FLORENCE'S ACTIONS AGAINST THE ROMA PEOPLE(Italy)

This morning Police Headquarters and the local authorities decided to step up the measures against the Roma people as part of a security plan created after two murders took place in the city during criminal activities. Despite Roma citizens being extraneous to these two episodes, the authorities have singled them out as the prime subjects for their repressive measures, which include camp clearances with no offer of alternative housing. The Roma families who live in unauthorized camps in the Florence area are a marginalized majority, whose protection should be guaranteed by European law. They have a right to social assistance programmes, insertion in the world of labour, schooling and access to subsidized housing, as requested over and over again by our own association and other NGOs who are in contact with the heads of these communities. We are talking about people living in conditions of extreme hardship who are in Italy in search of work, and who do not pose a threat to public safety. On the contrary, they are subjected to social exclusion and constant threats for racist and ethnic reasons. The City of Florence is in the grip of unjustified prejudice, and is clearly violating the directives of the European Parliament and Council, 2004/38/CE concerning free movement within the EU and 2003/43CE on non-discrimination.

The local authorities are violating the Resolutions of the European Parliament dated April 28, 2005 on the situation of the Roma people within the European Union; the resolution dated June 1, 2006 on the situation of the Roma women in the EU; November 15, 2007 concerning the application of directive 2004/38/CE; January 31, 2008 on a European strategy for the Roma people; July 10, 2008 on the ethnic profiling in Italy; March 11, 2009 on the social situation of the Roma people in the EU; and March 25, 2010 concerning the Second European Summit on Roma inclusion. We are talking about serious violations that may well lead to Florence and Italy facing heavy penalties and sanctions on an international level, as well as placing them in a position that will arouse indignation and criticism from civilized countries. The decisions taken on May 1st by the Florentine authorities have forced us to notify the European Commission, the European Council and the Council for Human Rights as to what is happening in Florence in the hope that they will take action against Italy for its violations of human rights.
Our press release has been censored by all the Italian newspapers and TV channels: by those of the Right, because the Roma people are being targeted by the ethnic policies of the majority; and those of the Left, because Florence is a city administered by the Democratic Party and its allies. The fact that the Italian media has decided not to stop informing people of the abuses committed against the Roma and “illegal” immigrants poses a threat to the future of our democracy and freedom of expression. There is no mention in the media of the ethnic purges taking place, or the warnings given to Italy by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Council and humanitarian organizations because of its ethnic policies”.

everyone group

US 'Christian militants' released from jail on bond

Nine alleged members of a radical US Christian militia group accused of plotting to wage war against the US have been freed from jail on bond.

A judge in Detroit ordered their release, despite prosecutors' objections, imposing strict conditions including electronic tagging.
The suspects - eight men and one woman - were detained in a series of FBI raids across the Mid-West in March.
They are said to belong to a Michigan-based militia called the Hutaree.

It is alleged they planned to kill a police officer in Michigan and then stage a second attack on the funeral, using landmines and roadside bombs.
Defence lawyers say it is just a case of hate-filled, irrational speech.

'End time battles'
"The United States is correct that it need not wait until people are killed before it arrests conspirators," US District Judge Victoria Roberts said in her ruling.

"But, the defendants are also correct: Their right to engage in hate-filled, venomous speech, is a right that deserves First Amendment protection."
She said federal prosecutors failed to persuade her that the defendants must be jailed until trial, the Detroit Free News reports.

Conditions of their release include remaining under house arrest with electronic monitoring devices and reporting to the authorities every week.

The accused have been named as David Stone Sr, 45, the alleged ringleader, his wife Tina Stone, 44, his son Joshua Matthew Stone, 21, all of Clayton, and his stepson, David Brian Stone Jr, 19, of Adrian.

The other accused are Joshua Clough, 28, of Blissfield; Michael Meeks, 40, of Manchester; Thomas Piatek, 46, of Whiting, Indiana; Kristopher Sickles, 27, of Sandusky, Ohio; and Jacob Ward, 33, of Huron, Ohio.

They were arrested by the FBI at the end of March in the belief that the group was planning a reconnaissance exercise.
The nine have been charged with conspiracy to commit sedition and attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.
A website in the name of the Hutaree group shows video footage of military-style training exercises and describes themselves as "Christian warriors".

A statement on the website says the group are preparing to defend themselves upon the arrival of the Antichrist.

BBC News

JEWISH POLICE NETWORK TO RECONCILE FORCE AND COMMUNITY(Netherlands)

When Max Engelander became a policeman in Amsterdam in 1978, his mother was stunned. "How could you ever join the police?" she asked. What she meant was: how could you, a Jewish boy from a family largely murdered by the Nazis, join a police force of which many officers participated in the deportation of Jews? "The Amsterdam police force has changed," Englander then told his mother. By the late 1970s, flower power and other social movements of the era had left their mark on the police force. Today, equality is a core value of the Amsterdam police. It is going out of its way to express its diversity by setting up professional networks of Moroccan, Surinamese and homosexual officers. Jewish officers and their sympathisers have had a network of their own for a year now.

Jews reluctant to call police
This Tuesday, May 4, the national day of remembrance dedicated to the victims of the war, Max Engelander and the other members of the Amsterdam police force's Jewish network will attend a special memorial service. The service will be held in the Hollandsche Schouwburg. Here, Amsterdam Jews were gathered before being deported to concentration camps. "We want to show that the Amsterdam police force is here for the Jewish community as well," said Engelander, who would be attending the service in uniform. "Because of the war, people like my mother are still reluctant to call the police if they become victims of a crime." Engelander's mother was arrested in Amsterdam at the age of 13 and deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1943. "In those years, the Schalkhaar Battalion marched through Amsterdam's streets," Engelander said, recalling the name of the town where Dutch police officers were trained according to Nazi ideology at the time. "Of my mother's extended family, only she and two other relatives survived." History has also forged her son’s character. "Not until 1986 did the last Schalkhaar officer in the force retire," Englander said. His Jewish identity played an important role throughout his police career. "I have always been adamantly opposed against discrimination, no matter who it was aimed at," he said. Personally, he has never experienced anti-Semitism. "But it exists within the police force, as it does within any major organisation," he explained.

Hamas united police Jews
The Jewish police network he founded developed in response to an anti-Israel demonstration organised by the Dutch labour union FNV two years ago. The police union participated in that demonstration, to which prominent members of Hamas has also been invited, Engelander recalled. After an unpleasant conversation with the chair of the police union, Engelander placed an advertisement in the police force's magazine. Some 15 officers responded and the police force's Jewish network was born. Today, it has about 30 members. The network was officially founded in March of last year in the Jewish Historical Museum, housed in a former synagogue in Amsterdam. Amsterdam police chief Bernard Welten then referred to what he called a "black page" in the history of the Amsterdam police force. He emphasised his desire to create a "mixed force" that could identify with "citizens in need, no matter what their origin, culture, looks or orientation". All the force's networks are supposed to serve as a "connection" between the police and society, Welten said. "We want to serve as a bridge between the police and the Jewish community," Engelander said. "Not only because the police force should be a cross section of society, but also because it allows us to be more effective at police work." He gave an example: "When the police are called upon in a domestic violence case in a Jewish family on a Friday evening, we can recommend our colleagues to wait until after the Sabbath," Engelander said.

Yom Kippur cyclist fined
Not long ago, Engelander received a call from a colleague who had caught a woman riding her bicycle without a light after dark. "She said she wasn't allowed to turn on her lights on Yom Kippur [a Jewish holiday]. My colleague asked: 'Max, should I fine her?' I told her: 'You sure should'. If you adhere to the Yom Kippur rules in the strictest sense, you aren't even allowed to get on your bike." Conversely, Engelander can also impress upon his colleagues how heavily some matters can weigh upon his fellow Jews' minds. He recalled a case in which a Jewish man's tefillin (boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, worn on leather straps) were stolen from his car. "These were heirlooms that had been in the family for 150 years. I explained to my colleagues how important they were and they looked for them intensively," Engelander said. The tefillin were never recovered though. Engelander said he dreamed of establishing a national Jewish police network. He also hoped more Jews would join the ranks of the police force. "This summer, we will be manning a stand at a football tournament for Jewish youth," he said. "We will be looking to promote our network, but also to recruit".
NRC

Labour candidate assaulted by 'BNP thug'

A Labour candidate has been attacked by a British National Party supporter whilst campaigning in Bermondsey.

Cormac Hollingsworth was leafleting an estate on Monday evening when he was punched three times in the face and kicked. Meanwhile the attacker kept up a stream of insults and shouted pro-BNP slogans.

Afterwards the victim's glasses were retrieved nine yards away.
The candidate, who is contesting the South Bermondsey ward in the Southwark Council elections, insisted on completing his leafletting as planned whilst police investigate the incident.

"The community is very much against this," said Cormac Hollingsworth who added that he was active in the area and knew it very well.
He was a Labour candidate in Riverside ward for the 2006 borough election and again in the 2007 by-election.
He is fundraising coordinator for anti-fascist campaign group HOPE not hate.

South Bermondsey is the only one of Southwark's 21 wards where there is a BNP candidate in the local elections. The party is also contesting the Bermondsey & Old Southwark parliamentary constituency for the first time since 1997.
London SE1