Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 30 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 3/15/18

Murder in the Cathedral City and other Cautionary Tales

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   86 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Mark John Maguire
Become a Fan
  (17 fans)

False Flag flies in Salisbury
False Flag flies in Salisbury
(Image by Unknown)
  Details   DMCA

High among the great British contributions to world civilisation", observed the late John Mortimer, are "the plays of William Shakespeare, the full breakfast, the herbaceous border and the presumption of innocence." It is an embarrassment and an affront to all in the UK who hold such values dear that in recent decades the British Government and its media appears to have abandoned this precept.

On the basis that the USSR produced a new type of chemical nerve agent in the 1970s in Uzbekistan, which was subsequently inherited by the US in the 1990s, Russia stands accused of a heinous act committed on British soil in the cathedral city of Salisbury. The murder of a man of dubious status (whose background and connections is largely shrouded in mystery) and his daughter, has rightly shocked most British people. However, the instantaneous and peremptory assignation of guilt to Russia - and the accompanying threats made by the British Government - are completely unacceptable to anyone who values due process and the proper discourse of law in international affairs.

In spite of the fact that Russia has offered to help the British with the investigation, has requested samples of the chemical agent so as to trace its origins etc, they have been vilified as brutal assassins and the UK media has turned into little more than a servile xenophobic organ of State manipulation. Putin has said that the UK should assemble its evidence and then discuss with Russia. It seems a reasonable request - it has been ignored. President Macron of France has also requested that the British provide evidence - but the UK has provided none. Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition has also requested evidence: it seems a reasonable thing to ask before anyone starts pointing fingers at anyone else. He has been met with howls of fury by those who think it is enough for the UK Prime Minister to declare a matter as fact for it to be considered as fact - it is not. So soon after the catastrophies of Iraq (WMDs), Libya and Syria we are entitled to take our starting position as one of "innocent until proven guilty" at the very least. It is a fine institution which many in Britain appear to have forgotten. Given that the Government in the UK has shown such casual disregard for truth and for human life in pursuit of dubious foreign policy objectives in recent years, it is a duty and a virtue for us to question them closely and to treat all they say with utmost scepticism. There must be due process in justice for it to have authority and legitimacy and the international community would be wise to give little succour or regard to hot-headed UK foreign policy objectives thinly disguised as moral outrage: above all, they should demand that the UK produce evidence of any claims which can be subjected to independent scrutiny.


(Article changed on March 15, 2018 at 15:14)

Well Said 9   Supported 9   Must Read 7  
Rate It | View Ratings

Mark John Maguire Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram Page

I was educated at the University of Manchester, Swansea University and the Polytechnic of Wales, where I studied History, Philosophy and Intellectual and Art History (MA). I have lived and worked in Ireland, Germany and Holland and the UK as a (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Tony Blair, War Crimes and the Plot to Remove Jeremy Corbyn

Obama v Hitler: a shocking depiction and a shocking truth

Je Suis NOT Charlie

Who Leaked the Panama Papers?

The Lesser of Two Evils: why Noam Chomsky is wrong in advocating this principle in the 2016 US Presidential Election

The risks of pursuing Julian Assange

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend