08/12/2006, The Demon Newspaper: “Tony Benn Interview. Shahinaz Nabeeh talks to legendary politician Tony Benn.”

The Globalisation Society at DMU was launched on Thursday 23 November with a talk from prominent politician Tony Benn about ‘Power in the Modern World’. The society that was set to “provide an inclusive forum for people interested in the many issues surrounding globalisation to come together, discuss their ideas, opinions and have the opportunity to find out more about this provocative subject”, expressed its deep excitement about Tony Benn’s visit to the university, who has remained one of the country’s highest profile politicians for generations.

A man who argues about issues and not personalities and is renowned for being one of very few politicians to become more left wing after having held ministerial office, Tony Benn has been hailed as a Messiah by the left while being vilified by the right as ‘The Most Dangerous Man in Britain’. During the interview however, he appeared the with infinite politeness and courtesy for which he is known. The room is packed with BBC journalists and the executive team of the Globalisation Society, as we anxiously await our turn to conduct the interview. When it is finally time, Tony Benn’s friendly and observant looks put us at ease.

SN: What is your opinion on the claim that there is a clash of civilisations between East and West, and is this is just an excuse for imperialism to further establish itself?

TB: I do not believe there is any sort of clash between the cultures of the east and west; these claims are being used to justify power and it has always been about that. As well as the oil of course.

SN: What role do you feel the UK is playing in this? Especially that along with all the powerful countries, it is ignoring the real problems in the region?

TB: It has been true for some time now that the easiest decision in the world you can take is to take orders from somebody more powerful than you are. Had the prime minister refused to go to war, it may have possibly persuaded the USA not go ahead with the war, so as not to be alone, like in Vietnam. However, the capacity of the USA to punish the UK is enormous. The question of whether we want our foreign policy dictated from Washington or do we want a better world objective is one that is of supreme importance.

SN: But why do you think a similar Labour government refused 30 years ago to go to war in Vietnam? Could the existence of the Soviet Union at the time have had an effect on that decision?

TB: The end of the Soviet Union has made a difference that is worth looking at. However, what we have today is a very different Labour Government than Harold Wilson’s. Tony Blair has made a clear distinction between Labour and the New Labour party and this is now becoming clearer to many people.

SN: If the world is becoming a global village, should it not be the responsibility of the richer nations to help developing countries, in order to humanise globalisation and prevent the expansion to global north-south divide?

TB: The big question today is will globalisation allow democracy to survive? On one side, we have the multinationals, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. I want to help to redress the balance on the other side. Big business is tending to fund both main British political parties. The system is becoming American and voters are losing their power to choose.

SN: And finally, what do you see for the future of the Labour party after the departure of Tony Blair?

TB: I have a feeling that the real Labour party will re-appear. Many of the Labour policies now completely contradict the foundations on which the Labour party was built. Certainly, the forthcoming deputy leader elections will bring forth a debate about the policies, which we have not had in a long time.

During the actual talk, which was attended by more than 200 people, Tony Benn delighted the audience with his insight, charisma and great sense of humour, which were enjoyed by all present.

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08/29
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24/11/2006, The Demon Newspaper: “Marching Forward From Climate Change”

An estimated 25,000 people came together on Trafalgar Square on Saturday, the 4th of November, to call on the Government to take urgent action on climate change. Organised by Stop Climate Chaos under the banner ‘I Count’, the march and subsequent rally was believed to be the UK’s biggest environmental protest.

The march set off with a brass band, some guitarists and no less than three samba bands in an atmosphere of great excitement. Stop Climate Chaos director Ashok Sinha told Reuters: “We are getting people to look at the total carbon emissions and encourage them to start making adjustments, because every single bit helps.” Students from across Leicester joined the demonstration and drew attention to themselves with their eagerness to alter the public’s perception of climate change and its effects on our future.

In the mean time, the Cycle Protest, starting out from Lincoln’s Inn Fields delivered a letter to No 10 Downing Street, demanding a Climate Bill, with annual targets amongst other things. Many MPs from the Green Party and

Lib Dems were present, as well as the Bishop of London, who spoke about how climate change would hit the poor countries the hardest. Phil Thornhill, Campaign Coordinator of the demonstration invited everyone to join the “March for Global climate Justice”.

Other speakers included comedian Rob Newman, outspoken environment columnist George Monbiot and award winning actor Miranda Richardson. Razorlight and Scottish singer KT Tunstall provided the musical accompaniment, while ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ presenter Simon Amstell acted as the host of the event. Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell said of the day, “Today is all about showing that together we make a difference, together we can send a message, together we can stop climate chaos and together we count.”

The march came just days before environment ministers from 189 countries arrived in Nairobi for the 12th UN Climate Change Conference. The two-week meeting put Africa and other developing nations and the forefront of discussions, which officials say will be gearing them towards adaptation to the predicted effects of climate change rather than discussing attempts to reverse the process.

