Stray Bullets - Anti-Cut UK Protest, Anti-Gay Serbian Riot, And A Dissident Nobel Peace Winner

Anti-Cut Protest in UK:
Over 7,000 protesters have staged a ‘Right To Work’ march [1] through Birmingham, as the Conservative conference was underway at the nearby ICC venue. The march (October 3) was made up from a diverse range of groups [2]: the Disable Activists Network, the postal workers union, staff from the local council, students from Manchester University and youth advice service Connexions. The march ended with speeches from Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell and Birmingham Respect Councillor Salma Yaqoob, as well as speeches from Greek and Portuguese activists. Charlotte Wiltshire, from the Public and Commercial Services Union, told the Socialist Worker, “We need to fight. There’s around £123 billion of tax evaded and avoided by the rich every year. But instead of recruiting more workers to collect it, the government is cutting these workers.”
 

Chinese Dissident Wins Nobel Prize:
Liu Xiaobo [3], a prominent Chinese dissident serving an 11 year prison sentence [4], has been awarded the Nobel peace prize. The Norwegian prize committee praised (October 8) Liu for his “long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China [5]. The.. committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace.” Liu was arrested in December 2008 for co-authoring Charter 08, a manifesto calling for freedom of expression and other human rights in China [6]. Liu has served as President of the Independent Chinese Pen Centre since 2003, and was one of four prominent Chinese activists who went on hunger strike in support of the student uprising in Tiananmen square.

Anti-Gay Riot In Serbia:
A gay pride march has been disrupted by anti-gay rioters in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade [7]. Thousands of police officers sealed off streets (October 10) to separate the march and the rioters, whilst the rioters chanted “Death To Homosexuals” [8], set fire to cars and fired shots and hurled petrol bombs at the headquarters of the ruling Democratic party. Over people 150 were hurt and over 250 were arrested [9]. Vincent Degert, the head of the EU mission in Serbia, addressed over 1,000 people gathered for the gay pride march, saying they were “to celebrate the values of freedom, the freedom of expression and assembly.”

UK Banks Complicit In Nigerian Corruption:
Global Witness, the anti-corruption NGO, has published a report that accuses four UK banks of accepting millions of pounds from Nigerian politicians accused of corruption [10]. The 40 page report (October 10) claims that Barclays, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC accepted millions of pounds in deposits from Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Joshua Dariye [11], two Nigerian state governors. Alamieyesigha was jailed in Nigeria in 2007 after pleading guilty to embezzlement and money laundering, and Dariye was jailed in London in 2004 on suspicion of corruption. Robert Palmer [12], a campaigner at Global Witness said, “Banks are quick to penalise ordinary customers for minor infractions but seems to be less concerned about dirty money passing through their accounts. Large scale corruption is simply not possible without a bank willing to process payments from dodgy sources, or hold accounts for corrupt politicians.” Note: Global Witness are not accusing the banks of anything illegal – as Aljazeera puts it: “Global Witness acknowledged that in accepting the money, Barclays, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HSBC, as well as Switzerland's UBS, might not have broken the law, but noted that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) must do more to prevent money laundering through British banks.”

Words: Richard Lemmer

Photo: Flickr user CDboy Yeung [13], of a march in support of Nobel Peace Prize 2010 winner, Liu Xiaobo.