VIVA Palestina Email Alert
Charity Commission
To: "Viva Palestina" <information@
Date: Tuesday, 14 April, 2009, 4:37 PM
Viva Palestina Email Alert
14th April 2009
George Galloway writes to the Charity Commission
Hard copy will be sent to
Louise Edwards
Compliance Investigation Unit ( London)
Charity Commission Direct
PO Box 1227
Liverpool L69 3UG
To the Charity Commission,
I have been travelling for many weeks in North Africa and the Middle East,
Europe, and North America . I have returned to a London address I seldom
visit to find a blizzard of correspondence from you. Your correspondence,
when read together, as I have just done, seems to represent a wildly
disproportionate and inappropriate reaction to our recent delivery of aid to
the suffering Palestinians in Gaza , and must raise the question: Why?
The peremptory letters from you, and by you I mean the Charity Commission,
are full of bluster and threat, issuing absurd deadlines to people it does
not seem to occur to you are not even receiving your letters, either because
they are working abroad (Ms Razuki and Mr Al-Mukhtar), travelling abroad on
high profile political business (myself), or you are writing to them at the
wrong address.
In my own case, Easter Saturday opened with your, latest, threat to go
before a High Court judge in a bid to force me to appear before you. That
will not be necessary. I look forward to telling you to your faces what I
think of you. Which is this.
I have become increasingly concerned about the abuse of your powers
displayed in your brazenly obvious political double standards. About your
attempts, under the guise of regulating British charities, to police the
democratic efforts of political activists in Britain in a way never
envisaged by parliament. About your preparedness to waste large sums of
public money in political stunts, either at the behest of others or in the
hope that you are properly anticipating their wishes. And above all, in the
context of this issue, your almost laughably obvious prejudice against the
Palestinian cause and against Britain 's two million-strong Muslim
community.
Just one example will suffice for now, although I have more, much more.
During Israel's 22-day attack on virtually defenceless Palestinian civilians
in Gaza - condemned by virtually everyone in the world from the United
Nations to the Pope and including the British government – an organisation
The Zionist Federation took out a full page advert in the
Jewish Chronicle on 9th January asking readers to send "care packages" to
"our [ie Israeli] soldiers fighting on the front line” in Gaza and to send
charity vouchers to a British registered charity Operation Wheelchairs
Committee (charity number 263089) for the same purpose.
Although this was immediately drawn to your attention you appear to have
done absolutely nothing at all about such an abuse of charitable status. The
Zionist Federation is presumably not a registered charity any more than Viva
Palestina was. The Zionist Federation appeal was for money for “care
packages” with donations possible online to www.zionist.
charity Operation Wheelchairs Committee. By the logic of your actions
towards Viva Palestina, surely you should have immediately declared the
Zionist Federation to be a charity with all that that entails. But you did
not do so. Why? In any case, the Operation Wheelchairs Committee is a
charity, soliciting for funds in this advert to support a foreign army
involved in a widely condemned military action, in which thousands of
civilians were killed, maimed and orphaned. Yet the Charity Commission did
nothing. No freezing of bank accounts, no press releases, no carefully
briefed "concerns", no threats of High Court judges.
It will only take the reader (I am publishing this letter as widely as I
can) a moment's thought to imagine what the Charity Commission's attitude
would have been if a British - Muslim - Charity had taken a full page
advertisement in a different British newspaper raising money for "care
packages" for "our [ie Palestinian] soldiers fighting on the front line” in
Gaza.
Not only would you have gone into overdrive and immediately begun freezing
their assets, the hue and cry in the press you would have fed, would have
seen the charity's trustees under arrest.
This is an incontestable example of your persistent bias. Because in
contrast to your inaction on a British charity raising money for the Israeli
army and in the absence of such a hypothetical Muslim charity, you have
launched this hysterical campaign to try and wreck the work of Viva
Palestina instead.