Meanwhile the international demonstrations and events, were taking place in over 40 countries – twice as many as last year. There were also reports of a 40, 000 in Sydney, 30,000 in Melbourne and maybe 90,000 turn out, in more than 20 locations all round Australia. Not forgetting the colourful demonstrations that took place in Taiwan and Korea. Altogether, the London rally was a fantastic triumph, increasing the awareness and doubling last year.

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08/29
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10/11/2006, The Demon Newspaper: “S-TOP UP FEES MARCH”

The streets of London witnessed the biggest student demonstration in years, on Sunday October 29. Nearly 8,000 students from all parts of the UK turned up to demonstrate against higher tuition fees; calling for a reversal of the new policy that commenced this academic year, resulting in some students paying up to £3,000 a year for their university education.

Demonstrators marched past Parliament and 10 Downing Street before converging at Trafalgar Square. The demonstration was organised after figures from the higher education admissions service UCAS revealed a fall of applications this year, compared to the evident rise last year.

Gemma Tumelty, President of the NUS, also voiced her concerns over the top up fees: “Weighing up the prospect of graduating with huge levels of debt and starting on an average salary of just £19,000 is difficult. It is clear that admission for some students is proving impossible.”

During a press conference held before the demonstration she added: “We’re the institutions producing doctors, nurses, engineers, and that is a huge benefit to society and therefore society should pay.”

The enthusiasm and passion displayed by students and families alike throughout the demonstration was very powerful. One student from the University of Aberystwyth expressed her delight to be taking part in this massive event: “It was a six hour journey from Wales, but it is definitely worth it. It is ridiculous that some students can end up with a £10,000 debt from tuition fees alone.”

Mike Roberts, a second year Welfare and Campaigns representative from the University of Chester, talked of his deep concern about the situation, and his belief that students from all classes and backgrounds are greatly affected by this and not just a certain group. “We, as a body for students with a voice for students, are only getting bigger and better; it’s about time we took a stand and made our voices heard, we are all voters and surely that gives us the power.”

 A group of students from the University of Leicester, who go by the name of Students for Justice and sported superhero outfits, spoke of how they were inspired by Fathers for Justice to form a unit within their university which would campaign and defend the rights of students. Organisers saw the day as a success; allowing students to make their voices heard at a national event. The march ended at Trafalgar Square where guest speakers including Tony Benn, a prominent member of the Labour Party, addressed the crowds and showed their support for the march. In addition, many local MPs joined their constituents on the march in order to show their support for the cause.

The event certainly proved that young people could be actively involved in matters that directly affect them, diminishing the popular stereotype that students and young people in general are not interested in real, political issues that surround their everyday lives.

2010
08/29
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27/10/2006, The Demon Newspaper: “Are We Entering A New Era Of McCarthyism?”

Shahinaz Nabeeh gives her comment on the spying scandal

The past few weeks have seen major changes in attitude towards the Islamic faith and Muslims, whether it is from government officials or the public, around the country or even on our campus.

One of the main reasons behind this is the fact that lecturers and university staff across Britain are now being asked to spy on Muslim and “Asian looking” students who could be suspected of involvement in Islamic extremism and supporting terrorist acts, The government has reason to believe that campuses have become “fertile recruiting grounds” for extremists.

What exactly does “extremist” mean however, and who judges the accuracy of the definition remains unclear.

There is an underlying tension that is growing around us and it can be felt as you walk around campus, the sadness that verges on to shame, can be seen on the faces of students who appear to be of Muslim backgrounds. The isolation that these students must suffer as a result of their faith echoes, as the president of the NUS compared it, to the McCarthy witch-hunts, but also the days of Nazi

Germany. Wakkas Khan, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, said “It sounds to me to be potentially the widest infringement of the rights of Muslim students that there ever has been in this country. It is clearly targeting Muslim students and treating them to a higher level of suspicion and scrutiny. It sounds like you’re guilty until you’re proven innocent.”

In addition to fuelling a growing racist climate, this policy also risks alienating hundreds of thousands of young people whose cooperation is vital if we are to prevent further terrorist attacks – the stated aim of the leaked document.

Indeed there are also fears that this tide of hostility could well be expressed on our campus, threatening the safety of the thousands of students that come from an African, Asian or Muslim background.

Only last week, two Asian men were attacked in Leicester by racists, one is critically injured, and many more of these attacks are to come if students do not make a stand.

We are told that this new plan is to prevent the radicalisation of “segregated” Muslim students who appear to be easy targets. However, there are evidences that prove that radicalisation is not the result of Islamist segregation, but government policy, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the killings of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, mostly children by the hands of coalition troops, in addition to the age long government disregard for the tragic situation in Palestine. Nevertheless, it is now apparent that this is New Labour’s answer to the deep and growing unpopularity over its war on Iraq. It seems that New Labour is desperate to divert bitterness over the war onto the most convenient scapegoat.

