Musharaff ambushed in London

[xmasdale]

Musharaff's limo ambushed in London

Protest against Pakistani dictator

London – 25 January 2008

President Musharraf's limousine was forced to halt in Park Lane,
London, tonight (25 January), when human rights campaigner Peter
Tatchell ran in front of his car in protest at the Pakistan dictator's
"suppression of democracy and human rights."

The ambush happened outside the Hilton Hotel Park Lane, as the
President's motorcade drew close to the hotel, where he was scheduled
to speak.

"To avert police attention, I stood inconspicuously at a bus stop
reading a newspaper, waiting for Musharraf's motorcade to arrive,"
recalled Mr Tatchell.

"When the police motorcycle escorts drew level, I ran out into Park
Lane and straight in front of the President's car. It screeched to a
halt.

"I unfurled a placard protesting against Musharraf's massacre of
civilians in occupied Baluchistan. The placard read:

"Stop Pakistan Massacre of Baluch people."

"Musharraf could clearly see the placard. He did not look pleased.

"His driver tried to back up and drive around me, but I ran in front
of the limousine again, forcing it to halt once more.

"I could see Musharraf shouting something at his driver. Perhaps he
feared that I was an assassin or a suicide bomber.

"The limo reversed again and tried to swerve past me. I blocked it for
the third time.

"Musharraf and his colleagues look very agitated.

"Eventually, police motorcycle escorts ran over and dragged me away
from the bonnet of Musharraf's vehicle.

"They pulled me across the road to the central reservation in Park
Lane, where I was pinned against the railing.

"Shortly afterwards, the police let me go and I joined the main
anti-Musharraf demonstration outside the Hilton Hotel, organised by
lawyers protesting against the arrest of fellow lawyers and supreme
court judges in Pakistan.

"Although my placard specifically condemned Musharraf's human rights
abuses in Baluchistan, I support all the people of Pakistan who are
struggling against dictatorship and for democracy.

"It is shameful that the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is
entertaining Musharraf at Downing Street on Monday. He is siding with
a dictator against the people of Pakistan.

"Musharraf is guilty of crimes against humanity, including the
indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas in Baluchistan, using
weaponry supplied by Britain and the US.

"Pakistani human rights groups say his regime practices detention
without trial, torture and extra-judicial killings.

"Musharraf is a criminal. He should be arrested by the UK authorities
and put on trial in The Hague," said Mr Tatchell.

Peter Tatchell has written an article for The Guardian newspaper in
London, condemning the Musharraf regime. Read it here:

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2008/01/embracing_p akistans_dictator.html

Footnote: Peter Tatchell adds:

Friday 25 January was my 56th birthday. I have unusual ways of celebrating.

This year, after a birthday lunch with friends, I topped off the
celebrations by ambushing President Musharraf's limousine in Park
Lane, as he was en route to a reception at the Hilton Hotel.

You should have seen the look on Musharaff's face!!!!!

I think he thought I might be an assassin or a suicide bomber.

The police were angry and a bit rough when they dragged me away from
Musharraf's car. Then one laughed and said: "No, it's not al Qaida.
It's only Peter Tatchell."

They relaxed and let me go almost straightaway. I was expecting a
night in the cells. Alas.

Mind you, several officers continuously followed me and hovered around
when I joined the main anti-Musharraf protest outside the Hilton
Hotel.

"We've been told to keep an eye on you," one policeman advised me.

"You aren't going to try something like that again when he (Musharraf)
leaves, are you?" another queried. "Running in front of a speeding
presidential limousine is quite insane. If you do it again we might
have to section you under the Mental Health Act."

I think he was joking. The police were quite friendly and good natured.

When I did eventually leave the protest, they escorted me until I was
well away from the hotel and off home on my bike.

"We want to make sure you are going home. You've got up to enough
tricks for one night," said one of the officers.

Ends

[Stefan]

Great work! Pass on my applause to Peter next time you communicate Xmasdale.

[Linda]

Well done Peter

I support all the people of all countries who are
struggling against dictatorship and for democracy.

