PEACE TALKS HELD AFTER RAMPAGE AT RESTAURANT

This article appears on the front page of today's Leicester Mercury:

Peace talks held after rampage at restaurant

Police and faith leaders met last night to find ways of easing tensions after the ransacking of a Muslim-owned restaurant by a 40-strong Sikh mob.

The city's top officers sat with representatives from Leicester Council of Faiths to discuss the apparently orchestrated attack by a vigilante gang at the Moghul Durbar restaurant, in East Park Road, Spinney Hills, on Monday night.

Police said they were worried the incident – which they said was fuelled by false rumours – would lead to revenge attacks and escalate as both groups sought retaliation.

City police commander Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon said Monday's attack was sparked by misinformation regarding the rape of a teenage Sikh girl.

"We are aware of a number of rumours and misinformation which is circulating within the communities in Leicester," he told the Mercury.

"Firstly, a rumour that a Sikh girl has been raped and Leicestershire Police has done nothing despite being in possession of video evidence of that rape. This is not true.

"Reports that a Sikh girl has been snatched from outside a gurdwara in Leicester are also false.

"As part of a separate investigation, officers are speaking with a girl and her family in relation to concerns her family have raised for her welfare. We are unable to comment further on this investigation.

"Leicestershire Police urges members of the community not to listen to rumour or speculate about the incident."

Workers and diners were injured when a frenzied mob piled into the restaurant on Monday evening, smashing doors and windows.

Three men were still in hospital last night, in a stable condition.

Within an hour of the attack, police had arrested six Leicester men in connection with the incident.

Yesterday morning, magistrates granted the police an extension, which means officers can detain the suspects for questioning for up to 96 hours from arrest, after which they must be charged or released.

Police met members of the Sikh and Muslim communities at Mansfield House police station, in the city centre, yesterday evening, to discuss ways to relieve the tension within the Spinney Hills community. Assistant city mayor Manjula Sood, who is chairman of Leicester Council of Faiths, was at the meeting.

She said: "Both the Sikh and Muslim communities are anxious, but they must trust the police to sort this matter out.

"We should not let this one incident destroy everything we have worked to build over all these years. Police have been in touch with all the religious communities and we are meeting to see how we can resolve this issue safely and without any more incidents."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he had been in contact with the police and reiterated their call for calm.

"Something of this sort is worrying and distressing, but it's important to make the point of how unusual it is for something like this to happen in Leicester," he said. "And a lot of people have been left scratching their heads, wondering how it ever happened in the first place.

"We have to make sure that this does not go any further and the police are allowed to do their job."

Officers have been visiting places of worship, businesses and members of the community to reassure them the attack was an isolated incident.

Nosheen Awan, who runs designer clothing shop Rima's, a few doors away from the Moghul Durbar restaurant, said: "There have been a lot of rumours going around. It's hard to know what to believe.

"We haven't been open long and it's scary to know that something like this has happened."

Anyone with information relating to the incident can call police on 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

MEETING WITH POLICE RE EAST PARK ROAD INCIDENT

A meeting at Mansfield House Police Station this evening, called at short notice by Leicester Council of Faiths in association with Leicestershire Police, to discuss the recent incident at the Moghul Durbar restaurant in East Park Road.

There are 30 people attending this evening, with much wider representation than just the Council of Faiths. By my reckoning, there are six Sikh groups or organisations represented, three Muslim, two Hindu and one Christian. There are four City Councillors and three police officers. The Race Equality Centre (TREC) is also represented. Nine of those attending are members of Leicester Council of Faiths; both members of staff (Ajay and myself) are present too.

After introductions round the table, Fayyaz Suleman (Vice Chair, Leicester Council of Faiths) sets the tone,  explaining why the Council of Faiths is involved and what it can do in relation to this situation - at this meeting and, with attendees' consent and involvement, afterwards.

