Spurious Land Grabbing Shows Britain At Its Worst

Growing up as an Arsenal fan in Tottenham was interesting.  I arrived at the peak of arguably one of Tottenham’s greatest ever sides, but by the time I left 14 years later we were well and truly the top dogs not just in London but in England as well.  I witnessed the tide turning as the area of Tottenham effectively became the Haringey branch of the Arsenal supporters club and the Spurs fans were driven out to Chingford, Edmonton and Enfield.

I wouldn’t say I was a devils advocate for the sake of it, but I have led a life defending minority interests.  From my almost lifelong mistrust of the Metropolitan Police, to condemning the influence of News International long before it was fashionable to do so.  If I believe in something I will dig my heels in, I think it’s the stubborn Taurean streak in me.

Take the Falkland Islands for example.  I struggle to find many in Britain who want to see our government relinquish control of the islands to Argentina.  But I struggle to see the merit to their arguments.  The overriding argument is that the islands have always been British, which is accurate but then huge swathes of the world were also once British at one time or another.  Most of which has been handed over, but the islands were retained, at huge cost both financially and in human life during the war 30 years ago. 

Oil has been located off the islands, which I suspect would have been known even before the first ships left the British harbours in 1982.

Mauritius is involved in a similar dispute with Britain over another set of islands, this time in the Indian Ocean.  I suspect that one day oil may be discovered beneath these islands as well, but as yet there is no evidence to support this theory.  I refer of course to the Chagos Islands.

There are a lot of contrasts between the Chagos Islands and the Falkland Islands.  Britain expelled the Chagossian community but sent a taskforce to protect the Falklands community.  The war of 1982 occurred in the same year as the shameful settlement which Britain offered to the exiled (and illiterate!) Chagossians who were tricked into signing away claims to their homeland.  Britain continues to protest that the Falklanders deserve self determination, but when it comes to the Chagossians 10 of the 30 articles of the UN charter of human rights are breached day by day, who enjoy no self determination whatsoever.  The Falklanders are being invited to participate in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations later this year, yet as of last week the UK Chagos Support Association AGM which I attended confirmed that no such invitation had been extended to the Chagossians.

But for me there is something very special that connects the Chagos and Falkland islands together.  They are both islands which are administered by Britain despite being thousands of miles away from the UK.  The British may well have enjoyed control of both of these territories for many years, but this ignores the fact that the era of colonialism and claims to lands thousands of miles away from Lands End largely ended in the period immediately following World War Two.  Its outdated, unfair and morally indefensible. 

The Falkland Islands are geographically next to Argentina and control should be ceded immediately.  If the Falklanders, as I understand, are unhappy with this arrangement then they should pack up their red telephone boxes and head back to Britain.  Similarly the Chagos Islands are geographically closest to Mauritius, and should be handed back to them.  If the present occupants are unhappy with that arrangement, then likewise they should pack up their bombs and bullets and return to the States. 

The Final Skeleton Of Apartheid

My inaugural trip to Mauritius came to an end 24 years ago last week.  Although I hadn’t realised it at the time, it was to be a visit which was to have a life changing impact upon my life.  That historic Air France flight took an eternity via what seemed like a tour of the world at the time.  If memory serves, our flight stopped in Reunion, Nairobi, Lyon and Paris, before finally landing in England an incredible 21 hours later.  It’s all the more notable considering the events of two months earlier which had threatened to abort that trip before I had even made it to Heathrow.

Just 10 days before our departure a South African Airlines (SAA) flight from Taipei to Johannesburg had crashed off my island of Mauritius in what at the time had been a suspected terrorist attack.  All 159 on board perished in the disaster.

It is not an exaggeration to suggest that initially there were very severe reservations being expressed by my father as to whether the trip to paradise should even go ahead at this time.  There were genuine fears that the outlawed ANC had commenced a new chapter of action against the apartheid regime in South Africa and that flights operating in the area were at risk.

