in support of them. BILL MACKEITH examines the background THE USE of Rochester prison seeking asylum has caused con. troversy even within the ilbera. establishment.
the detainees held there claim they are treated far worse than those convicted of crimes - they are locked up from cisat in tac morning ta cigar at night and the diet is appalling.
On January 670 people went on indefinite hunger strike. By thé end of the month six had also be gun to refuse fluids, and 17 were still taking part in the overall action. On January 30 one man had become so weak that he had to be hospitalised.
The hunger strikers are demanding that their requests for po. litical asylum be finally heard by 'an independent body and judicial Some of those invoice nasake ocale orover two years. All are detained without charge or time limit and without proper legal and medical provision.
The protesters statement points out that some 45 per cent of detainees have been diagnosed as suffering mental or physical disorders and trauma yet they continue to be held under a prison regime..
Demonstrations in support of the strikers demands took place outside Rochester throughout January. On Saturday February 1 approximately one hundred demonstrators stood outside the prison their chants they shouted back.
Demonstrators have vowed to continue their support and will maintain a prescace cycay satur day at Rochester. while the strike conunucs. no tac same time tacy will be picketing the Home office every Wednesday evening. Any death occurring as a result of the strike will result in an immediate mobilisation outside of the Home Office.
Campaigning Contacts:
Asylum Rights Campaign 0171 820 3000 Close Campsfield 01865 558145/378734/557282 Close Harmondsworth Campaign 0181 571 5019 stop Hasiar Detentions 0i/05 032200 Kent Socialist Alliance 01474 566701 London Detainee Support Group 0171 739 9907 Medway Detainee Support Group 01634 403001 National Coalition of Anti Deportation Campaigns 0121 554 6947 Those campaigning for the clo. sure of detention centres and the Ier to mobilise support wach tos that have been detained have been prominent political figures. On May 21995, 500 people marched through London in support of Kurdish nationalist leader Kani Yilmaz, detained since November 1994.
On International Refugee Day in June, 200 gathered at Winson Green prison in Birmingham demanding the release of Raghbir Singh and other detainees. Singh, a Sikh newspaper editor has been held since March 1995 as a 'threat support from his local community and anti-racist activists, Singh also won backing from his union, the National Union of Journalists.
Released
Both Kani Yilmaz and Raghbir Singh were released in November 1995 following a judgement by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The court found that Karamjit Singh Chahal, a Sikh separatist, was being denied his legal rights and would be in danger if deported to India. He was freed after being held in Bedford pnison for six ycars and three months without charge. More renational security are expected. ganised by local campaigners ourNovember 1995 was the occasion when the regular last Saturday at noon' demonstration at Campsfield detention centre near Oxford marked "three years too long" of West Midlands Anti Deportation Campaign 0121 507 1618 Campaigners outside Campsfield, the purpose-bult detention centre for victims of the Asylum Act detentions at the site. Over 150 people attended the subsequent conference on detentions organised by the Asylum Rights Campaign.
December 1995 saw the latest protest by the Close Harmond. sworth Campaign outside the West London detention centre, bringing Christmas parcels as well as solidarity to the detainees.
These types of actions are particularly important for those refugees who were detained immediately on entering Britain and who therefore have few or no friends and supporters to highlight their particular case.
The situation facing refuges in Britain is now worse than ever. The new Asylum and Immigration Act is now wholly in force.
Last week saw the introduction of the measures contained in the act requiring employers to check the immigration status of employ. Home Secretary, Michael Howard defended the legislation as neces. sary to maintain the position of Britain's race relations being 'the envy of the Western World'.
Not only those on the left but 250 1000 SOS lieve the new measures will lead to an overall drop in the employment of Black people and those from ethnic minorities.
But following Howard's statement, in a hypocritical speech to business leaders, Employment and Education Secretary, Gillian Shephard, claimed that in order for Britain to maintain a competi. tive advantage in the new millen. nium, it would be necessary to draw from the rich seam of talent and knowledge of Britain's ethnic minorities' The day before this Home Of. fice Minister, Ann Widdecombe, stated that the detention of asylum keeping with Christian doctrine refugee being held there as a child Since changes in regulations last year Social security and hous ing benefit have been denied to 8090 per cent of asylum seekers. Local authorities, strapped for cash after government cutbacks, are having (with varied successes) to take the odge of the consequent misery of destitute refugees.
