Sarah's bulletin: 20th January

Dear Friends,

Buzek's Havel dishonour

Monday was the last day of Jerzy Buzek's term of office as European Parliament President, but his last actions have undermined the good work that he has achieved as President. He chose to twin the memory of Francoist politician Manuel Fraga with Czech statesman Vaclav Havel in a one-minute silence. But the difference between the two could not be starker. Fraga served as a minister under Franco's repressive regime and never renounced or apologised either for his role or for the regime. Havel on the other hand successfully took (the then) Czechslovakia from the dark period of communist rule to a free and democratic Czech republic, having long been a courageous dissident.

Buzek not only 'buried' the tribute to Fraga by twinning it with Havel but airbrushed out of his remarks Fraga's Francoist past, only commenting that he had played an important role in the transition of Spain to a democracy. Presumably this stunt was to keep his political friends in the EPP, in which Fraga's daughter is an MEP, happy. The EU was founded in part as a reaction to the brutal dictatorships of the 20^th century and it was an insult to the memory of those who died under them to honour a politician who played a key role at the centre of one of the worst. You can read my press release here and more about the story and my thoughts in this Guardian article.

70^th anniversary of 'Final Solution' decision

Today marks the 70^th anniversary of the Wannsee Declaration, signed by Hitler and top members of the Nazi regime which sanctioned the 'Final Solution' leading to the deaths of 6 million Jewish people. I added my name to the list of signatories on a declaration which you can see here, calling for greater recognition of the horrors of mass genocide and reminding people of the need to oppose all forms of discrimination. The Holocaust should never become a distant historical memory especially given that communities such as the LGBT and Roma still face discrimination and persecution in many areas of Europe, let alone the problems of minorities in the wider world. Actively opposing modern racism and anti-Semitism is the best testament and memorial we can give to those who died. Next week sees Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th - the anniversary of the liberation of Auchswitz - and I will be attending the event in London.

Protest rights and wrongs

The right to protest has been high on the news agenda this week. Parliament Square is an important place for people to protest, given its location neighbouring Westminster. That's why I supported demos led by Mark Thomas against Labour's shabby removal of the right to hold demos in the Square and am delighted that, thanks to the LibDems in government, that right has been restored. But under the new Police and Social Responsibility Act it is illegal to erect any equipment for the intention of sleeping there or setting up camp, which protects the right for other people to use this area for peaceful demonstration.

Because I support the distinction between protest and long-term occupation, I completely agree with Wednesday's High Court decision that the St Paul's campers should leave because the Occupy London encampment is infringing disproportionately on the everyday life of Londoners. You can see my press release here and also my comment in the Guardian article on the issue here. The aims of the movement are a good cause, we do need a fair and responsible form of capitalism. However these aims have been overshadowed by the argument being waged over the continued presence of the camp. Perhaps Occupy London could organise a protest demo in Parliament Square - one that I would be very happy to join - to raise awareness about their aims?

The right to protest must mean the right to leave and not be penned in by police. But this week we had an Appeal Court judgement this week that the kettling of G20 protesters in 2009 was lawful; you can read more on the story here. I am shocked by this judgment and hope it is appealed further and perhaps joined with the Oxford Circus 2001 kettling case currently at the European Court of Human Rights which I commented on when it went to Strasbourg last September, see here.

Getting tough on electronic waste

MEPs voted this week to strengthen electronic waste recycling and get tough on both landfill and illegal disposal of goods such as mobile phones, TVs and computers; you can see more in my press release here. At the moment up to half of all discarded computers in the UK enter illegal trade streams and according to this report the UK has a persistent problem with this form of trafficking. It means the waste often ends up in countries where there are no rules on waste disposal and are often dismantled by the children and the poor in hazardous and toxic conditions. It is disgraceful that these goods are poisoning other people when if treated properly they could be valuable raw materials.

