Have a look:
This is a joint statement from Westminster Global Ideas Society and Westminster Students’ Union.
We regret to inform you that the ‘Economic Future: What’s the real solution’ event which was due to take place today, Thursday February 16, 2012 at 5.30pm is now cancelled.
The Students’ Union is completely opposed to this decision made by the University as the Global Ideas society (a registered Student’ Union society) has complied with the procedures set out by the SU and University when organising the event.
Several students, a lecturer and Peter Tatchell, according to the University, who opposed the appearance of a Hizb ut Tahrir member, posed a violent threat to the event. They had planned to disrupt the event, though all were unsure whether it would escalate to violence or not. The University was unable to ensure the safety of both speakers and attendees; therefore the university decided to cancel the event. However, it is the view of the Students’ Union, that the University has a responsibility to ensure that there is adequate safety for students and guests on University premises, in accordance with the Universities UK ‘Freedom of speech on campus: rights and responsibilities in UK universities’ document.
The decision to cancel the event had nothing to do, whatsoever with the scheduled appearance of Jamal Harwood (the Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir). The no-platform policy is not an adopted policy at Westminster University and is not binding on the Univeristy of Westminster Students’ Union. Therefore, the NUS have no authority to dictate Westminster SU policy.
If you wish to complain about the cancellation, please email Carole Mainstone, the Registrar & Secretary on c.mainstone@westminster.ac.uk.
The Global Ideas Society plans to reschedule the event for March 8th at 5.30pm in Fyvie Hall. Which I hope you will be able to attend, we will update about this shortly.
Please share this statement widely.
Sincerely,
Gulum Alamgir, President of Global Ideas Society
Jenny Ybanez, VP Communications
Tarik Mahri, President
This being Hizb ut Tahrir, they’re incapable of telling the truth.
This is the truth, from Peter Tatchell:
I had no knowledge of the event at all. I did not seek its cancellation or threaten to disrupt it. If I had known about the Hizb ut-Tahrir speaker, I would have protested peacefully against him (as I have done in the past). I have a long history of non-violent direct action. I have never in my 45 years of human rights campaigning committed any violent acts, even when violently assaulted myself. The idea that I had threatened violence is absurd.
In May 1994, at their Wembly conference, I was subjected to death threats from members of Hizb ut-Tahrir. They explicitly threatened to track me down and kill me.Hizb ut-Tahrir is a clerical fascist organisation. According to its draft constitution and spokespeople’s statements it believes in:
- The replacement of secular democracy with Sharia based theocratic rule.
- The subjugation and inferiority of women and their debarring from holding ruling positions
- The superiority of Muslims over non-Muslims, and the denial of full rights and citizenship to the latter.
- The banning of non-Islamist political parties.
- The death penalty for Muslims who leave their religion.
- The death penalty for those guilty of blasphemy against Islam.
- The death penalty for gay people and women who have sex outside of marriage.
In short, Hizb ut-Tahrir is a far right organisation that seeks to impose a theocratic dictatorship worldwide. It is more fascistic than even the vile BNP.
It should be opposed at every opportunity. The rights and freedoms of ordinary Muslims should be defended against these fanatics who are, first and foremost, a threat to fellow Muslims.
Also, see this comment below:
Peter Tatchell is a long time opponent of Hizb-ut as he is of many extreme right-wing organizations and as can be seen from his web site was one of many demonstrators at their annual summer conference, held in Tower Hamlets in 2011.
The Hizb have hated Peter Tatchell for years and Global Ideas (which is basically just a student union branch of Hizb charged with trying to get their speakers onto Campus, promoting extremist Islamic views about ‘inevitable’ conflict with the west at any opportunity and raising money for the parent organization), seem to have simply jumped to the conclusion that because he was in the building he must be after them. Global Ideas were the people who were thrown out of the Westminster Islamic Society some years back for their political views and the Westminster Islamic Society usually boycotts anything they have arranged, as do international students from countries where the Hizb are banned. For example Palestinian students have nothing to do with them as both the PLO and even Hamas have banned Hizb. Same with Bangladesh and Pakistan. Though several student societies were planning to send in well-briefed members to confront Harwood over Hizb policies and what it says in its constitution and in particular several Muslim students were planning to confront him.
Even though Tatchell was speaking at a totally different and academic event about same sex marriages and current test cases in the European Court of Human Rights which was advertised for staff and postgraduate research students the Hizb simply assumed that he must have been there because of Jamal Harwood. Of course Peter Tatchell wasn’t there because of this and didn’t know anything about the Hizb event. In any case Harwood would have been ‘protected’ by Hizb heavies so it would hardly have mattered.
The Student Union at Westminster University is now controlled by a President and Vice President who have been linked repeatedly to Hizbut but who have declined any questions by both newspapers or by students at Westminster about their political beliefs or links to the Hizb-ut organization. Obviously these are very well paid sabbaticals, so they are keen to hang on to them and I would suspect to continue to try to legitimise Hizb in its quest for power which help it raise funds on campus. Needless to say the two incumbents never campaigned on a Hizb-ut ticket and even told students that they would try to arrange more parties and greater subsidy at the student bars on campus.
So the confusion was just the usual mix of paranoia, hate and an inability to believe in coincidences, which are the typical stock in trade of the extreme right, fuelled by the desire to smear Peter Tatchell as badly as they possibly can at any opportunity.
The claim made against Tatchell is certainly defamatory and because it is made in the name of the Westminster student union would leave the entire Union (and therfore all students) open to legal action for defamation and punitive damages. I doubt the University management itself said anything about Tatchell of course as that would make them also capable of being sued by the plaintiff for very substantial damages, so it is most likely the SU union are just making that communication up to help promote the smear. It is more likely the University cancelled the event because there had been so many student complaints about it and because it was drawing unfavourable attention from the media.
