Nick Cohen (surprise, surprise) throws his weight behind the “March for Free Expression”:
“Next Saturday at 2pm in Trafalgar Square, there will be a rally for freedom of expression. I think it’s fair to say that previous generations would be astonished that their descendants would have to take to the streets to demand such a basic right, but after the death threats against cartoonists, it seems we do. Fortunately, the British National Party is nowhere to be seen and the rally will be filled with democratic leftists, Liberal Democrats, secularists and Iranian and Saudi Arabian dissidents.
“With the white far right out of the picture, the brown far right has barged in and Islamic fundamentalists are proposing to hold demonstrations against free speech away from central London. So, if you want to protest on Saturday, you have a choice: for free speech or against? Come on, it’s not that hard a choice. All will be welcome in Trafalgar Square. Dress? Danish.”
Well, we’ll see how it turns out. I would expect the “Free Expression” event to attract a full complement of right-wingers and racists. But then, as we’ve pointed out before, it’s not that easy to distinguish them from “democratic leftists” of Cohen’s ilk.
As for the “brown far right”, this refers to the Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella organisation that includes Q News among its affiliates. You begin to wonder whether Cohen has finally lost his marbles.