding the powers of the state at the
expense of the rights of the citizen," said Mr Tatchell.

Further information: Peter Tatchell 020 7403 1790

London terror trial – Defendants framed

Human rights activists on terrorism charges

UK colludes with Musharraf's agents

London UK – 30 October 2008

Two London-based human rights campaigners will stand trial on
terrorism charges, starting next Monday 3 November at Woolwich Crown
Court in London, before Mr Justice Henriques.

"This trial will expose high level collusion between the British
government and the agents of the former Pakistani dictator, Pervez
Musharraf," according to human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who
is a personal friend and political ally of the two defendants.

"These men were framed by the Musharraf regime, to silence their
highly effective campaigning against Pakistani human rights abuses in
Balochistan," added Mr Tatchell.

"The British government was blackmailed into arresting them.
Musharraf's agents issued an ultimatum to the UK authorities: arrest
these men or we will halt all cooperation in the war on terror. The
Labour government caved in to these demands from Musharraf's
dictatorship. It decided these men were expendable for the so-called
greater good of anti-terrorist cooperation with the Pakistani regime,"
said Mr Tatchell.

The defendants are Hyrbyair Marri and Faiz Baluch. They are accused of
preparing acts of terrorism abroad – charges they strenuously deny.
Both men have been law-abiding citizens. They fled to Britain to
escape persecution by the military coup leader and tyrant, General
Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Marri is represented by Jim Nichol of TV Edwards Taylor Nichol
solicitors (020 7272 8336) and Mr Baluch is represented by Gareth
Peirce of Birnberg Peirce solicitors (020 7911 0166).

Mr Marri is a former MP and government minister in the regional
assembly of Balochistan – a previously independent state, which was
invaded and annexed by Pakistan in 1948, and which has ever since been
under Pakistani military occupation.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan and the Asian Human Rights Commission have documented and
condemned severe and widespread human rights abuses by the Pakistani
armed forces in Balochistan – abuses that amount to war crimes and
crimes against humanity, including the indiscriminate bombing of
civilian areas and the systemic use of torture.

Mr Marri's father, Nawab Khair Baksh Marri, a renowned Baloch national
leader, attended Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, along with
other world dignitaries, as a guest of the British government.

His uncle is Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the UN Special Representative to
Sudan and the former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, and his
wife is the great grand daughter of the first Prime Minister of Iraq
(1920-1922), Abdul Rahman al Gillani.

Mr Marri and Mr Baluch, were arrested by police in London last
December. Mr Marri spent four months in Belmarsh high security prison,
and Mr Baluch eight months.

"The police and security agencies in the UK have pursued these terror
charges based on evidence provided to them by Musharraf's dictatorship
– a dictatorship that the arrested men campaigned against," said Mr
Tatchell.

"Our government has ignored the fact that Musharraf's henchmen in the
Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI, are notorious for framing
political opponents, especially Baloch nationalists.

"Marri and Baluch have been set up by Musharraf's agents because of
their highly effective exposure of Pakistan's war crimes and crimes
against humanity in annexed Balochistan.

"This belief has been reinforced by the acting Interior Minister of
the new democratic government of Pakistan, Rehman Malik. He recently
announced that terror charges against Mr Marri in Pakistan have been
dropped; stating that the case against him had been politically
motivated. This discredits the whole basis on which Marri and Baluch
have been charged in London.

"Marri's and Baluch's arrest came just a few months after Musharraf
demanded that the British government arrest Baloch activists in
London. In exchange, Musharraf offered to hand over Rashid Rauf,
implying that action against the Baloch activists was a precondition
for surrendering Rauf to the UK. Rauf is wanted in this country in
connection with the 2006 Islamist terror plot involving liquid
explosives on trans-Atlantic airliners, which resulted in the
conviction of three men in London in September. He is also sought in
connection with a murder in the UK.

"The arrest in London of Marri and Baluch took place two weeks after
Pakistani government agents assassinated Marri's brother, Balach
Marri, a prominent Baloch nationalist leader.

"Prior to Marri's arrest, Musharraf's regime made repeated
representations to the UK government that he was wanted on terrorism
charges in Pakistan - charges that have now been dropped by the
Pakistani authorities.

"Soon after Musharraf met Gordon Brown at Downing Street in January
this year, he held a press conference for Pakistani journalists where
he allegedly denounced Marri as a terrorist and praised the British
government and police for cooperating with his regime.

"Claims of connivance are credible. For nine years, the UK's Labour
government supported Musharraf's dictatorship politically,
economically and militarily, despite him having overthrown Pakistan's
democratically-elected government in 1999. Labour even sold him the
military equipment that his army uses to kill innocent Baloch people.

"Marri is an unlikely terrorist. He is a former Balochistan MP
(1997-2002), and was the Minster for Construction and Works in the
provincial assembly in 1997-1998. He fled to Britain in 2000, fearing
arrest, torture and possible assassination by Musharraf's men.

"One of his brothers is Mehran Baluch. He is the Baloch Representative
to the UN Human Rights Council. He was the subject of an attempted
extradition plot last year by Musharraf's regime, on trumped up
charges.

"The arrest of Marri - together with the murder of one brother and the
attempt to frame another brother - looks like a systematic attempt to
target his family and crush three leading voices of Baloch dissent.

"A former British Protectorate, Balochistan secured its independence
in 1947, alongside India and Pakistan, but was invaded and forcibly
annexed by Pakistan in 1948. The Baloch people did not vote for
incorporation. They were never given a choice. Ever since, Balochistan
has been under military occupation by Islamabad. Baloch demands for a
referendum on self-rule have been rejected. Democratically elected
Baloch leaders who have refused to kow-tow to Pakistan's subjugation
have been arrested, jailed and murdered.

"The Asian Human Rights Commission reports that Pakistani army raids
have resulted in 3,000 Baloch people dead, 200,000 displaced and 4,000
arrested. Thousands more have simply disappeared," said Mr Tatchell.

Further information:

Peter Tatchell – 020 7403 1790

ENDS

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