As far as this meeting is concerned, Fayyaz explains that the Council of Faiths and the police hope that those present will voice their concerns as individuals and as members of their respective communities and organisations; that we'll be able to receive a briefing from the police on the current situation; and that we can chart our way forward to serve the best interests of all communities, promoting cohesiveness throughout the city - not just for those directly affected.

Fayyaz then hands over to Rob Nixon, City Centre Commander, who outlines three specific topics on which he wants to speak:

1. The current state of the police investigation into the incident (including an accurate description of the incident itself as it was first reported to the police; how the police responded; what actions have been taken by the police since the incident; what the police intend to do next)
2. Wider issues on which some communities feel vulnerable (to do with protection of children and young people)
3. How to move forward, who to engage from within the faith communities and the wider city to ensure a genuine multi-agency approach that has as positive an outcome as possible.

Below are some of the key points that I note from Rob's presentation and the discussion that follows. I have not included specific details about the police investigation. These are available from the police in a variety of formats and sources.

• The police have to secure the trust and confidence of communities, families and individuals, following due process. Everyone involved has to understand that this can't be done overnight and that patience is required.
• We must move away from profiling any of our communities as predator and prey or representing the relationship between any of our communities as that of victimiser and victim
• This horrific incident is also an unasked for opportunity for people of diverse communities to come together and make common cause for a positive and progressive attitude to the issues that provoked this incident.
• We all have to help steer the narrative away from any sense of condoning the behaviour of people taking the law into their own hands.
• There needs to be a general realisation that the police are dealing with criminal behaviour, not a faith-based issue - especially not of one community set against another
• Faith community leaders, spokespeople, workers and activists should be seeking ways to join with professionals, working across faith and cultural  boundaries to protect young and vulnerable people of all communities
• The faith communities and organisations, individually and collectively, have a responsibility to take heat out of the situation via platforms within communities including their own media, mainstream media, social media, broadcast and print media in community languages
• There should be regular, frequent meetings between collective representatives of faith communities an organisations with police, the first of these being in a month's time

Closing the meeting, Cllr Manjula Sood (Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths) assured all those present that our prayers and thoughts are with those who were injured in the incident, their families and friends.

This afternoon I'd been twice by BBC Radio Leicester, with a request to go live on air tomorrow morning to speak for the Council of Faiths about the East Park Road incident and about this meeting with Leicestershire Police. Given the sensitivity of the issue, I couldn't help thinking that it might be better for an Executive Officer of the Council of Faiths to appear on the radio this time. I'd sent an email to the officers before this meeting voicing my concerns and asking that we make a decision, so that I could get back to the station with the name of the person who would speak. At the end of the meeting, our Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and I agree that I should do it. Rob, Fayyaz and I put our heads together for five minutes and agree the general content and tone of what I should say. I phone Radio Leicester just after 2200 and set up an interview by phone for just after 0800 tomorrow morning.

As we're leaving, Fayyaz passes me a draft statement about this evenign's meeting which will be useful in dealing with the media and other interested parties:

"Leicester Council of Faiths facilitated a meeting with faith leaders, the local community and police representatives. The meeting unanimously condemned the criminality involved in the incident and all have agreed to work to communicate with their grass roots communities that everything should be done to support the police investigation. They also agreed to dispel any myths and rumours among the public. The group agreed to meet regularly and assist each other in keeping Leicester united against hate and crime."

LEICESTER LGBT CENTRE LAUNCHES MULTIFAITH SUPPORT GROUP

Leicester LGBT Centre is filling a gap in its support for its members by launching a new social and support group for LGBT people of faith in March 2013. The group is well-timed to support the needs of LGBT people who feel rejection or resistance from their faith. This has been particularly highlighted by very public opposition of many faiths towards the equalisation of marriage recently. Many LGBT people currently find themselves distrusting the support of their faith leaders and, in some cases, questioning their faith itself.

The purpose of the group is to provide a friendly meeting place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who may feel excluded from their personal faith to come together and share experiences without prejudice.