[rodin]

[TonyGosling]

If only life were that simple. There are such things as benevolent dictatorships (such as the kingdom of Bhutan) and anti-democratic democracies (such as the US).

Musharaff is no Mr. Nice guy but he has refused NeoCon demands to clobber Iran and has therefore fallen from favour in the eye of the dark lords.

That's almost certainly the real reason for his visit to London so he can be given the third degree and 'persuaded' back on board the 'War on Terror' programme.

[rodin]

[karlos]

[xmasdale]

[xmasdale]

Peter Tatchell writes:

Crushing Dissent – Ex-MP on terror charges

The arrest in London of exiled Baluch human rights activists looks
like a bid by President Musharraf to frame his opponents and silence
critics

By Peter Tatchell

The Guardian – Comment Is Free – 1 February 2008

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2008/02/crushing_di ssent.html


A former MP and government minister from Pakistan-occupied
Baluchistan, Hyrbyair Marri, has been languishing in Belmarsh Prison
for the last two months. He was arrested at his west London home in
early December on charges of plotting terrorist acts abroad (it is
assumed in Pakistan).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2225531,00.html

Mr Marri was Minster for Construction and Works in the provincial
assembly of Baluchistan from 1997 to 1998.

Baluch leaders and Pakistani opposition figures believe the charges
against him are without substance and have condemned Mr Marri's arrest
and imprisonment. They claim that the Pakistani dictator, President
Pervez Musharraf, has a vendetta against the Marri family, who are
leading nationalists in the province of Baluchistan – a formerly
independent nation that was invaded and annexed by Pakistan in 1948.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2007/08/pakistan_ce lebrates_baluchista.html

They cite leaks that Musharraf has privately vowed to crush the Baluch
self-determination movement and destroy its leaders. They also
highlight the fact that the Pakistani authorities have been pressing
the British government to arrest and extradite Marri and several other
Baluch nationalists who live in London.

Their claims seem to have some credibility. Mr Marri's arrest in
London two months ago, came just two weeks after the Pakistani
authorities assassinated his brother, Balaach Marri. His murder was
strongly condemned by opposition leaders such as Imran Khan and the
late Benazir Bhutto.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7106270.stm

Mr Marri's other brother, Mehran Baluch, who also lives in the UK and
is the Baluch representative to the UN Human Rights Council, was last
year the subject of a top secret extradition bid by Pakistan, on
charges that critics have condemned as trumped up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2044308,00.html

Watch my interview with Mehran here:
http://doughty.gdbtv.com/player.php?h=6047f4ff19c2da48b68fed7e067a3a5f

The actions of the Musharraf regime against these three brothers look
like a systematic attempt to target this family and crush three major
voices of Baluch dissent. What is particularly shaming is that the UK
government appears to be colluding with this plot by the despots in
Islamabad.

Mr Marri's arrest in London also coincided with a major Pakistani
military offensive against Baluchistan, which has included the
indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas using US-supplied fighter
jets and other weapons small arms, some of which may have been
supplied by Britain. The Labour government is aiding the Pakistani
tyrant; authorising the sale of the military hardware that he uses to
sustain his dictatorship and suppress his own people.

Hundreds of innocent Baluch civilians have been killed in Musharraf's
scorched earth military campaign. Thousands more people have been
detained without trial or forced to flee their homes to escape
Musharraf's terror tactics.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2007/12/pakistans_s ecret_war_in_baluch.html

Earlier this week, I spoke to the chair of the Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan, Asma Jahangir. She confirmed the apparent attacks on
civilian areas; saying she visited the site of a supposed rebel
military camp that was blasted to pieces by the Pakistan army and air
force. Littering the ground, she said, were domestic artefacts,
civilian clothing and children's toys.

Mr Marri has been charged alongside another Baluch human rights
activist, Faiz Baluch, of north London.

