Respect Watch

Tracey Emin snubs Respect

2005-05-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Pop on to the official site of Respect and you'll find a link to an article by artist Tracey Emin talking about how much she likes living in the East End of London and mentioning that she is "disappointed with Oona King".

The obvious inference is that Emin is backing Respect. We have also heard that some SWP activists have been putting the word around that Emin is indeed supporting George Galloway.

That came as a surprise to us given that Emin has made no secret of how she was sickened by the bully-boy tactics of Galloway campaigners in the past. (See our story here)

Now Emin has been so annoyed by these claims that she has spoken out in a column in the Independent (subscription only):

For the record, for anybody who lives in Bow or Bethnal Green, in fact for anyone in the world, I do not support George Galloway or the Respect Party. And for that matter, at this moment, no particular party.

Respect have been trawling the East End in search of a celebrity endorsement and all they have managed to come up with is a retired Scottish Stalinist.

Hopefully there will be another retired Scottish Stalinist by around 2am on Friday.

No respect for Galloway

2005-05-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of posts in recent days. I am sure as many of you are political activists yourself you understand that it is certainly a busy time for us all.

So, lets catch up with the events of the past few days as Respect flood the East End of London with their activists from across the UK. It is increasingly clear that the entire party strategy is (as we predicted) to abandon efforts in other seats and focus on winning Bethnal Green for George Galloway. If the media are to be believed the SWP have a real chance of getting their new friend into parliament.

In the face of intimidation, threats and harassment it is a tough task for democrats in Bethnal Green and Bow. Respect Watch has made clear that our position is not to support any particular party but to urge a vote for a democratic party.

But in Bethnal Green and Bow it is clear that Labour's Oona King is the only candidate who can beat the nationwide campaign to keep Galloway in parliament. We have even recieved encouraging emails from people who normally vote Tory who have decided to back Labour to keep out Respect.

Its going to take a brave and determined effort from King's team to defeat Galloway but lets just recap on the events of the last few days.

The East London Advertiser reported:

1. THREATS of violence have allegedly been made against a veteran Bangladeshi Labour Party supporter by an Asian gang.

Labour Party insiders now fear that gangs around Brick Lane have become politicised by events surrounding the General Election.

Mohammed Abdus Salique claimed that a 10-strong gang, aged between 16 and 25, tried to remove "Vote for Oona King" stickers from inside his shop on Brick Lane.

He also said that the gang told him to support George Galloway or he and his family would be punished.

"They said that they knew where I lived. They said they would attack me and teach me a proper lesson.

2. Galloway makes u-turn on attempt to calm down the campaign as Respect pull out of election 'peace plan'.

Last week Ms King and Mr Galloway both said they were concerned by escalating levels of intimidation and violence in the campaign.

The two candidates sat down with the police and the constituency returning officer to hammer out an agreement which barred inflammatory language and personal attacks.

The meeting went ahead and Oona King believed, until yesterday, that the agreement was still on track.

But the Respect spokesman said Ms King's additional proposal to keep party supporters up to 500 metres from polling stations was "ludicrous".

He said: "The whole thing was a non-starter. The document she has composed has gone into the dustbin of history".

The rejection means that no limits will be set on inflamatory language or the behaviour of supporters.

3. The Times reports:

AN ELDERLY man claims that he suffered a broken nose and wrist and a cut face when he was attacked after refusing to accept an election leaflet from supporters of George Galloway’s Respect party.

Police said last night that they were investigating the reported attack on Les Dobrovolski, 70, in Spitalfields, East London, a week ago.

Mr Dobrovolski said that he refused to accept a leaflet from two young men campaigning for Mr Galloway, who is challenging Labour’s Oona King in Bethnal Green & Bow in a contest dominated by the Iraq war. After saying that he would never vote for Mr Galloway, Mr Dobrovolski said he was followed and pushed to the ground by a man who then stamped on his hand.

4. The Sunday Times reports comments from Galloway's estranged wife:

Speaking from their home in Streatham, south London, Galloway’s wife, a Muslim, said: “I should tell you that when he told me his new party was going to be called Respect, I went upstairs and cried. How can he call it this when he doesn’t even treat his own wife with respect?”

He hasn't treated the democratic process or the people of Bethnal Green and Bow with any respect either. He has failed to condemn the violence and threats in the constituency. He has failed to show even a minimum amount of responsibility and decency and stick to the agreement for a peaceful election campaign.

Galloway should have no place in Parliament. British democracy has a long tradition of rejecting bully-boy politics and we are confident that the people of Bethnal Green and Bow will reject the Socialist Workers Party and their front man.

Playboy

2005-04-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

Galloway's appalling record in parliament comes under scrutiny again:

Hain described the Commons attendance of Mr Galloway, who was Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin until he was expelled from the party over Iraq, as “appalling”.

He said that in his last year as an MP, Mr Galloway missed more than 97% of Commons votes, never spoke in Parliament and did not ask any questions.

Votes he did not take part in included making incitement to religious hatred a crime on February 7, another for the new legislation to control dangerous drugs on February 22 and one to condemn the treatment of Iraqi prisoners on May 17 last year, Mr Hain said.

“He took part in less than three per cent of votes and was often on foreign jaunts,” he added.

“This is the record of a playboy politician.

“It’s the equivalent of working one day a month and then collecting a full pay packet.”

"Ultra-conservative"

2005-04-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

Also in the Independent Johann Hari has a long article about Galloway:

This week, Galloway had the look of a man who has been romancing a beast, only to find the beast has raced beyond his control. For several years now, he has been performing political cunnilingus on the most hardline Muslim groups in Britain. Look at the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), whose chief spokesman, Dr Azam Tamimi, says that Arab women "ask for" wife-beating, and believes thieves should be punished by cutting off their hands.

After years of wooing them and adopting their ultra-conservative position on abortion, euthanasia and more, Galloway has coaxed the MAB to urge its supporters to give him "maximum support." He has even adopted the mullahs' line on drugs, attacking King for her "soft" views on cannabis and calling for a "much tougher" war, no matter how many Muslim lives it takes.