Without any knowledge of the intentions of Viva Palestina and on the basis
of press reports, you pronounced, as is your wont, that we were in effect a
charity, to give yourselves locus in our affairs. You misunderstood - I
believe deliberately - the structure of our Gaza convoy, purporting to
believe that we - the subscribers (whatever that means) - were holding more
than a million pounds about which you expressed "concerns", when in fact, as
you have been told but continue to ignore, this was never the case.
You first frightened the banks into refusing our attempts to open a bank
account. When we finally found a bank which would allow us to open an
account you intimidated them into freezing it, I believe exceeding your
powers. You then began procuring documents - possibly illegally - about us
from the Islamic Bank. As a result of your press briefings about your
"concerns" newspapers began to refuse to accept advertisements from us,
donors turned away, and the public were encouraged to believe that Viva
Palestina was something to be avoided - conjuring-up an undisclosed but
lurking suspicion about it.
In all this you acted not as the public would expect a Charity Commission to
do, but rather as a self-appointed state policeman of the activist sector, a
mission-creep towards a style of work which simply must be contested.
Here are the facts. Accept them and save the public purse a lot of money it
can't afford. And get off the backs of Britain 's Muslims and the
Palestinian people.
I am not a trustee of Viva Palestina. You say I am a "subscriber" though you
do not say what that means. I have nothing to do with Viva Palestina's
finances, I am not a signatory to its frozen bank account. I will attend the
meeting with you, because I intend to launch a parliamentary campaign, and
take it to the country, to put you back in your place.
I did inspire the creation of Viva Palestina and I am very proud of that. If
those running it listen to me they will refuse to take anything off their
website at your behest. The example you cite of an item which should be
taken down, could just as easily have been any one of a hundred items. And
would become so, once your right to dictate the activities of a political
campaigning organisation was conceded.
For that is what Viva Palestina was, and is. Its constitution - its actual
constitution not the one you wish it had - makes this abundantly clear. So
does everything it says and does. If all that renders Viva Palestina not
eligible to be a charity, then that's fine. Let me emphasise this as
strongly as I am able. Viva Palestina does not want to be a charity.
It is you, for transparently political reasons, who insisted that charitable
status should be sought. You registered Viva Palestina as a charity in
record quick time and without the great bulk of the information you normally
required. And then you froze the record-quick new charity's bank account so
that it could not operate. These are police state tactics, entirely
inappropriate and without any basis.
Viva Palestina simply provided a focus for an aid convoy from Britain to
Gaza . It was de-centralised. Each participant was responsible for raising
their own money, bringing their own vehicles, filling their own vehicles
with their own aid, making their own donations in Gaza . You have been told
this but continue to misrepresent the position. The money raised by Viva
Palestina itself - a much smaller amount - was publicly declared to be
intended as a donation to a British charity for work in Gaza - Interpal,
with which you are depressingly familiar for having harassed it for years on
repeatedly debunked smears.
The vast majority of the participants in the convoy, and the vast majority
of those who helped them with money and aid, were British Muslims.
Having exerted that mighty effort, those British Muslims now find that their
peaceful democratic response to the crisis in Gaza has been criminalised by
you, and their aid confiscated. This all follows the high-profile police
raid on vehicles from the Muslim community in the North West heading to join
the convoy the night before its departure. This raid, blazed across the
media, saw the arrest of ten Muslims headed for the convoy. All ten of them
were later released without charge, but not before sowing the seeds of
tremendous bitterness in the communities from which the men came.
This is dangerous as well as foolish. There are extremists on the edge of
the Muslim community even now saying "I told you so" to those who had been
naive enough to think Britain was still the kind of country where efforts
like ours could be appreciated and, at least, be free from the kind of
arbitrary and unjust actions taken by you. These actions undermine the
confidence of British Muslims in the democratic system in Britain and are
therefore dangerous and against the interests of our country.
I understand from my colleagues that you have now frozen more than £100,000
intended to help the suffering Palestinian people. Shame on you. I suppose
it is too much to hope that you might have that on your conscience. But be
sure I intend to let as many people as possible know, here and abroad, what
you have done.
