[JNV Announce] Further correction ACTION ALERT Friends of Al-Aqsa

[Milan Rai]

Dear all

In the last few days we've circulated information about the Royal Bank of Scotland closing down the account of a British-based Muslim NGO working in Palestine. (Some people seem to have received an empty email, for some reason. We're very sorry - the information is now up on our website.)

We circulated an email address for complaints to the RBS. We must apologise again to the many people who have already tried to email the Royal Bank of Scotland over this disgraceful affair. The second email address given by the Friends of Al-Aqsa has also failed to work.

There are two alternatives: phone or web-based complaint form:

1) PHONE

Please call Robert Macdonald RBS Head Office, Customer Relations Manager
Tel: 0131 523 3243

2) COMPLAINT FORM

One activist used the  following complaint form though and it worked:

http://www.rbs.co.uk/Personal_Finances/Get_in_touch/Tell_us_what_you_think/complaints_4.asp
if that link is broken, please try

Please do try to register your complaint.

Best wishes

Milan Rai
JNV

PS Letter sent by one person in response to the Action Alert:

I was dismayed to read in yesterday's Guardian that the Royal
Bank of Scotland has unilaterally decided to close all the bank
accounts of Friends of Al-Aqsa along with those of its chair,
Ismail Patel.

The stated aims of FoAA include the following:

"(l) To lobby heads of Governments, elected Members of Public offices
and Foreign Secretaries as a way of achieving an international
recognition to the right of Palestinians and Muslims to the custody
and guardianship of Al-Aqsa.

(m) To use all legal means to raise the profile of the issue and
create awareness in the general public.

(n) To participate with international heritage, cultural and
humanitarian organisations in joint ventures leading to the
advancement of the aims.

(o) To open direct contacts with International Organisations in order
to achieve human rights for the Palestinians."

Please could you tell me what possible objection the RBS could have
to providing banking facilities for an organisation which campaigns
by "all legal means" to raise awareness of the plight of the
Palestinian people?

There are, of course, indeed terrorist organisations which (ab)use
the name of Al-Aqsa, but if your sources of information had done
their homework properly they should have been able to establish
readily enough that FoAA has no connections with such people and
explicitly states that it pursues its aims and objectives "using
all the available peaceful, legal and democratic means".  I believe
you have been misinformed about the nature of FoAA and I urge you
to reconsider your decision.

If I do not receive a satisfactory answer from RBS I will
regrettably have to draw the conclusion that it is discriminating
against Muslim organisations and/or organisations connected in some
way with Palestine, and in that case I will encourage all my friends
and family to close any accounts they have with RBS.  I myself was
considering applying for an RBS credit card, but will no longer be
doing so.

I look forward to hearing from you.

With best wishes,


-- 
Milan Rai
Justice Not Vengeance
landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int)
mobile phone (0)7980 748 555
www.j-n-v.org