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Compiled By GayToday
Copeland had been arrested Saturday on suspicion of having placed bombs in three London-area neighborhoods. Copeland presently remains in jail and has not requested bond. Officials say that neo-nazi groups claiming credit for the bombings were lying and that the youthful engineer, who'd worked on London's Jubilee Tube line extension, had acted alone. Right wing racist groups had called BBC to say it was they who'd placed nail bombs targeting Bangladeshis, African-Caribbeans, and gay males. According to newspaper reports, Copeland was not a member of any group. His motivations are alleged by some to have been xenophobic, implying that he hated the changing faces of England's ethnic and cultural mixes, seeing them as an invasion.
Mrs. Dykes' mother, Mrs. Frances Hogg, from Colchester, Essex, remembered her daughter as a person who "had no prejudices at all. We have brought her up that way. Andrea and Julian were so happy. I just cannot believe that someone could do something like this…We just want Julian to pull through. It is all we have left of Andrea," she said. David Copeland's 50-year-old father told London reporters he felt mystified and horrified about the crimes of which his son has been accused. "Myself and my family totally condemn the cowardly and barbaric bombings carried out in London in the last two weeks…If David is guilty of these awful acts of violence, then we also totally condemn him for carrying them out." The accused faces three murder charges and three charges of causing an explosion with intent to endanger life. A total of fifty-two persons were injured in earlier attacks. London's activist organizations successfully marched through the city May 1 in a show of solidarity. A vigil outside the bombed pub has been planned for Saturday May 7 by the direct action group, Outrage! which has released the following statement:
One week after the blast there will be a simple gathering to enable those for whom the events of this weekend happened all too rapidly to honour the victims of Friday's bomb.
Join the commemorative Soho Vigil of Remembrance to affirm our community's defiance of homophobia, queer-bashing, and neonazi terrorism. 6:30 p.m., Friday, 7th May, Old Compton Street, outside the 'Admiral Duncan'. In the immediate wake of the bombing the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA Co-Secretaries General Jordi Petit (in Barcelona) and Jennifer Wilson (in Sydney) responded with clear sympathy but also with an almost immediate call to action: On behalf of the more than 300 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual associations belonging to ILGA in more than 80 countries around the world, we state our concern and deep sorrow for the casualties of the homophobic bombing in London last Friday. We join in worldwide mourning for this attack against democracy, social peace and human rights. We call for NGOs, political parties, trade unions and the general population to send messages of condolence to all UK embassies and consulates; and we call on the authorities to undertake efficient action to put an end to the racist attacks. We call for the international community to join against intolerance and nazi fanaticism, thus increasing and further developing human rights issues, especially in the area of education for the respect of diversity. We call on lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals to gather solidarity with the victims of this unforgivable attack. We suggest that all rainbow flags on display in local gay businesses bear a black ribbon as a sign of mourning. We believe that this coming June 28, 30 years after the first lesbian and gay Pride celebration, should be celebrated with the slogan that precisely reflects all that fanatics, nazis and intolerant people deny: Lesbian and Gay Rights are Human Rights. We should use our protest actions to fight for lesbian and gay rights in our work, in partnership laws, in education and in all other aspects of everyday life. We must remember that one homophobic-related murder takes place every four days throughout the world, that homosexuality is still illegal in 86 countries, and that some of those countries apply the death penalty against it, the same punishment used in London Friday.
The bomb strike in London, the third of a series aimed at minorities, is a
serious challenge to social peace and the democratic establishment. It is a
strike against Human Rights and the entire society. Therefore, all of
society's institutions should react against it.
Jordi Petit/Jennifer Wilson
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