Cllr Tulip Siddiq of Camden has no doubt many talents which have been exercised in the public interest. These I do not contest. Earlier today I came across an article in the North London Ham & High publication in which she reacts to an e-mail circulated concerning her and her family's dealings with the violent politics of Bangladesh and Vladmir Putin.
Clearly I am not important enough to have been sent the email, but I can imagine the picture attached because I remember being puzzled in January at the sight of Prime Minster Hasina of Bangladesh running off to Moscow with a large family retinue to sign a loan deal for arms worth $1 billion, as well as a controversial nuclear power agreement. The relationship between Sheikh Rehana, Cllr Tulip's mother, and the vile Awami League politics in the UK is common knowledge amongst deshis.
It is relevant and pertinent to ask Cllr Siddiq what her stance is on the issue of the Awami League's violence and nepotism. This is because she comes from a Bangladeshi background, as do a number of other people in Britain. It also shines a light on how she would view the same issue in the context of UK politics.
The Ham & High erroneously makes the following statement,
The email, which features a photograph of her alongside Russian president Vladimir Putin taken during a visit to see her family in Bangladesh, has been reported to Camden Council’s solicitor by councillors.
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| Kremlin website picture from Moscow Meeting on 15th January 2013 |
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| Picture with Cllr Tulip (far left) with PM Hasina and Vladmir Putin in the same attire. |
It appears that both of the pictures above were taken at the same time. This photographic supports the view that Cllr Tulip was part of the delegation to Moscow. Putin has not been to Dhaka.
Russian power politics and gangsters are scarey as hell, but from the little I have gleaned, its a lucrative arms deal for merchants of death, who at the Bangladesh tax payer's expense can make money arming security forces to kill Bangladeshi citizens.
Nuclear power for Bangladesh at this moment in time is a stupid and dangerous idea, and an expensive non answer to the electricity shortage. Voice for Justice has articulated this clearly of late.
Readers of this blog will probably be aware that the Bangladesh Government's recent massacre of unarmed protesters on May 6th really ticked me off [Odhikar Fact Finding Report]. The Government of Bangladesh, and its support network are increasingly violent towards those who who oppose them.
It is in the public interest to know Cllr Siddiq's stance on the state brutality perpetrated Hasina's government.
We have no choice as to whom we are related, but we have a choice in whether to endorse and support their actions.
Labour party members should bear this aspect of the candidate in mind when making their final selection.
