Following on from the cancellation of his speaking appointment at Trinity University's Philosophical Society in Dublin this Thursday, Nick Griffin MEP has written this open letter to Sir Bob Geldof, Al Pacino, Bertie Ahern and other Honorary Patrons of the Society. 

It is hoped that the appalling situation whereby a small minority of violent far-left protesters are able to effectively dictate what the Irish people can and cannot discuss can quickly be resolved by the rescheduling of the debate 'This House Believes That Immigration Has Gone Too Far.'

Dear Sir Bob,

I write to you in your capacity as Honorary Patron of Trinity University's Philosophical Society, along with others bestowed with that responsibility and privilege.

As you may well know, a debate involving me was due to take place in Dublin on 20th October. I had been invited by students at the Philosophical Society in order speak on the motion ‘This House Believes That Immigration Has Gone Too Far’.

Unfortunately, last Thursday night a mob of around thirty far-left activists caused a disturbance on campus, intimidating and threatening students to such a degree that the proposed debate was cancelled on safety grounds. Members of the Philosophical Society were left shaken and in no doubt that physical violence would meet any attempt to hold their debate with the further threat of additional violent protestors being imported from Northern Ireland.

It is my understanding that students and college staff alike have been left so terrorised and intimidated by these recent events that they are too scared even to put in complaints to the police. In Irish law, blackmail, harassment and certain organised levels of intimidation constitute criminal offences.

I hope that you will agree, whatever your own political persuasion, that such a shocking and flagrant attack on free speech on the oldest student society in the world cannot be allowed to succeed. Consequently, as an Honorary Patron charged with "protecting the Society and using their good names to ensure its continued survival", I am appealing to you to intervene.

Such an attack on free speech is an affront to our democratic values and a particular wrong against the Irish people themselves. A proud and independent nation cannot be allowed to be subjugated by the extreme left to such an extent that it is effectively denied the opportunity to even discuss its own identity. 

This matter has moved beyond the realm of party politics to become a matter of fundamental principles of free speech, democracy and self-determination. I therefore trust that you will raise this issue with the Philosophical Society as a matter of urgency.

 

Yours sincerely,

Nick Griffin MEP

 

CC

AL PACINO

BERTIE AHERN

DAME HELEN MIRREN

THE EDGE

FRANÇOISE BOURGUIGNON

LORD MARK MALLOCH BROWN 

GABRIEL BYRNE

MOHAMED ELBARADEI

NIALL FERGUSON

NEWT GINGRICH

RUTH BADER GINSBERG

JOHN HUME

FW DE KLERK

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

JOSEPH NYE

GEORGE RITZER

SIR SALMAN RUSHDIE

OLIVER STONE

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU

Editor’s note: Although far-left protestors threatened to disrupt Nick Griffin’s appearance at the Trinity College Dublin debating society, they made no such threats when Islamic extremists previously spoke at the same society, as British National Party Media Spokesman Simon Darby points out on his blog.

The debate ‘This house believes that Islamist violence can never be justified’ featured extremist preachers Anjem Choudary and Omar Brooks, but, as Mr Darby wrote, there were apparently ‘no protests, intimidation, threats of disruption or safety issues’. 

The far left’s protests are shown to be even more hypocritical when it is considered that Choudary took part in another debate at the College, in 2004, entitled 'This House believes Islamic fundamentalists take the Prophet's name in vain', in which he claimed that the Koran justifies the kidnapping and killing of Westerners in occupied Muslim lands and said Irish aid workers in Afghanistan were ‘legitimate targets’ for Islamic violence.

Mr Darby added: ‘What I don't understand is why those involved with the threats, blackmail and intimidation which led to Nick's debate being cancelled are not investigated by the police.’