***"Mr. Livingstone's comments have been blown out of all proportion, and cannot in any way justify this unprecedented blow to the values of freedom and democracy," said the Muslim Association of Britain.
***Lha orang bule terlahir hipokratik, meng-injak2 the value of freedom and democracy... London Mayor Says He's Targeted for Criticizing Israel Patrick Goodenough International Editor (CNSNews.com) - London's maverick mayor, facing possible suspension for comments comparing a Jewish reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard, suggests he's a victim of a campaign by Jews angered by his criticism of Israel. An independent judicial tribunal on Friday ordered Ken Livingstone suspended for four weeks over the episode, but on Tuesday a high court judge froze the move pending the outcome of his legal challenge against the suspension. Livingstone Tuesday accused the Board of Deputies of British Jews of bringing the complaint against him because he was a critic of the Israeli government. "For decades the charge of anti-Semitism has been used to try to suppress any meaningful debate about the policies of the Israeli government," Livingstone said. He called it "McCarthyism updated for a new age." Livingstone did not, in fact, face charges of anti-Semitism, although he says that was implied. A body called the Adjudication Panel for England, responsible for dealing with serious disciplinary issues involving local government representatives, found that he had brought his office into disrepute through conduct that was "unnecessarily insensitive and offensive." The complaint arose from an incident a year ago in which Livingstone, leaving a function at London's City Hall, was approached by a reporter from the London Evening Standard, a paper belonging to the Associated Newspapers group that has long had differences with the left-wing mayor. Oliver Finegold tried to ask Livingstone about the party - a function marking the 20th anniversary of first time a British lawmaker had publicly "come out" as a homosexual. Instead, the reporter faced a series of questions and comments from Livingstone, apparently referring to the fact he worked for the Standard. "How awful for you ... have you thought of having treatment? What did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?" Finegold told Livingstone he was Jewish and found the comment offensive, to which the mayor replied: "Well you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard. You're just doing it 'cuz you're paid to, aren't you?" The exchange was captured on tape, reported in the newspaper, and drew criticism, including a call by Prime Minister Tony Blair for Livingstone - a member of his Labor Party - to apologize. It also triggered a complaint from the Board of Deputies. Livingstone said subsequently he did not wish to offend the Jewish community, but refused to apologize for comments which he said referred to the Associated Newspapers' support for fascism in the 1930s. Following the tribunal decision, the Jewish organization said if the mayor had simply recognized the hurt his comments caused, the episode could have been avoided. "The Board of Deputies has at no stage passed judgment on the motivation for the mayor's comments," it said, adding that all it had sought was "an expression of regret and an acknowledgement that the words used were wholly inappropriate for the elected representative of Londoners of all faiths and beliefs." At a press conference Tuesday, Livingstone said the suspension ruling was an "attack on the democratic rights of Londoners." The incident has raised questions about the tribunal process. Even some of Livingstone's detractors have spoken out against a system that allows bureaucrats to suspend an elected mayor. The Adjudication Panel is a judicial tribunal established by law, whose members are appointed by Britain's top judicial officer in the same manner as magistrates. It is empowered to order various sanctions, the toughest being the disqualification of a member of local government from holding office for five years. Outspoken Livingstone has long been nicknamed "Red Ken" for his left-wing positions. He became London's first elected mayor in 2000, running as an independent after being expelled from the Labor Party for challenging the party's official candidate for the job. He was readmitted to Labor in 2004 and won a second term as mayor. That same year he raised eyebrows by hosting and describing as a "man of peace" Egyptian Islamic cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has publicly voiced support for Palestinian suicide bombings. The outspoken mayor, a firm opponent of the Iraq war, is also on the record as calling Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a "war criminal" and President Bush "the greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen." Last July, less than two weeks after the London bombings, Livingstone set off a storm with comments appearing to express understanding for Palestinian suicide bombings and blaming terrorism on Western policies in the Middle East. He said Israel had "indiscriminately slaughtered men, women and children in the West Bank and Gaza for decades." "Given that the Palestinians don't have jet planes, don't have tanks, they only have their bodies to use as weapons," he said. In that unfair balance, that is what people use." Later last year, Livingstone threw his support behind a campaign involving mainstream Muslim groups, human rights campaigners and others questioning the wisdom of government plans to deport foreign-born Muslim clerics who incite violence. After the tribunal decision, the Muslim Council of Britain and Muslim Association of Britain both issued statements in support of Livingstone. MCB Secretary-General Iqbal Sacranie called the mayor "a committed anti-racist campaigner of longstanding. We are proud to stand by him and hope to see this ridiculous verdict overturned shortly." "Mr. Livingstone's comments have been blown out of all proportion, and cannot in any way justify this unprecedented blow to the values of freedom and democracy," said the Muslim Association of Britain. http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1381314.html Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
