Daily archives: October 19, 2015


IWPR

I have enormous respect for the work of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. They work in conflict regions to teach the basic principles of journalism to local journalists, including citizen journalists. They really do get right in to the most difficult situations, and have access to knowledge on the ground that western media organisations often lack. I worked closely with their office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where Michael Andersen did a great job.

The fact that IWPR accesses direct first hand knowledge of what really happens during conflicts, almost certainly holds the key to the death of Jackie Sutton. She was killed for something she knew. The official Turkish story that she killed herself in the airport in despair at missing a connecting flight, is risible.

I cannot claim to any idea at present what it was she knew that caused her to be killed. It follows from that I do not know who killed her. But the speed of the Turkish authorities to promote a suicide narrative must in itself raise suspicions.

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A Nazi Welcomed by the British Establishment

As readers know, in general I am opposed to the lazy characterisation of Ukrainian nationalists as Nazis, fascists or racists, because in general it is untrue. But some of them are, and one who undoubtedly fits the bill is the anti-Semite Andriy Paribiy, founder of the Social National Party of Ukraine.

Paribiy will be speaking at the Royal United Services Institute in Whitehall on this Friday, 23 October, at 11am. The meeting is described as open to all. I do hope people will be able to express their opinion of him freely.

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This is the party symbol of Paribiy’s Social National Party, in case anybody doubts me. It is perfectly clear what Mr Paribiy stands for. That the Royal United Services Institute invites him to spread his views in the heart of Whitehall, says a great deal about the position of the right wing British establishment. Today, the British government proposes new legislation to close down mosques and bookshops deemed extreme, even if they advocate against violence and do not break the law. These are dangerous times – and the danger is from the right.

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