AT A NEWS CONFERENCE: 'Bishop Dr Joe Aldred, Chair of the Council of Black-Led Churches, said: 'We want to convey our condolences to the families and friends of those people who have died as a result of the tragic events that have unfolded in Birmingham over the past few days. The people who have been injured are also in our thoughts and prayers. We are very keen to work together with all communities to bring about the restoration of calm and unity. We acknowledge that the catalyst for the disturbances is the alleged rape of a young Black woman and are anxious that she is able to come forward to speak with the police so that her case can be properly dealt with. There is a responsibility on behalf of the authorities to create the conditions in which the alleged victim is able to do this. We must understand that the situation is complex. There are social, political and economic issues which need to be addressed to allay concerns about inequality, especially among young people. What has become clear is that there are people in Birmingham who feel their grievances have not been properly understood or dealt with. We are committed to working with everybody to tackle these challenges and hold out our hands to all faith communities in our effort to achieve justice and peace. I call on everyone to remain calm and to be mindful that the right way to raise legitimate concerns is by peaceful means which do not stir up hatred and discord.'
* The Council of Black-Led Churches represents about 150 churches in the West Midlands and 30,000 Christians and is therefore the largest African Caribbean organisation. It works in partnership with the wider community including the statutory and voluntary sectors.
* The Council of Black-Led Churches represents about 150 churches in the West Midlands and 30,000 Christians and is therefore the largest African Caribbean organisation. It works in partnership with the wider community including the statutory and voluntary sectors.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
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