Combating food waste

Electronic waste was not the only waste being targeted in Parliament this week. MEPs also voted to halve food waste by 2025 and you can see my press release here. It is time that something was done to stop the shameful waste of nearly 90 million tonnes of edible food, unacceptable when 70 million people in the EU live below the poverty line. You can read the report here. It contains good ideas about what measures states can take to try make sure food is not wasted including giving food close to expiry date to groups for the homeless and the introduction of food waste prevention targets.

Torture inquiry postponed

Ken Clarke announced this week that the Gibson inquiry into allegations of MI5 and MI6 collusion with the CIA in post 9/11 torture has been halted because of an ongoing Met investigation into claims of Libyan renditions. As you can see in my press release here, I blame the Labour government for this delay as they should have dealt with these cases rather than covering them up. However, I am glad that the government has pledged to hold a judge-led inquiry after these cases have been resolved. This will be able to take up where Gibson left off, but I hope that it will take into account the criticism levelled by human rights NGOs at the transparency of Gibson. In the European Parliament I am working on a follow-up to our 2007 report on European countries' complicity in torture, secret prisons and extraordinary rendition. I am confident that the entire truth will eventually emerge, despite all the denials and obfuscations along the way.

Hungary

As I mentioned in last week's bulletin, I and my ALDE colleagues are extremely concerned by the constitutional crisis unfolding in Hungary and we had a debate on it this week with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. I managed to raise in another debate with the new Danish prime minister (Neil Kinnock's daughter-in-law Helle Thorning-Schmidt) the importance of the Council - the 27 governments - putting pressure on Orban to stop riding roughshod over democratic freedoms and civil liberties. I said that too often the Council acts as a diplomatic club in which the 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' attitude means that no action gets taken when it needs to be when a member state is going off the rails.

Focus on Diabetes

In that brief intervention I also praised the 2012 Danish presidency of the EU Council for making action on chronic diseases a priority, in particular diabetes; you can watch it here. As I pointed out, it is too late to avert the bomb exploding because it has already gone off; we are heading for 10% of the European population suffering from the disease. The attendant costs to national health systems that this will bring means that urgent action is needed to develop an EU strategy aimed at curbing the factors like obesity that lead to Type 2, find the causes and cures of both Type 1 and Type 2, and share best practice on treatment such as continuous glucose monitors (still hard to get in the UK).

Taxi checks

I'm very pleased that LibDem MP and Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone this week announced tighter checks for taxi drivers, with licensing authorities having access to all the information they need into any criminal background before they approve a licence. This should give greater peace of mind for vulnerable people in London, including women, and hopefully ensure that sex criminals such as John Warboys, who used his position as a black cab driver to attack over eighty women, will not be permitted to join the taxi trade. Mind you, in that case we also had an incompetent police response which failed to join up the dots and link or follow up various reports, so a wide-awake Met is still vital.

Police malpractice

Again on the police, I was shocked to read this story about two South Wales police detectives who plied a young man with cider before questioning him about a series of burglaries. As the Independent Police Complaints Commission commissioner for Wales points out, the officers were quite clearly offering him alcohol because they wanted him to confess to a series of burglaries, which he did although he could not have been present. I find it incredible that these officers were not summarily dismissed and/or prosecuted; to face just misconduct sanctions and warnings does not reflect the seriousness of the crime.

LibDem MEP Diana Wallis resigns

I'm sorry that Diana has decided to resign, see here as she has done some very good work over the last dozen years both as MEP for Yorkshire and in important posts in the European Parliament such as Vice-President.

Sutton: Worcester Park funding bid success

I'm delighted that the LibDem team in Sutton's Worcester Park ward have been successful in their bid for £2 million from the GLA to improve the local area, from the 'Outer London' fund for regeneration projects. This puts candidate Roger Roberts in a great position to contest the byelection being held there on 16^th February, given that he played a key role in getting residents to sign a petition in support of the bid. I went last week to lend my support to the election campaign as you can see from this photo. If you want to get involved, every weekend between now and polling day the team will be based at 2 Longfellow Road, Worcester Park, KT4 8BB between 10am and 5pm and during the week at 234 Gander Green Lane, SM3 9QF between 10am and 8pm. Hapy campaigning!