JEDDAH, 6 February 2005 — Yvonne Ridley, the former Sunday Express reporter, who was captured by the Taleban in Afghanistan and became a Muslim after being released about three years ago, plans to enter politics.
Ridley, who was in the Kingdom to cover the Haj for the Islam Channel in London, told Arab News that she would be standing in the British general elections as a parliamentary candidate for the anti-war Respect Party.
“Tony Blair will probably call a May election. I will be standing for Leicester South, which has a large Muslim community, mainly Gujaratis. I hope that I will be voted in and if that happens, I will become the first Muslim woman MP and the first ‘hijab’ in the House of Commons,” she said.
Ridley explained that the Respect Party, headed by George Galloway, the anti-war MP, was formed a year ago. “It was born from the anti-war movement and has a huge groundswell of support,” she said.
Asked about her employment by Al-Jazeera, she said she was suing the channel “for unfair dismissal.” The case is scheduled to be heard in February. “There is a growing body of opinion that my sacking was due to American pressure. Al-Jazeera denies this but they cannot come up with a reason for dismissal so it should be an interesting case,” she added.
Asked about Saudi Arabia’s role and efforts in fighting terrorism, she said she thought the country with the real problem was America. Most world terrorism today, she felt, could be traced to American foreign policy. Unfortunately, friends and allies and even America’s acquaintances are being sucked into this international war.
Ridley said Britain had dealt with terrorism for many years because of Ireland. “It only started to end when we started talking,” she pointed out. “Instead of fighting, there should be talks with the people who are causing these problems.
“Every time a bomb went off in mainland Britain, London did not respond by attacking Belfast with Cruise missiles. It is quite clear that talks and opening channels for dialogue is the best way forward,” Ridley said.
Ridley was in the Kingdom to film a Haj documentary. She performed Haj herself and said: “It was an unforgettable and very moving moment. It made me proud to belong to this huge family.”