I know both the detained men. They are Baluchistan nationalists and
human rights activists. We worked together to expose Pakistan's
persecution of the Baluch people and to support the broader struggle
for democracy in Pakistan. The defendants never expressed to me any
support or sympathy for terrorism. All our campaigns have been lawful
and peaceful. I would be very surprised if either man was involved in
any terror plot. Mr Marri is a member of one of the most distinguished
and esteemed Baluch families. He is a rather unlikely terrorist.

I was in Westminster magistrates' court on 11 December and heard the
prosecution's outline evidence against the two men. I believe it be
flimsy, circumstantial and flawed.

It is my opinion that these terror charges are likely to have resulted
from pressure by the Musharraf regime. We know that President
Musharraf has been pressing Britain for the extradition of Baluch
nationalists exiled in London. It is also well known that the
Pakistani intelligence agencies are not averse to fabricating evidence
against political opponents.

Britain and Pakistan have been in secret negotiations for a prisoner
swap deal. The UK police want to extradite terror suspect Rashid Rauf
from Pakistan. They are keen to question him in connection with the
2006 plot to blow-up transatlantic airliners.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2225531,00.html

In exchange for handing over Mr Rauf to the UK, the Pakistani
government is demanding the extradition from Britain of Baluch
nationalists.

Late last year, however, after the UK government failed to extradite
Mehran Baluch, Mr Rauf, a high security prisoner, mysteriously escaped
from police custody in Pakistan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2228481,00.html

Despite their carelessness, Musharraf's men are still pressing for the
Baluch nationalists to be handed over. If Mr Marri and Mr Baluch are
extradited they will never get a fair trial and will face torture,
imprisonment and probable execution.

Astonishingly, our government, in our name, is colluding with a bloody
dictator like Musharraf. Gordon Brown should refuse to give in to
pressure and blackmail by the Pakistani dictatorship. He should
publicly reject requests for the arrest and extradition of Baluch
leaders and activists, and cease supplying military aid to the tyrant
in Islamabad.


--
Peter Tatchell is the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East
http://www.greenoxford.com/peter and http://www.petertatchell.net

[karlos]

http://www.oxfordstudent.com/tt2001wk3/news/sex-tacular_debate

[ian neal]

How is an anonymous write up of a debate from nearly 7 years ago in which Tatchell supports the perfectly reasonable motion that "Underage Sex is not necessarily abusive" of ANY relevance to this thread?

Why not address the substance of Tatchell's accusations against Musharraf and the British authorities?

[karlos]

I asked a straightforward question which was ignored.
Tatchell stated "Stop Pakistan Massacre of Baluch people"
I asked when did this massacre take place.

I take Tatchell's statement with a large slice of scepticism in the same way that his phantom Ahwaz liberation front propaganda was proven to have been another Neo-Con wishlist.
Everything Tatchell said about the oil producing region of Iran which the neo-con's describe as Arabistan has been debunked and now Tatchell has started a campaign to create problems in the Gas producing region of Pakistan which coincidentally is also where the nukes are located.

Please address Tatchell allegations yourself. When was Baluchistan NOT part of either British ruled India or Pakistan? And why doesnt Tatchell start campaigning for Cornish independance because on the face of it he is once again fanning the flames of yet another civil war and CIA inspired insurgency.

I really am disappointed that people seem to swallow every nasty piece of propaganda that this man spews out without question.

In case anyone has not read David Icke's website. Iran has had all it's internet access cut because unsea cables have been cut and there is a very grave danger that Iran might be attacked very soon. People like Tatchell and his supporters provide false excuses to justify wars. Baluch independence, Ahwaz independance, etc. People must not get distracted away from what this character is all about which is why his views are only repeated in zionist and neo-con circles.

Please have it in your mind that Baluchistan contains huge gas reserves and appears in that famous Project for the New AMerican Century map.



Tatchell. Bush, Cheney, Perle, Wolfowitch etc are the only advocates for this map and the massacre that preceds it.

We know that Tatchell reads this site so let me ask him a question.
Does he support the Republic of Lakotah and if he does please issue a press releace to that effect. I suspect his paymasters will not sanction such a view but let's give him the oportunity.

