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Two terror raids, two cities, and one debate

Fiona Crack | 17:44 UK time, Monday, 5 June 2006

Today we will be talking about two cities and two of the biggest police anti-terror raids in living memory: and .

In the UK there have been wide-ranging reports on what happened but still nothing to show for the three year long police investigation. Meanwhile in Toronto, police have arrested eight people involved in a "home grown terror cell."

We will be asking those on both sides of the Atlantic for their reaction to these recent events: Do you feel safer? Do you support the police? Are Canadian values under attack? What does this mean for police and community relations?

Ros, the presenter asked the guests Mara and Mark in Canada, and Sarash in London: Do you feel safer after the raids?

Mara, from Canada, said she doesn't feel safer as this confirms that there is a terrorism problem in Toronto.
Mark agreed. He said they are probably safer but they certainly don't feel it.

We have a team on the ground in Forest Gate, London where local people are talking about the experience of the raids. One man said it was terrifying. When he arrived at work and saw all of the police he thought it was the start of a world war.

Mark addressed the safety issue. Although the terrorism threat is worrying he said that it seems the police have done a good job this time.

Mara said she was 'holding her breath' to see what is going to happen. She went on: "The evidence seems compelling but we don't really know yet. We have to wait until all of the evidence comes out."

We've also had some emails on this. Peter Sym, Nottingham sent us this:

Does anyone seriously think the police acted wrongly by seizing 3 tonnes of explosives and firearms? Given that that bomb would have been 6 times the size of the bomb used in Omagh and 3 times bigger than the Oklahoma bomb I'd say the first "canadian value" under threat is the right to walk the street without being blown up.

The result of this kind of operation on the local community is negative, said Sarash in Forest Gate. Most people in the community are victims. They just want to make a safe living. These are working class people who just want to get on with their lives.

Mara, in Canada, blames some local imams for radicalising young muslims. She said, "let's not be in denial about this!"

After the news fiona read out another email from Martin Smith in Toronto Canada:

We almost felt immune from terror attacks because of the large number of Muslims living side-by-side with the rest of Canadians. I think these raids have woken people up to the real threat of attacks in Canada.

Then we listened to two callers: Charles Shoebridge, a former police officer with 20 years of experience in counter terrirism, and Mark Pugash, Director of Communications of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Charles said there will always be people who criticise the police. They should be open to criticism. He brought up the Jean Charles de Menezes case, and added the police do have a duty to kill rumours when they arise. He believed that the police need to learn to communicate better.

Mark also worked as a police officer in the UK for seventeen years. He defended the way the police acted ands the way they communicated. He felt that they do the best they can given the information they have at the time.

An email from Abu in Toronto:

I'm surprised that they caught someone! Our police forces and security units are so low profile, that you can nod off! I live in the municipality where the people were charged - if the 3 tonnes of ammonium nitrate is correct it will be very difficult to justify as we have no farmland - so there definitely is suspicion. I feel less secure knowing that someone would use my home to hurt others, but feel a little better now that the police (400 officers) are being active in these areas.

And we have just received a text from Dan in New Zealand saying:

I can't believe these people moaning about their businesses and war zones. It would look alot more like a was zone if a bomb had gone off!

A man who has lived in Forest Gate since 1974 said he could not believe the story had changed so much in such a short time. He was very concerned about the ammount of police officers that attended, and felt that that many was not necessary.

Charles said this was unprecedented in terms of the number of police who were involved. He said this is a clear sign of the ammount and quality of intelligence that was gathered before the raid. He assured people that the information would have been tested and corroborated first before such a large operation.

And an emailer in London wrote:

I live nearby the scene and I do think it will effect the community. The thought of it will put people on edge. The trust in the police will remain faltering if this case is disproved.

Hamid Slimi, the imam in the mosque in Canada that was recently attacked, joined the program. With only a couple of minutes to go Hamid said he understood why people were angry and that that anger was directed at muslims. He said that he is now frightened that people will "go crazy" in the community where he lives.

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