'We need urgent public measures to expose and remove the dangerous extremists in our midst.'
That's the mendacious warning we've been hearing across the political and media 'spectrum'. But, taken as a literal statement, it's actually a useful truth that can be put to proper use.
The alarming reality is that Sunak and Starmer, the people leading and supporting this venal, warmongering state, are the real extremists. And we better be on extreme alert about what they’re trying to impose on us through their own extremist projections.
You can always count on the British establishment to use conflicts and wars of their own making and supporting to threaten and purge opposition at home.
As Israel’s horrific genocide in Gaza continues, with the open, armed support of the UK, Sunak and their warmongering cohorts have lost no time in demonising pro-Palestine protesters and Muslim groups as a ‘public threat’ and proto ‘extremists’.
It takes a truly Orwellian stretch of the mind to think that while a genocidal regime is busy with the mass-extinguishing of life and infrastructure in Gaza, all backed by the UK, people can still be gaslighted into calling those who actually stand up and oppose that slaughter 'extremists'.
Sunak’s recent 'emergency' speech outside Number 10, warning of the 'alarming threat' from pro-Palestine demonstrators, marked a dark moment in this country’s gathering descent into neo-fascist politics.
His siren claim about “forces here at home trying to tear us apart” signalled another Tory clampdown in the making:
“The largest Muslim group in the UK, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), as well as Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) and Palestine Action have been named by British media as earmarked for inclusion.”
The government's move to draw mainstream, moderate Islamic bodies like MEND into this category of 'extremism' is another clear warning of the new authoritarianism afoot. In effect, any organisation that expresses support for Palestine can now expect to be targeted as a purveyor of civil disorder.
As Craig Murray weighed it:
“The only sense I can make of this is that the Establishment wishes to make it illegal to express public support for Palestine, and to stand for election if you support Palestine.”
'Dangerous extremists' in Glasgow
Sunak’s own authoritarian bombast followed a week of crude fearmongering unleashed by Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle and a band of unscrupulous politicians, in which a grubby move by Starmer to control Hoyle turned into an ugly fear narrative over ‘public safety’ and the ‘menace’ of pro-Palestine protesters.
"The Glasgow constituency office of Labour MSPs was stormed by protestors this afternoon, terrifying and threatening our staff."
In fact, the “storming” and “breaking through doors” had actually involved a small group of peaceful pro-Palestine demonstrators walking in for a quiet enquiry about Labour's positioning on the genocide, support for arms to Israel, and why it hadn't endorsed South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
As GGEC later noted of Sweeney’s allegations:
“Truly shameful claims @PaulJSweeney in trying to present a totally peaceful protest as some kind of thuggish mob invasion. In contrast, Sweeney was happy to invite the arms dealers helping to murder children in Gaza into the Scottish Parliament.”
Sweeney's claims were subsequently exposed as gross fabrications, all evidenced by clear video footage, the testimony of a Scotsman journalist, and, in a final humiliation for Sweeney, Police Scotland themselves, who had been in attendance throughout the incident.
The political fallout for Sweeney from this well-documented incident has been considerable, from public ridicule of his gross exaggerations and distortions to exposure of his failings over the ICJ.
Sweeney's conduct also, no doubt, contributed to the collapse of his subsequent candidacy for rectorship of Glasgow University - won by an 80% landslide by surgeon and heroic voice for Gaza, Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah.
GMB Union leader Gary Smith had also piled in to Sweeney’s tweet with similar spurious claims, condemning the protesters’ "shameful" behaviour, and the staff "being attacked". Despite all available evidence, and requests to provide anything to the contrary, we still await removal of their scurrilous allegations.
Peter Oborne gives an excellent account of all the hysteria peddled by Hoyle, Starmer and others which led to Sweeney's own fabricated claims.
As noted, another reason for the group’s peaceful visit to Sweeney’s office was to protest the sponsored invite he had given to a set of arms companies for a wine and dine event at the Scottish Parliament. Sweeney was only forced to withdraw his invite after being confronted by an investigative reporter at The Ferret.
Arms company guests to the soirée at Holyrood were later blocked that evening by a mass picket of the parliament doors, helping to remind not just Sweeney but the Scottish Government of its own obligation not to enable the genocide by assisting weapons firms and sending arms to Israel.
The real question here is why ordinary members of the public like us actually have to go to these politicians and ask them to stand against a genocide. How much persuasion should any morally-minded person really need to act against the mass slaughter of human beings?
Many months into the genocide - the mass bombing, starving and displacement of an entire people - so many of our leaders and elected representatives have still to show any meaningful response.
In another such persuasive exercise, Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee members felt obliged to go directly into Glasgow City Chambers, sit on its fine floor, and await the council leaders coming down their marble stairs to explain such lengthy inaction. When they eventually did descend, the explanations were expectedly underwhelming.
Having reminded the council of its moral and legal duty not to assist the genocide, a reasonable cross-party statement did subsequently emerge, driven by the GGEC-supporting Green council grouping.
And persistence does surely pay. The final show for Glasgow Council came on 28 March at their general meeting, where the Greens lead and won a strong GGEC-influenced motion in solidarity with Palestine.
Our task is now to work both inside and outside the City Chambers to get these motion measures fully implemented.
Jonathan Cook:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-war-corbyn-british-public-smeared
Cook tweet:
https://x.com/ggectee/status/1763600758631506307?s=46&t=KuUo_VjYJYAxKcydnWm3EA
Yvonne Ridley:
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