This is the press statement issued by Tower Hamlets Respect (Renewal) about the attack on Oli Rahman.

 

Azmal Hussain condemns attack on councillor

 Azmal Hussain, chair of Tower Hamlets Respect, today condemned the violent attack last night on Councillor Oliur Rahman, the former Respect councillor for St Dunstans and Stepney Green.

 According to Councillor Rahman he was assaulted by three men of Bngladeshi origin yesterday evening as he was walking home. He was forced to the ground and suffered bruising.

Azmal Hussain commented: “I condemn this violent attack on Councillor Rahman. He has suffered mentally and physically and his elderly mother is also very upset. I hope there is a thorough investigation by the police and the culprits are caught and punished.”

27 responses to “Tower Hamlets Respect condemns attack on councillor”

  1. This is a very positive step. I am glad to see that the Tower Hamlets Respect Renewal have condemned this violence. Hopefully people who are supporters of Galloway (as evidenced by the e-mail that was sent) will realise this isn’t the way to express political disagreements.

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  2. (as evidenced by the e-mail that was sent)

    But of course, as any detective will confirm, the only thing that is proven by the fact that an email was sent…. is that an email was sent. Who sent it, and from what motive, cannot be taken at face value but has to be investigated.

    So why still the smear, the ‘guilty until proven innocent’?

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  3. Ian – Even Liam has admitted that the thugs were probably misguided Respect Renewal supporters. Why are you so adamant in claiming this had nothing to do with what has happened recently in Respect instead of using your energy to condemn thuggery?

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  4. “Liam has admitted that the thugs were probably misguided Respect Renewal supporters.”

    He said he had a hunch, no more than that. He doesn’t know who they were any more than you do. He could just as easily be completely wrong.

    That is not the same thing as ‘admitting’ anything.

    Why are you using all your energy to smear Respect Renewal? Answer … because you are politically motivated in doing so.

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  5. Ian,
    Are you comfortable with your Jamaat alliance?

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  6. Uuh… “as any detective will confirm”, those of us attempting to hold Respect Renewal to account for the behaviour of its supporters (what Ian calls a “smear”)…”are politically motivated in doing so”!!!!

    Curses! Exposed again! very little gets past that Ian Donovan bloke, does it?

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  7. Jim, do I get this right, violence has no place in the workers’ movement, but politically motivated smears do?

    Respect Renewal have condemned the attacks – they are not accountable for the actions of the attackers, unless, of course they were acting under instruction – but you don’t want to say that, do you?

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  8. I HAVE EDITED THIS COMMENT TO REMOVE REMARKS ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL. THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR THAT DISCUSSION.

    Lobby Ludd says it is a vile smear to implicate Respect Renewal for this physical assault. No it’s not. A condemnation has been made. But days after this was called for. It is obvious that this assault was not the work of fascists, or ordinary thugs. It was motivated by support for the ‘politics’ of the communalist businessmen who are the heart of Respect Renewal.

    Galloway’s unworthy placeman on Respect’s conference arrangements committee is as culpable for these assaults as those councillors who refused to support Gay Pride are culpable for the murder of gay men for the “crime” of being a “poofter.”

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  9. Tami “hunch” and “admit” have subtly different meanings and while I’m flattered by your confidence in my baseless speculation it’s best not to rely on it too much.

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  10. Yeah, whatever, Tom.

    I suggest more, or possibly less, tonic in the gin.

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  11. Amazing how the Galloway fan-club is suddenly so unwilling to add up 2 and 2 to make 4 – or to honour the elementary socialist principle of condemning violence within the left – even (or rather, especially) when it comes from your own side.

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  12. Jim, what is the title of this post? If you look closely you will find a condemnation of the attack.

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  13. Every condemnation I’ve read from contributors to this blog (ie the “left” Galloway fans) has been hedged around with caveats, suggestions that it was the work of fascists/the stae, the logical outcome of the SWP’s failure to allow Respect to develop into a party, questioning the very facts of what happened, etc, etc. In fact, the Councillor’s statement is the first straightforward, unequivocal condemnation I’ve read. We would have had to wait a long while for an equally simple, clear-cut statement from the ISG.

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  14. Jim Denham:

    “In fact, the Councillor’s statement is the first straightforward, unequivocal condemnation I’ve read. We would have had to wait a long while for an equally simple, clear-cut statement from the ISG.”