Viva Palestina's work has effectively come to a halt since your intervention
in its affairs and in my absence. This was, I'm sure, your intention. Viva
Palestina has not spent any money improperly. It would not do so. Indeed it
could not do so. It has spent hardly anything at all - thanks to you. But it
intends to get its money back from you. Viva Palestina have instructed
lawyers to deal with you and a barrister will accompany us to the meeting
with you. If necessary we will start a new organisation free from your
wrecking efforts. But we want this money back, please be sure about that.
There are Palestinians dying as a result of the malignant, sinister, cynical
actions taken by you. Trust me you'll be hearing more about this.
Yours faithfully
George Galloway MP
_____
Viva Palestina Cricket tournament - Birmingham 10th May
For more details visit
http://www.vivapale
--- On Sun, 5/4/09, Clive at Viva Palestina <clive@vivapalestina
From: Clive at Viva Palestina <clive@vivapalestina
Subject: [information@
To: "Viva Palestina" <information@
Date: Sunday, 5 April, 2009, 4:28 PM
Dear All,
PressTV will do the 8th live show of Remember The Children on Palestine this
Tuesday 7th April at 18:00 GMT
Be part of this show as it's Your Show
If you really want to say your message to the world then webcam into this
show and tell the world, guests and presenter whats on your mind
Webcam: email me on <mailto:rcp@presstv.
Voice messages: +44 20 3070 2535
Text messages: +44 7800 000 377
Call during the show: +44 20 3070 2535
Note for webcamer - Email me on <mailto:rcp@presstv.
rcp@presstv.
will be into my webcam system... (no need to install anything, but you must
have a webcam and microphone.
THIS IS THE PLATFORM WHERE YOU CAN TELL The World What should be done about
Palestine
See each weeks show line up @
<http://www.facebook
http://www.facebook
Regards
Raza
DETAILS
Show: REMEMBER THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE
Channel: www.presstv.
Date + Time: Tuesday’s - 6 – 7 pm - (also we will be raising money 24/7 &
organsing 1 or more festivals) (live)
Venue: London Studio + Gaza & International Satellites
Presenter: Lauren Booth
RCP will focus on;
* The Children’s humanitarian issues. ** Looking for hope. ** A
good Future ** The Sadness the Palestinian Children suffer all year
round
* What activities people all round the world are doing to help the
Palestinians & Children of Palestine i.e. You are making music, Person x
in France may be making cakes and selling them to raise money for medical
supplies, etc
* Bringing people together from all parts of the world interactively
to highlight the plight of the Palestinians.
Aims of this Show;
* To remember the latest situation in Gaza and Palestine. ** We will
keep this show going for 1 year (until the anniversary, minimum)
* Get people from all around the world to send their videos, media,
art work, activities in to us to feature on the show
* Set up a Yearly Festivals that will bring together all people from
the world & the artifacts they give us and enter it into the competitions,
etc
* RASIE MONEY ALL YEAR ROUND FOR GAZA – and all through the week
* Contribute in Making A SCHOOL IN GAZA
* To show people what is happening in Gaza all the time, i.e. we will
have live links with Children and people in Gaza and other countries of the
world, etc
What we are looking for;
Al I am Always look for new contributors who can help raise awareness for
the children of Palestine for example
** Artists – Cartoonists - Painters ** Musicians –Singers **Film
Makers **Activists **Fundraisers **Humanitarian
**Charities **Kids doing poems
** Event to do with Palestine i.e. talks, protests, fashion shows,
marathons, Anything.. etc.. As then I will get pictures and videos (We will
try film it or request footage)
** Media Artifacts to feature on our show & enter them into competitions.
(everything we use or find gets entered into a compeition)
** We will have a live webcam feature so you can interact with the show –to
take partake (email us at rcp@presstv.
Technicalities;
* We will not make any money from this show (profitably) – We do aim
to raise money to make Schools in Gaza, etc
* We are also open to suggestions by yourselves
About PressTV;
If you are not aware of PressTV. We are a major International News,
Politics and Sports Broadcaster- We broadcast 24/7 Live in English. You can
see our website here www.presstv.
Satellite or online Here . We make many shows and documentaries which can be
viewed here (aswell as on TV) – www.presstv.