Sunday, February 15, 2009

Double standard: LePen is welcome in Britain, Wilders is not

The perceptive Flemish writer Paul Belien notes, from the Dutch-language publication Trouw, a glaring double standard in Britain's official stance: the noxious antisemite Jean Marie Le Pen is welcome into the country, but freedom fighter Geert Wilders is not. Writes Belien: From The Guardian, April 24, 2004:

Mr Le Pen is to be the BNP's guest of honour at a fundraising dinner in the West Midlands, where he will address a gathering of Britain's far right for the first time in more than a decade.

The details of his visit have been closely guarded in an attempt to prevent anti-racism protesters disrupting the event. But the Guardian has learned that the £50-a-head dinner is scheduled to take place tomorrow evening in Oswestry.

Earlier this week George Galloway, MP for Glasgow Kelvin, called on the government to stop Mr Le Pen entering Britain. But the home secretary said yesterday that Mr Le Pen was a French national and was therefore entitled to travel. "He is a European citizen, he has the right to travel around Europe."

Unlike Geert Wilders, Le Pen had already been convicted in court (on no less than 23 occasions!!) when he was allowed to visit Britain in 2004, i.e. for the use of physical violence, holocaust denial, incitement to violence, etc.

The visit of Le Pen led to riots on 25 April 2004.

Questions:

Why did the Labour government allow Le Pen to enter the UK when he visited the country at the invitation of the BNP, while this same govt bans Wilders when he comes at the invitation of two members of the House of Lords? Is the BNP more respectable than the Lords?

Why is Wilders persona non grata in the UK, while Le Pen is still welcome? Because Wilders "hates" Muslims and Le Pen hates Jews? Because if Wilders comes to Britain Muslims threaten to go on a rampage, while the Jews are law-abiding citizens who do not threaten and intimidate? Because there are far more Muslims in the UK than Jews? Because the British govt is anti-Semitic?

Good questions. Someone in the British government should have the courage to answer them.

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