Rise in racially-motivated crimes in East Lancashire (UK)

A rise in racially-motivated crimes across East Lancashire is being blamed on drunken behaviour.

Figures show incidents have increased by 17 per cent, from 168 to 198 for the first five months of this year.

The police’s specialist Hate Crime Unit said the majority of incidents happened when offenders were drunk and said taxi drivers were often the victims of late-night racism.

Officers said that youngsters posting racist messages on social networking sites such as Facebook had also become a major problem for them.

Sgt John Rigby, of the Hate Crime Unit, said: “Around 95 per cent of the cases we see are as a result of alcohol.

"It is a massive factor behind racially-motivated crimes.

“One of our biggest victim groups is taxi drivers.

"They are regularly taking home drunks who will be arguing about paying the fare, and this can quickly turn into racist abuse, both verbally and physically.

“A lot of the calls we get, especially at weekend evenings, are from taxi drivers reporting such incidents.”

Last week, a 17-year-old boy was charged with racially-aggravated public disorder after a taxi driver was allegedly abused on a rank in Market Street, Colne.

And a 48-year-old man, also from Colne, has also been charged after an alleged racially-aggravated assault on a cabbie in the town’s Spring Lane area this month.

Makbul Patel, vice chairman of the Blackburn private hire association, said: “It is an issue our drivers are concerned about.

“When passengers are drunk arguments about not paying the fare or the cost of fare can often end up involving racist abuse and it is not something the drivers should have to put up with.”

Mohammed Arif, chairman of Burnley’s private hire association, said drivers were becoming increasingly worried about racist abuse.

“It is one of the biggest problems our drivers face,” he said.

“They are often taking groups of drunk people home late at night and it can be intimidating, especially if racist abuse is involved.

“The problem has definitely been getting worse recently, drivers are under pressure late at night and they want to as much protection as they can get.”

Last month, police teamed up with charity Stop Hate UK to launch a poster campaign in taxis working in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale warning people that hate crime would not be tolerated.

Police said they were also concerned about websites being used to peddle racist messages and harming community cohesion.

Sgt Rigby said: “A big factor these days is Facebook and other social networking sites.

“Youngsters don’t realise the comments they post can be seen by so many more people than they think.

“Quite often we have to contact Facebook electronically about comments on there.

“This is something we didn’t have 10 years ago. It can give a voice to people who want to get such messages into the public domain.”

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed there were 392 racially motivated crimes reported in East Lancashire in 2008, down from a high of 607 in 2007.

This increased to 404 crimes in 2009, and the latest figures for January to May suggest that figures will jump to nearer 500 this year.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said the figures were ‘significant’ but might show a positive trend.

He said: “In previous times when there was much more overt racism around one of the consequences was that there were fewer incidents reported.

“Obviously it’s a worrying increase, but I hope it reflects an increase in reporting and identification of hate crimes and a reduction in toleration.”

The increase has led Salim Mulla, of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, to call on councils and the Government to do more to bring communities together.

Mr Mulla said more people had been going to him to report racist incidents.

“I seem to be getting more reports now from members of the community about racist incidents than I did.

"It is worrying that this type of crime is being committed.

“Everyone needs to do a lot more between different sections of the community to try and make sure this doesn’t happen.

“I think the council and Government need to do a lot more to bring communities together."


This is Lancaster

Australia to defend 'racist' Northern Territory intervention at the UN

A United Nations panel will investigate claims the Australian government has singled out Aborigines and asylum seekers with racist policies.

Australian officials will front a UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva on Tuesday amid allegations from human rights activists that the Northern Territory intervention unfairly treats Aboriginal communities.

The suspension of asylum seeker claims from Afghans and Sri Lankans earlier this year will also be challenged. Rights groups claim the decision imposed a sweeping policy on the basis of race and violated Australia's international obligations.

SMH.com

Jobbik MP allegedly threatens journalists (Hungary)

Two journalists from the weekly Hetek received death threats at a far-right festival, the weekly reported on  Friday. The reporters visiting the Magyar Sziget Festival in Verőce, north of Budapest, were escorted at all times and were allowed to interview only Jobbik MP Gyula György Zagyva, head of the 64 Counties Movement. He received them in a tent, where he was reclining on a couch and brandishing a whip. He reportedly told the journalists “you should be glad that you were not beaten up”. He reportedly also said it was “Jewish arrogance” that the journalists had turned on their dictaphone and that he would most willingly “stamp out their gut”. Zagyva denied to Népszabadság that he had said such things and vowed to take legal action for defamation of character and libel. He did not deny that he had a whip in his hand, but said “why not?” The Jobbik national leadership will discuss the matter today. Spokeswoman Dora Dúró said Zagyva is a member of the caucus but not the party. The Socialist Party asked Justice Minister Tibor Navracsics and Interior Minister Sándor Pintér to look into the matter.

Politics Hu

Man who attacked gay couple jailed for six years (UK)

A 21-year-old man from Oxford who brutally attacked a gay couple has been jailed for six years.

Lewis Buck - who pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - was sentenced at Oxford Cown Court.

According to the Oxford Mail, he was lucky not to have killed 27-year-old victim, Stephen Furze, whom he stabbed in the abdomen just weeks after New Year.

The incident happened when Furze and his partner, Tim Samways, were walking through Summertown on 27 Janurary when Buck challenged them to a fight.

After attempting to punch Furze, Buck stabbed him with a 9cm knife, piercing his liver.

Surgeons at the John Radcliffe Hospital said Furze was “extremely fortunate” that the blade had not ruptured an artery.

Judge Patrick Eccles said: “Fortunately for the victim, Mr Furze, and also fortunately for you, it did not cause a grievous injury. Someone in that position was at risk of grave injury or indeed death.”

He added: “Whatever was going through your mind, you brought a knife back to threaten him and stab him.

“You cornered him, threatened to inflict pain on him with the knife, and got him in isolation where he could not escape from you and then you deliberately stabbed him in the stomach.”

Buck is expected to serve at least half of his sentence.

Pink Paper

Alleged Serial Killer was Member of Neo-Nazi National Alliance

William Dathan Holbert, who was arrested last week in Nicaragua along with his girlfriend, Laura Michelle Reese, has reportedly confessed to killing five Americans so he could take over their businesses and other properties in a Panamanian resort area. Holbert, a native North Carolinian, has so far been charged with a  total of nine murders that took place in the Panamanian resort of Bocas del Toro.

A Panamanian official quoted Holbert, who was deported to Panama to face murder charges, as saying he established friendships with two of his victims by posing as a potential investor, then shot each in the head, buried them and took over their money and other property. The National Police in Panama said they found nine bodies on the property of Holbert and Reese, which included a hotel.

Holbert and his girlfriend had been on the run for more than two years, since they fled after being pulled over on Feb. 5, 2006, in Sheridan County, Wyo., for speeding in a stolen car.

Some of Holbert’s white supremacist history has been made public in news reports, including the fact that he has a swastika tattoo on his upper back and “Aryan Pride” on his arm. But a key piece of that history has not. In August 2002, Holbert joined the neo-Nazi National Alliance (NA), which at one time was the most important hate group in America. At the time, the Alliance was suffering from a leadership crisis caused by the death a month earlier of the group’s longtime leader, William Pierce. Under the leadership of Erich Gliebe, who followed Pierce, the NA would eventually fall apart, leaving only a few weak and scattered remnants.

Yesterday, on the racist online forum Stormfront, “whitegirl” posted that Holbert showed up at an NA meeting in 2003, saying he was the organization’s “Western Regional Coordinator.” “Whitegirl” said he tried “to take over the whole meeting” and tried to “get into a leadership position immediately.” She added that Holbert popped up a year later at a white nationalist cookout claiming to represent a new racist group.

Two years later, in 2005, Holbert, as has been reported, opened a racist store in Forest City, N.C., called Southern National Patriots, which sold books, CDs and pamphlets promoting his white supremacist views. On Stormfront, “whitegirl” wrote that Holbert tried to recruit local skinheads to frequent his store. The Southern National Patriots store was also the site of meetings where Holbert and others advocated for the rights of white Southerners.

Those meetings attracted extremists and a local leader in the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), an organization for the descendants of Confederate soldiers that has been roiled in the past decade by a power struggle between extremist members and those calling for the group to ban racists. Creighton Lovelace, who was in 2005 the commander of the local SCV chapter, Rutherford Rifles, spoke that year at an event held at Holbert’s store. During the rally, speakers reportedly praised the history of the South and repeatedly chanted, “Save the South.” According to a press report, Lovelace said in his speech that southern white Christians should be “separated from other peoples,” something he claimed the Bible demanded.

