Judging by Blair's resolute tone, Lenta.ru reports, the British capital will soon lose the unofficial name "Londonistan", acquired due to the influx of immigrants from Muslim Eastern countries.
Despite active support for American methods of combating international terrorism, Britain has until now adhered to a very liberal policy towards immigrants. The breadth of British tolerance can be assessed at least by the example of Abu Hamza al-Masri and Omar Bakri Mohammed - Muslim preachers who regularly gave speeches of the most radical kind in London mosques. Hamza, who received British citizenship in 1981, until recently actively spread his extremist views, despite periodic problems with the police. In 2003, he was banned from conducting worship services in the mosque in the London district of Finsbury Park, but this turn of events did not force Hamza to abandon the propaganda of Islamic fundamentalism: after being expelled from the mosque, he retrained as a street preacher.
The patience of the British authorities ran out only last year. Hamza was arrested at the request of the American authorities, who accuse him of ties to the leadership of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, involvement in the capture of 16 foreign hostages in Yemen in 1998, an attempt to create a terrorist training base in Oregon in 1999, and recruitment of militants. In Britain, the preacher was charged with incitement to murder, inciting ethnic hatred, and possessing audio recordings and other materials with threats and insults against non-Muslims. The British government refused to extradite Hamza to the Americans, demanding guarantees that he would not be sentenced to death in the United States.
The second London preacher, Omar Bakri Mohammed, received political asylum in Britain in 1985 after being deported from Saudi Arabia, where he was accused of involvement in the activities of terrorist organizations. In London, the sheikh led the radical Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun, which, according to some data, was recently transformed into a new Islamist organization. Bakri is still at large and still allows himself to make radical political statements. Last year, he declared Britain his country, promised Londoners inevitable terrorist attacks, and expressed confidence that one day the banner of Islam would be raised over the prime minister's residence on Downing Street. After the explosions in the British capital, he placed responsibility for the terrorist attacks on Blair's government and the entire British people, reproaching them for disobeying Osama bin Laden. According to the preacher, "terrorist number one" offered all European countries a peace treaty, which the British imprudently refused.
Judging by Blair's speech, the British government is now even less inclined to negotiate with terrorists than ever. Downing Street does not intend to follow the example of Spain, which withdrew its troops from Iraq as soon as possible after a series of terrorist attacks in Madrid committed in the spring of last year. Blair announced that Britain would receive a new counter-terrorism law as early as autumn, for the preparation of which MPs would have to shorten their vacation by a month. In addition, the British government is preparing a whole series of proposals that will not require changes to legislation. These proposals are being developed urgently - Blair gave one month for their discussion.
Blair's speech indicates a fundamental change in Britain's policy towards immigrants. The head of the British government stated his readiness to amend the human rights law in order to combat terrorism. This law reflects the norms of the European Convention on Human Rights, which, in particular, prohibits deporting immigrants to countries where they face torture and cruel treatment. Blair has already figured out a way to solve this problem. According to him, Britain is negotiating with about 10 countries, seeking guarantees of humane treatment for deported immigrants. The list of these countries includes Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia.
The new policy of the British government provides for deportation not only for involvement in the activities of terrorist organizations, but also for approving violence for religious purposes. "Anyone who has participated in terrorist attacks or has any connection to them anywhere will be automatically denied asylum in our country. Let no one doubt that the rules of the game are changing," Blair warned. According to him, the British government will compile a special rating of websites, a list of organizations and bookstores, whose customers will be subject to deportation from the country. The first to be included in the new "black list" was the Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which aims to establish an Islamic caliphate in Central Asia. In addition, Blair announced the banning of the organization created on the basis of Al-Muhajiroun.
Overall, Blair's initiatives mean a significant expansion of the powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The British government is seriously considering a significant increase in the maximum period of detention of suspects without charge - from 14 days to three months. Another decisive change concerns the procedure for considering complaints about illegal deportation. The British Prime Minister considers it necessary to consider these complaints after expulsion.
As the British press writes, Blair's proposals largely correspond to the experience of France - a country known for its very tough attitude toward suspects of involvement in terrorism. In his speech, the British prime minister mentioned France, though in a different context: he called it inadmissible that a man wanted in France on suspicion of involvement in a terrorist attack a decade ago in the Paris metro had not been expelled. Unlike the British, the French do not hesitate to deport immigrants who may pose a security threat. At the same time, it is extremely difficult to accuse France of religious intolerance: this country has the largest Muslim population in the European Union - about five million people. Blair also does not want to quarrel with Muslims. He once again stressed that religious fanatics should not be confused with law-abiding citizens, and promised to consult with Islamic leaders when making serious decisions. The British prime minister announced his intention to create a special commission with the participation of Muslims, which would determine ways to integrate the Islamic population into British society, taking into account religious and cultural traditions.
Britain's new immigration policy in the coming months may lead to the deportation of dozens of immigrants. Blair did not estimate their number, limiting himself to the remark that those expelled would be "more than a handful". According to the American newspaper Washington Times, some EU countries have already begun actively deporting unwanted immigrants after the London terrorist attacks. Other states are hastily preparing a legislative basis for deportations. In particular, Austria has legalized the expulsion of Muslim clerics whose sermons threaten public security.
Blair's speech was the most striking confirmation that Europe, having supported the United States in the fight against terrorism, was forced to adopt the American experience not only in foreign, but also in domestic policy. The numerous protests against the infringement of civil rights and freedoms, which have long been heard overseas, are sure to be heard in the Old World as well. It is obvious that traditional European liberalism will have to undergo a serious test, which may provide an answer to the question of whether it is possible in principle to maintain a balance between human rights and security.