The trip went ahead, but I was to find myself again linked to this tragedy when my very first visit to what is now my favourite place in the world Ile Plate, a small uninhabited island 11 kilometres north of Mauritius, coincided with my sister locating and collecting a very unique piece of history.  She recovered the aircraft lamp from the wing of that fateful flight, washed up on the shore of the beach.  We tried desperately to get this precious artefact back to the UK but sadly it was damaged beyond repair during transit. 

Eighteen years later when I started visiting Mauritius regularly, my dad told me a story from that trip to Mauritius, regarding our relatives from Grand Gaube who were fishermen by trade.  Their daily “commute” to work would regularly involve them swimming around the island Coin Di Mire for fishing and diving.  As fishermen they knew the oceans like most of us know our local streets, and they told my dad the story about their “red eyes”, coincidentally around the time of our trip all those years before.  The fishermen were complaining that when they returned to Grand Gaube their eyes had been irritated by something beyond the coral reef in the ocean, something which hadn’t occurred before and had never occurred since. There was no visible change in the appearance or texture of the water, but they knew that something was not right. There was no explanation provided for the incidents, only that it affected a lot of people during this period. There was no long lasting damage as far as anyone knows, but it did set my mind ticking.  I have spent the last six years trying desperately to get to the bottom of this. 

Officially the demise of the Helderberg was due to an in flight fire and not a terrorist act as had been initially suggested during the final days of November 1987.  But the initial cause of the fire has largely been unexplained.  A transcript of the conversation between the captain and Mauritian air traffic control can be found here, but offered no clues as to what triggered the fire. 

The South African forensic scientist Doctor David Klatzow has been looking into what sparked the fire on board for several years now, and offers an intriguing number of theories regarding the events of Helderberg flight 295.  He argues that the cargo on board that flight contained prohibited items, materials which were illegal under the arms embargo against South Africa which had been enforced against the apartheid regime during this period.  He has also claimed that the tapes from the pilot’s conversations were passed to Gert Van Der Veer, who was SAA CEO at the time. Van Der Veer had always claimed he had no knowledge of the tapes and testified under oath to this effect at both the Margo Commission and Truth & Reconciliation hearings. 

Klatzow has always maintained that the tapes would have revealed the hidden truth behind the contents of the cargo.  The captain on that flight was also a reservist for the South African Air Force which adds yet another layer to this very unsual tragedy.

This all ties in nicely with the stories from my father’s relatives and the mystery behind the strange eye irritation that had occurred around the time.  If the Helderberg had been carrying materials of a military nature, then given the proximity of the crash to Mauritius it is certainly plausible that the contents may have washed up much closer to Mauritius than anybody had previously suspected. 

I’d be fascinated to see what may emerge if Klatzow did compare what he has uncovered with the stories from the fishermen in Mauritius, it may well provide yet another piece of this bizarre puzzle which I describe as the final skeleton of the apartheid era.  The Truth & Reconciliation hearings presided over a comprehensive review of the atrocities committed by the South African apartheid administration spanning over four decades.  Yet this particular chapter of South African history has remained unsolved because the critical question of the source of the fire has never been established.   If Doctor Klatzow wishes to get in touch, I will be happy to facilitate a meeting with my father’s relatives who can corroborate their experiences with him.  It would be remarkable if something seemingly so trivial can be linked back to the mystery of SAA Helderberg Flight 295.

Be Optimistic

My first blog of the New Year and I am more optimistic than I have felt in a while.  On a purely personal level, I got an unexpected surprise on my travels and ended up returning with something far more than I imagined when  I danced through the arrivals terminal at Plaisance Airport just under six weeks ago.  But I am also noticing something is changing or perhaps did change in Britain while I was away, and that is driving this new found hope.

On reflection quite a lot happened while I was away, although I only watched the evil Dr Khan being tricked by Zainab to go back into the fire yesterday.  I had access to the BBC via the local station MBC3 but unfortunately there was to be no Eastenders.