Galloway clearly believed this ideology could be used for his political ends. Perhaps now he will see it for what it is: an authentically totalitarian movement capable of extreme violence against democratic politicians.

But would even this realisation stop Galloway stoking and supporting it? The other extraordinary aspect to the fight in Bethnal Green and Bow is that Galloway seems to have given up pretending he was sincerely opposed to Saddam. After describing Saddam's programmes of genocide as "a civil war with massive violence on both sides", Galloway has now called for Saddam's foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, to be released without charge. Not to an international court; just released. "An eminent diplomatic and intellectual person" held "without any justification," was how Galloway described the man he spent a very merry Christmas with in 1999.

Aziz could have defected at any time. Instead, he stayed as one of the leaders of a fascist state. The vast majority of people who opposed the war had no sympathy with Baathism, and I have never met a pro-Saddam Muslim; but for anybody with eyes to see, Galloway's beliefs are now plain. I can understand why many decent people cannot vote for King because she supported the war, even though I don't agree -indeed I am campaigning for her. But why vote for an alternative who seems to be an apologist for even more Iraqis deaths?

I asked Galloway how many Muslims had been murdered by his friend Aziz. The correct answer: even more than have been slaughtered by Ariel Sharon, or by Israel in 38 years of occupying Gaza and the West Bank. Galloway said, "Why don't you go and take some more drugs, you druggie?"

The Bully

2005-04-22T02:23:00.000-07:00

Artist Tracey Emin writes in the Independent today and shows that Galloway has a history of bully boy tactics:

I can tell you a little story about George. I have always been hesitant about telling it. But what the hell, here goes. Back in the late Nineties, when Iraq was under sanctions, I quite happily donated a good few bob to George's relief campaign. I'm not sure how they got hold of me, how they found me, but they did.

One day I got a phone call asking if I would give a work of art to be auctioned and all the funds that were raised would go to a little girl named Mariam, who needed urgent medical treatment. I hastily made a drawing titled "Mariam" and stuck it in the post. I tried to follow up and ask if they had received the drawing, but I never heard a word. Until they rang me asking if I would go to Iraq. I told them I couldn't. It was at this point that campaign workers started to bombard me and harrass me, using all sorts of guilt tactics, saying that if I couldn't go, I should pay for someone else to go. In the end I was in tears and told them never to call me again. I wonder what happened to Mariam - and I wonder what happened to my drawing.

Livingstone backs King

2005-04-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, a prominent opponent of the war in Iraq, has shown that Galloway's claim to have the backing of the anti-war movement is untrue.

Livingstone gave his backing to Labour candidate Oona King and criticised Galloway's egoistic approach to politics:

Mr Livingstone, who accompanied Ms King on a visit to the East London mosque in Whitechapel before they had lunch, also criticised Mr Galloway. He said: “I’ve been fighting elections in London for 35 years and this is the first time I’ve had to have a team of police with me.”

He said that although he and Ms King were on opposite sides during the Iraq war debate he was supporting her because she worked “damn hard” for the people of East London.

He said: “You feel that behind all the rhetoric, it’s all about George, it’s always about George.” Mr Livingstone said that if Mr Galloway had wanted to make a stand over the war he should have stood against Tony Blair or Geoff Hoon instead of trying to oust one of Parliament’s few black women.

Video footage

2005-04-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

The BBC London website has video footage of the Galloway meeting that he walked out of after facing heckling from extremists who later, are alleged to have threatened him.

The tv news report also shows Respect supporters harassing Labour's Oona King.

More violence in Galloway campaign

2005-04-20T02:49:00.000-07:00

The Evening Standard reports today on the continuing ugliness that surrounds George Galloway's campaign in Bethnal Green and Bow.

A group of Islamic fundamentalists attacked Galloway and fought with Respect supporters while the Standard reports that Oona King and Labour Party members were attacked with eggs again with her car also getting attention from the yobs.

One Labour activist, Mohamed Chowdhury, said: "We left the area to chants of "Oona get out' and 'get out of our estate' and were attacked with eggs again. However, when we returned to the car in Toynbee Street we found it covered in eggs. As we got in the car, more eggs were thrown".

Police are investigating. Witnesses claim the youths wore Respect badges...

Galloway's campaign in Bethnal Green and Bow has brought nothing but ugliness, division, racism and violence out on to the streets.

More then ever it is clear that if the people of the area want a decent and responsible MP they should vote for a candidate of a democratic party and reject the intimidation of all extremists - including Respect.

You read it here first

2005-04-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

No wonder RESPECT supporters hate this site.

Last week we exclusively brought you the news that George Galloway has been sucking up to Saddam's henchman Tariq Aziz.

Today the London newspaper the Evening Standard, read across Bethnal Green and Bow carries our story - click here to read it.

Recently we highlighted George Galloway's appalling attendance and voting record in parliament and today The Times raises that issue in a fine editorial.

The seat of Bethnal Green and Bow is the sixth poorest in the country and is now home to many voters whose origins lie in Bangladesh but who have made Britain their home. It is also the site of an intense political battle between Oona King, the Labour incumbent, and George Galloway, the out-going MP for Glasgow Kelvin, who was expelled from the Labour Party for his remarks during the Iraq war and found his constituency was abolished by the boundary commissioners.

This contest has, therefore, been portrayed as a referendum on “the war” in a place where many were hostile to it. This is obviously how Mr Galloway would like to frame the question. The electors would be wise to view things differently. The issue here is whether they wish to be represented from the mainstream or the far fringe.

Ms King, who has been the MP since 1997, is an unusual individual. She is black and Jewish in a seat that is becoming more Asian and Muslim. Her initial selection was, thus, controversial locally, yet she responded with vigour and zeal, throwing herself into the defence of her constituents and their interests. Few of her colleagues, including opponents as well as fellow partisans, would deny that she has engaged in parliamentary heavylifting.