Lovelace was at the time pastor of the Danielton Baptist Church. Lovelace posted to LiveJournal in April 2005 that Holbert and Reese had joined his church. “It was a very happy day,” Lovelace proclaimed. He also referred to himself as having been for a time the couple’s “spiritual advisor.” But by May 2005, Lovelace had quit his association with Holbert and Southern National Patriots.

That same year, Lovelace and Danielton Baptist Church achieved national notoriety for placing provocative anti-Islam messages on the church’s sign. At one point, the church featured a sign that read, “The Koran needs to be flushed.” E-mails for comment about Holbert and Reese to Lovelace, who now runs Bible Defender Ministries, were not immediately returned.

Before fleeing the U.S., Holbert already had racked up a serious criminal history. In January 2006, a warrant had been issued for Holbert’s arrest for theft using false pretenses. In October 2005, while posing as a doctor and using a false driver’s license, Holbert opened a bank account in the name of Luke Gregory Kuhn. Holbert then allegedly sold a house he did not own in Oak Island, N.C., for more than $200,000. Over the following two months, he withdrew the proceeds from the illegal home sale from the bank account in small increments and then fled to Kentucky, where he obtained a false Kentucky’s driver’s license in the name of Donald Lee Bruckert. It was a just a few weeks later that Holbert and Reese fled the country.

SPLCentre

REVEALED: HOW ASYLUM DETENTION CENTRES DAMAGE CHILDREN (uk)

The traumatic toll of detention on the children of asylum seekers will be exposed in a new report. "State Sponsored Cruelty", due to be published by Medical Justice in September, found that two-thirds of children became ill or were hurt after being held in detention centres. They include a three-year-old girl who broke her shoulder falling down stairs. Pressure was building yesterday on the Government to honour a promise made in the Queen's Speech in May to act quickly to outlaw the detention of young asylum seekers, a practice Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has described as a "moral outrage". This year, 50 women at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre, Bedfordshire, went on hunger strike over conditions. A scathing report by Dame Anne Owers published in March confirmed the findings of a similar investigation by the Children's Commissioner which said Yarl's Wood had been "distressing and harmful" for children. Last night, Medical Justice reiterated a call by the Scottish Refugee Council for the Government to immediately ban the detention of children of failed asylum seekers rather than wait for the outcome of a Home Office Review. "Powers still exist to arrest and forcibly remove children from the UK by harmful means, including separating and detaining one parent, detaining a single parent and putting the child "in care", and forcibly removing one family member from the UK without the others," it said. "We need policy and legislation change that eliminates all forms of family detention and separation and related harmful practices." Spokeswoman Emma Ginn added: "Our fear is that they will never end detention of children. To say they will only detain children for a short period is the same as what we had before."

In the first large-scale investigation in the UK, Medical Justice gathered the evidence of independent doctors who assessed 141 children detained between 2004 and April 2010. It found that 92 had suffered physical harm, often developing fevers and vomiting, while 50 children received inadequate medical care. More than half, 74, had been psychologically harmed and went on to suffer nightmares, insomnia or became deeply fearful of being locked up again. Almost 50 had witnessed violence in detention while 13 had been injured, notably several children hurt during the break-up of a hunger strike at Yarl's Wood. Last year 1,065 children were held with their families awaiting removal. While there are currently no children in detention, the UK Border Agency would only say "detention of families will be kept to a minimum until the review is completed". After taking office, the coalition Government pledged to end the practice of locking up failed asylum families with children. Last month the Prime Minister promised to end the practice "once and for all". A Home Office review is looking at alternatives, including housing children in care, but yesterday Clare Tudor of the Scottish Refugee Council said it wanted "a commitment set in law that would disallow the Government at any time in the future to detain children". A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: "The Government is clear in its commitment to end the detention of children for immigration purposes. One of the first actions was to set up a review and this has changed the UK Border Agency's approach. We are focused on finding an alternative that protects the welfare of children, without undermining immigration laws."

The Independant

UK BORDER AGENCY INVESTIGATION FINDS CAUSE FOR 'SIGNIFICANT CONCERN'

An investigation into claims by a whistleblower that asylum seekers are mistreated, tricked and humiliated by staff working for the UK Border Agency has found cause for "significant concern" and makes several recommendations for change. The investigation by the agency's professional standards unit, was triggered by a report in the Guardian that revealed the concerns of whistleblower Louise Perrett, a UKBA case owner who worked for three and a half months in the Cardiff office during the summer of 2009. These revelations also led to Perrett giving evidence before the Commons home affairs select committee. Perrett, 29, said some of her colleagues expressed anti-immigration views and took pride in refusing asylum applications. She said that a toy gorilla nicknamed the "grant monkey" was placed as a badge of shame on the desk of any officer who approved an asylum application. Former child soldiers were forced to lie on the office floor and demonstrate how they shot people in the bush, she said, while a test to determine the authenticity of people who claimed to be from North Korea was to ask them if they ate chop suey.

When she asked advice about the legitimacy of a Congolese woman's asylum claim, a legal official apparently replied: "Umbongo, umbongo, they kill them all in the Congo." The investigation found that all allegations apart from the toy gorilla could not be substantiated, but acknowledges that the PCS union circulated advice to their members not to cooperate with the investigation. Identifying a number of areas of concern, the report criticised the asylum team that held the "grant monkey", said that its subsequent removal from the office was correct and that no further action needed to be taken. Perrett had complained to managers about her concerns but no changes were made. "Concerns that she raised informally were not documented which this report finds disappointing," the report states. "Consideration should be given in the Cardiff office of the procedures to follow and an environment where staff are comfortable raising concerns without fear of criticism from other staff."

Recommendations include considering the introduction of a disciplinary offence for failing to challenge inappropriate behaviour, looking at other ways for staff to challenge this behaviour from colleagues, and a reminder to staff about appropriate tests that can be used to assess the credibility of an applicant's claim. "This investigation makes me think that UKBA believed my claims all along, but their work was hindered by the PCS," said Perrett. "My reasons for speaking publicly about my experiences of working for this organisation was to effect cultural change within and ensure that those who seek refuge are treated with dignity and respect and are able to make a claim for asylum without prejudice. I hope the training and procedures to be implemented as a result of this investigation will ensure this." In its response to the investigation, UKBA said: "We believe that this has been a useful exercise for the UK Border Agency and are sure that our agency will be the better for it. We welcome the chance this has given us to have a focused look at ourselves and devise a response accordingly."

The Guardian

FREE PRESS SOCIETY HEAD SAID TO HAVE MADE RACIST REMARKS AGAINST MUSLIMS (Denmark)

The chairman of the Freedom of the Press Society, Lars Hedegaard, has been charged with making racist remarks by the Public Prosecutor for Copenhagen.

The charge comes after Hedegaard on the blog site Snaphanen in December 2009 described rape as common in Muslim families, especially girls by their uncles, cousins or fathers. Hedegaard told Jyllands Posten newspaper that he had was not worried about the charge but was interested to see how the situation will play out. In a press release published later he stated that his statement did not cover all Muslims, but was a critique of Islam in general. Despite the change in comment, though, the Public Prosecutor has chosen to stand by the charge. Asked if he regretted the comment, Hedegaard said the only thing he regretted was the misunderstanding, but that he hoped for an opportunity to rectify this. The charges prompted Hedegaard to leave the Danish People’s Party in order to avoid having his comments reflect negatively on the nationalist political party. Following Hedegaard’s comments, numerous prominent members left the society. Liberal politician Søren Pind and the Conservative Naser Khader have both left and vicar and speaker Kathrine Lilleør said that she was thrown out of the society after not supporting the chairman. The hearing is scheduled for 24 January.


Copenhagen Post

France starts removing Roma camps

France has begun dismantling illegal Roma (Gypsy) camps following a presidential order for hundreds of such camps to be removed.

On Friday, about 100 people were moved on after police emptied a camp in the central city of Saint-Etienne.

The Roma had been living there in makeshift shelters and tents since May.

It was the first such move since President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a week ago plans to shut 300 illegal camps within the next three months.

Mr Sarkozy also said members of the Roma community who had committed public order offences would be deported immediately.

The order was a response to last month's attack on a police station in the Loire Valley town of Saint-Aignon by a group of young Roma.

'Shocking living standards'

Police began the operation to clear the makeshift homes and tents on council-owned land in Saint-Etienne shortly after dawn on Friday.

Officers first sealed off the area, and then removed the occupants.

The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says a Romanian police officer was present, a sign that these members of the Roma community were recent immigrants from Eastern Europe.

President Sarkozy's government has recently struck a hard line towards what he has defined as "certain elements" in theRoma and traveller communities, our correspondent says.

This followed the riot in Saint-Aignon, which erupted after a gendarme shot and killed a traveller who had driven through a checkpoint, officials said.


