this is the action i've been waiting for, really, a show of solidarity with those who have thus far been axed and vilified, their reputations and careers ruined by white supremacists for merely standing up for their rights. at least this way it becomes plain black people are not going to sit aside and allow white sophistry to sweep this, and many other issues, under the carpet.

the nerve of this, man. they get away with so much where minorities are concerned it is ridiculous. murder, destruction of personalities... at least this way the message is clearly spelt out to the white supremacists: all those results you produce through the media and believe in? stop chasing your own tail...

it's been three days and I am curious how this has fanned out so far. anyone know if any (black) heads have rolled?

Black police call for recruitment boycott at Met
(Sophie Laslett)


Superintendant Ali Dizaei is one of a number of black and Asian officers to criticise racism inside the Metropolitan Police

Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent
The Black Police Association yesterday urged a recruitment boycott of the Metropolitan Police claiming that, despite its new leadership, the force was marked by "a hostile atmosphere where racism is allowed to spread”.

The BPA attacked both the senior management of the Met and the Metropolitan Police Association, now chaired by London mayor Boris Johnson, for not doing enough to stop racism and for not protecting its members.

The association told Times Online that it will take out a series of adverts in the national press during Black History Month warning any potential black or Asian recruits not to join the Met .

The move is a public challenge to Mr Johnson and to Sir Paul Stephenson, the Met's deputy commissioner and the favourite to succeed Sir Ian Blair who was ousted last week.

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Sir Paul recently told Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, who has accused the organisation of racism, to “shut up” and get on with his job after the force’s most senior Asian officer held a press conference to publicise his intention to pursue an employment tribunal.

A spokesman for the BPA said: “We will not put up or shut up to racism and inequality.”

A large group of black officers will attend the MPA meeting at City Hall today.

The current racism row is threatening to fuel a civil war within the Met and lead it to its worst crisis since the Macpherson report branded it “institutionally racist” in 1998. The statement from the BPA will only add to the problems that have been tearing the Met apart at the highest level.

A senior source at the Met BPA told Times Online: “We are saying that currently with the police authority as it stands and the relationship between Sir Paul Stephenson and the gold circle of officers we do not think they are serious about race and equality.

“We would be failing in our duty not to tell potential applicants what a hostile and racist situation it is there.”

Within days of Sir Ian Blair announcing his resignation as Commissioner, the BPA, which has 17,000 members nationally, said: “The Metropolitan Black Police Association will, as of today, totally boycott all recruitment drives initiated by the Metropolitan Police Service to attract black and ethnic minority recruits and police staff.

“We will actively discourage (through our extensive community network) potential applicants from applying to join the Metropolitan Police. We will take out a series of actions in the foreseeable future in support of our goal.

“The Metropolitan Police under the current management and supervision of the Metropolitan Police Authority have made the working environment for its existing black staff a hostile atmosphere where racism is allowed to spread and those who challenge it are either suspended, told to shut up or subtly held back in relation to career development.

“We would be failing our duty as an association if we did not share our current experiences with those who want to join the MPS.

“The boycott and our active discouragement will continue during Black History Month and beyond until the Metropolitan Police Leadership and the Metropolitan Police Authority convince us that they care about race and equality for its workforce and the people of London.”

more at source: Black police call for recruitment boycott at Met - Times Online

i always say black police officers, black intelligence officers, black stooges and snitches, are only told half the story where operations are concerned here in the west. they are led to the scene, shown the culprit who appears very guilty, but are not told what happened before. them white boys have been busy, and they only let these fools in on the action so they can vilify somebody, when the damage has been done.

wake up!

following the logic, it becomes clear that this collective action by "black" officers makes it very plain that this is the way it is. never mind the guys at the forefront of this action are Asians. just ask yourself, if Asians can complain, how much worse is the situation for black officers? i mean, they are viewed as less dangers in this culture than black people and are allowed to succeed more than black people. there are instances where they are treated as white, whereas such treatment is never extended to black people, even when they are half caste.

not that this is what we want, to be considered as white rather than black, we want equal rights and justice.

the point of this matter and how it connects to a structure where things are going on behind the scenes that black people are not supposed to know is this racism is not about black officers being unfit for the job, it is not some kind of initiation that white officers feel blacks should go through before they are fit for the job. it is meant to discourage them from the force, to keep them from excerting themselves in the force, to keep them subdued and subservient, to remind them of their status, to keep them from top jobs or the aspiration for them. it is targeted at especially those who think, as rolling along with the squad exposes them to situations the white power supremacists would rather keep away from them, or the black community. they do not want us to know how they are controlling us.

it is not pretty, nor is it civilized. if black people knew what white people are doing behind the scenes, they will start packing up and run... for real...

the problem is the closer to the real action one gets, the more the chances they can figure out the truth. being close to the action can expose one to what is going on behind the scenes. thinking cops or agents can eventually put two and two together and discover they are being fed lies or part truths in their everyday work, sorting out effects in their communities rather than causes.

they have not been exposed to blacks as much, and for as long as western countries, and have not colonized Afrikans and considered them burden bearers. Hungarians, and inhabitants of other former east European countries, may not have learnt of the advantages of covert, institutionalized racism. fact of the matter is, now that they are subject to EU anti racism legislation, seeing as they do not want to end racism, as long as they cannot say no, as long as they will feel they have a need to show a different face to avoid punishment, they are simply going to change their variant to covert racism. that's the way it goes.

white countries in general should just stick signs up at entry points to the country that tell black people they are not so much undesirables as lesser beings in the system, the burden bearers who should accept to be shoved around otherwise leave. the signs should read "blacks are not free here" or "blacks have no rights here".

