Immigrants wanting to settle in France to sign a 'no burka' contract

Immigrants must sign a 'no burka' contract before being allowed to live in France, the country's families minister has said.
The clause will be added to an 'integration agreement' all newcomers to France are already asked to sign.
The contract reminds new arrivals that forced marriages and polygamy are not allowed.
Minister Nadine Morano now wants immigrants to acknowledge that full Islamic face veils like burkas and niqabs are not accceptable.
She said an extra clause reminding newcomers that female circumcism was outlawed in France would also be added.
Ms Morano told French radio: 'Equality between men and women is a fundamental principle of French society.
'This applies to polygamy, forced marriages, female mutilation and the full face veil.'
She was set to propose the changes to the integration contract at a government conference today to take stock of its three-month debate on national identity.
Her call comes after months of heated national debate on whether the burka should banned.
Last month a government committee said women who wear the garment should be barred from using public transport and outlawed from public buildings like schools and hospitals.
More...French MP praises 'courage' of Calais migrants illegally headed for Britain
But the official inquiry by a group of MPs stopped short of recommending a total ban of the garments, saying they should still be allowed in private homes.
The committee's head Andre Gerin said a full ban could enflame Muslim tensions and drive some to extremism.
Such a move could also backfire as it was likely to be challenged by the European Court of Human Rights, he said.
But he added: 'We are recommending that all women must show their faces when entering public institutions or boarding public transport and keep their face uncovered throughout their presence there.
'Failure to do so should result in a refusal to deliver the service demanded.'
Ms Morano has the backing of many prominent MPs in her call to have immigrants who wear burkas banned from staying in France.
French interior minister Brice Hortefeux said in December that both women who wear veils and their husbands should be 'systematically refused' French residents' permits.
And President Nicolas Sarkozy has branded face veils 'a sign of debasement' and said they were not welcome in France.
The burka is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with a mesh screen over the face, and the niqab is a full-body veil with slits for the eyes.
Only around 5,000 women among France's five million strong population wear the garments.
France already passed a law in 2004 forbidding students and staff from wearing veils and other religious symbols in schools as part of a drive to defend secularism.
This month Switzerland voted to ban minarets on mosques acorss the country. In September a French mother was banned from wearing a 'burkini' swimsuit at her local swimming pool.
Carole, a 35-year-old Muslim convert, was told by the manager of pool in Emerainville, near Paris, that the garment was 'inappropriate' on hygiene grounds.
The woman said she bought her burkini for £40 during a holiday in Dubai, adding: 'I was told that it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing off my body, which is what Islam recommends.'
She is now taking her local council to court on the grounds that the ban was not a hygiene issue but a political issue.

The French parliament will vote on a partial or complete ban within several months and the proposals could come into force by the end of the year.
Daily Mail

Human rights group urges UK governement to stop gay deportation

Human rights groups have called on the British government to intervene in an asylum case which could see openly gay Alvin Gahimbaze deported to Burundi.

Refugee charity, ‘Everyone Group’ told Pinknews.co.uk:

“We have just received news that Alvin Gahimbaze, has been removed from his home by the British authorities and taken to a London detention centre to await deportation back to Burundi after the Border Immigration Agency turned down his application for asylum.”

Last year the government of Burundi criminalised homosexuality, punishing offenders with up to two years in prison.
“His life will be in serious danger if he is deported back to Burundi due to the ethnic clashes and the serious institutional homophobia,” the charity added.
EveryOne Group has contacted the British Home Office and is now appealing to the British Government to release Mr Gahimbaze as soon as possible and cancel the deportation order.
‘Alvin’, explain the group's co-presidents, Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro and Dario Picciau, “is a young man from the Tutsi ethnic group who fled Burundi with his sister when he was still a boy. The rest of his family was massacred during the ethnic clashes and he has lived in the United Kingdom since 2000. Though his sister has been granted permanent residence in the UK, Alvin now faces deportation.”
Last year over five thousand people signed a petition that would end the deportation of LGBT asylum seekers to homophobic countries. The government defended its current position, explaining:
"Enforced returns to any country will only be undertaken where, after very thorough examination of the asylum claim, it is decided that the individual would not be at risk of execution, torture, unjust imprisonment, or other forms of persecution.
"Where an asylum application has been refused, there is a right of appeal to the Asylum Immigration Tribunal or an opportunity to seek judicial review through the higher courts."
"The government recognises that the conditions for lesbian and gay people in some countries are such that there may be individuals who are able to demonstrate a need for international protection.
"However, there can be no presumption that each and every asylum seeker of a particular nationality who presents themselves as being lesbian or gay should automatically be afforded protection in the UK.”
Stonewall Housing says it has seen the number of asylum seekers and refugees approaching it for advice double in the last year.