However thanks to BBC World I was able to remain relatively in the loop.  There was a changing of the guard in North Korea, Luis Suarez being found guilty and banned, justice at long last for Stephen Lawrence and a savage witch hunt against Diane Abbott.  All while Nigeria lurches towards civil war. 

That’s before we even mention the deserved crowning of Melanie Amaro as the inaugural winner of X Factor USA.  Anyone who has followed me on twitter will know she had me the moment she gave that unforgettable performance of “Listen” during the audition stages.

With regards to Suarez and Lawrence I have to concede that the news did surprise me.  I held a view that neither process would result in anybody being found guilty.  I was wrong and I am delighted to witness this day arrive.  Yes it has been long overdue, but welcome nonetheless.  It’s been a very long time since there was a day that made me say that I was proud to be half-British, but on both days I felt that pride return.

Its unusual in some ways that I should even have this sudden feeling of enthusiasm. Especially given that my near 7,000 mile journey was in the company of a copy of the Evening Standard newspaper.  An edition which contained a piece regarding the possibility of Lord Adonis or David Lammy becoming the Mayor of London in 2016.  So you could imagine how I was feeling: I hadn’t even stepped foot in Mauritius yet and I was already dreading coming home!

Add to this the deteriorating economic situation both domestically and in Europe, and Labour falling behind the Tories in the polls. The answer is you have the very foundations for a vast cloud of doom that should throttle my new found confidence before it was even born.  And like a beacon of light, there it stood amidst the rubble of misery and pessimism.

Ken Livingstone has edged ahead of Boris Johnson in the race to be Mayor of London in May.  Another one of those nice surprises I seem to have been getting lately, but quite possibly the most significant of all.  Though it must be said not immediately obvious perhaps to readers who unlike myself have no personal affiliation to London.

The election of Boris Johnson in 2008 was crucial in leading to the mess of the current administration which took national control in 2010.  It was a key milestone in the cycle of the rebranding of the Conservative party from its annihilation in 1997 to becoming the largest political party thirteen years later.  It was a milestone when the shackles of being the “nasty party” were unleashed resulting in the social taboo of voting Conservative disappearing.  Should Boris win again in 2012, a final nail in the coffin for Ed Miliband appears almost inevitable.

Ken has been written off time and time again, but its significant that he is still trusted by more Londoners.  I will never understand how Boris won in 2008- an offensive editor and part time TV Presenter who had no business holding the keys to the Capital.  His management of the industrial disputes on the London Underground has been appalling as I have pointed out previously.  Yet as the incumbent he was the front runner and until this recent poll nothing had been suggested that he was in any danger of losing later this year. Until now that is.

It is good news for seven million Londoners, it is good news for Labour and it is good news for Britain too.  More hope and optimism for 2012 to fuel the belief that this is the start of the process of change to send the Tories back to the political wilderness.  They may only have been in power for 18 months but the last 12 months alone have felt like 18 years. 

It’s a New year and I can feel a new hope: Suarez banned, Lawrence gets justice, and Ken is coming back.  Its definitely time to feel optimistic.

Shock! Horror! The Met have been telling porkie pies

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have been investigating the circumstances surrounding Mark Duggan's death and their report is due early next year.  The Guardian newspaper have obtained excerpts which reveal that there is evidence he "was not holding a gun at the time he was shot.". 

The Guardian reveals that the gun which was recovered at the scene did not contain forensic evidence which could be linked to Duggan.  Critically it also revealed that the weapon had not been used and was not in his possession at the moment he was killed. 

While possessing a firearm is a criminal offence in the UK, there is a judicial process which must be followed and the ultimate sanction is a custodial sentence.  The UK does not have the death penalty as a punishment.  This flies in the face of anyone who attempts to explain away the actions of the police that day with the suggestion that this operation can be justified. 

