April 20, 2010 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

Nigeria: Continuing Reports of Attacks on Christians, Farmers

Multiple reports from the media and NGOs are being released this week on multiple efforts to attack Nigeria Christians and farmers, some of which have been prevented by the military and some which have resulted in deaths. On April 21, 2010, THISDAY reported the exhumation of seven new bodies of people murdered by Fulani herdsmen in Riyom, where two Christian farmers were murdered on April 19, 2010.

Nigeria – This Day: Jos Killing: Seven Bodies Exhumed in Riyom
— “Seven fresh dead bodies believed to be those of travelers were yesterday evening exhumed from three shallow graves by Military Special Task Force (STF) in Rahoss in Riyom local government area of Plateau State.”
— “They were believed to have been killed secretly in the early hours of yesterday by hoodlums.
— “This followed a renewed attack in the area on Monday evening in which suspected Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed five in the area.
— “The youth in the area were said to have gone wild after the attack, a development that allegedly led to the attack of the travelers.
— “THISDAY gathered that the Fulani made an unexpected attack on Rim village on Monday evening and raided some farmers who were returning from their farms, killing five and injuring many others, before the men of the Military STF got to the scene.

Compass Direct News: “Nigeria: Pastor, Wife Killed in Northern Nigeria ”
— “Suspected extremists last week abducted and killed a Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor and his wife in Boto village, Bauchi state in northern Nigeria. The Rev. Ishaku Kadah, 48, and his 45-year-old wife Selina were buried on Saturday (April 17) after unidentified assailants reportedly whisked them from their church headquarters home on Tuesday (April 13) and killed them. Their burnt bodies were found hours later.”

Nigeria: loss of confidence in army grows as attacks continue
— Inspire magazine: “A man and woman were killed and three people are missing after Fulani tribesmen attacked a group of miners near Rim village, Plateau State, Nigeria, yesterday at midday.”

Nigerian troops foil sectarian attack
— AFP: “The Nigerian army said Monday it had averted an attack by suspected Muslim extremists on a mainly Christian village in the flashpoint central Plateau State, killing two gunmen.”

Nigeria: Two Christian farmers killed in Nigeria
— AFP: “Kano – Two Christian farmers were killed on Monday and two others went missing in fresh attacks by suspected Muslim-Fulani nomads in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, police and residents said.”
— “The Fulani nomads allegedly attacked the farmers who were working on their farms ahead of the rainy season in Christian-dominated Riyom village, 30km south of Jos, capital of the volatile state.”
— “‘We received reports that four people were declared missing in Riyom after they went to the farm in the early morning but never returned,” Plateau State police spokesperson Mohammed Lerama told reporters on the phone from Jos.”
— “‘A search team discovered two bodies out of the four missing farmers. The two others are still unaccounted for,’ Lerama said.”
— “Riyom resident, Daniel Pam, blamed Fulani nomads for the attack.”
— “‘It is obvious the killings were carried out by the Fulani nomads who have been on the prowl in the last two months,” Pam also said on phone from Riyom village.”
April 19, 2010 – NEXT: Two killed in another attack in Jos
— “At least two persons were killed in the early hours of Sunday morning in an attack on Bisichi Community, in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.”
— “The Chairman of Jos South Local Government Council, Moses Dalyop, confirmed the attack to the News Agency of Nigeria, saying that the attackers invaded the village at about 3 a.m.”
— “Mr. Dalyop said, ‘I am a very sad person today following an attack on Bisichi again in the early hours of today. I am surprised that innocent people have continued to be killed in their sleep, despite the curfew.'”

