I heard a radio call in show (Cross Country Checkup, CBC, about 2 weeks ago). One caller of Icelandic background said that the UK government was pointing finders at Icelanders, i.e. a "terrorist" accusation. She was in disbelief by the absurdity. I followed it up, but don't know much about international banking/ finance to get the full scope.
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Icelandic anger at UK terror move
Page last updated at 11:54 GMT, Friday, 24 October 2008 12:54 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7688560.stm
Thousands of Icelanders are sending a message to Gordon Brown that they are not terrorists after the UK used terror laws to freeze their assets. An online petition was launched this week following the UK government's attempt to protect British savings in Iceland's failed Landsbanki. The petition has been signed by about 40,000 people and shows Icelanders with signs saying they are not terrorists.
The Treasury said Iceland was in no way considered to be a terrorist regime.
Implied slur
Signatories to the petition have uploaded wry photographs of themselves in an attempt to show the absurdity of categorising an Icelandic bank as a terrorist organisation.
The photographs show ordinary Icelanders - including a fisherman, a baby and a man in a Father Christmas costume - holding up hand-written signs stating: "Mr, Brown, we are not terrorists."
But despite the light-hearted tone of their protest, Icelanders are furious by what they see as the high-handed actions of the UK government, its implied slur on their national character and the dire consequences for the Icelandic economy.
One of the founders of the site is Magnus Arni Skulason, an economist from Reykjavik.
He told BBC news: "Our message to the British government is that we think they unjustifiably used the anti-terrorist legislation against Iceland.
"I was quite shocked when I saw it in the Financial Times that anti-terror laws were being used against Iceland, because we are the only EU nation in that group. We are in good company - with Al Qaeda."