Members, active or lapsed, of all faiths are welcomed. Its aim is to enhance understanding of its members’ spiritual and cultural similarities by acknowledging differences and identifying commonalities. This can only be done by sharing differences of opinion honestly but respectfully with an open voice.

Group facilitator Paul Fitzgerald states, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of faith often feel marginalised or excluded from their faith due to discriminatory practices or outdated views. We intend to provide a space where we can share ideas and values to promote good welfare among our communities and even reconnect with our personal faiths. The Leicester LGBT Centre is a perfect venue for this as it is centrally located, unattached to any particular faith and purposeful in its desire to support LGBT peoples’ differences.”

The group will start in March 2013. The Leicester LGBT Centre can be found at 15 Wellington Street, Leicester City Centre.

For further information contact Paul Fitzgerald: paul.f@leicesterlgbtcentre.org or call 01162547412.  Information will also be updated on the Centre’s website.

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,681)

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 596
2. United States 365
3. Russia 323
4. Ukraine 97
5. France 80
6. Germany 66
7. India 55
8. Poland 48
9. Spain 33
10. Canada 18

This week's total: 1,681 (last week: 1,707). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's analytics doesn't show the numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country and they don’t show the cumulative total including those additional countries, which is undoubtedly larger than the number shown above.

The world map at the top of this post is the graphic that I see on the stats page. The darker the green, the more pageviews from that country. I can see different versions of that map for "now" (i.e. in the last two hours), "today", "this week", "this month" and "all time". They're updated each time I look at them.

PROTESTER WHO TORE UP KORAN HAS CASE DROPPED AT LEICESTER COURT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Protester who tore up Koran has case dropped at Leicester court

A man who was put on trial after staging an anti-religion protest by ripping out pages from the Koran in front of Muslims has had the case against him dropped.

A jury at Leicester Crown Court failed to reach a verdict in the case against Peter James Crawford last month.

The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence and a decision was made not to continue with a fresh trial.

The case was dropped against Mr Crawford, 52, when the prosecution offered no evidence against him at a hearing – a move described by Mr Crawford's advocate as "sensible".

During the trial in December, Mr Crawford was alleged to have torn pages from his own copy of the Koran and thrown the holy book on the ground next to a stall run by the Islamic Information Centre, near the Clock Tower, in Leicester, on May 12 last year.

He told Muslim volunteers at the stall that he disagreed with their religion.

Mr Crawford, of Mere Road, Spinney Hills, Leicester, claimed in interview he was expressing his disagreement with religion of any kind, saying it was all "b******t".

He told police he would have done the same with a Bible as he did not understand either holy book and "hated" all religion.

"I'm not against the people, just their religion," he said.

James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said in his opening address to the jury last month that freedom of speech was "tradition in this country" and "people are entitled to say what they want, as long as it's not illegal in relation to the law which prevents people going out to cause harassment, alarm or distress by insulting behaviour".

He said: "It's for you to decide whether what he did was insulting or whether it was a legitimate piece of freedom of speech being exercised, or whether what he did was deliberately calculated to upset the people from the Islamic Information Centre."

The jury told the judge there was no prospect of them reaching either a unanimous verdict or one on which at least 10 of them agreed.

Mr Crawford had denied causing religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, by demonstrating hostility based on membership of a particular religious group.

Speaking this week, Mr Crawford's defence advocate during the trial, Steven Newcombe, said: "I think the prosecution made a sensible decision not to have a retrial in the light of the jury being deadlocked.

"There were other ways of dealing with this matter, rather than attempting to prosecute Mr Crawford in a crown court.

"He has learned a lesson and I'm sure he will conduct himself with a greater degree of sensitivity."

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "When jury cannot decide on a verdict, the prosecution must decide whether to seek a retrial on the basis of the same evidence.