who feels it knows it would be my reply to that. i doubt he is complaining for the sake of it, or for publicity’s sake. you cannot tell me he is just being a nuisance trying to spite somebody. this is a mature man who i take seriously in a matter such as this which, admittedly, has very broad and serious ramifications for all, and could have dire consequences for this man himself. he could not be so naive to start something like this without thinking it through.

they can choose to do either or, and in this case they chose a boycott which is just a way to put a message across, to ask for change.

i think there are other issues preventing them from taking the resignation option. they did not do anything wrong to the force but feel elements within the force they support and labor for are wrong. also, these guys are police officers doing a job that is beyond that which a politician does. they learn a lot of things which makes their positions hard to replace. it would be a major blow to the force if they resigned en masse, and i guess they know this and are just being responsible.

they went through it all like you or i would go through high school or some job, get our education, work training, diplomas, express ambition even though along the way we had to endure a lot of racism and discrimination. they were persistent in their goals to get mobile vertically, eager to beat the odds.

if you join a prestigious company aspiring to one day become a manager when you know you have what it takes, ten years later you have been elevated to the level of manager but white people who cannot even spell their name and joined the force yesterday are ahead of you. how many black people are living such lives and have not resigned? if they do decide to come out with their story tomorrow, you cannot fault them for choosing that date to reveal the BS they have been through. it's in part blood sweat and tears... the toil of such a life, and in part prevailing social mores allowing for the expression of some things, when you know people are going to listen. it is in part having enough of a given situation. its in part due to a precipitating circumstance, such as the actions of another individual within the same organization who rebels first, gets blasted, then you also follow suit... in protest.

as i said already, putting this on the level of a tactic is underestimating the maturity of these individuals. it is questioning their integrity. of course you have all the right to do so, but then the question must be asked: what do they have to gain by such an action? one of them got vilified then fired, erm, resigned whatever, for doing the same. are they so foolish to try some tactic that they know in this society will not bring them sympathy but the man's wrath? Are they so daft they would risk a ton of bricks falling on their selves or just brave men saying enough is enough?

I personally believe the latter to be the case here.

Ghaffur settles Met racism claim

Britain's most senior Asian police officer agreed an out-of-court settlement today in his race claim against Scotland Yard.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur will receive a pay-off of about £300,000 and his full pension after 34 years in policing, it is understood.

A secret deal was finally signed off after weeks of acrimonious behind-the-scenes legal wrangling between Mr Ghaffur and representatives of Britain's largest force.

Mr Ghaffur has withdrawn claims that Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and a second senior officer acted in a racist or discriminatory way towards him, a Metropolitan Police Authority spokesman said.

A statement was issued on behalf of Mr Ghaffur, Sir Ian and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan, the Met and Police Authority today.

It said: "The parties to the litigation between Mr Ghaffur, Sir Ian and Mr Bryan wish to state that terms have been agreed bringing this litigation to an end.

"The Metropolitan Police Authority has paid a sum of money in settlement of Mr Ghaffur's claims, including contractual obligations, and a contribution to his legal costs.

"Mr Ghaffur has withdrawn the proceedings and his claims that Sir Ian and Mr Bryan acted in a racist or other discriminatory way towards him.

"The Metropolitan Police Authority and the Commissioner wish to acknowledge the important service of Mr Ghaffur in the Metropolitan Police and his significant contribution to operational policing nationally during his 34-year career.

"They recognise the hurt which he has felt over the past 18 months. Mr Ghaffur will retire from the Metropolitan Police on November 27, 2008."

The senior officer signed a gagging clause and will step down from his role at the Metropolitan Police on Thursday.

Mr Ghaffur was effectively suspended in September after publicly announcing he was suing his employer for racial discrimination.

In a press conference he claimed he was sidelined, discriminated against and humiliated in his role as boss of security planning for the 2012 Olympics.

The senior officer pointed the finger of blame squarely at Sir Ian. Mr Ghaffur claimed to have compiled a damning dossier of evidence dating back several years.

He said: "I'm not seeking massive monetary benefits and I do not have grievances against the whole of the Met, an organisation that I dearly love and admire."

The allegations sparked the biggest police race row since the MacPherson report, which followed the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

It led to a boycott of ethnic minority recruitment by the Metropolitan Black Police Association.

In the following weeks, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced an assessment of how ethnic minority officers are treated in police forces throughout England and Wales.

London Mayor Boris Johnson also launched an inquiry into alleged racism within the Metropolitan Police.

The agreement will come as a relief to Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson. who takes over as acting chief on Monday following Sir Ian's resignation.

Mr Ghaffur's race claim became embroiled in further controversy when it emerged that two close advisers were under investigation in connection with other matters.

His solicitor, Shahrokh Mireskandari, of Dean & Dean, is under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Commander Ali Dizaei, a close confidant and supporter of Mr Ghaffur, is suspended pending three inquiries into alleged misconduct.

A close friend of Mr Ghaffur said the officer was almost driven to walking away from the negotiating table.

He accused the Met of repeatedly "moving the goalposts" as they requested a string of expensive legal meetings.

The friend said: "Once the leadership had changed there was no argument. It was Blair making the moves and the running.

"Tarique also wants to move on, because he realises there is no way back, rather than dragging things out for months.

"Also his legal fees. They were racking up legal fees for him that were difficult for him to meet. There was no reason once Blair had gone to carry on fighting."

The friend said Mr Ghaffur is considering establishing a safety foundation supporting vulnerable people including ethnic minorities, abused women and the poor.

He said: "It is something people feel very strongly about - if they live in a safe environment. It will give people leadership and direction."


Ghaffur settles Met racism claim - Home News, UK - The Independent