Friday, September 16, 2005

Taking Liberties

Why is Liberty more concerned about the risk of torture to seven Algerian men if they are deported back to Algeria rather than the risk to British lives if they remain in the UK?

Why didn't they seek asylum in France?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps a better question is why you are so willing to expose these people, who have been convicted of nothing, to torture. You know... removal of fingernails. Rape with serated objects. Because it seems as ill-advised as the haste with which you wrote,"got you, you bastard" in response to the shooting of 'terror suspect' Jean Charles de Menezes.

Perhaps it is more difficult to empathise when one has never been tortured oneself.

Snafu said...

Mike, you are quite right about Jean Charles de Menezes. My views have changed dramatically as evidence has emerged. Initial reports suggested that he had vaulted the barrier, witnesses reported wires trailing from his body, wearing a heavy jacket in the summer. He had apparently fled armed Police, given those circumstances, I believe the Police were right to respond as they did, hence my post.

However, we now know that the circumstances in which he was shot were not those described above. Armed Police suspected him, but he did not flee, he was no apparent risk, radios did not work, officers were absent from their posts. Armed Police approached and shot him.

Mike, I fail to understand why risks should be taken with the lives of UK nationals. The British Government's primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of it's citizens as far as it can.

Snafu said...

Mike, My original post did have a caveat as I'm not totally cold hearted! I hoped the Police were sure.

Anonymous said...

As I state in a post on my own site, I believe that too little attention is given the victims of the atrocities, and too much emphasis is given the 'rights' of people who have brought, and may well bring, death and destruction to our country!

Snafu said...

Good post Mike C!

Mike L, if extremists try to bring down the Governments of Jordan, Algeria or Egypt and then flee to the UK, should we provide these extremists with refuge or return them to their countries of origin to face trial according to the customs of their land?

Torture is clearly unacceptable in the UK, but are we guilty of 'cultural imperialism' when we decide that torture is also not acceptable in other countries!?!

Halal meat contravenes standard UK animal welfare regulations yet it is tolerated on a religious and cultural basis. Should we seek to ban halal meat in the UK and around the world?

HSBGuzzler said...

I didn’t know that. Maybe that was a rhetorical question, but as I am so surprised by this fact, I would like to register a big YES, if Halal meat contravenes UK standards then it should not be available in the UK. With this precedent there must be all sorts of exotic animals that have been imaginatively killed that we should now allow to be eaten in this country in order to appease the sensibilities of other cultures.