"A number of factors must be taken into account, including the likely penalty if the defendant is found guilty, the time delay in securing a date for the retrial, the views of the victim, judiciary and police and the likelihood of another jury reaching a decision."

Mr Crawford was not available for comment.

STUDENT'S RAPE AND DEATH PROMPTS VISIT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Student's rape and death prompts visit

A delegation from Leicester is to meet leading politicians in New Delhi to convey their dismay at the brutal gang rape and death of a 23-year-old medical student.

It will be led by the general secretary of the Leicestershire branch of the Indian Workers Association Sital Singh Gill.

A condolence meeting was held on Friday to pay homage to the memory of the victim, who died in hospital on December 29, two weeks after being attacked on a bus in New Delhi. Mr Gill said: "We want to convey our deep concerns from the people of Leicester to the leaders of India's political parties."

Mr Gill, who represents 3,600 members of the association, said: "This brutal and shameful incident has shocked and galvanised the whole country."

About 100 people from across the community attended the event at the Highfields Centre, in Melbourne Road.

The meeting, which followed an community vigil at Leicester Cathedral, was attended by the Lord Mayor of Leicester Councillor Abdul Osman, who gave his support to the forthcoming visit.

Five men have been charged with rape and murder.

The meeting approved a petition to be sent to Dr Jamini Bhagwati, the Indian High Commissioner, to forward the concerns of the Leicester Indian Community to the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh.

In photo above, from left: Meena Kumari, Sital Singh Gill, who will lead the delegation to India, Mark Parish, of Leicestershire Police, Councillor Pramjit Singh Gill, Councillor Baljit Singh and Kashmir Singh 

SOUND OF AFRICA DELIGHTS CROWD

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Sound of Africa delights crowd

More than 200 people enjoyed a concert given by the talented African Children's Choir in Leicester.

Seventeen children aged eight, nine, 10 and 11, performed a 90-minute programme at the Big Shed, in Freeman's Common.

The youngsters from under-privileged backgrounds in Uganda were guests of the city's Covenant Life Church.

Church spokeswoman Veronica Stapleton said the choir was near the end of a lengthy tour of the UK which started in Scotland in September and more than 200 tickets had been sold in Leicester.

There was a collection which will go towards raising global awareness of the plight of the millions of orphaned and abandoned children in Africa.

SHARING OF RESOURCES WILL CREATE JUSTICE AND PEACE

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Sharing of resources will create justice and peace

I would like to thank the Mercury for publishing the First Person column written by Riaz Ravat entitled "A tribute to the power of shared values" (Mailbox, December 27).

I have always been of the opinion that the only way to resolve the chaos and injustice in the world is through sharing and selfless service.

What a glorious world it would be if all nations were to share together the Earth's bounty, such that no person lacked food, shelter, medical care and education.

Every day, humans die from hunger in a world with a 10 per cent per capita surplus.

Two thirds of the world's population live in abject poverty. Many men, women and little children do not even have the essentials to stay alive. This should fill all our hearts with shame, particularly when food is often left to rot in warehouses around the world. Celebrating 2012 as the Year of Service is a starting point.

However, it would surely be more productive if correct sharing and selfless service were undertaken in all walks of life, from Government level through to our day-to-day lives, so that it becomes the chosen and dignified approach to living for all of us.

Only worldwide sharing of resources will create justice and peace in the world, leading to cooperation, trust and a sense of true joy in all our hearts. If many of us were not complacent, we could not bear to live in a world in which these crimes happen; people dying in a world of plenty.

We need to eliminate the current unbridled march for consumerism and commercialisation which has seeped into every aspect of our lives. Could it be a green Marshall Plan is needed to put an end to the competition between nations and control access to world resources?

Bal Singh

SHARING OF RESOURCES WILL CREATE JUSTICE AND PEACE

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Sharing of resources will create justice and peace

I would like to thank the Mercury for publishing the First Person column written by Riaz Ravat entitled "A tribute to the power of shared values" (Mailbox, December 27).