She is also an independent spirit. Her views on many policy arguments are some distance to the left of this newspaper. But she has also shown an ability to be pragmatic, for example in championing any approach towards public service reform that will improve the quality of life for the people in her area. Ms King has been consistently principled. She was a founder of the All Party Group on Genocide Prevention in 1998 and called on the Government to do “anything and everything in its power ” to be rid of Saddam Hussein a year later. Her backing for the war in Iraq was not “careerist”.

The contrast with Mr Galloway is instructive. He too has been consistent. It cannot be claimed that he has been pragmatic. He has held the same hard-left outlook — on foreign as well as domestic policy — for decades, irrespective of the revitalisation of the British economy since the 1980s, the collapse of communism and the mounting evidence that the citizens of the Middle East do not see democracy as an imperialist imposition.

In the 2003-04 parliamentary session, Mr Galloway took part in 1 per cent of divisions. His stated reason was that most votes were on government motions or Tory amendments and “I seldom wish to vote for either”. One might have thought that he was itching to oppose all these proposals. Bethnal Green and Bow voters should ask themselves whether he would perform any better on their behalf.

No spin zone

2005-04-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

If you want to know the truth about REPSECT and not the spin from George Galloway's friends in the media read Nick Cohen's column in the Observer.

EXCLUSIVE: Galloway backs Saddam's bloody deputy

2005-04-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

George Galloway recently appear on an Arab television station calling for the release of Saddam Hussein's bloodstained deputy Tariq Aziz.

Tariq Aziz will face charges for the crimes against humanity he committed as part of Saddam's regime. In words which will recall his infamous salute to Saddam, Galloway called him a 'political prisoner' and urged his release.

According to a witness statement to the human rights group Indict:

I saw that TARIQ AZIZ used a medium sized revolver. The victims were all shot at close range of no more than one metre."

"The following persons were informed of all major decisions prior to their implementation...they were informed of the intended attack on Halabja...these included...TARIQ AZIZ..."

Halabja was a crime against humanity with thousands of innocent civilians gassed by the regime in which Tariq Aziz was a leading figure.

Iraqis want Tariq Aziz to face justice and pay for his awful crimes against ordinary Iraqi and Kurdish people.

But speaking on Al-Jazeera television on March 18th Galloway said:

The obvious fact is that Mr Tariq Aziz is a more respectful man than the people who are holding him now. He is viewed with high esteem worldwide by figures like the Pope in the Vatican and other international figures who have valued his counsel, met him, discussed and negotiated with him. He is an eminent diplomatic and intellectual person.

Of course - you did know that Galloway was a friend of this killer? He even enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner in Baghdad with his fellow Christian and attended conferences chaired by the leading Ba'athist.

All facts - check the links. Don't believe Galloway's lies that he had no relationship with Saddam's regime. He is still supporting the killers now.

(Full text of Galloway interview below)

Galloway with Tariq Aziz who is now facing charges of crimes against humanity. The Respect leader told Al-Jazeera that Aziz was "an eminent diplomatic and intellectual person"

Full text of Galloway interview:

British MP Galloway urges release of Tariq Aziz, political prisoners in Iraq

BBC Monitoring Newsfile
English

Text of interview via satellite with British Member of Parliament George Galloway in London, by Al-Jazeera presenter Khadijah Bin-Qinnah in the Doha studio, broadcast live by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 18 March

[Galloway speaks in English with superimposed translation into Arabic, translated from the Arabic ]

[Bin-Qinnah] British Member of Parliament George Galloway has submitted a petition signed by more than 180 renowned international figures. The petition calls for the release of Tariq Aziz, former Iraqi deputy prime minister, and all the political prisoners in Iraq. The petition said that there was no ethical or human justification for the US forces' continued detention of Tariq Aziz, and that the war on Iraq is illegal in the first place.

Now we have British Member of Parliament George Galloway with us from London. Mr Galloway, why was this petition submitted at this time in particular?

[Galloway] Well, it is virtually two years since the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Mr Tariq Aziz and thousands of political prisoners are still held illegally as hostages by the occupation authorities at the Baghdad Airport, Abu Ghurayb and other places. We think it is time to raise this issue before the international community and call for their release from this illegal detention. The obvious fact is that Mr Tariq Aziz is a more respectful man than the people who are holding him now. He is viewed with high esteem worldwide by figures like the Pope in the Vatican and other international figures who have valued his counsel, met him, discussed and negotiated with him. He is an eminent diplomatic and intellectual person. It is shameful that he is being held in a very poor health and condition and under detention circumstances in which he is almost in total isolation from his family and his friends. It is time to raise our voice against this situation. We have assembled former presidents, prime ministers and ministers, eminent parliamentarians from the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and other personalities from all walks of life who say it is time to release Mr Tariq Aziz and thousands of political prisoners who are illegally held in Iraq.

[Bin-Qinnah] It is clear, Mr Galloway, that you heavily focus on Mr Tariq Aziz. Why do you focus exclusively on Tariq Aziz among many other political prisoners?

[Galloway] Because we are all people who have attended at one time or another the Baghdad Conference, which was an international conference against the sanctions and the war on Iraq. Besides, Mr Tariq Aziz was the chairman of our conference. It is our duty to help the chairman of our conference. At the same time, it is clear in the title and the words of the petition that we are calling for the release of Mr Tariq Aziz and thousands of people held in the Abu Ghurayb prison, the Baghdad Airport and other places. I think it is time for the Arab public opinion to assert itself on this and employ pressure all over the world. In Guantanamo Bay, the Bagram Base in Afghanistan and Abu Ghurayb, the Americans are torturing prisoners and holding them in very bad circumstances and poor health conditions without any justification. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, this war was illegal. Nothing legal can come from something illegal. Moreover, the puppet government they have installed in Baghdad has no right to try these prisoners. If the international community says that these prisoners have committed offences under the international law, there are many mechanisms, whether the International Court of Justice or other authorities, through which they can be tried. The group of people which absolutely have no right to hold them and try them are the occupation forces and the puppet government in Iraq.

