Whenever
we get confirmed information about his intended
campus visit, NUS will act swiftly and
severely. Oxford University, Friday, October 12, 2007 Union under fire
over extremist invitations by David
Matthews STUDENT
groups are to launch protests after the Oxford
Union invited controversial historian David
Irving (right) and British National
Party leader Nick Griffin to take part in a
free speech forum. OUSU President Martin McCluskey will
chair an emergency meeting of sabbatical officers
today, having vocally condemned the move to members
of the Oxford University Labour Club on Wednesday
night. Both the National Union of Students (NUS) and
the Union of Jewish Students have also promised to
stage demonstrations if Irving and Griffin speak on
26 November. Irving was imprisoned
in Austria in 2006 for Holocaust denial,
although at his trial he recanted his views, and is
now absolutely without doubt that the Holocaust
took place. Griffin has previously referred to the
Holocaust as the "Holohoax". Oxford Union President Luke Tryl said, "I
can confirm that we have sent invitations and are
in discussion with David Irving and Nick Griffin
for our free speech forum on 26 November." He defended his decision to invite them, saying,
"It's nothing to do with the Holocaust or racism.
We always believe that we are the last bastion of
free speech, and we want to explore where the
limits of that lie through our forum. "I expected OUSU to condemn this. I hope they'll
recognise that this isn't being done because I
sympathise with Irving or Griffin. I utterly
condemn these people's abhorrent views, but we are
a debating society committed to free speech." McCluskey claimed that any appearance would
discredit the Union. "I find it utterly appalling,"
he said. "It sets a really disturbing precedent.
The Union being a student run society, it sends out
the wrong sort of message. All this is doing is
giving them a platform in a prestigious arena. "I think as a Union member it's despicable that
my membership fee and the membership fees of
hundreds of freshers will be paying for hospitality
for Holocaust deniers." He added, "I'd want to know their reasoning as
to why they were invited. It just seems to be
courting controversy." NUS President Gemma Tumelty promised that
any appearance by Irving or Griffin would be
strongly opposed. "The Holocaust denier
David Irving and leader of the fascist BNP Nick
Griffin have no place in our multicultural
society, let alone on our diverse university
campuses. NUS utterly opposes racism and fascism
wherever it arises and will certainly oppose any
attempt by Oxford University's debating society
to invite Irving and Griffin to speak."We would condemn their
presence on any campus and will certainly be
active in campaigning to ensure that they are
not given a platform at Oxford. Whenever we get
confirmed information about his intended campus
visit, NUS will act swiftly and severely," she
said. A spokesperson for the Union of Jewish Students
(UJS) also attacked the Union's decision to invite
Irving and Griffin, and said that Irving and
Griffin's presence could be dangerous to certain
minorities of students. "We absolutely don't approve of the speakers,"
he said. "Giving credibility to the Nick Griffins
and David Irvings of this world has serious
repercussions for Jewish students and other
minorities. Where the BNP appear, we see a rise in
racism, and that's something the Oxford Union
President should take into account. The Union stated that Dr Evan Harris,
Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon,
would also speak at the forum alongside author
Anne Atkins and student debaters drawn from
the Union's members. "I have agreed to debate the subject 'This
house believes that even extremists have a right to
freedom of expression within the law' at the Oxford
Union," Dr Harris said. "It follows logically
that I will not seek to support extremists by
refusing to debate free speech with them. "Extremist or offensive, but otherwise lawful
speech should be ignored, ridiculed or argued
against. It should not be shut down or driven
underground. It is counter-productive to make free
speech martyrs out of these people," he added. In 2001, Union President Amy Harland
cancelled a planned appearance by Irving after
protests and fierce debate among the University
community. The University and College Union stated that the
Union was repeating its previous error. A spokesman said, "We have been here before when
Irving was invited to speak in 2001. The outcry
that followed ensured that invitation was
withdrawn. We do not understand why seven years on,
with Irving's academic credentials far from
enhanced, the Oxford Union wishes to repeat that
mistake." In January 2007, Griffin was prevented from
taking part in an Oxide Radio interview due to
OUSU's no-platform policy, which denies OUSU venues
and services to those with fascist views. -
Our
dossier on the Lipstadt Trial
-
-
David
Irving issues a warning letter: "I shall without
further notice issue a Claim in
Defamation"
-
Jewish
Chronicle editorial, "Irving and the
JC"
-
Why
Irving regretted his days in
court
-
A
Radical's Diary: The Jewish Chronicle is
becoming Irving-obsessed
-
Previously: Jewish
Chronicle expresses Outrage of Traditional
Enemies of Free Speech at David Irving's UK
tour:
pulling out all the stops to get the meetings
banned and
cancelled
| Its
leader-writer gets tangled in a twist: "Freedom
of speech is one of the principles our society
holds most dear. ...
That
is why we urge any public-hall booking clerk,
university administrator or private landlord to
refuse to give Irving a platform"
-
-
David
Irving's Books
The
Deborah Lipstadt Libel action-
-
Divided
loyalties -
Board
of Deputies of "British Jews" demanded of the
Austrian ambassador in 1992 that his country
imprison British historian David
Irving
-
David
Irving: A Radical's Diary: On
The Forward interview on the Holocaust, and the
interesting "Mel Gibson" theory that Jews have
been behind many of last century's
wars
| Jewish Telegraph Agency blurts out:
George
W Bush's Pro-'surge' group in Iraq is almost all
Jewish
- Coincidence, says one, "half of the donors
contributing to its $15 million ad campaign are
not Jewish" - and most of the GIs,
too
-
David
Irving: A Radical's Diary: Hysterical
efforts by the don't-debate-them, anti-free
speech gang meet some success
-
|