The government's decision to clear 300 unauthorised camps - reportedly half the total in France - has been condemned by human rights groups, who say it is deliberately stigmatising a generally law-abiding section of society to win support among right-wing voters.

However, a poll out this week suggests that the majority of the population approves of the government's toughening line on law and order, our correspondent adds.

The government has said it cannot "tolerate" the camps, describing them as "sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging, of prostitution and crime".

There are hundreds of thousands of Roma or travelling people living in France who are part of long-established communities.

The other main Roma population is made up of recent immigrants, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria. They have the right to enter France without a visa but must have work or residency permits to settle over the long-term.

BBC News

Disabled Australians subjected to hate crimes

New research reveals thousands of Australians with disabilities are increasingly being subjected to hate crimes.

But the researcher making the claims, visiting US academic Dr Mark Sherry, says the lack of legal recognition of disability hate crime means it is often characterised as abuse and penalised lightly.

One cerebral palsy sufferer has told ABC Radio's AM that he and his wife have been victims of hate crime in Brisbane and it was not taken seriously by authorities.

Aboriginal man Byron Albury says the hate crime was perpetrated by past neighbours because he and his wife have cerebral palsy and rely on wheelchairs.

"They'd leave abusive notes in our mailbox; they'd abuse us for parking maxi taxis [that were] dropping off in front of their property or picking up in front of their property because of their size," he said.

"We tried to resolve this like rational people and they just weren't interested, basically.

"We got comments from them like 'you've devalued the property, [it was] bad enough that nobody told us that you lived here, because if [we had known] you lived here we wouldn't buy the property'."

Such treatment is common, and it often gets much worse, according to Dr Sherry, who has written a book about it.

He cites the self-described Teenage Kings of Werribee who were alleged to have sexually assaulted and urinated on a disabled girl in 2006. They received suspended sentences.

But Dr Sherry says thousands of Australians experience disability hate crimes each year.

"Some of it goes back to social Darwinist ideas about survival of the fittest; some of them talk about their images of disabled people being smelly or dirty or bad karma, possessed by the devil," he said.

AM spoke to a former Australian adult guardian, the statutory appointee who oversees the affairs of adults with disabilities.

He said he had not encountered the issue of hate crime against people with disabilities.

Dr Sherry says that is "exactly the level of ignorance" that allows it to continue.

He says Australia must follow the lead of the US and others and legally recognise disability hate crime so that it attracts higher penalties, and then efforts can be made to tackle the problem.


ABC News

Romanian central bank accused of racism

Romania's central bank has been accused of racism by the Holocaust Museum in Washington over a coin depicting an inter-war Orthodox Church leader who held anti-Semitic views.

The central bank marked 125 years since the setting up of the Romanian Orthodox Church with five silver coins, the first of which was of Miron Cristea, who led the Church between 1925 and 1939 and headed the Romanian government 1938-39.

As prime minister, Cristea amended the citizenship law, thereby stripping 225,000 Jews (or 37 percent of the country's total Jewish population) of their Romanian citizenship.

"By minting these coins we definitely did not wish to send a racist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic message," BNR governor Mugur Isarescu said.


He added the BNR was making "a clear distinction between the patriarch and the prime minister".

But he stressed that after receiving a letter of protest from the Holocaust Museum he decided to set up a commission that will "analyze the situation and come up with a solution".

"The decision should be made public in a few days' time," Isarescu said.

In a study published in 2004, an international commission of historians said Cristea "demonized the Jews" and called for their deportation.

The commission also established that some 270,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews died between 1940 and 1944, during marshal Ion Antonescu's pro-Nazi regime, while some 25,000 Gypsies were deported, half of whom died.

Romania had long denied its participation in Nazi Germany's Holocaust, triggering criticism from Israel and Jewish organizations.

The Telegraph

IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER SEEKS ASYLUM (Turkey)

The lawyer who defended a woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran is in Istanbul and has applied for asylum in a third country, a source at the United Nations refugee agency said yesterday. Defence lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei disappeared from Tehran on July 24th after questioning by Iranian authorities, and his wife and brother-in-law were later arrested, according to an Amnesty International report. “At the moment he is in Istanbul and he is in a facility where migrants are being held,” said a UNHCR source. “He requested asylum and his claim has been registered,” said the source, who added that his office was working with the Turkish government to find a third country to take Mr Mostafaei. Amnesty International called on Iran last month to end what it called the harassment of human rights lawyers. Mr Mostafaei is an outspoken critic of the Iranian judicial system, criticising the execution of minors as well as the use of stoning in executions. Most recently he defended Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whom Amnesty International said was convicted in 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men. She received 99 lashes as punishment, but was later convicted of “adultery while being married” and sentenced to death by stoning. She denied the charge. Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva offered last week to give the woman asylum, but Iran rejected the offer. The stoning sentence was suspended pending a review but could still be carried out.


Reuters

RACISM HELP CENTRE PLAN FOR BELFAST (N. Ireland)

A centre for victims of racial harassment is to open in Belfast. The migrant centre will provide a one-stop shop with bilingual staff and will be funded with a £424,276 grant from the Big Lottery Fund. It will open in December and will be operated by the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (Nicem). Nicem executive director Patrick Yu said: "The Belfast migrant centre is an exciting ground-breaking project set up under the umbrella of Nicem. It is the only one of its kind in Northern Ireland." The centre will help people access public services and support victims of racist attacks. It will provide education and training and increase rights awareness. A panel of ministers will be established to take forward the Government's commitment to equality and inclusiveness through a Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Initiative (CSI). The Executive will examine what support can be given to migrants who are working but then find themselves out of a job.


Belfast Telegraph

Mayor defends Cork town from anti- Semitism charges (Ireland)

The Mayor of Midleton has defended the east Cork town after an anti-Semitic page attacking orthodox Jews on a vacation there was published on Facebook.

It was later taken down after protests by Jewish leaders.

The existence of the site titled “the Invasion of Jews in Midleton" was first reported by IrishCentral.com and was later picked up by the Jerusalem Post among other leading Jewish newspapers.

The page, was created after the arrival of a number of Orthodox Satmar Jews into the East Cork town best known for Jameson’s distillery for a two-week vacation.

Among the slurs were pictures of menacing looking Jews, a reference to the nearby town of Ovens and a large number of messages approving of the site.

The Mayor of Midleton, Niall O’Neill, said the anti-Semitic comments posted on the page did not no way representative of the local people.

“Facebook is a forum for discussion for individuals to post individual opinions; it is no more and no less than that. The people of Midleton would certainly not be considered a community that would not extend a warm welcome to people of all shades, colors and creeds,” he said.

Mr O’Neill stated: “There’s been no case in point where there have been issues with any people, from any background, coming to the town."

Fred Rosehill, the chairman of the trustees of Cork’s Jewish community, said he was deeply upset.

“The strictly Orthodox dress brings attention of course, but it doesn’t warrant this.

“There is no reason to accept any form of anti-Semitism.”

He added: “The reference to Ovens is quite startling.”
 
Irish Central

Rise in racism among schoolchildren (UK)

Discouraging figures, revealed by Suffolk County Council (SCC) as a result of a Freedom of Information request by The EADT, show incidents of racism rose by nearly 12% in a year.

The increase will be particularly galling for education bosses who last year welcomed a marked drop across much of the region in verbal abuse and racially motivated ostracism.

Reports of racism among primary school pupils totalled 231 during the 2008/09 academic year – up from 206 in 2007/08.

At middle school level, reported incidents fell slightly from 121 to 119, but at high school racism has become more common, with reported incidents rising from 214 in 2007/08 to 261 in 2008/09.

The most startling increase came in the form of physical assaults and ‘‘racist graffiti’’ – reports of which more than doubled at schools in the west of the county.

In four years, since 2005, reports of racism in all of Suffolk’s schools have increased by nearly half, with incidents in high school’s more than doubling from 112 to 261. Schools have been reporting incidents of racism since 1993 and the council has insisted upon a 100% declaration of reports since the 1996/97 academic year.

In response to the findings, SCC said schools with an increase in the number of incidents have improved reporting systems and have made it clear to staff that all incidents must be reported, which the council said has led to more incidents being recorded.

Adrian Orr, the council’s senior advisor for social inclusion who has been leading the battle against racism in schools, said: “There has been a rise in the number of racist incidents that has been reported by schools across the county and it is an issue that we are closely investigating.

“Schools are reporting more incidents than they did in the past. We are now proactively checking for this kind of incident – where schools may in the past not have reported incidents they are doing so now.”

Mr Orr said there were many complex issues surrounding racism at school and the nature of the schools themselves was an important factor.

He said: “There are more students from a black or minority ethnic background in schools in the southern part of the county rather than the north or west.

“But that does raise different questions. If there are smaller numbers, does that increase the danger of people feeling isolated or ostracised?

“We will be getting new figures later in the year and they will tell their own story again – this is an issue the county is determined to remain on top of.”

The percentage of minority pupils in Suffolk schools has increased from 8.7% in the January 2008 school census to 12.7% in January 2009.

But Jane Basham, Chief Executive of Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality said: “The impact of racism on young people is not properly being addressed.

Attitudes towards immigration and Islamaphobia are spilling over into our schools and is cause for concern.

“Some schools report incidents quickly, while others don’t appear to take them as seriously. And the report doesn’t tell us what schools are doing about it.

“We face a real challenge, but feel confident that Adrian Orr is listening to our concerns.”

EADT

Bradford churches urge people not to be fooled by EDL group aiming to march

Church leaders in Bradford have urged people not to be fooled into thinking the English Defence League exists to defend Christian values.

The EDL is planning to hold a demonstration in Bradford on Saturday, August 28, but a petition calling for the march to be banned is set to be delivered to Home Secretary Theresa May.

Today, the Churches for Bradford group outlined its views on the EDL in a joint statement signed by the Reverend Barbara Glasson, of the Methodist Church, the Reverend Chris Howson, City Mission Priest, the Very Reverend David Ison, Dean of Bradford, and Father John Newman, of the Roman Catholic Church.

The group said: “Don’t be deceived – the EDL is not Christian.

“Let’s be clear: there are real debates to be had about the nature of British society, and how people of different cultures and faiths (or no faith) can live together in mutual respect while managing our inevitable differences in a civil and non-violent way.

“We also need to allow for principled dissent to aspects of British foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, while supporting the brave men and women who risk their lives for our country. However, the EDL is hijacking some genuine concerns for their own agenda.”

The Churches for Bradford group questioned why the EDL called themselves ‘English’ and not ‘British’, claming it was because many Muslims were proud to be British, along with other people in this country of Asian or African heritage.

The joint statement said: “Using the word ‘English’ is a hidden way of emphasising the priority of those with white ancestry. We should rather value all British people for who they are, and show the tolerance and acceptance for which the rest of the world has so often admired us.

“How would the EDL ‘defend’ us? Their badge quotes the motto of the (Yorkshire) Emperor Constantine, who conquered the Roman Empire by force, with a cross as his standard.

“But the Christian cross is utterly different from this. It stands for a God who comes in his Son to suffer and die for us, to win us over by love – not by violence and conquest. St George was actually a brown-skinned Palestinian who died for his faith in Jesus, who is revered by many Muslims as well as by Christians.”

Churches for Bradford added that the way to encourage mutual respect between religions and communities was not by provocative demonstrations, but by getting to know and understand each other.

The statement said: “This is how to defeat extremists, whether nationalist or religious.”

Churches for Bradford said it was “ironic” that the EDL wanted to stop Muslim women wearing the veil in public, but then sold ‘burka hoodies’ and red-and-white face masks on their website, so as to hide their own faces from others.

The church leaders said anyone who was concerned about genuine issues the EDL exploited should not stoop to the EDL’s level.

“Instead, get engaged with your neighbours,” said the group.

Churches for Bradford concluded: “We value our country immensely. We believe that the Christian faith has profoundly shaped our heritage and has something unique to offer to everyone in the world. And we believe in the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, that ‘good is stronger than evil, and love is stronger than hate.”

Telegraph and Argus

Anti-Pride posters in Nottingham spark Police complaint (UK)

A complaint of homophobia has been made to Nottingham Police after a group of men were seen putting up anti-Pride posters which read Gay Free Zone in the city centre.

A complaint of homophobia has been made to Nottingham Police after a group of men were seen putting up anti-Pride posters which read Gay Free Zone in the city centre.

The stickers and posters were put up just before Nottingham’s Pride festival, circa 31 July, and a member of the public has now made an official complaint to police.

The complainant says: “...the sticker showed a rainbow flag with the text written across it, ‘Gay Free Area’ and a quote from the Koran which wasn’t complimentary.”

He added: “I’m not gay but found the sentiment extremely offensive, blatant homophobia I’d say. If stickers were going around saying Muslim Free Area I’m pretty sure there’d be one hell of a fuss made about it.”

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “We are aware that posters and stickers, which oppose homosexuality, were distributed among parts of Nottingham, prior to the Pride March ... As part of our enquiries we have forwarded one sticker and one poster to the Crown Prosecution Service to establish whether this material amounts to a criminal offence.”

Pink Paper

Tory councillor suspended over 'Chaffrica' Facebook jibe

A Tory councillor has been ­suspended after he dubbed his home town ‘Chaffrica’.

In remarks on the Facebook networking website, he compared the town to an EastEnders ­storyline with ‘murderers, ­rapists, concerned ethnic minorities and gay men’.

Neil Rockliffe, who represents Chafford Hundred ward on Thurrock Council in Essex, claimed he was talking about his overgrown ‘jungle’ garden, denied that the comments were racist and said it had been ‘blown out of proportion’.

The Conservative group on Thurrock Council has suspended Mr Rockliffe while an investigation is carried out.

Mr Rockliffe is thought to have been on holiday last month when he posted on his Facebook page that he was ‘missing Chaffrica’.

He said: ‘Thinking the scriptwriters of EastEnders must live on Chafford Hundred ... has all the ingredients ... murderers, rapists, concerned ethnic minorities, gay men etc, etc.’

He said the comments were not intended to be public statements as his Facebook profile can be seen only by ‘friends’ and added: ‘I apologise for any offence caused.

'I absolutely refute the suggestion this was some kind of subliminal racist comment.’

The leader of the Conservative group at Thurrock Council, Garry Hague, said: ‘We are taking this extremely seriously.’

Daily Mail

2 NY men get decades in prison in hate crime death (USA)

Two men convicted of beating an Ecuadorean immigrant to death after mistaking him and his brother for a gay couple were sentenced to the maximum Thursday and will spend decades in prison.

Keith Phoenix was convicted of murder as a hate crime in the December 2008 death of Jose Sucuzhanay and sentenced to 37 years to life in prison. His co-defendant, Hakim Scott, was convicted of manslaughter but acquitted of a more serious murder charge. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison.

Both men were also convicted of attempted assault of Jose's brother, Romel. Phoenix's first case ended in a mistrial after a juror refused to deliberate.

The victim's mother, Julia Quituna, traveled from Cuenca, Ecuador, and sat in the courtroom with three of her surviving 11 children. Romel Sucuzhanay and Quituna spoke, barely above a whisper, through a Spanish interpreter, saying their lives were forever altered.

Scott and Phoenix were remorseful at the hearing, apologizing to their families and to the Sucuzhanays and reiterating their belief that the case was about a fight that escalated, not a premeditated attack.

"I want to offer my deepest, humblest apology for the outcome of that night," Phoenix said. "I swear to God that is not what I intended to happen."

Scott said he was raised in a family with morals and begged Judge Patricia DiMango to give him a second chance. "Not a day goes by when my heart does not hurt," he said.

But DiMango was not swayed. She told Phoenix it was "beyond the comprehension of any civilized person" that someone motivated "by the sport of it could take another human being's life in such a cruel and violent manner."

The judge called Scott the first physical catalyst because he got out of a car and broke a bottle over Jose Sucuzhanay's head.

The brothers were walking home, arm in arm, from a bar after a party at a Brooklyn church on Dec. 7, 2008, a cold night. Romel Sucuzhanay had put his coat around his brother to keep him warm and was helping him walk because he was drunk.

The defendants, also leaving a party, pulled up in an SUV and began yelling anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs, according to trial testimony.

Jose Sucuzhanay became upset and tried to kick the wheel of the SUV, and Scott got out and smashed the beer bottle over his head, then chased Romel Sucuzhanay down the block with it, according to trial testimony. Phoenix grabbed a bat from the back of the SUV and attacked Jose Sucuzhanay, cracking his skull, according to testimony.

The two drove away and were captured about 20 minutes later on surveillance footage crossing into the Bronx. Prosecutors ended their closing arguments by showing footage of Phoenix on a bridge, smiling.

Members of Phoenix's and Scott's families wept loudly in the courtroom after sentencing. They refused to speak to reporters outside court.

Quituna said in Spanish that she felt bad for them. "As a mother, I feel sad for the family of those who took my son," she said, quietly closing her eyes to gather her thoughts. "But they had no right to take the life of my son and leave his two children orphaned. For me, it is the greatest pain in my life."

Jose Sucuzhanay's brother Diego, who has acted as a family spokesman since the attack, said they would set up a foundation in Jose's honor to help the NYPD provide rewards to find those whose attacks are motivated by hate.

"Today's sentencing sends a message," he said. "The city will not tolerate hate against anyone ... against immigrants. I am sorry my brother had to die for this message."

Associated Press

MICHELLE OBAMA WALKS INTO RACE ROW ON SPANISH HOLIDAY

Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter, Sasha, seven, have arrived in Spain for a short holiday as US officials scrambled to defuse embarassing allegations of institutional racism against their host country. Hours before the first African-American first lady of the US and her daughter were settling into the luxurious Villa Padierna hotel on the outskirts of Marbella, the US state department removed a warning about police racism in Spain from one of its websites. "We have received isolated reports that racial prejudice may have contributed to the arrest or detention of some African-Americans travelling in Spain," the bureau of consular affairs had warned on its travel advice website. "Recently, two African-American US government employees were questioned by police in Barcelona for no apparent reason. One was detained and suffered physical injuries in the process." The warning disappeared yesterday, but was still accessible in the page's internet cache. Sources at the Villa Padierna hotel said that Michelle Obama had told them she had come to Spain to rest and relax. President Barack Obama, who turns 49 today, is not expected in Spain. His elder daughter Malia, 10, is at a summer camp. Secret service personnel working for the White House have already scouted several spots that the Obama's might visit, including the Alhambra palace complex at Granada. Michelle Obama is expected to see King Juan Carlos and other members of Spain's royal family, who are holidaying in Majorca.


Guardian

Neo-Nazi arrested over U.S. synagogue vandalism was adopted by Jews

Police arrest 22-year-old Ian Jacob Baron for allegedly spray-painting 'death 2 Zionists' and 'work will set u free' all over Maryland synagogue walls.

Washington police said Thursday a 22-year-old man arrested for allegedly vandalizing a Maryland synagogue earlier this week was adopted in the past by Jewish parents, The Washington Post reported.

Earlier this week, anti-Semitic phrases such as “death 2 Zionists" and "work will set u free," (after the infamous Auschwitz death camp sign reading "Arbeit Macht Frei"), were spray-painted through out the grounds of the B’nai Shalom Synagogue of Olney near Washington D.C.

Ian Jacob Baron, who at first denied the allegations and then admitted he was behind the crime, was known to the police as homeless and used to hang out in a shack which stated at the entrance that it was for "White Only!," police officers told the Washington Post.

According to the D.C. police, Baron was associated with several radical U.S. groups, and was convicted in the past in relation to crimes of a similar nature, defacing two private properties in the area, painting a swastika on a tree, and painting two mailboxes and painting a partial swastika on a driveway.

Haaretz

Rise in anti-Semitic incidents concerns community leaders

Anti-Semitic incidents have increased in Greater Manchester, a new report shows.

There were 89 incidents reported to the Community Security Trust across the region in the first six months of 2010, compared to just 57 two years ago.

The figures represent a 56 per cent rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the two years.

However, the numbers of incidents fell dramatically since this time last year, when anti-Jewish sentiment increased amid a number of high profile international events, like the Gaza conflict in January of that year.

The body classifies as an anti-semitic incident any malicious act aimed at Jewish people, organisations or property, where there is evidence that the act has anti-semitic motivation or content, or the victim was targeted because they are (or are believed to be) Jewish.

The CST believe the increase is down to ‘changing’ demography in Prestwich and in north Manchester - due to a more visible Jewish community and those more willing to report anti-Semitism.

Mark Gardner, CST director of communications said: "After much analysis, we believe that the relative rise of incidents in Greater Manchester is mainly due to the changing demography of the visibly Jewish community (mainly in Prestwich); and also that community’s good links with CST’s local staff and volunteers."

And Lucille Cohen, president of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester, said: "I am very disturbed by the rise compared to 2008 and would hope that Bury Council’s efforts in social cohesion promote a more tolerant society."

In February, a mother and son were convicted of carrying out a series of racist attacks on Jewish people by driving past shouting abuse and spraying them with liquid

Manchester Evening News

ROMA CONDEMN INTOLERANCE IN EUROPE AT AUSCHWITZ (Poland)

Roma leaders condemned intolerance against their community across Europe Monday at the WWII Nazi German Auschwitz death camp where they marked 66 years since the massacre of nearly 3,000 Roma. "Roma are still the victims of intolerance, even brutal aggression and instead there is talk of the divisions and conflicts between Sinti and Roma," Roman Kwiatkowski, head of the Roma Association of Poland said at the ceremonies, as quoted by the Polish PAP news agency. Sinti are part of the Roma people, known also as gypsies, but with their own specific dialect. "To all those who say this, I answer clearly at this place: we are a single, great people, especially on this day, International Remembrance Day of Roma Victims of the Holocaust," Kwiatkowski said. "We are deprived of our rights ... The discrimination and persecution of Sinti and Roma must forever disappear from the life of the peoples of Europe," said Romani Rose, leader of Germany's Roma and Sinti. Some 500 Roma from several countries gathered Monday at the foot of a monument commemorating the death of the last group of Roma, nearly 3,000 women, children and elderly people, who were gassed by the Nazis at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on the night of August 2-3, 1944.

Nearly all of the 23,000 Roma and Sinti imprisoned at the "Zigeunerlager" at Auschwitz-Birkenau were killed by the Nazis between 1941-44. Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most notorious of Nazi Germany's WWII death camps is located in the southern Polish town of Oswiecim, which like all of Poland was under German occupation during the Second World War. The Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said Monday it had brought together some 80 Roma and non-Roma youth activists from several European countries for four days at the former Auschwitz camp for education about the Nazi's WWII genocide against the Roma. Between 1940-45 Nazi Germany killed some 1.5 million people, including 1.2 million European Jews, at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Other victims included Poles, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war.

AFP

SWASTIKAS ON FRONTAGES OF KOSHER STORES IN PARIS (France)

Swastikas were discovered on Thursday on the frontages and windows of a dozen kosher stores in Paris, the Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF) announced. “We see it as a new demonstration of anti-Semitic hatred,” the union said. A police source said four nazi swastikas were traced with a black marker on two shops, on the wall of a Jewish school and on a nearby building of the Boulevard Voltaire, in Paris’s 11th district. "I make a point of expressing my emotion and my indignation following the discovery of swastikas on frontages of the Voltaire boulevard", said the city’s mayor Bertrand Delanoe, in an official statement. "Such acts, which recall the darkest hours of our history, should not remain unpunished. In the name of Paris, I repeat my determination to fight without a break against anti-semitism, and to defend the values of tolerance and of respect which found the identity of our City," he added.


EJ Press

Staten Island Teen Christian Vazquez Attacked in Apparent Anti-Mexican Hate Crime USA

Staten Island has seen a string of recent bias attacks targeting Mexican immigrants, despite stepped up police patrols, and now the latest victim is speaking out. Eighteen-year-old Christian Vazquez, who was assaulted early Saturday morning while heading home from his job as a restaurant busboy, became a victim despite spending the past five years working with a youth anti-violence group that's trained to help others combat bias.

He admits he was terrified by his ordeal.

Vazquez says his attackers kicked and punched him to the ground leaving his eye swollen and his body covered in bruises. His assailants reportedly yelled anti-Mexican epithets during the attack, reports the New York Daily News.

Vazquez told the newspaper his main concern is bringing the perpetrators to justice so that this type of senseless violence doesn't take a life.

"What happened to me could happen to a mother, could happen to a father," he told the newspaper, "and maybe the next victim could end up dead."

Police have tracked down one of his alleged attackers, says the paper.

Ironically enough, the 15-year-old whose name has not been released is also an immigrant, from Liberia. He was being held after appearing at a hearing in Staten Island Family Court.

Vazquez's message to his attackers is bold.

"If you've got a conscience, just come out and say you did it," Vazquez said.

According to the New York Daily News, the attack on Christian Vazquez was the 11th hate crime in the borough of Staten Island since April.

CBS News

Crafton man sentenced to prison on gun charges (USA)

A self-proclaimed white supremacist who praised the killings of three Pittsburgh police officers and encouraged more of the same was sentenced to 30 months in prison Tuesday on federal firearms charges.

Hardy Lloyd, 32, of Crafton pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in April. He was arrested in May 2009 after state probation officers received a tip from an FBI agent who saw a photograph of Mr. Lloyd posted on his blog in which he was holding a rifle.

During a May 27, 2009, search of his home, probation officers found 10 weapons. Mr. Lloyd was prohibited from having firearms because he was on probation from a 2004 case, in which he was accused of killing a female acquaintance, Lori Hann.

Although he was found to have acted in self-defense, Mr. Lloyd was found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm. He was sentenced to 111/2 to 23 months in jail to be followed by three years probation.

Mr. Lloyd's therapist, Anthony Mastroianni, who has been treating him for 10 years, told the court Tuesday his patient has Asperger's syndrome. He believes Mr. Lloyd has made significant progress in his treatment over the past year and is now functioning at about the age level of a 10th-grader.