Source: Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic, 18 Mar 05

The Tasks of a Mercedes (Part Two)

2005-04-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

George Galloway may leave his Mercedes well out of view of the residents of Bethnal Green and Bow but as he said on Thursday (see post below) he needs to drive a Merc because it "performs the tasks" other cars can't.

We at Respect Watch have been wondering what 'tasks' Galloway might need this luxury car for?

Perhaps for a quick get away when he is faced with a victim of his pal Saddam Hussein's bloody dictatorship?

This is from a report of an attempt by an Iraqi Kurdish woman tortured by Saddam's secret police murderers to meet Galloway:

For someone who happily consorts with a brutal dictator who has murdered people for just smiling at the wrong time, George Galloway was curiously frightened by a demure Iraqi Kurdish woman last week.

"I am very suspicious of you," George Galloway hissed down the phone to Freshta Raper, a 37-year-old exile and mother of one. "I have a gut feeling about you. What do you want to ask me?"

.....Mr Galloway refused to meet Mrs Raper when she initially asked, through The Telegraph, if he would agree to a formal interview to discuss Saddam's treatment of the Kurds.

So, like all good activists, she went to his Westminster office to question him informally. Mr Galloway ducked down into an underground passage when he saw her waiting and drove off in his Mercedes.

Useful vehicle eh?

By the way, the Kurdish woman finally did get to speak to Galloway on the phone. Here is the conversation:

"I just want to ask you about Saddam Hussein's human rights record," said Mrs Raper. "As a Western politician, have you ever tried to discuss this in Iraq?"

"I don't have to answer that question," said Mr Galloway defiantly, before adding: "Don't you dare contact me again. If you go to my house again I will have you thrown out and call the police."

Would you want a coward like that as your local MP?

Video nasty

2005-04-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

George puts on his black shirt for a Respect video - a kind of low budget, cheap and nasty Party Political Broadcast.

Amidst all the lies we did like the scene with the bin men throwing the rubbish in the back of the van and we look forward to Galloway getting the black bag treatment from the voters of Bethnal Green and Bow.

The tasks of a Mercedes

2005-04-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Asked why he drives a Mercedes if he was so passionate in his support of MG Rover, Mr Galloway replied: “I drive a Mercedes because there is no Rover equivalent for the tasks my Mercedes has to perform. I wish there was.”

Attacking Jews isn't anti-semitic?

2005-04-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

Some Respect supporters have written a letter to the Guardian regarding the anti-semitic attack on Labour MP Oona King and others on Sunday.

They make a general statement against racism but why they believe that throwing stones and eggs at elderly Jews attending a Jewish memorial isn't anti-semitic is not made clear.

Galloway and the race card - again

2005-04-12T01:44:00.000-07:00

The Guardian has a report from Bethnal Green with Labour candidate Oona King accusing Respect of anti-semitism:

"I have been told by several people that members of Respect have told them not to vote for me because I am Jewish."

She was speaking the day after attending a memorial service for Jewish war dead at which eggs and vegetables were thrown at mourners.

Respect said it would consider legal action against Ms King if she repeated such "outrageous rubbish".

I'm afraid for those of us who keep close tabs on Respect it is no surprise to read this allegation and it is no surprise that rather than investigate the claim Respect respond with bluster about legal action.

They have still to condemn the attack on Oona King and the other members of the Jewish community.

Galloway is in the gutter.

Silence

2005-04-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

A full day has passed since the anti-semitic attack on Oona King and still no sign of any condemnation of the attack from Respect or George Galloway.

We will let you know if Galloway has any backbone left at all and is capable of making a straightforward statement of opposition to violent attacks on his opponent.

Speaking for the dead

2005-04-11T04:15:00.000-07:00

Last week was the fifth anniversary of the death of former Labour MP Bernie Grant.

George Galloway marked the occassion with a column in a RESPECT tabloid (pdf) in Tottenham which sought to convince the voters that Bernie Grant, if he were still alive, would be supporting RESPECT and not the Labour Party.

The fact is that Bernie Grant was a Labour Party member until his death and had no record of supporting any political party other than Labour.

What gives Galloway the right, five year's after Grant's tragic death, to give political endorsements on his behalf?

What gives Galloway the right to transfer Bernie Grant's political loyalties from the Labour Party he supported all his life to RESPECT candidates?

How sick can you get, trying to claim the support of a man who died five years ago, for your cause?

Galloway should hang his head in shame.

Galloway plays the race card

2005-04-11T03:23:00.000-07:00

The word 'communalism' has often been used to describe Respect's appeal to Muslims to vote as Muslims but now Galloway has gone way beyond that and played the race card against black MP Oona King:

"Oona King voted to kill a lot of women in the last few years," he replied. "Many of them had much darker skins than her."

Whatever one thinks about the Iraq war this is gutter politics of the most rancid, divisive and dangerous kind.

There are only two parties in this election who seek to divide people along racial lines, who try to win votes on the basis of their ethnic identity - they are the BNP and RESPECT.

They both need to be rejected at the polls - by black and white voters by Jew, Christian and Muslim. We cannot allow this filth to be rewarded in an election.

Vote for democratic parties and parties that support policies of bringing people together. Say no to the politics of racial and religious division.

Kick Galloway out of parliament.

Kick the dictator's friend out

2005-04-11T03:18:00.000-07:00

Grovelling at the feet of dictators.

2005-04-11T02:57:00.000-07:00

Oona King speaking at a BBC debate with George Galloway on Sunday:

"What George Galloway is saying is he only takes account of Iraqi deaths when they happen on TV, when they are on BBC, when they are on CNN, when they are on al-Jazeera. What makes me sick is that when I come across someone who is guilty of genocide I do not get on a plane and go to Baghdad and grovel at his feet. That is the difference," she said.

Audio link to the full debate here.

Are you thinking what we're thinking?

2005-04-11T02:44:00.000-07:00

Oona King, the black Jewish MP who is being challenged by Galloway's gang in Bethnal Green and Bow, was attacked by yobs throwing eggs while she joined mourners to commemorate 60 years since the 134 people, almost all Jewish, were killed by the last V2 missile to land on London.