I am just about old enough to remember the storm which surfaced almost 24 years ago when three unarmed IRA members were shot dead in Gibraltar in March 1988.  Then as now, a debate ensued which questioned whether the actions of British authorities in Gibraltar, in the form of SAS agents, had the law on their side when they opened fire on three unarmed people suspected of plotting a criminal act. 

Later that year it was ruled that the agents had acted lawfully but the decision was seen as hugely controversial at the time.  It was also the subject of an ITV documentary called "Death on the Rock".  The programme makers, Thames Television, angered the UK government with the broadcast, the consequences of which eventually resulted in the company losing their licence to broadcast at the end of 1992.

Interestingly the Guardian's revelations came just a few days after Tottenham MP David Lammy called for the officer involved in the shooting to be suspended pending the outcome of the IPCC investigation. 

"The officer involved in the Mark Duggan case hasn't been suspended and is still working...members of the community I represent find that quite incredible."

I find it incredible too, but on two levels.  Firstly it is a rare moment when I find myself in agreement with the ineffective local MP, and he is right to call for the sanction.  However I also find it incredible and hypocritical for him to use this platform now.  Lammy you may recall was busy condemning disorder in his constituency than showing any real conviction to ask any questions of the police.  This was of course a marked contrast with the actions of community leaders such as Stafford Scott who were asking these valid questions in the immediate aftermath of Duggan's death.

I warned in August that many were making a terrible error taking the Metropolitan Police's version of events at face value.  I highlighted previous examples and suggested that everyone needed to look at the circumstances in the context of remembering that we were dealing with a police force who had a colourful history of dishonesty and deliberate attempts to mislead the public.

An awful lot of people had far too much to say about Mark Duggan three months ago.  As the truth slowly emerges from that tragic Thursday summer's evening, their increasing silence serves as a stark reminder the next time anyone attempts to rush to endorse a shooting executed by the most corrupt police force in the land.

Fobbed off with broomsticks

Aside from my ritualistic devotion to the Gunners, I enjoy following other sports, albeit only in international competitions.  What frustrates my friends is the fact I support England/Britain at every single sport, except the one I have the most passion for- Football.  I’ll happily sing “swing low” when the Rugby is on, but when it comes to Football I’ve been a France fan since my teenage years, before the arrival of Monsieur Wenger in London I might add.

There are a few reasons for this. 

I watched a Panorama documentary about England fans at Euro 2000.  Unfortunately no videos of the broadcast are available online, but the scene which still sickens me 11 years on was the one involving England fans singing a song about World War 2 against local Dutch fans. 

I also despise the arrogance of the typical England fan, the table thumper, the one who recalls the events of July 1966 as if he was in the stadium; despite the fact he wasn’t even born. 

I detest the ignorance that because England invented the game they naturally must be the greatest and have an expectation to win World Cup’s or European Championships.  Of course this is amplified even more by the British media, but I don’t accept that this alone justifies the crude nature of England football fans.  It’s certainly not what I have found with followers of Rugby or Cricket.  Even when England lifted the World Cup in 2003, there was a humility which you just wouldn’t get with the England football fan base.  Likewise, more recently this can be seen as England have attained the status of best Test Match side in the Cricketing world.

Yet for me personally the story begins on a cold November night in 1994 at Wembley in North London where me and my father watched an England game for the very first time, an International friendly against Nigeria.  We were in the family enclosure which happened to be directly below a significant contingent of Nigerian fans.  What ensued was one of my most traumatic experiences as a football fan.  I witnessed one after another as England fans in our section, parents of accompanying young children too, racially abused the Nigerian fans sitting above.  Eventually enough was enough and as if fate would have it, an intervention from match day stewards came at the precise moment David Platt scored the only goal. 

Instead of some of the more decent fans applauding the worst antagonist of the abuse being led away, the occupiers of the Family enclosure were more concerned as to what they perceived to be an overreaction, a fuss over nothing no less.  I can still vividly recall a supporter who had also engaged in the abuse telling my Dad that it was “no big deal” and that “the stewards have nothing better to do”.