To cap it all, the government has said that from March 1996 it will cut the grants to bodies such as the Refugee Council - a prominent opponent of the benefit cuts - from £3.4 million to £I.S million per year.
The detention of those whose in this country has reached unprecedented depths. On October 1995, 864 people seeking political asylum were being detained in the UK. Of these, 81 were women. This is three times the number being detained in the carly 1990s. the average length of detention has also doubled, to nearly three months.
Of the 864 imprisoned refugees, 466 had been detained for over 6 months and 158 for over a year. Of the total, 364 were held in prisons ces. Despite considerable criticism • around the country, in breach of a UN Refugee Convention rule that detained Asylum seekers should not be held with people changed with or convicted of crime. (UN High Commission for Refugees guidelines reject such detention in principle, and allow that only in exceptional cases should refugees ne detained for a maximum of 48 hours.)
Detention centres A further 33 Asylum seekers detained in October were held in police cells. The great majority (490) were held at detention centres including Campsfield (up to 200), Harmondsworth and Tinsley House (at Gatwick airport, opened last summer). Where Haslar prison, at Gosport, near Portsmouth - long used to imprison refugees - fits into the governments statistics is not yet clear.
The nationality of detainees reflects the denial of human rights at "home'. Of 864 poople detained in October 510 (sixty per cent) came from ten countries: Nigeria, India, Algeria, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Zaire, China, Turkey and Pakistan - all on the so-called 'white' list of allegedly 'safe' countries, freom where those teeing will oe automatcau denied asylum. At any one time in over washan and o refugee arriving in Britain: i: vou don't apply for asylum at the port of entry then you lose entitlement to benefits. If you do, you may well be jailed for your trouble. 63 per cent of those detained had sought asylum immediately on arrival.
Out of the Campaign in support of the hunger strikes at Rochester it should be possible to strengthen and consolidate an ongoing Campaign there. The existing groups at Campsfield, Haslar and Harmondsworth continue to need support -and additional person power.
A key task must be setting up a closure campaign around the Gatwick detention centre. To he eflec tive, all these campaigns have to work croscly with actinees, Toru gees and other migrant organisa. tions and detaince support groups.
Network
Not everyone can - or wants tovisit detainces - but this is a key element in building the antidetention movement. Anyone interested in attending a re-launch of the Anti Detentions Network to pursue these aims should ring 01865 558145.
In the past two years three national union conferences, NUJ, icy calling for an end to immigration detentions, Gaining this level of support was relatively easy and much more could and needs to be done. Even in unions where win. ning the policy may prove more difficult, raising the demand may be very effective in undermining the bipartisan policy of Labour and the Tories on the question.
The demand has been raised at the past two Labour Party Conferences but more work needs to be done here. With a Labour governthat the issue is once again raised.
90% of those detained are black. The imprisonment of innocent people, especially if they are tightly selected by country of origin and skin colour, is an act ol state racism, an incitement to further racist thinking and an attack on the basic democratic rights of all people. There can be no holding back on pointing this out to political "leaders" and demanding an immediate end to it * A widely backed conference on detentions in Europe, called ordinally by r'cactaton act Associations en Solidarite avec (FASTI) will take place in Lille on April 15-16. (Further information from JP Perrin-Martin, rue Ponson de ferrari 45000 Orleans, France or cal! 01865 558145)
B.Skanthakumar IT WAS the headline in The Observer of January 12 that caught my eve. I've stopped buying a Sunday paper you see. So much bulk and so little substance. Durlook PORTIRESS debts to repay, for their fares, for loans taken by the family. Siblings whose marriage expenses have to be found, school ices and micoical bills to scilic Wages in poor countries haven't kept pace with the cost of living. Job security is a thing of the past. Farmers