"LONDON - Foreigners who preach hatred, sponsor violence or belong to extremist groups could be deported from Britain under strict new measures that Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Friday, nearly a month after suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transit system.I need to think about this one and really determine how I feel about it.
Membership in extremist Islamic groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir would become a crime under the new measures. The group, which advocates the creation of an Islamic state in Central Asia, already is outlawed in several countries.
Blair said the government also would compile a list of Web sites, bookshops and centers that incite hatred and violence. British nationals involved with such organizations could face strict penalties. Foreign nationals could be deported, he said.
"They come here and they play by our rules and our way of life," Blair said at his monthly news conference. "If they don't, they are going to have to go."
The government would hold a one-month consultation on new grounds for excluding and deporting people from the United Kingdom, he said."
U.K. Institutes New Deportation Measures
I am torn by this decision. There is a part of me that really believes that this is the right move and another that is concerned about sliding down the slippery slope.
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4 comments:
Yes, well, the first problem is where would we deport the Ku Klux Klan and who would take them?
This truly is a slipperly slope and once you slide down, it a damn sight harder to climb back up to high ground.
Great Britain is not a true democracy, and this does not represent a complete negation of everything they were founded for or on.
I completely understand the sentiment and desire for security. BUT
Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither liberty nor security. Benjamin Franklin
I think Tony Blair is doing the right thing.
That's a very bold statement —
They come here and they play by our rules and our way of life. If they don't, they are going to have to go.
— but I think it's entirely justified.
Western countries are open to immigrants looking for an opportunity to better their lot in life, and contribute something to our countries. But why should we be open to immigrants who merely want to exploit our openness to sow hatred and/or violence against us? As long as that's the sort of thing Blair has fixed his sights on, I think we should support him in it.
"Bad Maria", you make a good point about homegrown evil types. We can't very well hand our problems off to someone else, so we have to find a different solution for citizens who promote hatred and violence. But it doesn't mean immigrants are the only source of evil, and it doesn't mean that the same behaviour is less acceptable from an immigrant than from someone born in the West.
I'm not sure what you mean, "Great Britain isn't a true democracy." It certainly is. I'm writing from Canada, where we also have a Queen. But she doesn't actually run the country! We elect the people who govern us, as does Great Britain.
Q
My biggest problem with this is my concern over opening the door to potential problems.
As a Jew I am well aware of the history of persecution and oppression towards us as well as that pointed at other groups.
It seems to me that much of this is going to be subjective in nature and I wonder how that may influence things in the future.
Allies and interests can diverge and where are you then.
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