Burials of victims at the Dogo Nahawa village, in Jos recently. Photo: NEXT

Indonesia: Jakarta, Constitutional Court: blasphemy law is legitimate

Indonesia under fire for upholding scripture over rights

Pakistan: Catholic Family Threatened; Calls for Religious Tolerance

Pakistani Brothers Threaten Family of Catholic Who Wed Muslim

Pakistan: Speakers stress need for religious tolerance
— Pakistan Newspaper Criticizes Pakistan as “Becoming an Increasingly Intolerant Nation”

Northern Ireland: Court stops Muslim girls ‘being sent abroad for marriage’

Northern Ireland: Court stops Muslim girls ‘being sent abroad for marriage’ — to Pakistan

Belfast Telegraph reports:

— “Two Muslim girls have been stopped from travelling abroad in what is thought to be the first case of its kind in Northern Ireland, after a judge feared they were being sent for forced marriages. High Court judge Mr Justice Stephens, sitting in Belfast, imposed a forced marriage protection order for the girls aged 12 and 14. Mr Justice Stephens ruled on behalf of the children, identified as G and D, after the authorities claimed false documents were produced as part of a planned deception by their parents. An unnamed Trust alleged a claim the girls were to be sent for several years’ education in Pakistan was a pretext for the real motive.”

Iraq: Women’s Rights Researcher on “Honor Killings”

Iraq: Women’s Rights researcher states “honor killing” is “major religious factor in the Middle East”
— “‘Honor killing in general is an action that is a major religious factor in the Middle East,’ said women affairs researcher Mrs. Qaradaghi.”

St. Louis: White Separatist Chased From Tea Party Political Event

A YouTube video shows a St. Louis political “Tea Party” group member has confronted a self-proclaimed “racist” and “separatist” white individual wearing a shirt with the Neo-Nazi logo “Blood and Honor” group, stating that the individual with the Nazi group shirt does not represent the values of the Tea Party political group.

The individual with the Nazi shirt stated at one point that he was with the “Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,” and then asks the person filming and questioning him if he was a “member of the Council of Conservative Citizens” (CofCC), which is a “white nationalist” group. As R.E.A.L. has previously reported, in Florida, the CofCC has repeatedly attempted to infiltrated Tea Party political events, and subsequently the CofCC created its own “Tea Party” group, which was rejected by other Florida “Tea Party” organizations. When the St. Louis “Tea Party” representative says that he does not belong to the CofCC, the individual in the Nazi shirt clearly says “I do” [belong to the CofCC].

On the YouTube video, the St. Louis Tea Party representative rejects these groups and the Nazi shirt with a small swastika on it as not representative of the Tea Party group values, stating “the swastika is not welcome at the Tea Party.” The individual with the Nazi shirt states “I don’t care what you stand for, I care what I stand for.” He also tells the videographer that “I probably go to church more than you, I am a trustee.”

St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist" with Blood & Honor Group Shirt at Political Event (Photo: YouTube)

The self-proclaimed “racist” attendee states that “I am proud to be a racist… I am not a Nazi, I am a proud racist, I am white.” He then angrily states “if more people stood up for the white rights, you would not need 25 percent blacks on a job…” He then tells the person with the Tea Party political group “you guys are a bunch of wimps, you need to stand up for your racial purity.” When he then states that “I am a separatist,” the Tea Party representative replies “then separate yourself .”

St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist:" "You need to stand up for your racial purity..." (Photo: YouTube)

St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist" Avoiding Videographer at "Tea Party" Event (Photo: YouTube) — St. Louis: Self-Proclaimed "Racist" with "Blood and Honor" Shirt Avoiding Videographer at "Tea Party" Event (Photo: YouTube)

For those who are unfamiliar with the “Blood and Honor” Nazi group, Against Nazi has previously reported that it was a U.K.-founded group with U.S. supporters. “Blood and Honor” Nazi events have been promoted on the “white nationalist hate group” Stormfront, headquartered in Florida, and who were big promoters of the failed Washington DC area “American Renaissance” event that was cancelled in February 2010. The self-proclaimed “racist” individual at the St. Louis public event was wearing a Nazi and skinhead promoting shirt and hat. The “deaths head” logo on the front of the Nazi’s shirt and his hat are products that we have seen before. The back of the shirt is not something we have seen before, but elements of it are consistent with other B&H and Aryan supremacist merchandise.

R.E.A.L. has also previously reported on the efforts of other “white nationalist” groups such as the Occidental Dissent, the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), and their supporters to attempt to infiltrate and persuade Tea Party groups to adopt racial hatred. The Occidental Dissent claimed success on April 15 by infiltrating a Washington DC based Tea Party event. The Occidental Dissent, whose mission is the “the creation of a Jew-free, racially exclusive White ethnostate in North America,” used the Gadsden Flag as way to integrate with the Tea Party April 15 event, despite their open and clear contempt for the United States of America.

