IRANIAN ASYLUM-SEEKERS SPEAK AT RESPECT MEETING, AND WE MEET THE PARTY'S CANDIDATE FOR SLOUGH
The meeting in Oxford Town Hall on 15 March started with a contribution from five Iranian asylum-seekers and went on to a discussion of threats to civil liberties and the general election campaign.
The Iranians had set out from Birmingham, where they are based, on 12 March, and were walking to London, via several cities including Oxford, to take part in Saturday’s anti-war demo on the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. They looked tired but not downcast when they came into the Council Chamber, still with placards round their necks calling for solidarity between the people of Iran and Britain. Their spokesperson addressed us in Farsi throughout, which was ably translated by a young Iranian woman from London.
He explained that they were taking part in the anti-war march because it was the only way they could express their disapproval of US policies. He and his colleagues were seeking asylum in Britain because they had been risking their lives working for democracy in Iran. If the US invaded Iran, the hard-line fundamentalists would be given an excellent excuse to wipe out all pro-democracy activists, so an invasion would actually destroy moves to democracy in Iran. Iranians themselves would be faced with an agonising dilemma – side with the rest of their fellow countrymen including hardliners to repel invaders, or collaborate with invading forces. He denounced the hypocrisy of the British government, which claimed to support moves to democracy in Iran but was rejecting asylum-seekers persecuted for their attempts to bring it about. Asked for his opinion on the value of Coalition troops remaining in Iraq to safeguard security there, he said that these troops were now the problem not the solution, and should leave the Iraqis to rebuild their country. Democracy can’t be imposed from above. Another question was whether there were human rights organisations in Iran that could monitor and report on abuses, hopefully to be fed back to the Home Office in the UK to modify their policy on Iranian asylum-seekers. He replied that there were, but it was a very dangerous activity and they were obliged to stay underground.
The Iranian group then left to go to another meeting.
In the second part of the meeting there was some, in my opinion rather desultory, discussion of civil liberties issues such as ID cards, followed by a much more interesting meeting with Respect’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Slough and members of his campaign team. Jazz Khan is a member of Respect’s National Council and last year he was their candidate for the European Parliament for the South East. Obviously a lively character, he told us how relief at the overthrow of the dictator Saddam Hussain did not compensate for the loss of life, squandering of billions of pounds/dollars on the war and very dubious motives (oil) of the participants. He also jokingly pointed out how he exactly matched the profile of the terrorist put about by the authorities – British Muslim, in his thirties and a graduate. Most of this section of the evening was devoted to the prospects of Respect winning in Slough (considered to be good). Funds were a problem, and although there was plenty of grassroots enthusiasm there was a lack of seasoned campaigners. Oxford Respect members responded that they would be happy to offer help on both counts, and there was some discussion about organising fund-raising events in Slough and Oxford.
At this point (around 9.00pm) your correspondent suddenly felt an overwhelming longing for hot cocoa and left the meeting. No doubt more info will appear soon.
The meeting in Oxford Town Hall on 15 March started with a contribution from five Iranian asylum-seekers and went on to a discussion of threats to civil liberties and the general election campaign.
The Iranians had set out from Birmingham, where they are based, on 12 March, and were walking to London, via several cities including Oxford, to take part in Saturday’s anti-war demo on the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. They looked tired but not downcast when they came into the Council Chamber, still with placards round their necks calling for solidarity between the people of Iran and Britain. Their spokesperson addressed us in Farsi throughout, which was ably translated by a young Iranian woman from London.
He explained that they were taking part in the anti-war march because it was the only way they could express their disapproval of US policies. He and his colleagues were seeking asylum in Britain because they had been risking their lives working for democracy in Iran. If the US invaded Iran, the hard-line fundamentalists would be given an excellent excuse to wipe out all pro-democracy activists, so an invasion would actually destroy moves to democracy in Iran. Iranians themselves would be faced with an agonising dilemma – side with the rest of their fellow countrymen including hardliners to repel invaders, or collaborate with invading forces. He denounced the hypocrisy of the British government, which claimed to support moves to democracy in Iran but was rejecting asylum-seekers persecuted for their attempts to bring it about. Asked for his opinion on the value of Coalition troops remaining in Iraq to safeguard security there, he said that these troops were now the problem not the solution, and should leave the Iraqis to rebuild their country. Democracy can’t be imposed from above. Another question was whether there were human rights organisations in Iran that could monitor and report on abuses, hopefully to be fed back to the Home Office in the UK to modify their policy on Iranian asylum-seekers. He replied that there were, but it was a very dangerous activity and they were obliged to stay underground.
The Iranian group then left to go to another meeting.
In the second part of the meeting there was some, in my opinion rather desultory, discussion of civil liberties issues such as ID cards, followed by a much more interesting meeting with Respect’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Slough and members of his campaign team. Jazz Khan is a member of Respect’s National Council and last year he was their candidate for the European Parliament for the South East. Obviously a lively character, he told us how relief at the overthrow of the dictator Saddam Hussain did not compensate for the loss of life, squandering of billions of pounds/dollars on the war and very dubious motives (oil) of the participants. He also jokingly pointed out how he exactly matched the profile of the terrorist put about by the authorities – British Muslim, in his thirties and a graduate. Most of this section of the evening was devoted to the prospects of Respect winning in Slough (considered to be good). Funds were a problem, and although there was plenty of grassroots enthusiasm there was a lack of seasoned campaigners. Oxford Respect members responded that they would be happy to offer help on both counts, and there was some discussion about organising fund-raising events in Slough and Oxford.
At this point (around 9.00pm) your correspondent suddenly felt an overwhelming longing for hot cocoa and left the meeting. No doubt more info will appear soon.