'People are definitely sceptical'

Police officers outside the Masjid-E-Umer mosque in Walthamstow. AP
|
When the government announced last Thursday that it had foiled a
massive terror plot, broadcasters and newspapers were barraged with a
wave of sceptical views from listeners and readers.
Nearly a week on, are people still so distrustful?
It was not in horror or panic that thousands of ordinary people
contacted the BBC or posted points on the Guardian's Comment is Free
website in the hours after last week's terror plot. The mood of many
seemed to be one of profound caution, even scepticism, over the
allegations of a murderous scheme in which 50 people would try to bring
down up to 20 planes between Britain and America.
Almost a week later, and after a downgrading of the terrorist threat,
what do ordinary voters now think of those excitable early briefings by
John Reid, the home secretary, and Scotland Yard's dramatically voiced
belief that it had foiled "mass murder on an unimaginable scale"? Are
people still sceptical?
Non-voter tourists
As it turns out, the prime minister would be heartened by the views
of the individuals on his doorstep. Unfortunately, the largely
sympathetic crowds outside Downing Street are overwhelmingly made up of
non-voter tourists.

A statement is read out to the media on behalf of the Masjid-E-Umer
trust at the Masjid-E-Umer mosque.Reuters |
A Brazilian who has lived in London for five years mentions his
innocent countryman, Jean Charles de Menezes, shot dead after botched
intelligence following 7/7 last year, but says that, relatively
speaking, he trusts the authorities more here than in his home city of
Sao Paulo.
Similarly, American visitors to the capital say they are impressed
with the "very British, very discreet" security and the post-alert calm
of the population. But they are bewildered by the sceptical reaction of
some Britons to what they see as a war.
"We've been looking at your museums," says John LeClaire, from
Boston, holidaying with family and friends. "In the first world war
there's this blindly patriotic joining of this war that is in a sense
pointless. In the second world war there is uniform support for the
government once Chamberlain is got rid of. Now you have, what, about 20%
of the people who think terror plots are a conspiracy? That's an
extraordinary evolution."
"It didn't cross my mind that this was a conspiracy," says Dogan
Arthur, also from Boston. "It would show that terrorism is working if
people think it's a conspiracy." He adds: "It's remarkable how
international a city London is. It's interesting what a presence the
Middle East has in London. I don't remember that 10 years ago. There's
nowhere in the US where you would get that sense of being in a sea of
Muslims."
Thirty five miles north of Downing Street and the average American
tourist really would be startled by Bury Park in Luton, a quintessential
1920s English suburb now predominantly populated by British Muslim
families. Halal butchers, grocers selling piles of fresh watermelons and
fashion stores offering "wedding sarees, langhas and fabrics" line the
main street.
"In my opinion it is a cover-up because of what's going on in
Lebanon," says Munir Khan. "When you turn on the TV you see innocent
people getting killed. This [plot] distracts from that."
A moderate Muslim who has been a member of the Labour party for
nearly 20 years, Khan quit about eight months ago to join the Lib Dems.
He does not trust the evidence coming out of Pakistan in relation to
this latest alleged terror plot. "The Pakistan government will say
anything for money," he says. "If the UK government gives them money to
say something, they will say it."
Suspicion and (often internet-fuelled) talk of conspiracies is no
longer the prerogative of the young, it seems. According to Khan, it has
been noticeable that older Muslims, traditionally engaged in mainstream
politics in a way that their children are not, have talked openly of
their anger and distrust of the government in recent months.
Scepticism about the plot is shared by many in the area and not just
by Muslims, says Qurban Hussain, a local resident and the deputy leader
of Luton borough council. "People are definitely sceptical.
They are not sure whether these claims are just to clamp down on
British Muslims. Is it scaremongering tactics by the government or
another reason to harass more innocent people?
"It's a perception held by a lot of my constituents of all
backgrounds. When you look back on the WMD, the information was wrong.
Then we have the case of Jean Charles de Menezes. We picked up the
wrong person altogether. Then the raid in Forest Gate in which a man was
shot. There are so many cases people can refer to. It makes them feel
they cannot trust the government."
Wait and see
Reassuringly for Labour, the overwhelming majority of people of all
faiths I speak to in London, Luton and further up the M1, give a
pragmatic, sensible-sounding "wait and see" response to questions about
whether they believe that this alleged terror plot is a genuine threat.
"It is in the government's best interests to look after the people of
this country. If they hear of a threat, they have every right to close
things down," says Usman Hussain, 21, inside a barber's in Bury Park.On
the window is a poster advertising a talk on the "crisis in Lebanon".
The star guest speaker is billed as a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, the
radical Islamist group. Does Usman believe there was a terrorist plot to
blow up planes? "I don't really know. We've been given no evidence yet.
It could go either way."
But this general pragmatism is heavily steeped in scepticism
everywhere I go, and not just among British Muslims. Jerry Thornton,
from Wiltshire, is with the tourists outside Downing Street. "There is
so much we don't know. It [the government] is such a secretive
organisation.
They are all colluding together. Some of it's for our own protection,
but I believe a lot of it is spin. I accept during the investigation
they can't tell the whole truth but we'd like to know exactly what
happened and how it was foiled."
Stopping at the motorway services just north of Luton, John Jeffreys
is unsure whether he trusts the government's line. "It's difficult to
know. I don't trust the government at all. There's no doubt that Blair
lied about the weapons of mass destruction before Iraq."
"It's propaganda, isn't it?" chips in his mate, Mick Perrone, 31. "It
gets the whole nation on alert." What can the government do to restore
trust? In a time of endlessly slippery conspiracy theories, how can it
show that the terror plot was genuine? "They must come up with the
proof," says Khan.
Other Muslim voters argue that the first step the government must
take to restore levels of trust is to reform its foreign policy. Again
and again, Muslim voters point to what they see as the government's
"double standards" in dealing with other Islamic countries and disputes
in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir and now Lebanon.
Muslim voters say they are also angered by the government's - and
George Bush's - use of the term "Islamic terrorism". "Why Islamic? Look
at Northern Ireland. Who was saying 'Christians' there?" says Khan.
By chance an Irish family on holiday from Belfast pull into the
services on the M1 while I'm there. "This [plot] could be make-believe,
so the government can say, 'Look what we're doing to fight the
terrorists,'" says Joanne Burrows. "There must have been something to
arrest 23 people, but plenty of people have done time in Northern
Ireland for doing nothing".
(Guardian UK)
|