Promoting human rights in Salisbury UK
This week, the Playhouse is performing the Beekeeper of Aleppo and members of the Salisbury group will be present before the performance and during the interval. It will be a good opportunity for anyone interested in the group’s activities to make themselves known.
March 2023
The Salisbury Journal is a local paper in the United Kingdom and is fond of publishing self-promoting puff pieces by our local MPs, so a forthright article by Martin Field in the March 16 2023 edition is worth highlighting. It concerned the controversy surrounding the suspension, and subsequent reinstatement, of Gary Lineker who presents the Saturday night BBC programme on football called Match of the Day. It arose following the publication of Illegal Immigration Bill the previous week and Gary’s tweet comparing aspects of the bill to the actions of the National Socialists in ’30s Germany. The tweet caused a huge outrage against both Lineker and the BBC by a number of Conservative politicians together with sections of the right wing media.
Several commentators have wondered, like Field, whether the intensity of the furore was intended to be a distraction from the underlying issue. Field reminds us that the bill proposes that people who are fleeing persecution, who may have a legitimate claim for asylum and have family and relatives here, will never be able to have their claim heard and will be deported.
He says that they [refugees] are not being treated as individuals, as fellow human beings but classified generically, as members of a group, defined not by human characteristics, but by their manner of arrival in the UK.
“Make no mistake. This is a slippery slope. Removing people’s humanity through language is the first step; through law which criminalises them and takes away their rights the second; extremists emboldened the third; [then] inhumane and degrading treatment will follow. The lesson from history is unequivocal”.
In the same paper was a piece by Tom Bromley also referring to the Lineker affair and wider issues around allegations of impartiality by the BBC.
Refugees, and the boat people in particular, have raised great passions in the UK so it is interesting – and encouraging – to read of two commentators in the Journal expressing doubts about the bill and the subsequent events at the BBC.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, declared the bill ‘[it] amounts to cruelty without purpose’ and to be ‘immoral and inept’.
To note that Salisbury MP John Glen and Devizes MP Danny Kruger both voted for the second reading of the bill on 13 March.
March 2023
These are the minutes of the group’s meeting in March thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. There are a number of forthcoming events at which anyone thinking of joining us could make themselves known. Of special note is the annual market stall so if you have items which you can donate that will be appreciated.
NOTE: there is an error under ‘matters arising’ – 15th May should read 15th March that is this Wednesday.
We are pleased to attach a copy of the group’s January 2023 meeting minutes, with thanks to group member Lesley for producing them.
December 2022
The latest death penalty report for November/December is now available thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. At 8pp it shows there is a lot going on in the world and actions by Saudi authorities with their barbaric executions are particularly noteworthy. The distraction of the World Cup next door in Qatar no doubt helped to act as a shield. Note as ever that China remains the world’s worst executioner with numbers in the thousands but details are a state secret.
We are pleased to attach the minutes of the group’s November meeting with thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling them. They contain a lot of interesting material including information about future events, planned or actual, as well as reports on refugees and the death penalty.
Note that the next meeting is December 8th at 2pm. We welcome new members and we hope to see returning ones now that we have shifted to an afternoon slot. We remain concerned about the range of bills and laws the government is planning to pass which will limit our rights to protest and its increasingly authoritarian tone. Refugees remain a live issue receiving much coverage in the media particularly about the boat crossings but who fail to mention the full facts.
October 2022
We are pleased to attach the minutes of the group’s October meeting thanks to group member Andrew for preparing them. The next meeting will be on 10 November at the new time of 2pm (14:00) in Victoria Road.
Since the Salisbury group was formed, it has met in the evenings but at our last meeting (October 2022) it was decided to change it to 2pm from now on. There was a mixture of reasons, some don’t like coming out in the evenings, others have commitments in the evening which made attendance difficult. We have heard that several supporters are more likely to come at that time – we shall see.
If you are interested, let us know via a message on this website, via the Facebook site or by direct contact of course. Venue will be made clear on the agenda, but it is likely to be in Victoria Road for the foreseeable.
We look forward to welcoming anyone new or returning supporters.
We are pleased to attach the minutes for the group’s meeting on 8 September 2022 thanks to group member Andrew for preparing them.
July 2022
The group minutes for July 2022 are attached and thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. They are longer than you would expect from ordinary meeting minutes and serve more of a newsletter with reports on the death penalty, current UK government bills which are causing the human rights community some alarm, and a report on refugees.
Amnesty in Salisbury 