Should the Wootton Bassett march be banned?

Over the course of this week we have witnessed a huge media frenzy around the proposed march through Wootton Bassett by the campaign group Islam4UK. The press have gone crazy, numerous groups have sprung up on Facebook with hundreds of thousands of members. The home secretary, prime minister and opposition have all called for the march to be banned. It seems like a black and white issue.

So I feel compelled to blog an alternative opinion, I have to say I am profoundly uncomfortable with the furore for a number of reasons.

Firstly I am against the war as an individual, I think it is doomed to disaster and is causing a huge human cost both to British troops and, to a much greater degree, the Afghan civilian population. I think the “war” is unwinnable and that there is a real possibility in my opinion that what we are doing is exacerbating the situation rather than resolving it.

I have protested against this war and the Iraq war in the past and I think it is likely I will do so in the future. I thoroughly reject the idea that protesting against foreign policy misadventures decided on by politicians means you are somehow against British troops. I come from Plymouth, which is both a Port and Garrison town. Many of my friends and colleagues are service people or have family members who are.

I see no dichotomy between supporting British troops and sympathising with the effects war has on them, whilst at the same time thinking a particular war is both morally wrong and ineffective and saying so. In fact I think it is thoroughly insulting to me as an individual to say that because I think we should not be in Afghanistan that I do not support my mates who are out there….

In fact I would go as far as to say that I believe the right to criticise what is happening is a fundamental right that as British Citizens we should have, we live in a Democracy and the right to protest is absolutely central to our democratic process.

Now the suggestion as to what Islam4UK propose to do, march empty coffins through Wootton Bassett to highlight the Afghan civilian dead, is certainly in my opinion distasteful and insensitive. It is not a protest that I as an individual would want to be part of. Further the organisation themselves seem pretty distasteful to me, before their website went down yesterday I had a read and evidently they are an extreme group with whom I have little sympathy.

But despite this they should, as a group in a pluralist democratic society, have a right to voice their opinions if they do so in a lawful and peaceful way. If Fascist organisations such as the BNP are entitled to be featured on television on Question time why shouldn’t Islam4UK have the right to march against a war? However distasteful some of us may find this opinion it is surely a fundamental right in a liberal democracy.

I feel that frankly the reason this has caused such a fuss is principally because the group organising it our Islamic. Bluntly the fact that it is being organised by non whites seems a huge part of why people are so exercised about it.

I went on the Facebook group about stopping the march and if you read the comments and wall posts being left the tone of the debate is awful, racist nonsense. I am deeply disturbed something like this is being used as an excuse for people to public vent frankly unacceptable opinions.

Voltaire said “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. Surely if there is a legitimate reason for us to be in Afghanistan then it is precisely to defend the kind of Liberal Democratic rights that are being talked about happening in Wootton Bassett.

Providing political protests are peaceful then frankly they should be allowed to happen.  I think it is so dangerous to accept that politicians should be allowed to decide on what topics people are allowed to protest on.

I disapprove of both Islam4UK AND what they hope to do. But you know what I will, like Voltaire, defend their right to do so.

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05. January 2010 by Ralph Ferrett
Categories: Activism | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

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