Free speech stubbed out
Friday, January 23, 2009 Last year, as I wrote HERE, I travelled to Brussels to attend a meeting of "EU experts, civil society and social partners to support the Commission's Impact Assessment on the forthcoming initiative on smoke-free environments".
Seconds into the meeting, to which I had been invited, several hands shot up and two or three delegates announced that if I didn't leave they would leave the room. Others nodded in agreement. In the EU, it seems, free speech and tobacco operate on different planets.
Next week, also in Brussels, a group called The International Coalition Against Prohibition (TICAP) was due to hold a two-day conference under the patronage of Godfrey Bloom MEP (UKIP). The event was called "Smoking Bans and Lies" and the programme was unambiguously partisan.
Venue was the European Parliament building and I understand that several readers of this blog were planning to attend.
Yesterday morning it was reported that the conference had been moved from the Parliament to a hotel near the Parliament building. Last night I was told by Gawain Towler, press officer for UKIP in Brussels, that the original conference hosted by Godfrey Bloom has been cancelled and in its place is a "new" conference with a very similar programme. (Don't ask me why. I'm only the messenger.)
The "new" conference will be called "Thinking Is Forbidden" and officially it will be hosted not by Godfrey Bloom but by the British arm of the Independence/Democracy Group (aka UKIP). Delegates who were due to attend "Smoking Bans and Lies" will be invited to attend "Thinking Is Forbidden" instead.
The reason for this game of musical chairs seems to be related to THIS outrageous letter which was sent, in December, to Hans-Gert Pöttering, president of the European Parliament, by Florence Berteletti Kemp, director of the Smoke Free Partnership (which includes Cancer Research UK).
In her letter, Kemp argues that "this event should not under any circumstances take place on the premises of the European Parliament". She then gives the following reasons:
- "the event appears to be in contravention of Parliament’s own rules of procedure and is detrimental to the dignity of Parliament"
- "the event goes against all of Parliament’s adopted reports and the European Community’s legislation and commitments on this topic"
- "it violates the spirit of the International Framework Convention on Tobacco Control"
There's a lot more of this high-handed nonsense in Kemp's letter and any self-respecting institution would have torn it up and sent her packing. But not the European Parliament. I am told that on on Tuesday 12 January a committee met in camera and decided that permission for the conference to be held within the Parliament building had been withdrawn.
Neither Godfrey Bloom nor anyone else associated with "Smoking Bans and Lies" were told that the conference was on the agenda. In their absence, the committee acted as judge and jury. According to UKIP's Gawain Towler, the organisers only discovered that they were barred from using the Parliament building on Tuesday this week, a full seven days after the meeting.
What has happened beggars belief. I am assured that the venue was secured months in advance. Delegates and speakers have made travel arrangements. Hotel accommodation has been reserved. Video conferencing links have been booked.
And yet ... is anyone surprised? The anti-tobacco lobby is ruthless and will happily suppress any form of debate, or opposition.
Ironically, thanks to these unelected bureaucrats, news of the conference will almost certainly reach a far wider audience than would otherwise have been the case.
Note: as I understand it, "Thinking Is Forbidden" will take place at the Hotel Berlyamont Silken, Blvd Charlemagne 11, Brussels, on 27-28 January. For details/confirmation contact Gawain Towler, Independence/Democracy Group, telephone +32 (0)2 284 6384.
Reader Comments (55)
I take your point, Margot and I'm glad to hear (Bill's post, above) that TICAP was born out of the collaboration that I've long thought is necessary.
LOL Bond is well and continues his adventures, albeit privately, since his alter ego was banned (Simon is equally perplexed about this illustration of supreme irony - must chase him up about it...).
If I want to speak out about something I disagree with I will speak my mind, to hell with those nanny state ass fuckers, you can shove your politically correct rules up your fucking asses.
I am never rude about race or religion but when it comes to New Labour they can go to hell,
I will say what I like about New Labour and no rules are going to stop me.
It's nice to fire off about New Labour, I am fed up with their undemocratic shit.
Sorry about the swearing to anybody who does not support New Labour, but I am fed up with all their bull shit.
Vaclav Klaus is the current president of the EU, not that you'd notice with little Sarkozy who thinks europe cant function without him at the helm, especially when his little person and big shoes have been appearing at every major event since the new president was supposed to have taken over.
Mr Klaus is not flavour of the month with the eu cronies because seemingly he can't be brainwashed as he is against ratifying the Lisbon treaty, so therefore he must be annihilated.
Whereas, on the other hand Ireland is very susceptible to brainwashing.
The irish green minister had banned lightbulbs for incansident ones starting this Jan until the eu stepped in and put it on hold for the moment, because they are now going to put it through themselves but as a europe wide ban next time. Sound familiar?
The eu knows by now that the irish are excellent experimental species for brainwashing and bullshit spin, after all thats exactly what they did when they wanted to bring in the smoking ban.
Tell the little people they are world leaders and the rest of the world will look up to them.
And lo and behold it worked.
Now we have the light bulb fiasco.
SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN.
It seems to me that the EU is achieving gradually and stealthily what Hitler failed to achieve quickly and openly. The same goal - just different tactics to reach it.
They must be stopped!
Simon I might be nit-picking but please could you try not to use in the title to blogs the words "stubbed out". I find it really irritating as it is a favourite of the anti smoking lobby!