Holocaust service marred by arrest

| Thursday, 27 January 2005 | Click here for original article

OLDHAM'S service to commemorate international Holocaust Day was disrupted when a man was arrested following a claim of criminal damage, made by former local BNP leader Mick Treacy.

Mr Treacy made the complaint to police who were at the 9am service at Oldham's war memorial, after a BNP wreath "in memory of the victims of all Holocausts" was overlaid by another wreath.

He made the complaint to Chief Supt Keith Bentley, head of Oldham police division, after a wreath was laid by a representative of Oldham Trade Union Council.

Chief Supt Bentley confirmed that a man had been arrested for questioning in relation to a claim of criminal damage of a wreath.

The incident marred the sombre occasion which brought together representatives from the Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Hindu faiths for a multi-faith ceremony led by the Mayor of Oldham, Councillor Abdul Jabbar.

It brought shouts of protest from Julie Keller, who handed out yellow stars at the start of the service, including one to Mr Treacy. This was symbolic of the religious identification stars Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.

Speakers at the service included the Mayor, Qari Shakir, a Muslim speaker, and Dr Surya Setty, Hindu speaker. They urged around 80 people who attended to remember the six million men, women and children who died during the Holocaust and in all acts of genocide committed since.

The aim of the ceremony was to reaffirm Oldham Council's commitment to opposing anti-semitism and any form of racism wherever it occurs.

The occasion, mirrored by events throughout the country and the world, marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of death camps, including the notorious Auschwitz, in southern Poland.

It was there that more than one million Jews and other people who did not fit in with the Nazi vision for the future died in the gas chambers, or were starved or beaten to death.

"It was an appalling example of man's inhumanity to man, and it reminds us of what can happen when evil is allowed to flourish," said Councillor Jabbar.

::Pupils at St Mary's primary school, High Crompton, read out poems they had written for a Holocaust Memorial assembly.

::Shaw and Royton Area Committee marked the day with special ceremonies at war memorials in High Street, Shaw, and in Royton Park.