Staff Writer Pink News

SCANDAL OF UNWANTED GYPSY SITES (uk)

Cash-strapped councils are being bullied into creating gypsy campsites that no one wants – not even the travellers. The claim has been made as town halls face a multi-million pound bill to develop an extra 7,500 sites for “gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople” in line with new housing laws. Officials say the council-built sites will help stop unauthorised camps that cost millions in enforcement actions and planning appeals, as well as causing tensions with local communities. But critics say illegal camps, like the one that has led to the so-called Battle of Hemley Hill in Buckinghamshire, will keep springing up as travellers flout laws and use human rights laws to defend their actions. The Government’s Homes and Communities Agency claims there is a national shortage of pitches. Whitehall has allocated £100million to the end of 2011 to “house” 25,000 gypsies and travellers on new and upgraded sites but the Sunday Express has revealed the cost could top £800million by the 2016 time limit. Targets imposed by the Government mean local authorities must provide permanent sites with rubbish collection, running water, electricity and other services. In return travellers must pay rent and council tax. Some planners have claimed they are being forced into a position where swathes of the countryside could be turned into “huge gypsy sites”. Wychavon District Council in Worcestershire, which already provides 34 of the 42 sites it must have by 2017, last week turned down an application for a camp near Evesham, claiming the area was swamped with travellers. Councillor Judy Pearce, the council executive’s planning head, accused Gordon Brown of bullying by setting tough targets.

Regional planners believe Worcester, Wychavon and Malvern Hills should provide about 170 more permanent and temporary sites for up to three caravans. It currently provides 93. Ms Pearce said the figures were not realistic and did not take into account the fact that not all travellers wanted to stay in the same place. She added: “You must bear in mind that this district is well on the way to meeting the target.” Juliana Crowe, of the Worcestershire Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Partnership, said: “We would like to see a bigger focus on places in need of sites rather than just forcing numbers on ­districts.” Campaigners at Hemley Hill, where nine traveller families have lived illegally since last Easter, say official camps would make no difference. The land in the Chiltern Hills is home to a Roman road, is in the green belt and is an area of outstanding natural beauty. More than 600 objectors face an anxious wait until the outcome of a planning inquiry in April. The travellers will use laws passed by the Government as proof of the need for more sites, alleging that Wycombe District Council, which covers Hemley Hill, has made no provision for them. Town hall chiefs hurriedly commissioned a £17,000 report that came up with half a dozen potential sites, but they face opposition over those too. Protester Trisha Kelly said: “These families do not want to stay on official campsites. They know that once they settle in one place it makes it easier for the authorities to track them down. “There will be a lot more Hemley Hills and a lot more money wasted on new campsites and planning rows.” Government figures show the number of traveller caravans in England grew by more than 1,200 in the past two years to 17,900, an eight per cent rise. A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “It is important we have enough authorised sites to stop the vicious cycle of evictions that is costly to the taxpayer and affects the travelling community’s quality of life and the wider public.”
The Express

There’s Nothing British About The BNP – Supporting the online fight

Many great videos on You Tube that support the Anti-BNP (British national party) are often overlooked. And due to the fact that the BNP see You Tube as their own personal stomping ground the videos just don’t get the publicity they so well deserve.

Here’s one such video from a fantastic campaign called.
There’s Nothing British About The BNP.



Please support the user and his other videos at

 NothingBritish

LATVIAN FAR RIGHT GOES AFTER “DISLOYAL” RUSSIANS CARS

Latvian ultra-rightist have started another witch-hunt by threatening “disloyal car owners” who fix Russian symbols, like St. George Ribbon, or a Russian national emblem or colors on their vehicles. A website registered in the US and still operational, http://www.latvietislatvija.com (Latvian in Latvia), has published a so-called "Okupantu autoparks,” an “Occupants’ car park,” list of those who dared to decorate their cars with the Russian symbols, revealing personal data of these citizens. The black list reveals personal information and the names of 118 persons, including their home addresses and car plate numbers. The witch-hunt was organized not only in Latvia’s capital Riga, but also throughout the country. Any car seen with the abovementioned symbols was photographed and put on that list. Some people from that list have already been blackmailed by e-mail. There is a risk of their cars being smashed or desecrated with paint, but the real concern is for affected children. Latvian police says the website is out of Latvia’s jurisdiction, but the very fact of publishing personal info, probably stolen from some governmental source, is illegal, so an investigation has been launched to find out and fine those guilty. Most of the exposed “disloyal” cars are private, but in at least one case, when a driver of Renault Master belonging to Latvijas Pasts (Latvian Post) tied a St. George Ribbon to it, the end was bitter and he was fired immediately for “improper decoration of an operational vehicle’”– amid economic collapse in the country. Latvian police sees no incitement of ethnic hatred in this case, so the real patriots of the country continue with their job openly, waiting in ambush for disloyal citizens and publishing personal info on them for public use. Needless to say, the names of the crusaders themselves remain in the shadows. About 44% (up to 95% in certain regions of the country) of Latvia’s 2.3 million population are Russian-speakers, and many of them still cannot get citizenship because of it.


RT