« UK: Mosque Collapses During Funeral |
| Afghanistan: The True Horror Of Islamic Laws »
March 26, 2006
UK: Low Turnout For Freedom of Speech Rally
Yesterday's rally in Trafalgar square, organised by the March for Freedom of Expression campaign attracted hundreds of people, but not the expected thousands. News on the event has been reported by Pink News and the website of the BBC. Shamefully, yesterday evening's BBC TV news carried no mention of the march, nor did the late evening news broadcast, though the BBC went into overdrive to report on the previous pro-censorship marches organised by Muslims.
More information on the march, with pictures, can be found on Mathaba.net and Yahoo by Associated Press, which points out that on Thursday Peter Risden had announced on the March for Freedom of Expression website that he would discourage the displaying of the original Mohammed cartoons, which had initiated the demonstration in the first place.
I know this caused consternation from many people would otherwise have attended. There was considerable pressure brought to bear on the organisers, with the British National Party wanting to attend, and a campaign from the Black Information Link to have the event cancelled (supporting more censorship).
Estimates of the numbers varied, with 1,000 as the highest number quoted, and 200 the lowest. Initially the BBC website reported a figure of 600 yesterday, but since then it has been edited to say "hundreds".
12 Muslim men, predictably, turned up with tea towels wrapped around their heads, with the obvious intention of creating trouble, but these were escorted away by police, without being arrested.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 26, 2006 7:08 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)