EUROPE: Anti-racism France and Italy:
200,000 march against racism
TO 100,000 people marched against racism in Paris on January 25,
1992, in a demonstration called by a collective of 70 organizations. All the major anti-ravist associations, trade unions, left and far left organizations, and anti-fascist associations were represented on the march.
This success followed a series of powerful mobilizations in the provinces against Jean-Marie Le Pen, president of the National Front (FN), who has been touring the country as part of his party's current electoral campaign. The massive presence of youth on the Paris demonstration shows an increasing awareness of the danger represented by a National Front.
Popular demands on the march were the right to vote for immigrants, respect for the right of asylum and the suppression of the "double penalty" (by which immigrants who have served a sentence for a crime are then expelled from
France).
The Socialist Minister of the Interior, Philippe Marchand, author of a pernicious law allowing the arbitrary incarceration, for a period of 30 days, of foreigners wishing to enter France — a measure reminiscent of one of the proposals on immigration put forward by the National Front -was roundly barracked by the crowd.
The depth of the unpopularity of the governing Socialist Party (PS) was evident on the march. Having supported the rally on the basis of the single theme of the struggle against the National Front, it did not sign the appeal of the 70 initiating organizations, but intended to join the demonstration and participate in strength. However it was so isolated, at the very back of the demonstration, that its contingent ultimately gave up the idea of marching.
The success of January 25 and the local anti-Le Pen mobilizations should serve as a trampoline for initiatives of still broader scope. Already, the antiracist associations have set up a permanent unitary collective. Everybody is aware that, on the basis of the electoral collapse of the Socialist Party, the regional and cantonal elections for March 1992 will see a new and significant increase in the NF vote - the far right could emerge ahead of the PS in some departments.
In these conditions, the First of May is the next important date for anti-racists and anti-tascists. For several years, the NF has attempted to hi-jack this symbolic date with its own march. A large scale mobilization will be necessary to reappropriate this day of struggle and take the street back from the advocates of segregation and hate. ***
ON Saturday January 25, 1992, a very important demonstration against racism brought 100,000 people onto the streets of Milan. The idea of a second national anti-racist demonstration (the first took place in autumn 1989 in Rome) was launched at the beginning of September 1991, by the Senegalese Association of Lombardy, following the murder of a Senegalese worker by fascists.
This call received the immediate support of numerous solidarity associations and, on October 28, 1991, a first national assembly began to prepare the demonstration: the choice of January 25 was motivated by a desire to build links with the French anti-racist movement. The platform of demands adopted takes up the multiple implications of immigration.
Numerous forces participated in the preparations for this event, including the Italian Cultural and Recreational Association (ARCI) — created in 1948 at the initiative of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), but now independent -many anti-racist associations and 300 immigrant community organizations. The demonstration was supported by the Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC), the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Greens, as well as the Italian Gen-
Feral Confederation of Labour (CGIL). The breadth of this demonstration augurs well for the Italian anti-racist movement to re-take the initiative. * those outstanding appeals will be heard by a special adjudicator at the same time as the asylum appeal. So someone who has already got a visa to stay in the UK will have to think twice about applying for asylum.
3. Withdrawal of Legal Aid: The government intends to withdraw legal aid for advice on asylum and all other immigration matters. In a lot of cases this will leave immigrants and asylum seekers with no other alternative but to go to the government sponsored UKIAS for help. This shows that
27 the proposals are directed against all black
EUROPE: Anti-racism people and not just asylum seekers.
4. Fingerprinting: In line with other European countries asylum seekers will be treated as criminals by being subjected to fingerprinting. There are no safeguards in the bill as to who the manual records can be passed on to. One of the reasons behind the introduction of fingerprinting of asylum seekers is the Dublin Convention signed by all EC countries. This says that a refusal of an asylum seeker in one EC country gives all other EC countries the right to refuse that person.
5. Housing: Asylum seekers will also be denied their full right to rehousing. Local authorities will only be able to offer temporary accommodation, and then only if the asylum seeker has "no reasonable accommodation" to go to. However, at the same time, the government has announced that it will provide 300 detention places for asylum seekers "considered likely to abscond... and to enable those refused asylum to be detained while awaiting removal".
6. Carriers Liability Act: In order to stop asylum seekers coming to the UK the government has already introduced visa requirements for nationals whose countries "produce" refugees, such as the Kurds from Turkey. In order to stop people fleeing to the UK the Carriers Liability Act 1987 allows the government to fine airlines if they bring passengers to the UK without "valid" documents. The government has increased the fines to £2000 per passenger by mid-1991 they had earned £30 million through such fines! The Asylum Bill extends airline liability to include passengers in transit.
7. The asylum seekers credibility: The draft immigration rules contain a list of criteria for refusing an asylum seeker - for instance an application will be treated as doubtful if the applicant has "made false representations... destroyed, damaged or disposed of a passport". The UN Commission on Refugees has indicated its opposition to this paragraph. It should not be held against asylum seekers if they arrive with false documents or none at all, as is stated in the UN convention (Article 31).
8. Guilt by association: The draft rules state that actions by a person "acting on behalf of the asylum applicant", whether or not with the applicant's express approval, "may be taken into account" may be taken into account. An asylum '. An asylum case can therefore be prejudiced by so-called "agents" in the country of origin or incompetent advisers in Britain.
9. Travelling as part of a group: The rules also state that if an asylum seeker "is a part of a group" their case is not to be considered individually. This is a denial of natural justice and a violation of the 1951 convention, which specifically provides that each applicant must have his/her case individually assessed.
10. The Asylum Act will become retrospective: Asylum decisions which have 28 already been held up for several years within the Home Office bureaucracy will now International Viewpoint #222 • February 17,