    Liam at the top of “Respect reborn” (the blog posting preceding this one:

    “It goes without saying that the attack and the cyber thuggery will be condemned by anyone who is serious about building Respect.”

    Looks pretty unequivocal to me. Proof positive, to any fair-minded person, that Jim Denham is a liar.

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  15. Jim, you really are a tiresome individual. Will you not rest until you get a confession from the Respect Renewal group as that is clearly what you are after.

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  16. CHAB, you’ll soon see how wrong you are.

    I’ve just handed the police secret video footage of the attack proving that it was Galloway that did it, with the assistance of Yaqoob, Elvis and the Loch Ness monster.

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  17. As anyone who has listened to bourgeois politicians will know, after a statement is made (“of course, it goes without saying that…”), the words “however…” or “but…” are often followed by eqivocations and caveats, that in effect completely undermine the orginal statement, rendering it virtually meaningless. That’s what is happening here, and Galloway’s “left” apologists would do well to take a long, hard look at how they’ve responded to the latest example of thuggery and violence that is never far from the surface when Galloway’s around.

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  18. Jim,

    Everyone condemns the attack. I seem to remember being in a Respect meeting in Birmingham where you were threatening Stuart, and you ended up chasing him around the room. Is there a quota for how many times a day you have to look stupid?

    Honestly, your demand that this or that person condemns something that they are obviously against, and unconnected with, it is just a way to use collective responsibility.

    Duncan.

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  19. And I mean collective responsibility in the sense that aggressors and frame-up merchants punish one person for the crimes of others.

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  20. And while we are at it, when will the AWL, the LRC and Uncle Tom Cobbly and all condem the attack?

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  21. Jim said : As anyone who has listened to bourgeois politicians will know, after a statement is made (”of course, it goes without saying that…”), the words “however…” or “but…” are often followed by eqivocations and caveats, that in effect completely undermine the orginal statement, rendering it virtually meaningless.

    You mean like : Jim Denham can writes sentences BUT they are full of shit? Ah yes, I see what you mean now. Genius

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  22. strange, but when you think about the level of sectarianism and snide comments which are bandied back and forth, both here and on SU blog, then it surprising that socialists can even agree on how many days there are in a week, let alone create a large unified left of Labour grouping

    if you ever wanted to put someone off of socialists then just show them the fallout from the Respect split, these comment boxes and they’d run a mile

    all of this small-mindedness and bitchiness it is a true gift to the Daily Mail

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  23. moralityblog said: it surprising that socialists can even agree on how many days there are in a week, let alone create a large unified left of Labour grouping

    What are you raving about now? Everyone on the left knows there are ten days in the week, sans-culottides excepted.

    24 Brumaire, An 216

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  24. It is interesting you see, because recently Tawfiq Chahbourne wrote a very erudie and interesting demolition of Martin Amis’s islamophobia on the SU blog, and in that article Tawfiq quoted Martin Amis as saying:

    “The Muslim community will have to suffer until it gets its house in order. What sort of suffering? Not letting them travel. Deportation – further down the road. Curtailing of freedoms. Strip-searching people who look like they’re from the Middle East or from Pakistan . . . Discriminatory stuff, until it hurts the whole community and they start getting tough with their children. They hate us for letting our children have sex and take drugs – well, they’ve got to stop their children killing people. It’s a huge dereliction on their part. I suppose they justify it on the grounds that they have suffered from state terrorism in the past, but I don’t think that’s wholly irrational.”

    To which Jim Denham of the allegedly socialist AWL commented:
    http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=971#comment-14420

    “Amis is 100% right about Islamism; pity that mots of the so-called “left” haven’t got his guts or principles, on that issue: Marx would most certainly have applauded him, but, then most of you haven’t even read Marx, have you?; ”

    I am surprised the AWL don’t expel him for that.

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  25. bravo, applause Andy,

    cutting and pasting something you already wrote over a week ago, to have a not too subtle dig at Jim Denham is very petty

    I’m sure if people were to cut and paste the same things onto your blog that you’d delete their posts, oh, I forgot you already did that 🙂

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  26. Modernity

    I think it is an absolute scandal that Jim Denham openly backs out and out racism.

    I was not trying to be subtle.

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  27. Can we end this discussion about JD? There’s a world out there of more important and useful things to get annoyed about.

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