Readers' action: Keep London free of this ally of extremists
Published on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 14:34 Written by Gerry Gable
Here you will have read that Jacques Vergès, known as the Devil's advocate, has been invited to participate in a panel discussion on international justice at the School of Oriental and African Studies, part of the University of London.
Vergès's name will be familiar to those who have stood out against Nazism and extremist terror. For those to whom it is not well known, there is plenty of information about him on pages 6-9. This is the man who, with the financial and political backing of some of the top postwar nazis and their allies, has defended mass murderers and war criminals from Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon", to the cold-blooded terrorist killer Carlos the Jackal and more recently Pol Pot's chief Khmer Rouge henchman who was responsible for the Cambodian killing fields, where around two million men, women and children were put to death.
Why a School of London University should invite and permit his presence is beyond all reason and justice. His role goes well beyond the legal representation needed to ensure his criminal clients get a fair trial.
It may be argued that as a citizen of an EU state he has the right of entry to the UK, but it is possible for the Home Office to ban EU citizens if their presence is not conducive to the public good. We think that applies to Jacques Vergès.
Readers who want to protest about this man's visit should contact Theresa May MP, the Home Secretary, and James Brokenshire MP, the parliamentary under secretary of state responsible for crime and security, at:
The Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.
Tel: 020 7035 4848
Email: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk; james.brokenshire.mp@parliament.uk
You can also contact Professor Paul Webley, director of SOAS, to express your shock at the invitation to Vergès, at: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG Tel: 020 7898 4014 Email: pw2@soas.ac.uk
Naturally we ask you to express your views politely.