[Busker]

Personally I think the guy was lucky not to get shot! Jumping out on a convoy of a head of state, very risky.

I thought Tatchell was a gay rights campaigner? When did he suddenly rebrand himself a human rights campaigner? After homophobic legislation was passed by any chance?

I'm always a little uncomfortable with people who appear to be "professional" campaigners bouncing from one issue to the other. The next logical step or just someone desperate for attention? I'm not really sure.

BTW, I don't know the guy and have only seen the media representation of him.

[ian neal]

[B]

Baluchistan is a province of Iran. In January the Iranian government carried out the amputation of 1 foot and 1 arm each of 5 alleged criminals which is the prescribed punishment for morareb = 'enemies of God' = dissidents against the regime.

[karlos]

Ian - your response is once again lacking in looking at the bigger picture.
The CIA are the people who are stirring up insurgencies in South Western Iran and South Western Pakistan - you have conceded this fact.
So why is PT jumping on these particular bandwagons?
Why is he not demanding Lakotah independance?
Or Basque independance or Kasmir or Chechnya or Belgian Flanders?
PT is and has been for a long time a mouthpiece for the Neo-Cons.

As i stated several times, to achieve this map of the middle east will be preceded by MILLLIONS of lives being lost. Already a million Iraqis are dead. How many Iranians, Pakistanis, etc do you people want to see killed in order for the Americans to get control of Iran and Pakistans assets?

Please look at the big picture. Your poster boy PT is totally wrong.
Pakistan has a population of say 120 million. Iran say 70 Million.
Of these totals only 3.5 million are ethnic Baluchis and 100% of those are Muslims. If you look at the history you will find that Mushareff has actually been the most kind towards the Baluchis of all Pakistan's leaders so much so that even armed seperatists have layed down their weapons and made a deal in 2006. So for PT to accuse Mushareff of massacre against his own citizens is very much the same as PT when he said "Arm the Kurds topple Saddam" and also when he started the campaign for Arabistan.
As Webster Tarpley correctly told us these are CIA inspired campaigns.

why didnt PT write on his banner PAKISTAN RESTORE DEMOCRACY?
why didnt PT write on his banner PAKISTAN DISARM THE NUKES?
he chose a very different message about Baluchistan because his CIA and M15 bosses wanted that message to be spread and on this board and others PT's press release has indeed been spammed

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

B has once again diverted the debate from an anti Pakistan to an anti Iran tangent. Even though on this occasion PT's banner had nothing to do with Iran.
B - it looks very much like Iran will be attacked soon. Millions will die, the area will be polluted with Depleted Uranium and Radioactivity.
Anaconda Rice is visiting Britain and Israel is gearing up for airstrikes.

I hope you are happy you are getting what you wished for.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dont you people have any problem with Apartheid?
After all dividing a country up on tribal and ethnic lines is inherently evil.
People of different colours, different religions and different ethnic groups can and should live together. Iraq, Pakistan, Iran ofcourse have many ethnic groups but for literally THOUSANDS of years they have all coexisted. Now because some areas have oil and gas suddenly we in the west are dividing them up.
Have we learnt nothing from Yugoslavia and the bloodshed?
But ofcourse that is what they want, small states ruled by the UN.
The funny thing is, there is basically not even a rizla paper of difference between Baluchis, Pashtuns, etc. They all eat the same food and pray the same way. They look identical. The differences have been created and magnified by the neo cons.
Rwanda - do you see any difference between Hutu or Tootsie? I cant spot any difference. Look there are differences from people oin North Wales to people in South Wales - does that mean they need to have a civil war?
I believe that people should not be divided up according to racial, ethnic, religious, or any other way.

So please be careful of what you wish for. A civil war in Pakistan will not be pleasant many millions will die, a US/Israeli invasion of Iran will be a massacre of Biblical proportions. PT is fanning the flames by spreading his apartheid ideology.
Divide and rule.
Divide and conquer.
Please wake up and see it for what it really is and see him for who he really is too.

[ian neal]

Firstly PT is not my poster boy. I don't have any.

As much as anything it is how you are expressing your ideas which is the problem.

