London's Mayor Speaks Out

[strandinthewind]

and he is not scared to call a spade a spade

_______________________________________________________________________

London mayor: West fueled terror

LONDON, England (CNN) -- London Mayor Ken Livingstone has said that Western "double standards" in the Middle East have contributed to the growth of Islamic extremism and terrorist groups such as al Qaeda.

Livingstone told BBC radio on Wednesday that Western intervention in the Middle East since the end of World War I had been motivated by a desire to control the flow of oil.

While condemning suicide bombings, Livingstone indicated that he recognized the conditions that had led Palestinians to take that route in Israel.

"Under foreign occupation and denied a right to vote, denied the right to run your own affairs ... I suspect that if it had happened here in England we would have produced a lot of suicide bombers ourselves," said Livingstone.

"But I don't just denounce suicide bombers. I denounce those governments which use indiscriminate slaughter to advance their foreign policy."

But Livingstone's comments were rejected by a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"The Prime Minister and Ken Livingstone have different views of the world and that remains the case," the Downing Street spokesman said.

"Equally, however, we recognize that Ken Livingstone has provided, as an elected official in London, a lead to the people of London at this tragic time -- at the same time as he expresses views which we fundamentally disagree with."

Blair told lawmakers on Wednesday that he was considering calling a global conference to discuss ways of tackling Islamic extremism following the July 7 London bombings which killed 56 people and injured hundreds more.

"We are looking at the possibility of holding a conference which would bring together some of the main countries who are ... closely involved in these issues ... to try to take concerted action right across the world to root out this kind of extremist teaching," Blair said.

After meeting Muslim leaders on Tuesday, Blair said that extremism was an "evil ideology" that needed to be confronted "by the force of reason." (Full Story)

He also told lawmakers his government was moving in the "right direction" to combat the threat of further attacks and pledged to work with opposition leader Michael Howard to introduce new anti-terror legislation.

In a briefing before parliament, Home Secretary Charles Clarke outlined three new criminal offenses at the heart of those measures.

One new provision would be to make the indirect incitement of terrorism an offense.

Another proposed offense would be acts considered preparatory to terrorism. That would enable security authorities to intervene at an earlier stage to protect the public.

A third would apply a broader definition applied to the giving and receiving of terrorist training.

CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley said lawmakers would consider the legislation on their return from summer recess in October and could pass the measures by December.

Speaking later to members of the London Assembly, Livingstone praised Londoners' resilience and solidarity in the aftermath of the bomb attacks.

He said the city would never concede to the threat of terrorism.

"London's communities will continue to stand together in condemnation of anyone who attacks the city," said Livingstone.

He said the city's Underground system would likely be disrupted for some time to come. Three of the four bombings occurred on tube trains.

One of the bombed carriages was lifted out of Edgware Road station Tuesday and taken to an undisclosed location for further forensic examination.

Rail operators say the station will probably remain closed for another two weeks.

Transport police said on Wednesday that sniffer dogs had been deployed on the Underground network for the first time.

"They operate just like dogs who search for drugs except they have been trained to sniff our explosives," a police spokesman told the UK's Press Association.

"They have already started patrolling the Tube with their handlers and they will carry on indefinitely."

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe...cks/index.html