However, the real concern for us here should be to guard against the habits of fear and the opportunism of sinister forces in government. Who seek to remove as many civil liberties as possible under the banner of national security and protection from terrorist acts, resulting in some cases of racial hatred and a general sense of fear and paranoia of the “others”, and finally the diminishing of our multicultural society, of which we have always been proud.

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13/10/2006, The Demon Newspaper: “The Looming shadow: Top-up Fees”

As tens of thousands of students begin their first year at university, they take their first steps towards independence and adulthood, and thus earn qualifications that would secure them a better future. But they are warned that they could eventually graduate with debts of more than £22,000 each.

One of the main elements that feed the shadow of debt that looms upon us all as students, is the new system of student loans that has started this year; as the average student starting university in 2006, would have paid £3,600 after the three years, will now be indebted, a total of £9,000 in tuition fees over the same period. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford outlined the year’s forthcoming challenges and articulated the inevitability of the rise of the fees charged by the university. This is to maintain its quality of teaching. But Oxford’s deficit on its undergraduate account is “grave”. Many other universities have expressed similar concerns.

While Ministers promise to review fee levels again in 2009, the government insists that top-up fees which students will pay back once they have graduated and started work, will not deter teenagers from applying to university. Nevertheless, figures from the higher education admissions service UCAS show a fall of applications this year.

This is compared to the evident rise last year when many students were thought to be trying to get in ahead of top-up fees, although thousands missed out due to the fierce competition for places. The National Union of Students (NUS) has also expressed deep apprehension about the impact of this new system, Wes Streeting, a Vice-President of the NUS said: “Students today are leaving university with massive levels of debt and paying back student loans, which puts a major strain on their finances,”. More importantly, he added, “Applications for courses starting in September 2006 have dropped by 3.4% on the same period last year.”

On the other hand, the department of education and skills launched a campaign last month for the financial assistance of students with a lower household income; in the form of a non repayable grant of up to £2700 a year, also many students could be eligible for non repayable bursaries.

Yet it is worrying that more universities will adopt the same attitude as Oxford, who intend to squeeze more money out of students, who have no choice if they are to continue with their higher education. The question that lies here is, should we as students accept this situation and live with the fact that our debts increase every day, and that there are perhaps worse things to take into adulthood than a student debt, or should we make a stand and do something about it.

Ultimately the choice is ours.

2010
08/28
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20/02/2006, The Demon Newspaper. “Freedom of expression versus religious tolerance: Have Western Democracies failed?”

Most of us have now heard about the international storm caused by the cartoon drawings of the Prophet Mohammad published throughout the European media. Many of us have witnessed the cries against the lack of respect for faiths or those condemning attacks on human rights and liberties.

Many of us certainly have been affected. Whether we are Muslims or not, the struggle that is gathering pace across the Arab world, the Islamic world and more importantly here on our doorstep, even at our university, has indeed made an impression on us all.

The cartoons published last September in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, depicting in one, the founder of Islam wearing a turban resembling a bomb, have caused such uproar and has sparked a new cultural battle over freedom of speech and religious tolerance, so strong that it has become a European diplomatic crisis. Carsten Juste, the paper’seditor, said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark.

Many people fear that by publishing such pictures, promotes the idea that all terrorists are Muslims, and worser still that all Muslims are terrorists?

Where do we draw the line?

Those familiar with the Muslim faith and culture would know that all Muslims consider it blasphemous to produce an image of the Prophet Mohammad, or any religious symbol or personality, for fear of the diverting of worship.

On the other hand, those also familiar with the “western democracy”, which many muslim countries do not have, would understand that in a country like Denmark the government do not interfere with the freedom of the press. The Danish prime minister was urged by eleven ambassadors to call the newspaper to account for “abusing Islam in the name of democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.”

Rasmussen refused to meet the ambassadors, saying that those who felt offended should bring their grievances to the courts. “As Prime Minister, I have no power whatsoever to limit the press – nor do I want such power.”

However, at this critical point of co-existence between two cultures, was it wise to publish such provoking material to those who already feel betrayed and humiliated even by their own governments?

It could b argued that this sort of satire echoes that of the German government in 1940s against Jews, in publishing material that depicted them as a sub-human race, creatures who knew nothing more than to steal, lie and cheat.

Nevertheless, “ western democracies” atoned for this humiliation, perhaps at the expense of another nation, but who is going to compensate the one billion Muslims?

The core problem here seems to be that the gap is increasing between the western secular perspective and the increased religious fundamentalism in the east. But who is to say which side is right, perhaps those with stronger financial and military influence.

Meanwhile, those who are in between can only hope for a miracle.

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08/28
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