We will let you know when Galloway or Respect put out a statement condemning this vile attack.

Watch this space.

Fact or Fiction?

2005-04-10T02:06:00.000-07:00

"The gap between rich and poor in Britain today is wider that it was when Charles Dickens was chronicling Victorian England. That's a fact."
George Galloway, Question Time, 31 March 2005

Channel Four's election bullshit detector FactCheck.com finds that Galloway has no evidence to back up this statement.

This is just one example. There are more cases of Galloway being 'economical with the truth' right here on Respect Watch.

Take everything this man says with a big pinch of salt.

Mutton dressed as lamb

2005-04-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a light-hearted but nonetheless revealing look at some of the old faces behind the new front that is Respect.

Another Galloway Gaffe

2005-04-04T06:28:00.000-07:00

Is Galloway doing his homework before he launches into his attacks?

It seems not and his serial bullshitting has caught up with him again.

In this article Galloway accuses Roger Godsiff, Labour MP for Birmingham, Sparkbrook & Small Heath, who is being challenged by Respect's Salma Yaqoob

as having "the worst-ever" record of participating in parliamentary debates over the past century and done nothing to represent the people's interests.

Well it is certainly true that Godsiff doesn't have a particularly good record according to They Vote For You.

But over the past 12 months his attendance record at votes and the number of questions he asked in parliament is actually better than......you've guessed it, George Galloway.

Godsiff spoke in 3 debates in the last year.
Galloway spoke in NONE.

Godsiff asked 25 written questions in the last year.
Galloway asked NONE.

Godsiff has attended 63% of votes in parliament.
Galloway has attended just 3% of votes in parliament.

Please make sure people are aware of this by emailing this article to friends or linking to it on your blog.

"I am Spartacus"

2005-04-04T04:52:00.000-07:00

Listen to George Galloway going completely OTT at a recent rally.

"I am Spartacus, I am Spartacus, I am Spartacus"

He is, he says, also an Iraqi and a Palestinian and an Iranian.

Why not a North Korean George?

Moustachioed demagogue

2005-04-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

The Guardian reports from Bethnal Green and Bow:

Introducing Ms King to a largely New Labour audience, her agent, Graham Taylor, said: "The East End has a strong sense of history and tradition. In the past we have seen off a moustachioed demagogue who formed a party in his own image and around his own ego. We did it in 1936, we will do it in 2005."

His reference to Oswald Moseley and the British Union of Fascists will not be lost on voters in an area, aware of anti-semitism and racism bubbling under the surface.

Would you vote for this man?

2005-03-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

George Galloway claims to represent the anti-war left but in fact many left-wingers who opposed the war want nothing to do with him.

The left-wing anti-war group Alliance for Workers Liberty have published an article on Galloway simply titled: Would you vote for this man?

The Alliance article questions, among other things, Galloway's claim to be a 'rebel' in the Labour Party:

In the 1997–2001 parliament Galloway rebelled against Blair in just five votes out of 665, 0.8%. (For comparison: Jeremy Corbyn rebelled 77 times, and John McDonnell 72.)

Galloway has only attended 19 parliamentary votes since April 2003. Too busy taking time out in his villa in Portugal, writing his autobiography, fixing up his next book (on Fidel Castro), or swanning around the Middle East? Maybe. But why should anyone want to vote for him to be an MP?

Note: Respect Watch depends on our readers to pass on to us articles like this from more obscure sources. Thanks are due to 'Sonic' - a commenter at the Harry's Place blog for his assistance in this case.

Support Respect Watch!

2005-03-30T14:18:00.000-08:00

To be an effective site and to make sure voters find out the truth about Respect Watch we need the help of our friends the bloggers.

Mainly we need to ensure that we are high up in the searches that voters will be carrying out on the web to get information about the election and RESPECT.

There is a way to do that and I am sure bloggers need know explanation but just in case.....

Please link to Respect Watch with a link like this: Respect Coalition.

And please encourage others opposed to Respect to do the same.

Just what has he been doing?

2005-03-30T13:59:00.000-08:00

Galloway wants to represent the people of Bethnal Green and Bow in parliament and is promising to "fight for local people".

Luckily for voters we already know what kind of constituency MP Galloway is and thanks to They Work For You we can compare his record with that of sitting Labour MP Oona King.

So, lets start off with contributions to parliamentry debates.

Oona King spoke in 15 debates in the last year. George Galloway did not speak once.

Oona King asked 90 written questions in the last year. Galloway did not ask a single question in the last year. None.

Oona King has attended 64% of votes in parliament while George Galloway has attended, wait for it, a grand total of three percent.

We wonder if the people of Glasgow Kelvin have any clue why their MP missed 97% of votes in parliament and never managed to ask a question on their behalf?

Respect lies (part one)

2005-03-30T05:18:00.000-08:00

Respect don't want voters to know the truth about their party. Respect also repeat lies and distortions in the hope that people will swallow their spin.

So Respect Watch will be providing a regularly updated guide to some of Respect's lies.

Today we start with the widely-repeated myth, repeated sadly in the press, that George Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party because of his "opposition to the war in Iraq".

It is simply not true.

Remember:

Around 140 Labour MP's voted against the war. Only Galloway was expelled.

Thousands of Labour Party activists opposed the war in Iraq - only Galloway was expelled.

So Galloway was not expelled because he opposed the war.

The weblog Eric Unread provides a timely reminder of exactly why Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party:

Inciting Arabs to fight British troops.
Inciting British troops to defy orders.
Threatening to stand against Labour.
Backing an anti-war candidate (against his own party) in Preston.

It is also worth noting that there has been no campaign from all the other anti-war Labour MP's to have Galloway brought back into the party. They do not treat him as one of their own.

The truth is Galloway's rampant ego and his close links with Saddam's regime in Baghdad were an embarassment to most anti-war MP's and there were no tears when he was booted out of the Labour Party.

Nor did any of the other anti-war parties - the Green Party or the Liberal Democrats want anything to do with Galloway.

So why didn't Galloway do what many isolated MP's do and stand as an independent?