Defense attorney John Knorr asked the judge to recommend Mr. Lloyd be imprisoned in a facility close to Pittsburgh so he could continue treatment with Mr. Matroianni.

He faced an advisory guideline range sentence of 24 to 30 months.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Picking told the judge that she believed Mr. Lloyd is a danger to himself and others.

"He exhorted others to commit acts of violence," she said, referring to his blog. "Others have tried throughout his entire life to rehabilitate him, and all have failed."

Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond called the guns found at Mr. Lloyd's home "a small arsenal."

"He has made expressions that indicate a potentially violent character," the judge said. "Whether these accurately reflect his inner nature and whether he would act out those statements ... I believe he is a potential danger to himself and others."

In addition to his prison term, Judge Diamond also ordered Mr. Lloyd to serve three years on supervised release. During that time, as part of the plea agreement, Mr. Lloyd is not permitted to run any type of website.

Post Gazzette

Muslim leader calls for Bradford emo to be halted (UK)

A peace organisation has urged Bradford’s Muslim community not to retaliate should the English Defence  League (EDL) march in the city.

Dr Mohammed Iqbal, president of the Bradford branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, has backed the Telegraph & Argus campaign for the Home Secretary Theresa May to ban the planned Bank Holiday demonstration by the EDL.

Thousands of members of the group plan to swamp the city centre with supporters in what it has called “The Big One” on August 28.

Dr Iqbal said: “Ideally, I would like to think that the Home Secretary should step in and stop the march – that would be the best thing for all of us.

“I have had a discussion with all the political figures about this and the last thing we want is trouble.”

He added: “If it is not stopped at that level, then it must not be used as an excuse for violence and disorder. If it is, then they (The EDL) will win and that would be a tragedy for all of us.”

Dr Iqbal said he believed the march had been planned for “inflammatory” purposes and urged Muslims in Bradford not to “fall into the trap” set by the EDL.

Already, the umbrella organisation Bradford Together has collected more than 7,000 signatures in support of the ban.

Supporters include the Unite union, Bradford Chamber of Trade, Bradford University, Bradford Council for Mosques, MPs, councillors and members of the public.

The EDL says it is opposed to “Islamification”. It has held demonstrations in Leeds, Luton, Birmingham, Bolton and Dudley in recent years.

T&A readers can backthe ban by signing our petition calling for the Home Secretary to outlaw the march planned for Saturday, August 28.


Telegraph and Argus

Move to revoke licence of neo-Nazi chimney sweep (Germany)

As a chimney sweep and part-time soccer coach, Lutz Battke is a familiar face in the eastern German town of Laucha, near Erfurt.

The 52-year-old is a town councillor for the neo-Nazi NPD party and is under investigation after a 17-year-old Israeli player on his soccer team was beaten last April by a young man, allegedly a fellow team member, shouting “Judenschwein” (Jewish pig).

Because the football club, BSC 99, has declined to dismiss him, state authorities are determined to revoke his chimney sweep licence.

Extremism experts as well as some locals have expressed concern about whether Mr Battke, one of two NPD councillors, is well placed as coach to recruit new members. “Sports clubs are like an extension of home for young people,” said Gisela Goblirsch, who owns a youth club in Laucha. “The man doesn’t just switch off his own views and attitudes.”

With 13.5 per cent support in Laucha, the NPD polled its highest state-wide result here in local elections. The town is in the state of Saxony Anhalt which, surveys show, has one of Germany’s highest concentration of neo-Nazis. The April attack has made authorities in Saxony-Anhalt step up a two-year campaign against Mr Battke. Attempts to have him banned from working as a chimney sweep have so far failed, after several courts ruled that Mr Battke fulfilled his job obligations adequately.

After their latest court defeat yesterday, state economics minister Reiner Haseloff said the state would appeal once more.

“As a chimney sweep, the man has permission to enter apartments, with police help,” said Mr Haseloff. “Apartments in which perhaps migrants live. That’s something that would make me feel threatened.”

Over at BSC 99, team president Steffen Reisbach has said his hands are tied. Sport regulations stipulate he can dismiss his trainer only if, for instance, allegations of sexual abuse were made. “If we got rid of the Nazis in the football clubs here in the region,” he told a local paper, “many would just close down.”

Irish Times

Cyprus problem is fuelling racism

In Nicosia last week, marchers from the ultra-nationalist youth group ELAM (Greek popular front) attacked  two Asian bystanders. A Nigerian man was beaten and forced into the path of a moving car.

This incident takes its place in the recent litany of violence against foreign workers, students or, in the most notorious case, a 15-year-old Afro-Cypriot assaulted by 40 of her classmates while their teachers stood by. Earlier this year, the Palestinian community centre in Larnaca was vandalised, while the headquarters of the anti-racist organisation KISA are regularly graffitied with swastikas.

It is typical for another reason – the general absence of public sympathy. The teachers' union obstructed punishment of the schoolgirl's attackers, and the Cypriot police are so unwilling to even record racially aggravated assaults that many non-white migrants no longer bother. Listening to opinions on TV phone-ins and talk radio, it becomes clear that the attitude of wider society is that "i xeni" (foreigners) should not be here in the first place, and so deserve whatever they get.

There is an irony here, given the number of Cypriots who emigrated in the 60s and 70s to seek a better life abroad. Indeed, some estimates put the number of diaspora Cypriots as being greater than the remaining population of the island. As Denis MacShane remarked last week, Cypriots have become a formidable enough voting block in London that they may prove a significant obstacle to David Cameron's desire for closer ties with Turkey.

Of course, Cyprus is not alone in struggling to cope with rising immigration. Indeed, due to geographical proximity to both Africa and Asia, and to the porous Green Line, Cyprus has one of the highest rates of migration – both legal and illegal – in Europe.

Nonetheless, there is something uniquely callous in the Cypriot attitude to asylum seekers, economic migrants and, to put it most simply, non-whites of all kinds. It is more striking given the low crime and unemployment rates, the high GDP per capita compared with all neighbouring nations, and the island's long history of welcoming outsiders (such as refugees from the Armenian genocide in 1915).

The major source of such disregard for people outside one's own ethnic group is the Cyprus problem, and no solution currently on the table would address this. Whether one chooses to date the situation to the invasion by Turkey in 1974, the coup by junta-supported Greek Cypriots the same year, the bombings by Turkey in 1964, the attempt by Greek Cypriots to tear up the constitution in 1963, or simply to the British colonial strategy of divide and rule, the fact is that Cypriots have been split along ethnic lines far beyond living memory. The sandbags and barbed wire of the Green Line that runs through the middle of Nicosia are only the most potent reminder of this.

Since 1974, the international conversation about Cyprus has been of "bi-communal solutions". Both sides have formally committed to separate administrations for Greek and Turkish Cypriots plus a central assembly where representatives of the two sides will meet in equal numbers. Another possible solution, talked of with increasing frequency, is of a permanent partition into two states. External parties – the UN, EU, UK, Greece and Turkey – allow no other possibilities to be discussed.

Allowing only two ethnicities into the national conversation encourages zero-sum thinking, where "we" can only win if "they" lose. Both sides try hard to portray themselves as the only victims of the conflict, often in toe-curlingly exaggerated language.

Like all victim complexes, the Cypriot version leaves little room for nuanced understanding of a newly multicultural country. Faced in the 1950s with the need to formally assign minorities to one of the two permitted groups, Cypriot authorities decided the question along religious lines, with the mostly Muslim Roma becoming "Turkish" and the Catholic Maronites "Greek". How might they deal with today's growing Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish populations? Why should their descendants be forced to become "Greek" or "Turkish"?

Without external pressure to admit that the biggest injustices on the island these days are practiced against non-indigenous populations, Cypriots will continue to assume a pose of self-righteous victimhood.

The Guardian

BNP vote collapses (UK)

The British National Party percentage vote nearly halved in the space of two months in a ward in  Wolverhampton, thanks to 23 trade union volunteers who campaigned against the fascist party.

In a five-way fight the BNP candidate, Stewart Gardner, took just 131 votes, amounting to 6.6% in a by-election on 29 July. Anti-fascists delivered a glossy local leaflet to the ward’s 4,800 homes giving the trade union alternative to the BNP.

The result was that 78% of the 589 people who voted BNP in May did not do so last month.

The local Trade Union Council has run a campaign against the BNP, leafleting every home, in every election since the party started fielding candidates five years ago. The BNP has never won a seat and has not even improved on the result it obtained the first time it stood.

Hope Not Hate

‘DISCRIMINATION EVERYWHERE’ AS MIGRANTS LAUNCH NETWORK FOR EQUALITY (Malta)

Arononon Touray was looking at his friend cycling on the Hal Far road leading towards Birzebbuga when, without warning, a pick-up truck pulled up next to the cyclist. A group of young men got out of the pick-up, approached his friend, shoved him to the ground, laughing heartily as they did so, then sped away moments later as if they had done nothing out of the ordinary. It was this and other similar incidents of discrimination that prompted Mr Touray and other migrants in Malta to join forces and form a ‘network’ to fight for their rights. Migrant communities, which include Somalis, Eritreans, Sudanese and Ivorians, have been meeting for the past four months to discuss their most pressing issues before yesterday’s launch of the network for equality, Mr Touray explained. Besides sending a letter to Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici calling him to address some of the most pertinent issues in their quest for equality, the migrants’ network also said that they are in the process of writing to Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, to highlight the plight of migrants in Malta.

Speaking on behalf of the group at yesterday’s launch in the Common Room of the university, Mr Touray said that “migrants are still heavily discriminated against in Malta, simply because we have a different skin colour. “In the time we have spent living here, we have met countless persons who were kind to us and treated us as equals. “However, others are treating us like second class citizens. On several occasions we have been subjected to verbal abuse, refused the right to board a bus, denied the right to rent an apartment and have had to work in appalling conditions, simply because of our skin colour. “To compound matters, we have to deal with attacks from those who cannot control their racial hatred towards us and several of us have been beaten up, the most tragic one being Suleiman Abubaker, who lost his life in Paceville after allegedly being beaten by a bouncer and passers-by,” said Mr Touray. A few months later another friend of Mr Touray’s committed suicide because he could no longer tolerate the constant hardship he endured throughout his difficult life.

In the letter to Dr Mifsud Bonnici, the migrants outlined some of the struggles they have had to face on a day-to-day basis, and put forward a set of proposals for the government to consider “if it really wants the migrant community in Malta to achieve total equality”. Supported by 12 NGOs, which include the General Workers Union, Moviment Graffiti, Friends of the Earth, and 26 university academics among whom are Alternattiva Demokratika leader Michael Brigulio, Head of Sociology Department Mark-Anthony Falzon and philosopher Joseph Friggieri, the letter highlights six main issues that the migrants’ network feels the government should tackle immediately. These include clamping down on discrimination, stepping up the asylum application process that would grant migrants the right to move to other EU countries, and more assistance to migrants to help them find adequate accommodation and employment. “We urge the Maltese government to reopen the debate in the European Parliament to discuss the granting of rights to travel, live and work in EU countries for people with protection, since Malta was the only country which opposed this proposal in December 2008. We believe that granting such rights could help tackle some of the negative effects of the Dublin Regulation as it would, at least, make it possible for some people to go and live in other EU countries,” added Mr Touray, quoting from the letter address to Dr Mifsud Bonnici.

Unemployment rights and ‘miserable open centre conditions’

For Alidu Osman, another spokesperson of the migrants’ network, a further pressing social issue that needs changing is the migrants’ right to unemployment benefits. “We think that people who have been working and who have paid at least 50 National Insurance contributions over a period of two years or less should be given the right, as the Maltese are, to receive unemployment benefits,” he said. Around this time last year, migrants protested, albeit peacefully, that they could no longer endure living conditions in the Marsa and Hal Far open centres. When asked whether last year’s protests had reaped rewards, Mr Osman replied: “Conditions did improve, albeit for a short while, but now the situation has returned to the way it was before the protests, and life is now again as miserable as it was before. “To add insult to injury, a fire in one of the hangars at Hal Far last May has further worsened living conditions. The government has to realise that putting scores of migrants in a desolate aircraft hangar is simply not a feasible long term option,” he said. It was also wrong and unjust to divide migrants into two groups, commented Mr Osman, when asked to give his views on the recent group of migrants who were sent back to Libya while some of those who had travelled with them on the same boat were allowed to stay in Malta.

“Most of us have done our utmost to escape from countries torn by civil war and unrest. For the majority, the only option was to make our way to Libya and escape from there. The group of migrants who are now back in Libya are probably doomed to a life of more struggle and hardship,” said Mr Osman. Taking into consideration such factors, it is no wonder that migrants do everything to escape from Malta, at times even illegally, Moviment Graffiti spokesperson André Callus said yesterday. “Many of those who are caught attempting to flee from Malta with invalid documentation are sent back and when charged and arraigned in court with the offence, are given a minimum six-month jail term. This, all the NGOs feel, is a gross injustice, since it is often the case that suspended sentences are handed down by magistrates to people who commit an illegal act for the first time,” stated Mr Callus.

Malta Independant

FAR-RIGHT AUSTRIAN LEADER JOERG HAIDER SECRETLY HAD £40 MILLION IN LIECHTENSTEIN

Prosecutors from Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein found 12 shell companies whose Liechtenstein bank accounts Haider had access to, Profil magazine reported. The accounts currently still have 5 million euros of deposits, it said. The money was found in an investigation by Austrian and German authorities into the near-collapse of Austrian bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria, once owned by the Austrian region of Carinthia, which Haider governed until he died in a car crash in 2008. Haider’s Carinthia and a group of mainly German and Austrian investors sold a majority stake in Hypo to Germany’s BayernLB in 2007 in a deal that ultimately proved disastrous. Hypo had to be nationalised last year to prevent a collapse. Prosecutors are investigating whether former managers, shareholders and business partners of Hypo lined their pockets at the expense of both Hypo and BayernLB. Claudia Haider, the far-right politician’s widow, denied any knowledge of the funds, adding “Nothing like that was described in the estate.”


The Telegraph

Mongolian neo-Nazis: Anti-Chinese sentiment fuels rise of ultra-nationalism

Alarm sounds over rise of extreme groups such as Tsagaan Khass who respect Hitler and reject foreign influence.
Their right hands rise to black-clad chests and flash out in salute to their nation: "Sieg heil!" They praise Hitler's devotion to ethnic purity.

But with their high cheekbones, dark eyes and brown skin, they are hardly the Third Reich's Aryan ideal. A new strain of Nazism has found an unlikely home: Mongolia.

Once again, ultra-nationalists have emerged from an impoverished economy and turned upon outsiders. This time the main targets come from China, the rising power to the south.

Groups such as Tsagaan Khass, or White Swastika, portray themselves as patriots standing up for ordinary citizens in the face of foreign crime, rampant inequality, political indifference and corruption.

But critics say they scapegoat and attack the innocent. The US state department has warned travellers of increased assaults on inter-racial couples in recent years – including organised violence by ultra-nationalist groups.

Dayar Mongol threatened to shave the heads of women who sleep with Chinese men. Three years ago, the leader of Blue Mongol was convicted of murdering his daughter's boyfriend, reportedly because the young man had studied in China.

Though Tsagaan Khass leaders say they do not support violence, they are self-proclaimed Nazis. "Adolf Hitler was someone we respect. He taught us how to preserve national identity," said the 41-year-old co-founder, who calls himself Big Brother.

"We don't agree with his extremism and starting the second world war. We are against all those killings, but we support his ideology. We support nationalism rather than fascism."

It is, by any standards, an extraordinary choice. Under Hitler, Soviet prisoners of war who appeared Mongolian were singled out for execution. More recently, far-right groups in Europe have attacked Mongolian migrants.

Not all ultra-nationalists use this iconography; and widespread ignorance about the Holocaust and other atrocities may help to explain why some do.

Tsagaan Khass points out that the swastika is an ancient Asian symbol – which is true, but does not explain the group's use of Nazi colours, the Nazi eagle and the Nazi salute; or the large picture of the Führer on Big Brother's cigarette case.

Nor does it seem greatly relevant, given their unabashed admiration for Hitler's racial beliefs.

"We have to make sure that as a nation our blood is pure. That's about our independence," said 23-year-old Battur, pointing out that the population is under three million.

"If we start mixing with Chinese, they will slowly swallow us up. Mongolian society is not very rich. Foreigners come with a lot of money and might start taking our women."

Big Brother acknowledges he discovered such ideas through the nationalist groups that emerged in Russia after the Soviet Union's fall; Mongolia had been a satellite state. But the anti-Chinese tinge is distinct and increasingly popular.

"While most people feel far-right discourse is too extreme, there seems to be a consensus that China is imperialistic, 'evil' and intent on taking Mongolia," said Franck Billé of Cambridge University, who is researching representations of Chinese people in Mongolia.

Hip hop tracks such as Don't Go Too Far, You Chinks by 4 Züg – chorus: "shoot them all, all, all" – have been widely played in bars and clubs. Urban myths abound; some believe Beijing has a secret policy of encouraging men to have sex with Mongolian women.

Yet Tsagaan Khass claims it welcomes law-abiding visitors of all races, and Big Brother can certainly be hospitable.
Enthusiastically shaking hands, he says: "Even though you are a British citizen, you are still Asian, and that makes you very cool."

