(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a WiPC, International PEN, advisory: UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLISH PEN SETS UP CAMPAIGN AGAINST “OFFENCE” LAW AS PLAYWRIGHT GOES INTO HIDING As playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti goes into hiding following death threats from Sikh extremists, the British Government moves to introduce legislation that could make it illegal to express provocative views […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a WiPC, International PEN, advisory:
UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLISH PEN SETS UP CAMPAIGN AGAINST “OFFENCE” LAW AS PLAYWRIGHT GOES INTO HIDING
As playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti goes into hiding following death threats from Sikh extremists, the British Government moves to introduce legislation that could make it illegal to express provocative views on people’s religion. English PEN has launched its OFFENCE Campaign: Fight for the Freedom to Offend in the belief that the Government’s proposed offence of incitement of religious hatred in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill would suppress the freedom for people to express views on religious affairs. English PEN states that while the Government tries to say that the legislation will not do this, the reassurances it gives are hollow.
At the weekend, there were scenes of violent confrontation that caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and clashes with riot police at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, which was showing Behzti (‘Dishonour’), a play by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, in which a young Sikh writer has depicted rape and murder in a gudwara, or temple. The board of the theatre and the Sikh community entered into discussions before the play opened to effect a compromise that would allow the artist freedom of expression whilst limiting the offence caused: yet there was no narrowing of the gap between the two sides, with the board insisting on standing firm against censorship and representatives of the Sikh community requesting the action be moved from a temple to a community centre.
However, by Monday 20 December, the situation had deteriorated such that the Birmingham Repertory Theatre decided to reverse its decision to continue to the end of the play’s run and cancelled the play. Speaking to the press, the theatre’s executive director, Stuart Rogers said: “Sadly, community leaders have been unable to guarantee to us that there will be no repeat of the illegal and violent activities we witnessed on Saturday. It is now clear that we cannot guarantee the safety of our audiences. Very reluctantly, therefore, we have decided to end the current run of the play purely on safety grounds.”
While the closure of the play is welcomed by some local community leaders, it has been widely condemned throughout the British media. While most commentators recognise that the theatre is in an extremely difficult position, there is widespread concern that freedom of speech has been suppressed by violence. Some newspapers have published excerpts from controversial parts of the play. Theatres around the UK are currently discussing the possibility of staging the play in an effort to confront what they see as censorship by mob violence.
Press reports today suggest that Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, herself a Sikh, has gone into hiding. Friends told journalists that she had been threatened with abduction and murder. Bhatti is a former actor, refuge worker and journalist who turned to writing in the late 1990s. Her first play Behsharam (‘Shameless’) was performed at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1998, and she has since worked on a number of UK soap opera scripts and plays. She has just completed a play commissioned by the BBC entitled The Cleaner and her first film, Pound Shop Boys, has been co-commissioned by the British Film Council. Friends and supporters fear that the events in Birmingham may lead her to discontinue her writing.
The English PEN Centre comments that the proposed insertion into the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill of the clause ‘and religious’ after ‘racial’ hatred would make it criminal to incite racial or religious hatred. This could become law by early 2005. There is a serious possibility that such writing could be banned if the new bill became law.
English PEN’s “Offence Campaign” is a ‘rapid response unit’, consisting of Lisa Appignanesi (writer, Chair of Offence campaign, member of English PEN’s WiPC and the Centre’s Deputy President), Gillian Slovo (English PEN Executive Committee member and co-author of Guantanamo, recently transferred from London to New York), Julian Evans (writer, broadcaster, translator and Deputy Chair of English PEN’s Writers in Translation Committee), and Howard Jacobson (eminent writer, especially of satire/comedy), to provide a timely and appropriate response to news stories in the UK which cover PEN’s remit to fight for writers’ freedoms.
For further information on the Offence Campaign click: http://www.englishpen.org/aboutenglishpen/campaigns/offence/
The British press has extensive coverage of the events and commentary from writers, theatre directors, government officials, journalists, rights campaigners, community leaders and others. Good coverage can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk
http://www.independent.co.uk
The Independent has also published an extensive excerpt from the play with the preamble “..for any debate to be informed, it needs the facts. So here we publish the key scene from Behzti, the work at the centre of the furore”. Click:
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/theatre/features/story.jsp?story=595098
http://www.bbc.co.uk carries video footage of the demonstration
http://www.timesonline.uk
For more on the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill see the British Home Office website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/n_story.asp?item_id=1161
For the British actor Rowan Atkinson’s campaign see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4073997.stm