Quite simply he hadn't enough support in his own constituency in Glasgow to mount a credible campaign.

An independent, like Martin Bell, needs to have a circle of friends and supporters willing to help him out. Galloway didn't have that support.

So he attached himself to the Socialist Workers Party, who have plenty of activists but no well-known political figure to lead them.

It was a marriage of convenience. The SWP got the chance to have their first ever representative in parliament (even though they reject parliamentry democracy) while Galloway got the foot-soilders he needed to ensure he kept his tidy salary in Westminister.

Of course those naive SWP activists might wake up one day and realise they have been taken for a ride and that in fact, as always, Galloway's priority was nothing but himself.

SWP members are always being kidded by their leaders and led up the garden path.

But no-one else need be so gullible.

First result

2005-03-30T05:13:00.000-08:00

The main aim of Respect Watch is to provide ordinary voters and campaigners against RESPECT with real information about the organisation but of course we are always pleased if newspapers and other media take our information and give it a wider audience.

The Scotsman appears to have done just today as they contacted Craig Murray to ask him whether he was now backed by RESPECT.

Respect woos whistleblower standing against Jack Straw

GERRI PEEV

THE anti-war party Respect is hoping to woo a former ambassador-turned-whistleblower to stand as its candidate against Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary.

Edinburgh-born Craig Murray was recalled as ambassador to Uzbekistan after he highlighted concerns about human rights abuses under the regime.

He has now vowed to try to oust Mr Straw as an anti-war candidate in his Blackburn constituency, which has one of the largest Muslim populations in the country.

Last night, he said he was still standing as an independent candidate, but was "grateful" for the "support" of Respect, the party of rebel MP George Galloway.

Mr Murray told The Scotsman: "Respect have said they will back me because they support my stance on the war and my human rights work."

Given this development, we will now be including coverage of Craig Murray's activities in Blackburn as part of our monitoring work.

The strange case of the Sedgefield Stripper

2005-03-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

WEB EXCLUSIVE

GEORGE GALLOWAY has lent his support to a 60-year-old former Benny Hill girl who is standing against Prime Minister Tony Blair in his Sedgefield constituency.

Galloway's RESPECT party are not planning to stand a candidate in Sedgefield but were expected to back Reg Keys, the father of a soilder killed in Iraq, who appeared on a recent Stop the War platform.

But according to a report in the Express, Galloway has instead been advising seventies pin-up girl Cherri Gilham on how to run a campaign.

The Express reported:

Miss Gilham, 60, who is the only candidate being fielded by the Pensioners Party, has a spring in her step after being fully briefed by "Gorgeous" George Galloway - the energetic Glasgow Kelvin MP who was expelled from the Labour Party.

"I said to George, 'Teach me all you know about politics'. And he did!" twinkles Cherri, whose charms have previously excited the Marquess of Bath, Omar Sharif and - for one night only - Sylvester Stallone.

Cherri has even legally changed her surname to Blairout-Gilham.

Respect Watch suggests Galloway's allies in the Socialist Worker Party and the Muslim Association of Britain could hold a fundraising night by gathering round to watch her 1974 'classic' Confessions of a Sex Maniac.

She likes a man with a tan. Galloway's new ally Cherri Gilham pictured with LA crooner Buddy Greco.

Galloway Gaffe over 'Syrian' lunch

2005-03-29T07:47:00.000-08:00

George Galloway is to hold a Respect fundraising dinner at a Lebanese restaurant in London but we have to wonder what kind of reception he will get from the Lebanese community after an embarassing and revealing gaffe.

The Al Waha restaurant in Notting Hill is rated as one of the top Lebanese restaurants in London and prides itself on serving traditional Lebanese dishes.

But the invite to Galloway's bash states: Enjoy a Syrian Sunday lunch.

Coming at a time when millions of Lebanese have been on the streets demanding Syria's occupying arming finally leave Lebanon, Galloway's gaffe is likely to infuriate voters of Lebanese origin in London.

Even those Lebanese who still support Syria's collapsing occupation of their country are unlikely to take kindly to having Lebanese culture simply described as 'Syrian'.

But such a gaffe is no surprise given that Galloway is a supporter of Syria's illegal occupation of Lebanon which flies in the face of UN resolutions.

Galloway recently said that he "cheered" a pro-Syrian demonstration in Beirut.

He said:

"I'm no friend of the Syrian regime, but Syrian troops in Lebanon maintain stability...."

We wonder how many of London's Lebanese community agree?

Welcome back!

2005-03-29T04:06:00.000-08:00

After our successful campaigning during the European elections last year, when we helped to alert the public to the true nature of George Galloway's Coalition, we have decided to relaunch the site for the upcoming election.

As before we will focus on news and analysis bringing together reports on Respect activities from around the country.

To do that effectively we need your help.

If Respect are standing a candidate in your area, keep an eye on their publicity and the local press statements of their candidates and send them into us at our email. Also recommend this site to any family or friends who might be toying with the idea of voting for Respect. They can get the truth about Respect here without Galloway's spin.

We are an independent site with our only advice to voters being to DON'T VOTE RESPECT, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE. So whatever your party affiliations, or even if you don't have any, feel free to help us campaign against Respect.

By the way George Galloway is appearing on BBC's Question Time on Thursday and Respect Watch plans to have supporters in the studio audience. Watch out for our questions!

Is Craig Murray following Straw?

2005-03-29T02:13:00.000-08:00

Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan who was removed after taking a stand against the human rights abuses in that country, is to stand against Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in Blackburn.

Murray's principled stand against torture and human rights abuses has made him a popular figure and there have been some who have compared his campaign in Blackburn to Martin Bell's famous and successful white-suited challenge to Tory Neil Hamilton.

But is Murray about to make the same kind of shameful compromise he rightly criticises Jack Straw for?

Straw and the British government turned a blind eye to human rights abuses in Uzbekistan because the country was an ally in the Afghan war. But is Murray about to turn a blind eye himself to supporters of terrorists and human rights abuses?