PT is not calling for civil war in Iran or Pakistan. He is certainly not supporting any US intervention or backing independence movements for these regions.

He is opposing human rights abuses.

As with any such reports of abuses, it is possible that all is not what it appears. But if you reckon this is CIA inspired propaganda along the lines of 'Kuwaiti babies being thrown from their incubators' lies the onus is on you to show that these reports are false and Peter has been duped or worse.

You might ask the question why Peter focuses on the human rights abuses that he does. How does he select which causes? That would be perfectly reasonable.

You would be right to place these issues in the correct context and point out how these independence struggles could be used and manipulated to support the PNAC/neo-con wider game plan as you have done.

But you go a lot further than this. You claim that PT is working as an agent for MI5/CIA, that he is knowingly spreading provably false propaganda and yet you can provide no hard evidence for this other than your general suspicions. You claim that Peter's views on Iranian human rights abuses have been debunked and proven false but don't say where.

Peter obviously vehemently denies your accusations and would consider them libelous, which would then require the moderators to go back and edit the posts and remove the statements. A tedious and time consuming process and one that I had to undertake previously in response to previous accusations you made against Rachel that you were unable to back up.

Basically you have to express yourself more carefully

Suggest the possibility

Ask the question

Place in context

But don't go making definitive statements in public that will undoubtedly be considered libelous by the person you accuse unless you have hard evidence that would stand up in a libel court

Ta

[karlos]

Deep breath.
If Peter considers me to have libeled him i suggest he either puts up or shuts up.
He knows as well as i do that Libel is extremely hard to prove and extremely expensive to proceed with. I am 100% sure that i will not be getting a summons anytime soon.
However, i would welcome the oportunity to expose him to a wider audience so i would love it for him to try and do me for libel.
If he is reading this - BRING IT ON

In the meantime, you know as well as i do that Webster Griffin Tarpley who was in London spoke extensively about Arabistan and the ahwaz liberation movement. He has researched this and found that all the Ahwaz websites had been set up very recently and that the ahwaz liberation ovement was a CIA created phantom. He also pointed out that Winston Churchill had tried to capture Arabistan in the past and the only reason why the West wants it is because it contains all of Iran's oil reserves. Other than people like Richard Perle and Peter Tatchell how many others are campaigning for Ahwaz liberation?
The reason i give Tarpley as a source is because alot of people who read this board were at the Tarpley lecture and may have recorded it. So you decide who is right Tarpley or Tatchell.

Now we move on to the subject of Baluchistan. I suggest everyone do their own research but being careful to avoid websites that have simply spammed Tatchell's press release.

Then ask yourselves this simple question. Why is he campaigning for insurgency and war in Khuzestan and Baluchistan? Because that is what is coming. And why are the only other people singing from the same hymn sheet as PT people like Richard Perle?

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=9073

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11743.htm

I hope that people in the UK truth community see these issues for what they really are. If PT is really serious about human rights then he must campaign equally for all citizens of Pakistan and Iran not solely for the ethnic minorities who live in the oil and gas producing regions.

Anyway, i thought the whole idea of this board was for people to debate issues freely without censorship. Or are we to simply accept every Tatchell press release without questioning it's contents?
My conscience will not allow me to keep quiet and ignore the lies.
That might make me unpopular but there you go.

[ian neal]

I'm not asking you to be quiet or trying to censor anything.

There is a very simple compromise that will allow you to say all what you are saying without any suggestion of libel and that just involves wording things slightly differently.

Along the lines....

Given that PT is ............... this leads me to SUSPECT that Peter MAY be ..........

Given that the issues and causes that Peter promotes could result in ...... this leads me to ASK ......

Simple: you are then clear that these are your suspicions, that they lead you to ask the following questions, etc.

If and when you have definitive PROOF supported by evidence, then your suspicions can harden to become assertions and statements of fact.

By following this simple guidance we avoid any problems.

[karlos]

Ok message recieved and understood Ian.
I will try not to post when i am angry next time.
Thank you for your patience.

K