with in an utterly racist way. with black countries - the Caribbean, Africa and the Asian sub-continent - targeted with cumbersome procedures, endless forms, prolonged and detailed interview, before visas are issued.
Fraudulent
The aim of course is to trip people up; to try to prove they are not comins to Britain for the stated purpose, that they are lying when they say their family is here, that they are making a fraudulent application. seckers get a visa, of course that is not the end of the matter. In the past an application for asy. lum overrode every other consideration; they were kEYCH 'exceptional leave to remain'. Now, if they come to Britain, even with a visa, they can be treated as 'illegal entrants' even if they make an asylum application.
racco with inis Portress Europe strategy the anti-racist and labour movements cannot limit themselves to protesting against the most brutal tactics of ine ponce and the staic.
The whole framework of immigration legislation has to be challenged. This means the demand for an end to immigration laws and an end to deportations: demanding the right of appeal, acccas, and sogal not 1s just treating the symptoms.
A first step would be to highlight the situation of the thousands of detainces. There have been pickets outside Pentonspired by the propaganda of more difficult problem of winThat means challenging the y there are inmigsa con trols in the first place - the arguis immigration, as well as the One campaign which can be Lakon up immoralely is that against the building of a new detention centre at Kidlington near Oxford.
Symbol
It is a symbol that Britain intends to continue its policy of interning people without trial in large numbers - the Tory policy A further campaign which needs highlighting is the Manchester-based Campaign against Double Punishment. portation of people who have served a prison sentence.
Double punishment is a symptom of the ruthlessness with which the Fortress Britain strategy is being implemented. • Kathy Lowe is the author of "Britain's Forgotten Prisoners", published by the Detention Advice Service. OVER THE LAST month it appeared that there would be two major anti-racist/las. cist demonstrations taking place on 16 October - the Unity demonstration to the BP's south London headquarters and another organised by the Anti-Racist Alliance (ARA) in central London.
This was the unfortunate outcome of an attempt to get unity between three major anti-racist organisations, ARA, the Anti-Nazi League and Youth against Racism in Europe (YRE).
Two competing demonstrations on the same day would have been an absurdity. Thankfully this situation has now been resolved by the cancellation of the ARA demonstration, apparently because of the withdrawal of support by the family of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence.
ARA however has made no statement of support for the Unity demonstration, and on past form is unlikely to.
Since the development of the new wave of anti-racist organisations and activity, this newspaper has argued for support to ARA but also to initiatives of the ANL and YRE. Factional divisions disrupting unity in action only weaken the impact of the movement.
There are a number of factors which made the creation of ARA a big step forward. The breadth of its support has been impressive, including national trade unions and a wide range of other organisations. Its commitment to the tant respectively. They are not committed to a ANL in particular is little more than the SWP with yellow lollipops. YRE. Alarming evider se of the distribution of circulating in the labour movement has come to light.
Irrespective of the causes of the original plan to have two demonstrations, ARA should now come behind the Unity demo. the evident need to build a movement which mum unity in acion. mous political space. This means that no single organisation can present itself as the in the end, fall flat on its face. leading role of black people has also been imAlthough with significant mobilising potential, both ANL and YRE are tightly controlled by the left groups behind them - the SWP and Miligenuinely open and united front approach. The Seige mentality On the other hand ARA has little democracy either; and some of its leaders are developing a paranoid seige mentality against the ANL and unsigned factional attacks on the ANL and YRE The murder of Joy Gardner has spotlighted such a movement needs to construct the maxiBut anti-racism/lascism is such a gigantic question in British politics that there is an enoranti-racist movement. This kind of sell-aggrandisement will not only increase divisions, but
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 48, September 1993, Page 10 Ist! Number 4498! Must hobbies separate us from others?