Leading RESPECT figures such as the pro-Saddam George Galloway, Lindsey German and John Rees are open in their support for armed Iraqi groups which they call a 'resistance'. These groups have been involved in a series of terrorist outrages in Iraq, beheadings, murders and suicide bombings against civilian targets. Their crimes against humanity dwarf even those of the Karimov regime in Uzbekistan.

“I don’t propose to lecture the Iraqi people on the methods they use, and neither should we," said RESPECT's John Rees when asked about a meeting he held last year in Beirut with leaders of the al-Sadr movement - accused of serious abuses of human rights, including murder and executions while they held control of the Iraqi city of Najaf.

According to RESPECT's website Murray, is now to appear with Rees and co at RESPECT's campaign launch on April 6 in London.

Is he about to become an official or de facto Respect candidate?

There is still time for Craig Murray to think again.

Does he really want his reputation as a honest opponent of human rights abuses to be tarnished by association with the apologists for horrendous crimes in Iraq?

Tariq Ali gives the game away

2005-03-29T01:43:00.000-08:00

RESPECT were furious at a recent article written by leading anti-war activist Tariq Ali which said that a vote for their party was a wasted vote. The veteran radical suggested voting instead for the Liberal Democrats in most places.

Although Tariq Ali is still backing his pal George Galloway in Bethnal Green and Bow his call for a Lib Dem vote everywhere else has left Galloway in a tricky position. Everyone knows that of all the RESPECT candidates only George has a chance of actually winning a seat but it is not done to admit that in public.

So an embarassed Galloway rushed off a letter to the Guardian trying to put Tariq Ali right.

In fact Ali had given the game away. RESPECT will put all their energies into Galloway's campaign at the expense of almost all their other candidates.

It remains to be seen how other RESPECT candidates react to this development which adds to suspicions that they are being taken for a ride and that the election campaign is about little more than allowing Galloway to hang on to a seat in parliament.

After all, the great leader, says he can't operate on less than £150,000. What would happen to that holiday home in Portugal without his salary as an MP?

Who are RESPECT?

2005-03-29T01:01:00.000-08:00

So you have had a leaflet from RESPECT The Unity Coalition put through your door and you've come on the internet to find out more about this group. Thankfully you have found our website where we tell you the truth, with no George Galloway spin.

So, just who are RESPECT?

You may have noticed RESPECT leafleting your area or campaigning in your town centre. If you ask them who they are they will always tell you that they are a 'new organisation' born from the 'anti-war movement' and that they represent a 'new left-wing alternative'.

In fact there is nothing new about RESPECT at all.

The organisation is controlled by the far-left Socialist Workers Party along with former Labour MP George Galloway and some Muslim supporters.

The Socialist Workers Party were not 'anti-war' or peace campaigners at all. Instead they supported Saddam and his secret police cronies in the war and they now support the anti-Shia Muslim terrorist groups who have been murdering Iraqi civilians and blowing up Mosques.

Here in Britain, the SWP are opposed to parliamentry democracy and in their party documents talk of replacing our democratic structures with a dictatorship - they would be the dictators of course.

George Galloway's admiration for Saddam is well-known and he has close links to other dictatorships and conservative regimes in the Middle East. He admits his political campaigns have been funded by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Although he might leave the impression that he has converted to Islam, Galloway is in fact a Roman Catholic. He also revels in a playboy reputation with his cigars, flash suits and holiday home in Portugal. He says he can't operate on less than £150,000 a year although plenty of people in Bethnal Green and Bow, who he wants to kid into voting for him, have to make do with a fraction of that.

He has been kicked out of the Labour Party and RESPECT was the way for him to try and keep his parliamentry income flowing.

Many of the Muslim supporters of RESPECT have come from the ranks of the Arab dominated Muslim Association of Britain. MAB is not a mainstream British Muslim group and is not to be confused with the Muslim Council of Great Britain. It is, in fact, the British wing of the fundamentalist Arab-based Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in a number of Muslim countries.

So RESPECT is nothing new.

All that unites them is opposition to democratic rights and freedoms.

That is why we say - don't vote for friends of dictators.

Candidate list

2005-03-29T00:57:00.000-08:00

This is a list of RESPECT candidates as of March 29:

Plymouth Devonport Tony Staunton
Bristol East Paulette North
Dorset South Berny Parkes
Hove Paddy O'Keeffe
Slough Jazz Khan
Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath Salma Yaqoob
Birmingham Perry Barr Dr Naseem
Walsall South Nadia Fazal
Cardiff Central Raja Gul Raiz
Neath Heather Falconer
Manchester Stretford and Urmston Mark Krantz
Preston Michael Lavalette
Tyne Bridge Jill Russell
Bradford North to select
Sheffield Central Maxine Bowler
Leicester South Yvonne Ridley
Luton South Mohammed Ilyas
Harwich John Tipple
Cambridge Tom Woodcock
Tottenham Janet Alder
Hackney South Dean Ryan
Bethnal Green and Bow George Galloway MP
Poplar and Canning Town Oliur Rahman
East Ham Abdul Khaliq Mian
West Ham Lindsey German
Tooting Ali Zaidi

Oh really George?

2004-06-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

"I never have had any kinds of links with the Ba'athist regime." George Galloway, letter to the Guardian, June 7, 2004.

Galloway denies he was close to Saddam's regime. But he met Saddam at least twice and he also admits he had a cosy Christmas lunch with Saddam's sidekick Tariq Aziz (pictured above).

"I'm prepared for arguments sake to concede I was in Baghdad. I spent a Christmas day either in 99 or 2000 with Tariq Aziz....

"If I were in a frame of mind to discuss business with the regime in Iraq I would have done it on Christmas Day with Tariq Aziz rather than with a junior intelligence officer on Boxing Day. "

Never trust an ex-Labour MP with a dodgy moustache

2004-06-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to enlarge. Save it, mail it to friends or print it out and use it as a leaflet.

Making it up

2004-06-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

Respect send out a press release describing George Galloway's visit to Haringey:

It was an amazing day," confirms Respect candidate Sait Akgul. "Everywhere we went people recognised that George Galloway had put himself on the line over the illegal war in Iraq and pledged their vote."