That was 17 years ago.  I have been to many football grounds since and it is true I have never experienced that level of racism since.  Yet in other ways football has not evolved from that horrid evening.  There is still a reluctance to face down this problem in England.  England fans and the English football establishment are legendary for patting themselves on the back about campaigns such as “Kick it Out” and finger wagging towards the rest of the world whenever there are incidents of racism elsewhere.  But when the problem rears its ugly head at home, there is a remarkable tendency to either look the other way or attempt to sweep the issue under the carpet.

I accept there is a bigger problem abroad; Eastern Europe resembles a time warp to a poisonous era at times.  Equally I am not for a minute suggesting that we are back in the 1980s with Bananas on the pitch as John Barnes runs down the wing. However there is now a culture that England has got rid of the problem, and cannot bear for a moment to consider the prospect that there are still elements to tackle today.  It is for this reason that people like Aragones can sneer when anybody from England attempts to offer any lectures.  A lot like my last post about people in glass houses.

When Dwight Yorke complained that he was racially abused against his former club Blackburn during a match for Birmingham in 2004, his Chairman David Sullivan had his broomstick ready for action.  Arguing that Yorke’s grievance had stemmed from an incident which had been “blown out of proportion” and then compounded his ignorance with the stereotypical response of every modern day racist- “I've got black friends, Indian friends and Jewish friends.”   At the time I reworked a well known football song to capture the events of the Spain v England match and the race row involving Yorke, Sullivan and Blackburn:

“Chim-Chiminey, Chim-Chiminey, Chim-Chim Cherrooo. The Spanish have racists, but England has too!”

It went down like a lead balloon amongst my England supporting friends, but I stand by the song today as I did in 2004.  Two recent incidents involving very high profile players threaten to rock the English football family to its very foundations.  Luis Suarez and John Terry are both alleged to have been responsible for making racist insults during two separate fixtures this month against Patrice Evra and Anton Ferdinand respectively.  Incredibly Gordon Taylor has suggested he would be ready to offer mediation services.  Mediation?  If this were not so offensive in itself it would be laughable!

Another attempt to cover up the problem as opposed to finally confront the issue head on.  I’ve had enough of English football chastising the rest of the world regarding racism in the game only to pathetically resort to a broom when it comes to its own issues.  Fans of all colours should reject the tedious act of being fobbed off with broomsticks.

People In Glass Houses...

My island of Mauritius was back in the news last week.  The MedPoint scandal took an unprecedented twist as Pravind Jugnauth, leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) and son of the President Aneerood, was arrested and subsequently charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act (POCA).  This followed the award of a £3.8m contract to MedPoint Limited while Finance Minister, a company his relative had a 29.59% interest in.

Mauritius has a chequered history of corruption, a number of which during the late 1990’s brought down the first tenure of current Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam.  The rainbow island has endured a cruel stigma as being a rogue state where people in authority are influenced by bribes and unsolicited gifts, part of which sadly is warranted, the rest of which possibly a lazy and ignorant stereotype of African countries in general which is totally unwarranted.

Jugnauth is not going down without a fight, and there are a number of fascinating sub-plots playing out with an increasing probability that an early election will be called.  This in turn introduces the intriguing prospect of Paul Berenger returning as Prime Minister.

What has been interesting to note as ever has been the attitudes of British based ex-pats, what you might describe as a condescending glance of disgust.  A resignation  that this is typical of Mauritius, that things will never change and they will always be that way.  A sad and incredibly damaging indictment it must be said.

Former colonial republics like Mauritius look to nations like Britain to set an example, and despite replacing the Queen as head of state nineteen years ago still have the Privy Council as the highest point of appeal within the Mauritian legal system.  Like several Commonwealth nations, it’s almost a reinforcement of the idea that even after independence, there is still a nod to the former colonial powerhouse as the figure of guidance when administering their own affairs.

