A series of events in the past 10 days reveal the grave dangers confronting the people of Britain and peoples worldwide from the aggressive warmongering, imperialist plans of Britain’s ruling circles.

First the Blair-Brown government decided to confer “knighthood” on Salman Rushdie. This drew a storm of protest from progressive people worldwide. (See the statement of the spokesperson of Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) on this occasion, which we reproduce below). It drew protests from Muslim organizations in Britain and it drew protests from Muslim peoples worldwide.

While refusing to withdraw knighthood to Rushdie as demanded by many people, it appears that the British intelligence agencies have decided to organize provocations against people of the Muslim faith and create division and discord amongst the people. The “failed car bombs” in London and the “failed car bomb” in Glasgow airport, it seems are part of this effort. A massive international campaign has been launched, declaring that there is a “doctor’s plot” at the “behest” of “Al-qaida”. Several medical personnel have been arrested in Britain and in Australia, including some young Indian doctors. On the one hand, the British police are saying they are still investigating, and using powers of detention without charges to keep these people in custody. The same is being said by the Australian government. This has not prevented the British government, as well as the media worldwide, from going full hog in painting a picture of Islamic terrorism, “sleeper cells” in NHS Hospitals in UK, and in Medical Colleges in India. It has been reported that the British government is likely to impose tougher recruitment procedures and more stringent background checks on highly skilled migrants before considering them for jobs, a move that is causing concern among many as being discriminatory towards immigrants.

An atmosphere of terror is being deliberately whipped up by the British government, amongst the people at large that they can become victims at any moment to mindless terrorist violence by people of the Muslim faith. And the people of the Muslim faith are being specially targeted and persecuted, considered guilty of being terrorists unless they prove their innocence.

It is easy to get carried away by the concerted propaganda of the imperialists, unless one looks at things and phenomena in their inter connection and motion.

These events coincide with the transfer of power from Tony Blair to Gordon Brown, and the second anniversary of the London terrorist bombings.

The granting of knighthood to Salman Rushdie is a declaration by the Blair-Brown government that it will continue to organize deliberate provocations against people of the Muslim faith and then use the response of the Muslim peoples to create an anti-Muslim hysteria. It is a declaration that Britain will continue to work closely with US against the Palestinian and Arab peoples, against the Iranian and Afghan peoples, in fact against all the Muslim peoples to further its imperialist interests. It is a declaration that it will continue on the course that has led to the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and is now threatening Iran with the same.

British secret services are past masters in organizing terrorist plots and spreading disinformation against peoples, in order to smash the unity of the peoples and crush their resistance. They have done this in all the colonies including India during the anti-colonial struggles, they have done it in Britain against the Irish people’s struggles, and they are doing it today to divide and crush the struggle of the British people against fascism, imperialism and war. The Glasgow and London “failed car bombs” bear the signature of British intelligence services.

By carrying out these acts at this time, British imperialism is letting it be known to the whole world, to its friends and foes alike, that the transfer of power from Blair to Brown will not signify any change in the anti people, anti-Muslim, imperialist, fascist and war mongering policy pursued under Blair’s regime. On the contrary, this policy will be pursued with even more ferocity under the Brown regime.

The British working class has fought militantly and heroically in defence of the rights of all, in particular the rights of the persecuted Muslim minority. It has been an active contingent of the world wide struggle against the wars of aggression launched by Anglo American imperialism in Afghanistan and Iraq. People's Voice is confident that in these difficult times, the British working class will resist the plans of the British government to disrupt the unity of the peoples and foil the drive to fascism and imperialist wars.