Sounds great. Except the press release was sent out two days BEFORE Galloway made his visit.

Unconfirmed reports say the people of Haringey are consulting their lawyers.

Anti-war Greens say Respect "Disgraceful, callous"

2004-06-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Green Party, who were part of the anti-war movement and involved in the big protests against the Iraq war, have slammed Respect's position on Iraq.

Spencer Fitz-Gibbon, the party's head of media, commented this morning:

"Respect's position is that troops should immediately be withdrawn and Iraq left to its fate. This is a disgraceful, callous attitude because we know Iraq would dissolve into civil war."

Respect yobs annoy Cardiff Muslims

2004-06-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

News reaches us from Cardiff that Respect's decision to picket Charles Kennedy's meeting at the Madina Mosque backfired spectacularly.

Respect are trying to con Muslims into believing that George Galloway and the SWP best represent their interests.

Although Kennedy and the Lib Dems voted against the war with Iraq, Respect in Cardiff turned out to screech abuse at him as he arrived at the mosque.

The hysterical protest did not impress local Muslims. We are told that a mosque official told the Respect supporters to sling their hook and the 20 or so protestors were forced to skulk away.

Another Galloway promise broken

2004-06-01T05:32:00.000-07:00

When George Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party he promised his constituents in Glasgow that he would prove his claimed popularity by standing in the city against Labour in the next general election.

He made a series of platitudes about his desire to continue serving the people in Glasgow saying he "unequivocally, definately" would be an independent candidate.

But now Galloway has bottled it and announced he daren't stand at the next election.

More campaign resources

2004-05-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to enlarge. Save it, mail it to friends or print it out and use it as a leaflet.

"Hollow phrases and empty pledges"

2004-05-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

A combination of hollow phrases and empty pledges. Well-meaning platitudes cannot substitute for hard policies - and Londoners know it.

That is the verdict on RESPECT's election programme not from an opponent but from one of their own members.

News: Party founder turns against Galloway

2004-05-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

Guardian columnist and political activist George Monbiot, who helped in the creation of the RESPECT Unity Coalition, has turned against the party and is now backing the Greens.

RESPECT's decision to stand against Green Party candidates angered many environmentalists and peace activists and led Monbiot to quit Galloway's party earlier in the year.

Monbiot said:

"I cannot continue to belong to a party which stands against the Greens in the European elections, particularly as this might endanger the seats of two of the best elected representatives in Britain: Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert."

RESPECT likes to pretend that they have the backing of enviromentalists and peace activists but read what the Green Party has to say about that:

(It is not) strictly true to say the new party "grew out of the anti-war coalition."

The Stop the War Coalition is much broader than Respect, and includes the Green Party and many non-party political groups and individuals in its membership.

Respect, on the other hand, was effectively set up by the hard-left revolutionary Socialist Workers Party and George Galloway MP. The meetings that launched it were organised and largely dominated by SWP leaders and supporters. The SWP has described itself as the "organisational backbone" of Galloway's party. And one of the SWP's leaders - now a Euro-candidate for Respect - has located what Respect is trying to achieve within the "broad front" theory of the Trotskyist tradition.

So let's not give undue credit to George Galloway's claim that he represents the anti-war choice or the social justice vote. He represents a party founded on Trotskyism.

The Greens have sussed RESPECT.

Don't be conned by Galloway. Vote for a democratic party.

Don't ignore them - defeat them!

2004-05-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

The strategy of the major parties for the upcoming elections so far has been to ignore RESPECT. This is a major mistake and RESPECT Watch believes that democratic parties need to expose the politics of the extremists in order to defeat them.

That is the lesson of the British National Party's rise in the North West of England. The main parties, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative, all thought that by ignoring the fascists they would go away.

They didn't and with no serious campaign against them they were allowed to exploit peoples fears and spread their poison.

The same will happen with RESPECT if they are not challenged.

A low turn-out combined with a proportional voting system gives RESPECT and candidates like George Galloway a real chance of success.

If we believe their propaganda RESPECT are receiving a hundred membership inquiries a day and getting encouraging levels of support.

The main parties have nothing to gain from ignoring RESPECT and much to lose. If RESPECT are allowed to con voters into believing they are some 'new voice' on the left they will dupe some Labour and Liberal Democrats into voting for an organisation which is a coalition of Leninist revolutionaries and religious fundamentalists united only in their opposition to democracy.

They are led by Saddam Hussein's favourite western politician George Galloway, the man the murderuous dictator chose to contact for legal help ahead of his trial for crimes against humanity.

Galloway and his deceitful allies are friends of dictators. They need to be exposed and defeated but the current complacent attitude from mainstream politicians risks giving them a foothold in British politics.

Take action: Read this website regularly, print out our resources for campaigners, use our information. Inform voters about who RESPECT are.

Campaign Resources for activists

2004-05-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

Click the image to enlarge. Then print it off and use it as a leaflet in your area.

Make sure voters in your area really know what RESPECT are about!

2004-05-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

Friends will be friends...

Don't be conned by Galloway

2004-05-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

George Galloway has produced a leaflet (PDF) which claims he is a fighter for the rights of Muslims.

What Galloway doesn't say is that he has supported and excused the deaths of thousands of Muslims:

1. He justified his pal Saddam Hussein's slaughter of Shia Muslims by saying they were a "fifth column", who were guilty of not wanting a war with their Muslim neighbours in Iran.

2. He justified Saddam's invasion of Muslim Kuwait
by saying that Kuwait belongs to a "Greater Iraq". Thousands of Muslims died after Saddam started a war by invading Kuwait.

3. He opposed Britain's role in saving the Muslims of Kosovar from the Serbian death squads. He would have let Slobodan Milosevic's thugs wipe out the ethnic Albanian Muslims.

Galloway is an apologist for suicide bombers and terrorists such as Hamas who have been condemned by mainstream Muslims everywhere.

Muslims - beware of false friends. They only want your vote. Don't vote for dictators.