It’s perhaps this status as a position of guidance that provides ex-pats with a confidence in Britain, an unquestionable faith that it can teach Mauritius a few lessons in responsible governance.  But we all know what happens to people in glass houses.

For all the criticisms of Mauritius, there must at the very least be an acknowledgement that it is a country which is attempting to address the problem of corruption.  It’s open to conjecture as to how much more it could be doing of course, and critics will rightly argue that there is a long way to go. 

That being said I’m deeply troubled when British based ex-pats feel assured enough to take the moral high ground over Mauritius, I feel it is essentially a flawed position.  Britain is far from perfect, from “Cash for Questions” to “Cash for Honours”, and lest we forget the military scandals involving the sales of weapons to Iraq and Sierra Leone.  The biggest police force in the UK is currently working hard to bury a corruption scandal that saw the two most senior officers resign earlier this year.  Central to the controversy was the figure of Andy Coulson, who having left the newspaper at the centre of the allegations, went on to become the Director of Communications for British Prime Minister David Cameron. 

As things stand nobody has ever been charged with any offence in Britain related to any of these scandals.  A few low level MP’s were successfully prosecuted following the expenses scandal, but all of the scandals involving senior figures have all followed the same tired pattern.  A scandal arises; people are hauled in for questioning which is later followed by more questioning.  The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider the case before reporting back several months later when the furore has evaporated and subsequently announce that there is a lack of evidence to proceed with any charges.

The next time somebody from Britain would like to lecture about the never ending web of corruption in Mauritius, try asking them this: whatever happened to “Lord Cashpoint”?

Good Riddance Gaddafi- Now Get Out Of The Chagos Islands!

Its always been fascinating watching Britain join other nations in the last six months intervening in the Libyan civil war, a mission said to prevent genocide and uphold human rights.  I shed no tears for the demise of Gaddafi, but equally do not hold much aspiration that the motives of the British like her allies have been sincere.  Libya is home to some of the world’s largest oil reserves and one only has to look at Bahrain, Yemen & Saudi Arabia to witness regimes with some of the worst human rights records being supported by the same allies because their leadership is regarded as being in line with Western interests.

Of course there is no such hope of a taskforce being set up to liberate the Chagos Islands.  No such banging of the tables at the UN to demand the adoptions of resolutions condemning the illegal occupation and depopulation of an indigenous community.  So instead we are left to increase the pressure through alternative methods.

In July the long awaited verdict was delivered in the Al-Skeini v UK case which stated that the European Convention on Human Rights applied wherever the UK exercised “effective control”.  This ruling is being seen as potentially crucial to determining the outcome of the Chagos Islanders v UK case where a judgment is due before the end of the year.

Britain has long maintained that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had no jurisdiction over the depopulation and subsequent policy towards the Chagos Islands due to the fact that the Islands are located in the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from the European Union.  This you may remember is the latest episode of a legal battle which has dominated the last decade and the impending verdict is seen as the final ruling as there are no further avenues of appeal open to either party.

It has been a ruling which the British have been determined to undermine by creating the worlds largest Marine Protection Zone, so as to prevent the return of the Chagossian people back to their Islands if the ECHR were to rule in their favour.

Much has been made of the recent introduction of the Government’s E-Petition website which suggests that any petition which accumulates 100,000 signatories will trigger a debate in Parliament.  The significance of this for anybody who has followed this story is that it is very rare for Parliament to discuss this particular issue, even Early Day Motions have been few and far between.  An opportunity to force this back on to the political agenda is always welcome and should be seized upon. 

The link to the petition can be found here.

We are seeking 100,000 signatures in 12 months, a very difficult challenge when you remember that the most successful petitions accumulated for this cause have made barely 10% of that figure.  Anybody in the UK can sign this petition, please circulate among your friends- let us stop this hypocrisy of the British interpretation of human rights and force this back up the political agenda.

It is indeed good riddance to Gaddafi, but its also now time for a rebellious community to get out of the Chagos Islands.