On April 15, 2010, “Hunter Wallace” of the white nationalist Occidental Dissent wrote:

“I will say this though: there is a common thread that unites the Tea Party protesters with the militias and gun enthusiasts (and the White Nationalists) we saw in Kentucky. All of these groups are starting to rally around a common anti-government symbol: the Gadsden flag.”
“Where there is smoke, there is fire… Several of the Tea Party signs were caricatures of Obama that struck me as mildly negrophobic. They had slightly exaggerated racial features that brought to mind the Jim Crow minstrel show cartoons that I collect back home. The punchline: this man in the White House, the bloodsucking illegitimate thief stealing our money, is a sort of absurd African foreigner. This type of milquetoast racial humor seemed to be quite popular among the crowd.”
“Carl Cameron of FOX News made an appearance. I stood less than five feet away from him waving the Gadsden flag in the background of the U.S. Capitol. I don’t know if any of this was on television. There were other ‘Alternative Right’ commentators on the ground in DC. We saw someone from The Political Cesspool walking among the crowd. Stuff Black People Don’t Like was on the scene and chatted with us. The racialist alternative media has grown by leaps and bounds over the past year.”

R.E.A.L. has repeatedly seen the use of the Gadsden flag not only by political groups, but also by anti-American groups such as the Occidental Dissent whose leader seeks to recreate a white nationalist Confederate States of America. The self-proclaimed racist who was chased from the St. Louis Tea Party political event stated that he was a member of the white nationalist Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC); this same CofCC also widely promotes the use of the Gadsden flag as part of its events as well, and has been doing since before the existence of the “Tea Party” political groups.

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We support our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge Nazi, white supremacist, racial supremacist, and those who promote hate and to release the burden of the hate and violence from their hearts, and to rejoin the family of humanity in support of our universal human rights.

Choose love, not hate. Love Wins.

The Gadsden Flag and Those Who Promote Hate

The first use of a “snake” symbol in American history was simply to signify the divided the 13 colonies and the need to “join or die” as a united nation. The later “Gadsden flag” of uncertain origin, was used by U.S. Marine Continental Colonel Christopher Gadsden on his ships in warfare against the British army, after seeing the “rattlesnake” symbol on some drums in Philadelphia. The Gadsden flag is a historic symbol associated with military conflict.

The use of the Gadsden flag for current political disagreement is not a major part of U.S. political history, as the Gadsden flag has predominantly been associated with historic military conflict. Unfortunately, in addition to the Gadsden flag’s past use as part of military history, there has also been use of the Gadsden flag by groups promoting anti-government militias and racial oriented hate groups.

Because of this, those groups that have used the Gadsden flag for their political views today, are now being joined by those who have also used the Gadsden flag and who promote hate and even violence against their fellow Americans. Unfortunately for those using the Gadsden flag strictly for their political causes, many extremist hate groups have sullied the Gadsden flag for years, by using it to promote their “fight” against our human rights of equality and liberty.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has repeatedly seen the use of the Gadsden flag not only by political groups and by anti-government groups , but also by anti-American groups such as the Occidental Dissent whose leader seeks to recreate a white nationalist Confederate States of America. We have seen groups such as the white nationalist Occidental Dissent, the white nationalist American Renaissance, the white nationalist Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), and even the Hutaree militia (whose members have been arrested for a terrorist plot) all utilizing the Gadsden flag as a banner. (Notably the individual with the Nazi shirt chased from an April 2010 St. Louis “Tea Party” political event, claimed to be a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens” (CofCC) – that has been promoting the Gadsden flag long before the existence of the “Tea Party” political groups.

The Occidental Dissent claimed success on April 15 by infiltrating a Washington DC based Tea Party event. The Occidental Dissent, whose mission is the “the creation of a Jew-free, racially exclusive White ethnostate in North America,” used the Gadsden Flag as way to integrate with the Tea Party April 15 event, despite their open and clear contempt for the United States of America.