He says the younger members have taught him to be less extreme and the group appears to be reshaping itself – expelling "criminal elements" and insisting on a good education as a prerequisite for membership. One of the leaders is an interior designer.

But critics fear ultra-nationalists are simply becoming more sophisticated and, quietly, more powerful. Tsagaan Khass say it "works closely" with other organisations and is now discussing a merger.

"Some people are in complete denial … [but] we can no longer deny this is a problem," said Anaraa Nyamdorj, of Mongolia's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre.

The US state department has noted increased reports of xenophobic attacks since the spring. The UN country review cites a recent vicious assault on three young transgender women. When one of the victims publicly blamed an ultra-nationalist group – not Tsagaan Khass – death threats quickly followed.

"They are getting more support from the public," added Enkhjargal Davaasuren, director of the National Centre Against Violence, who fears that ultra-nationalists are growing more confident and victims too scared to come forward. She pointed to a YouTube video posted last year, showing a man roughly shaving a woman's long hair. The victim's face is buried in her hands, but her hunched body reeks of fear.

Others in Ulan Bator suggest the movement is waning and suspect the groups' menacing stance and claims of 3,000 members are bluster. Billé thinks there is "a lot of posturing".

"We have heard of instances [of violence]. They are not necessarily all right or all wrong," said Javkhlan, a Tsagaan Khass leader. But the group is simply a "law enforcement" body, he maintained: "We do checks; we go to hotels and restaurants to make sure Mongolian girls don't do prostitution and foreigners don't break the laws.

"We don't go through and beat the shit out of everyone. We check our information and make sure it's true."

They rely on police and media pressure to reform such businesses, he added. And if that failed? "We try to avoid using power," he said. "That would be our very last resort."

The Guardian

'Racist' powder attacks closed hospital A & E and police station (UK)

Police have made four arrests after attacks on three men with powder from a fire extinguisher sparked a  major chemical alert which closed a hospital A&E department and a police station.

Firefighters and police officers were called to North Manchester General in Crumpsall after one of the victims rushed there with burns to his face.

The A&E department was closed, and part of Collyhurst police station was also shut after a second victim went there. Both buildings were later reopened when it was discovered that the powder was harmless.

Four men have been arrested and police say that because black men were targeted in the attacks, they are treating them as racially aggravated incidents.

The scare began when taxi driver Kalu Amah was sprayed as he sat in his cab near Harpurhey market. The powder burned his face and he rushed to North Manchester General.

Bosses there were informed and they immediately closed the A&E department, shortly after 3pm yesterday.

Twenty patients and ten staff were quarantined in the ward while tests were carried out on Mr Amah and his clothing.
The incident came after reports that a man had also been covered in powder in Jersey Street, Ancoats, just after 2.30pm.

And in a third case a man reported being targeted in Blueberry Avenue, Moston at 5.40pm.

One of the men went to Collyhurst police station to report the incident and part of the station had to be closed while tests were carried out. Mr Amah, 42, from Moston, was treated at the hospital and later released. He told how he was sprayed by a group of youths in a car.

He said: "My windows were down, and a blue Ford pulled up beside me.

"I thought the driver was going to ask for directions, but before I knew it they sprayed me in the face with something.

"I saw two black pipes, but it all happened in a second. It was powdery and white, all over my face. My eyes and nose were burning.

"It not only wasted my time and money, they wasted the time of the ambulance, police and fire brigade.

"I’m really angry about it. People don’t realise what they are doing."

Sadie Kirkham, 45, from Harpurhey, was in North Manchester General’s A&E with her husband as he waited for a back X-ray. Mrs Kirkham said: "We were then told there was a major chemical incident and we all had to be locked in for our own safety.

"Some people who had nipped outside for a cigarette couldn’t get back in to see their children. We didn’t know what on earth it was. It could have been anthrax or anything. I think they did the right thing in keeping us in."

Watch commander Ian Hanley said that tests had revealed the chemical was from a fire extinguisher and not dangerous.

The four men arrested were detained on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and remain in police custody.

Detective Inspector Alex Nicholson said: "We believe there are other victims out there who have had powder thrown onto them. While it is important they seek medical advice it is equally important they call the police.

"The vast majority of victims were black men and we are treating this as a racially aggravated series of attacks."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 3540 or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111

Manchester Evening News

Anti-racism group furious after MAS Carnival snub (Wlaes, UK)

Members of a Welsh anti-racism group say they are furious after their invite to participate in the weekend’s MAS parade was withdrawn at the last minute.

Cardiff Communities Against Racism was formed earlier this year in response to a march by the far-right English Defence League in the city in June.

Creator of the group Ross Saunders was contacted by South Wales Intercultural Community Arts (SIWCA), which organises the annual MAS carnival and invited them to participate.

But Cardiff council said yesterday that the group were asked not to come because the carnival “is not a vehicle for political protest”.

Spokesman for Cardiff Communities Against Racism Joe Fathallah said the group’s ethos was to bring communities in Cardiff together, which, he said, was what the MAS carnival is about.

“SIWCA said they would like to have us along on the parade,” he said.

“We made a banner and printed leaflets so people knew what we were about. We put in a lot of time and effort, but on Friday morning we had a phone call telling us that the council wouldn’t allow us to come along to the parade.

“They claimed it would be against the ethos of the carnival and politicise the event.”

The MAS carnival, which was first created in 1990 by SIWCA, celebrates the cultural diversity of South Wales.

A Cardiff council spokesperson said: “While Cardiff council supports the sentiments behind Cardiff Communities Against Racism, the inclusion of any non-performance group or organisation would change the whole artistic ethos of the carnival

“The MAS carnival is a multicultural community arts project that celebrates the diversity and multiculturalism of Cardiff. It is not a vehicle for political protest.

“However, we would be pleased to listen to any ideas Cardiff Communities Against Racism may have regarding promoting racial tolerance in our capital city.”

Wales Online

The global reach of neo-Nazis

From Israel to India, Taiwan and Chile … far-right groups are spreading

Israel In 2008, four suspects were charged with neo-Nazi activities. They were members of a gang called Patrol 35 which targeted other minorities and desecrated synagogues. Some of the gang were Soviet immigrants who refused to accept their Jewish ancestry.

Chile Patria Nueva Sociedad (New Fatherland Society) is a well-organised neo-Nazi group in Chile. Its leaders claim to adhere to Nazi economic and labour principles but say the group is against xenophobia, racism and discrimination.

Russia Neo-Nazi gangs such as the White Wolves have resorted to lethal violence to get across their message of white supremacy. Gang members were jailed this year after several central Asian migrants were attacked and killed in Moscow's back streets.

Taiwan In 2007 university students formed the National Socialism Association. The group claimed to have 800 members and a spokesperson said: "We want to study Hitler's good points, not study his massacres."

India A growing trend for Hitler memorabilia in India has caused shock. One publisher claims to have sold more than 100,000 copies of Mein Kampf (left) to Indians in the last 10 years. Some Indians have claimed to be inspired by Hitler's "discipline and patriotism".

The Guardian

POLITICAL OPPONENTS, ACADEMICS SAY PVV INFLUENCE WILL BE GREAT (Netherlands)

A minority VVD CDA cabinet supported by the PVV will give the anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders a lot of influence on government policy, academics and politicians say in Saturday's NRC. The three party leaders are expected to start talks next week on drawing up right-wing policy which the PVV will support from outside government. Wilders has already said he will continue to speak his mind about Islam and expects tough policy on integration, immigration and public safety in return for his backing.

Responsibility
Wim Voermans, professor of constitutional law at the University of Leiden said the PVV has everything to gain with a minority cabinet. 'Wilders wins a lot of time. He lets it be seen that he wants to take responsibility for government,' Voermans told the NRC. 'But he can always walk away and say 'they really don't want me. I have done everything I could.' And politicial scientist Marcel Boogers said the VVD and CDA will be very dependent on the PVV which will have a disproportionate influence on the cabinet. 'Wilders does not have to supply any ministers and get his hands dirty but he can hold hostage and blackmail the VVD and CDA,' Boogers said. A minority VVD and CDA cabinet which looks for support from different parties depending on the policy would be a preferable option, he said.

Power
MPs are concerned as well. 'Wilders will not be in the cabinet, but he will be the real prime minister,' said Labour MP Sharon Dijksma. 'Wilders has got Verhagen and Rutte on a lead. He doesn't carry the risk of the talks collapsing but has all the power,' said Boris van Ham of the D66 Liberal party. André Rouvoet, deputy prime minister in the outgoing government and leader of the orthodox ChristenUnie, was blunt. 'If Wilders' preference really is for a minority government, that would seem to me to be every reason not to do it,' he told the paper.

Dutch News