Britannia Radio

14 December 2009 A Speech in California and a Trial in Holland    At the end of October I dismembered the EU for a large audience of West-coast Americans  at a one-day conference in California, organised by Radio Liberty.    My comments, and the contributions of all the other speakers, are now available on CD  from http://www.radioliberty.com/   After the conference I also recorded an interview about the situation in the  UK and Europe, and about the threat to the British way of life from uncontrolled immigration and the impact of large numbers of Muslims  on British society.  I drew heavily on what Geert Wilders, the Dutch MP, had said a  year earlier in New York.   My video interview has now been posted on at least three video websites.   Here are the links:   http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6ab_1260304325   http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/34815 MEP_Ashley_Mote___Radio_Liberty_Conference_2009/   http://en.sevenload.com/videos/2SlxrLu-MEP-Ashley-Mote-Radio-Liberty-Conference-2009   Since that conference and the interview, two crucial events have occurred.   First,  the Lisbon Treaty has become what the EU chooses to call law.  Secondly, Geert Wilders MP is to be prosecuted by the Dutch government for his views  on the threat from Islam, despite his position as an elected representative of the people charged with the defence of the interests of his country.  The Public Prosecutor in Amsterdam has summoned Geert Wilders to appear in court on  20 January 2010 to face criminal trial for “inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims due to their religion and inciting hatred and discrimination against  non-Western immigrants due to their race.”   The indictment is extremely long, and Wilders' response equally short.   They are detailed at Jihad Watch.   Here is the link:   http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/12/geert-wilders-receives-summons-a-sledgehammer-blow-to-the-freedom-of-speech.html   Wilders’ case may prove to be of monumental importance, not just in the Netherlands.   It will force the authorities to face a series of supreme questions: does a Dutchman have  the right to state his honestly held opinions in his own country?  Does he have the right  to state self-evident facts?  If not, who has the self-appointed power to say he can not?  Is that power lawful?   Millions of people throughout the Western world, not least in the UK, the EU, Canada  and Australia will watch with fascination as the Dutch government attempts to prove  its case without undermining its  own right to govern.   Only the Americans have a First Amendment to their Constitution to protect their right  to free speech.  The British constitution was once thought to do the same.   But it has been so shredded by government abuse in recent times that enforcing  common law to protect free speech in the UK may prove difficult if it is ever put to  the test.   The outcome of the Wilders witch hunt may prove to be a catalyst both in the UK  and elsewhere.        And whatever the outcome in January, this issue may run and run.   It could eventually reach the  European Court of Human Rights  (which is not, incidentally, an institution of the EU).   To respond to, or comment on this Email, please email ashley.mote@btconnect.com Click www.ashleymote.co.uk to visit the site now.