On April 15, 2010, “Hunter Wallace” of the white nationalist Occidental Dissent wrote:

For many years, Stormfront “white nationalist hate group” forum members have frequently supported using the Gadsden flag to send a symbol of their views. Stormfront forum members have been associated with terrorist plots to kill 102 Americans, have been involved in the murdering of police, and have reportedly called for the assassination of American politicians. Stormfront forum members have praised the 2009 attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the 2010 attack on the Pentagon, the 2010 Austin terrorist attack, and even the 9/11 attackers. As early as 2006, a Stormfront “white nationalist” forum member stated “The Gadsden Flag is PERFECT for our struggle. It’s bright, and it represents a fight!”

To those who simply seek political change, does it makes sense to use a historic symbol that has been sullied by so many hate groups that seek “a fight” in support of racism or other supremacist views?

"White Nationalist" Occidental Dissent Group that Seeks "White Ethnostate" Promoting Gadsden Flag

Screen shot of "white nationalist hate group" American Renaissance promoting Gadsden flag

"White Nationalist Hate Group" Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) and Gadsden Flag Promotion

Hutaree Militia Couple -- Arrests for Terror Plot Against Police (Gadsden Flag on Right)

Poor Child being given Automatic Weapon by Hutaree Militia Suspects (Gadsden Flag on Right)

California: Stabbing, Hate Crime Attack on Joseph Igbineweka

California college’s student president stabbed; hate crime alleged — Joseph Igbineweka called racial slurs, then stabbed

CNN reports:
— “The student body president of California State University, Chico, was recovering Monday from stab wounds suffered in what police believe was a hate crime, officials said.”
— “Joseph Igbineweka, who was born in Nigeria, was stabbed early Sunday while walking in a Chico neighborhood near the college where mostly students reside, Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield said.”
— “Igbineweka passed two men who began to make racial slurs, Merrifield said. He ignored them and continued to walk, but they followed him and continued to yell at him.”
— “Igbineweka eventually turned around, and one of the men struck him, Merrifield said. He fought back, but the man pulled a pocket knife and stabbed him at least four times, in the neck, chest, stomach and arm, according to Merrifield. The attacker fled on foot.”

— CNN video report

California: Stabbing and Hate Crime Attack on Joseph Igbineweka (Photo: CNN)

Additional reports:

— AP: Police: Student president stabbed in racist attack
— KGO: CSU Chico stabbing being called a hate crime
— Chico Enterprise Record: Chico State Associated Students president recalls attack
— UPI: Man arrested in hate crime stabbing
— “Barry Sayavong was ordered held in the county jail on $250,000 bail after Joseph Igbineweka, 23, was stabbed multiple times in the neck, arms and hands while walking home from a party Sunday.”
— Sacramento Bee: Chico hate crime victim calls it an isolated incident; suspect’s sister calls it mistaken identity

Pakistan Newspaper Criticizes Pakistan as “Becoming an Increasingly Intolerant Nation”

Pakistan Dawn: “An intolerant nation”
— Dawn: “We are reaping the harvest of the seeds of hatred sown in the seventies and eighties. Pakistan is becoming an increasingly intolerant nation where religious and sectarian minorities live in fear and are awarded little or no protection by the state.”
— “Difference is unacceptable to the obscurantists who want everyone to toe their line. And if that takes intimidation, torture or even murder, then so be it, for no option is unavailable to the self-righteous who believe that they alone have seen the light.”
— “This mindset is not limited to the Taliban who kill in the name of religion. There is no shortage in Pakistan of sectarian and other militant outfits that feel justified in murdering Shias, Christians and Ahmadis — or indeed anyone who doesn’t share their views.”

Indonesia: Official Orders Halt to Beleaguered Church in Indonesia

Indonesia: Official Orders Halt to Beleaguered Church in Indonesia
CDN reports: “ A local government official in Bekasi, West Java last week forbid all worship of the Filadelfia Huria Kristen Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) in Jejalan village. Regent Sa’duddin on April 12 ordered a halt to all activities of the church, including worship services that have been held on a strip of roadside land since the government on Jan. 12 summarily sealed the church’s building, which was under construction.”