Former Baader-Meinhof suspect Johanna Kaschke, who was one of the 64 candidates hoping to be nominated as the next Labour Party MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, has resigned to join diss-Respect/SWP. I read about this first in the East End Advertiser where she was quoted as saying that the reason was over the Council’s decision regarding its housing policy. I was going to run a post on why the Advertiser had failed to even consider that a reason for her defection could have been her utter failure to pick up any nominations (or I think any individual votes). A case of “sour grapes” rather than a conversion while on the road to Damascus?
However, this being Tower Hamlets the story developed, Dave Osler blog “Ex-punk. Ex-Trot. Unchanged attitude problem” (definitely not a New Labour Supporter) picked up that Johanna was also a former Baader-Meinhof (Also known as the “Red Army Faction”) suspect who was detained for 3 months on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities. Baader-Meinhof was a particular nasty Left wing terrorist gang who murdered many people in Germany mainly during the 1970’s (and up to late 1990’s). They were found to be partly funded and supported by the communist East German secret police, the Stasi.
German born Johanna is quite open about this (and other things) on her website. It would appear that she was released without charge and that she was given compensation by the German government for wrongful imprisonment. However, she does give the impression that she was involved in fund raising activities for the terrorists although this is unclear. To be fair, she is now firmly and openly against terrorism. Dave points out that she is a small business woman who is opposed to the minimum wage and wants more support for small businesses!
I (think) that I have met her a couple of times and she seemed quite pleasant. However, reading her “New Labour, New Britain” Parliamentary Section CV again, I now understand her declaration on it that she “managed to get through life without any convictions whatsoever”. I am a little concerned that she should describe her family as working class, and then state her father was a Chartered Accountant. It seems that she was only active in the Party since Feb 2007. I note that she does not appear to be a member of a trade union, so she should fit in well with diss-Respect/SWP
However, this being Tower Hamlets the story developed, Dave Osler blog “Ex-punk. Ex-Trot. Unchanged attitude problem” (definitely not a New Labour Supporter) picked up that Johanna was also a former Baader-Meinhof (Also known as the “Red Army Faction”) suspect who was detained for 3 months on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities. Baader-Meinhof was a particular nasty Left wing terrorist gang who murdered many people in Germany mainly during the 1970’s (and up to late 1990’s). They were found to be partly funded and supported by the communist East German secret police, the Stasi.
German born Johanna is quite open about this (and other things) on her website. It would appear that she was released without charge and that she was given compensation by the German government for wrongful imprisonment. However, she does give the impression that she was involved in fund raising activities for the terrorists although this is unclear. To be fair, she is now firmly and openly against terrorism. Dave points out that she is a small business woman who is opposed to the minimum wage and wants more support for small businesses!
I (think) that I have met her a couple of times and she seemed quite pleasant. However, reading her “New Labour, New Britain” Parliamentary Section CV again, I now understand her declaration on it that she “managed to get through life without any convictions whatsoever”. I am a little concerned that she should describe her family as working class, and then state her father was a Chartered Accountant. It seems that she was only active in the Party since Feb 2007. I note that she does not appear to be a member of a trade union, so she should fit in well with diss-Respect/SWP
