Korean Job Discussion Forums

[happeningthang]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/770575.html

[On the other hand]

[Pligganease]

Indeed, it was kinda pig-headed.

If you wear the uniform, you must swear to uphold your duty.

[Big_Bird]

I must say it seems to me to be a storm in a teacup...

Muslim PC in Israeli embassy row feared being targeted by Islamists

� Met inquiry ordered into guard duty exemption
� Constable's family 'was affected by Lebanon war'

Rosie Cowan and Vikram Dodd
Friday October 6, 2006
The Guardian


The Muslim police officer at the centre of a row over his exemption from guarding the Israeli embassy in London feared being targeted by Islamist extremists, it was claimed last night.
As the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, ordered an inquiry into the exemption, PC Alexander Omar Basha's superiors were forced to explain their decision that he was not "emotionally equipped" to be on armed duty at the embassy during the recent Israeli-Lebanese conflict.

The constable, whose wife is from Lebanon and has relatives there, works in the Metropolitan police diplomatic protection group. He has never been stationed at the Israeli embassy, but requested during the summer that he not be sent there because of his family background and concerns for his safety.
Muslim police representatives said PC Basha was worried that he might be the focus of groups such as al-Muhajiroun and al-Ghurabaa.

The decision to excuse him from one protection responsibility provoked fierce controversy about whether police officers should be allowed to "pick and choose" their duties for moral reasons.

Superintendent Dal Babu, of the Association of Muslim Police Officers, said: "There was heightened tension and al-Muhajiroun and al-Ghurabaa have targeted Muslim officers in the past and he didn't want to be in that position. The officer's family were affected by the war. He has friends and relatives who are Lebanese Muslims and Christians."

He said that PC Basha was now back to his normal duties. "If any incident happens at the Israeli embassy, he will deal with it."

Amid the controversy, Scotland Yard insisted that the officer's managers had acted on grounds of "risk and safety". Paul Stephenson, the deputy commissioner, said: "Every day, Metropolitan police officers put their duties above their political, religious or ideological views. The Met has a long history of policing difficult demonstrations, marches or events, no matter what the personal view of the officers involved might be."

The deputy commissioner said that at the height of the Israeli-Lebanon conflict in August, the officer flagged up his concerns, which included that he had Lebanese relatives.

A risk assessment was carried out and as a result of this, and "not because of the officer's personal views, whatever they might have been", it was decided not to deploy him to the embassy at that time.

He said it was especially important that armed officers were "emotionally" equipped. "If someone comes forward and says they have concerns that may impede them doing their duty, then the public would expect us to carry out such a risk assessment, particularly when that officer is carrying a firearm,and one of the things that assessment would look at is his state of mind to discharge that [firearm] in difficult circumstances."

However, Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain urged caution: "Any person joining the police force, no matter what their religious background, has a duty to help in upholding the law and should be carrying out their duty as any other police officer," he said.

"In this case, and despite objections to Israel's bombing of Lebanon and concerns over his family's safety, it is important that the law is upheld. The Met has taken a number of steps to encourage people from ethnic minorities to join the force and I would hope this doesn't discourage people from applying."

Chief Superintendent Ali Dizaei, adviser to the National Black Police Association, said decisions to excuse officers from certain duties were common. "Dispensations for certain duties are an everyday occurrence for all sorts of reasons. One example might be an officer who has had a child die being exempt from dealing with cot deaths or child murders for a time. You can't predict what sort of circumstances arise. It's very much a judgment call for the senior officer involved.

"But I think the subtext here is the current hypersensitivity about the Muslim police officers and any perception that they are getting preferential treatment, which is absolutely not the case."

The Metropolitan police authority, which briefly discussed the issue at a committee meeting with Mr Stephenson yesterday, had mixed views. One member, Peter Herbert, said the officer's request was "perfectly legitimate", but another, Damien Hockney, said: "By allowing this officer to avoid guard duties at the Israeli embassy, the Met has set a dangerous precedent."

But the officer won support from other colleagues. Glen Smyth, chairman of the Met Police Federation, said: "He simply asked if he could be given another posting and on the basis of what he said that was agreed to and his duties were varied. It seems fairly sensible to me."

For full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1888936,00.html

[Neil]

These decisions have been going on for 20 years. Catholic policemen were allowed to not have to defend protestant locations in the 70s.

But mention the M word and the press start wacking off.

[sundubuman]

Wow, this will truly educate Americans about the tribal lunacies your people dwell in.


Really, Catholics were excused from defending Protestant sites????



You think 300,000,000 FUTURE-oriented Americans will understand this crap?


It's no wonder why we told the King to f u c k off.


Equivocation is for losers.