I have always been of the opinion that the only way to resolve the chaos and injustice in the world is through sharing and selfless service.

What a glorious world it would be if all nations were to share together the Earth's bounty, such that no person lacked food, shelter, medical care and education.

Every day, humans die from hunger in a world with a 10 per cent per capita surplus.

Two thirds of the world's population live in abject poverty. Many men, women and little children do not even have the essentials to stay alive. This should fill all our hearts with shame, particularly when food is often left to rot in warehouses around the world.

Celebrating 2012 as the Year of Service is a starting point.

However, it would surely be more productive if correct sharing and selfless service were undertaken in all walks of life, from Government level through to our day-to-day lives, so that it becomes the chosen and dignified approach to living for all of us.

Only worldwide sharing of resources will create justice and peace in the world, leading to cooperation, trust and a sense of true joy in all our hearts. If many of us were not complacent, we could not bear to live in a world in which these crimes happen; people dying in a world of plenty.

We need to eliminate the current unbridled march for consumerism and commercialisation which has seeped into every aspect of our lives. Could it be a green Marshall Plan is needed to put an end to the competition between nations and control access to world resources?

Bal Singh

LEICESTER MAYOR PETER SOULSBY GIVES HIS DECISION IN THURNBY LODGE SCOUT HUT ROW

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Leicester mayor Peter Soulsby gives his decision in Thurnby Lodge scout hut row

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has resolved a bitter dispute over the future of a disused Scout hut.

Demonstrations – some involving hundreds of people and a heavy police presence – have been taking place in Thurnby Lodge, Leicester, for the past six months over plans by a Muslim charity to turn the hut into a community centre.

But yesterday, Sir Peter announced a plan which appears to have satisfied both sides in the dispute. The protesters, who have formed a group called the Forgotten Estates Committee, will be given the lease on the Scout hut for two and a half years rent-free.

The group has told Leicester City Council it will develop it as a community centre.

The Muslim charity, the As-Salaam Trust, has been told it can have the lease to another city council-owned building, the Raven Centre, which is next to the Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, where the charity has been meeting for prayers for the past three years.

Sir Peter said a "small number" of groups which use the Raven Centre will transfer to Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, or other local council buildings.

Mohamed Lockhat, As-Salaam Trust's imam, said: "We are happy a solution has been found. Some people have felt very passionately about the Scout hut, but everyone will be able to work together for the good of the community."

Maxine Williams, licensee of the estate's Stirrup Cup pub and a founding member of the Forgotten Estates Committee, said: "Everybody I have spoken to so far about Peter Soulsby's decision has been ecstatic.

"When we first heard that As-Salaam wanted the Scout hut we knew it was the wrong place because of problems with traffic and noise.

"The Raven Centre is in the community centre complex, so car parking is available for As-Salaam's members."

The Forgotten Estates Committee has collected thousands of pounds for its plan to turn the Scout hut into a community centre.

It followed a public consultation in which questionnaires were sent to 7,000 households in Thurnby Lodge and neighbouring Netherhall.

Some 1,400 responses were returned to the council – a turnout of about 20 per cent.

Most backed the plan unveiled by Sir Peter yesterday, which was one of two options on the questionnaire.

"This option meets everyone's needs, and I am therefore offering both groups the opportunity to make this happen," said Sir Peter. "I think both groups recognise we have worked very hard with them to find a solution which meets everyone's hopes and needs. Both recognise there is a need to move forward in a constructive way and I've been encouraged by the responses both have given.''

The protests began in August and were held outside Thurnby Lodge Community Centre when As-Salaam members met for prayers.

A police operation was launched to make sure the protests remained peaceful after complaints that worshippers felt intimidated.

Two months after the protests started, the Mercury reported the cost of policing them had reached £200,000.

The final total is unknown.

On Boxing Day, a pig's head was found outside the centre.

A 23-year-old man has been charged in connection with the incident and is due to appear in court later this month.