LAST Christmas, one weck before the start of the European Year Against Racism, 280 migrants were murdered off the coast of Greece. hev wCiC forced at gunpoint off the boat that had smuggled them through the barriers of Fortress Europe into a boat designed to carry no more than 100 people. The captain then rammed their boat and sank it.
People are forced to take desper. ate measures to escape repression and poverty that is imposco upon the under-developed world by westC Ss CaC was exceptional only in the number of pople involved in a single incident.
A weck later 16 migrants were found deserted in a lorry outside Potsdam with no snoos of witic clothing in temperatures below mi. nus 20 degrees. The driver had de serted the lorry and several of the migrants had to have had limbs amputated.
Every year hundreds of migrants die or are killed trying to enter or live within Fortress Europe. Their lives are scen as worthless not just by the black marketcets who prolit from their plight, but by European governments themselves.
The EU governments sponsoring the Buropean car Against Kacism have, for a number of years, been discussing how they can implement co-ordinated policies to keep migrants and asylum seekers out of the EU and to police the minority communities that al. ready exist.
In Britain, mass immigration was effectively ended by successive rounds of racist legislation from ments berween the mid 1960s and both Tory and Labour KUVCEH carly 1970s.
Under the Tories, racist ideology and legislation has focused on two areas, refugees and asylum seekers on the one hand and criminalising black communities on the other. Numerous rounds of legislation have further restricted the right to asylum, the right to benefits, legal aid and the basic rights granted to UK citizens.
At the same time the paramilicary style policing that was tested out in the north of Ireland, in the inner city riots of 1980-81, and during the 1984-85 miners' strike, have become commonplace in deprived working class comblack people in parThis type of policing goes hand in hand with a whole range of racist policies from exclusions in schools to the and the Drson Sosne Such policies are not limited to attle Bagiand roncs, ano wons simply go away now that the Tories are out or orlice. lacy arc vcry much in line with the overall trend across Europe.
The Schengen agreement and various subsequent BU agreements aim to tighten up immigration pol. icy and its implementation across the European Union, taking the most draconian aspects of cach member state's legislation to form a unified policy. Similarly, an imperialist policy based upon the economic involvement of cach member state is emerging. For example Germany will demand the greater repression of Turkish militants throughout the EU, as will France of Arab activists or Britain with Irish Republicans.
Labour's landslide election will open up some oportunities for postuye chankc in somc arcas dr least if we can keep up pressure through mass campaigning and trade union support. lum, Labour's stated aim is to bring In tocir polcy statcicht ou esy legislation in line with international agreements such as the 1951 convention on refugees, which would mark a significant step forward. Labour policy on the benefit cuts to asylum seekers is that it would 'review' them, though the financial burden placed on local government is likely to provide an increased pressure to restore benefits from within the party.
Whenever frontbenchers have been forced into discussing asylum and immigration, however, they have always stated that Labour will be'tough on illegal immigration' and stressed their policy of 'fast-track' appeals procedure. Labour's policy document claims that not enough asylum seekers who have their appeals turned down currentiy cave the country. Presumably new Labour aims to deport more people than the Tories.
On the issue of policing it is difficult do see any difference between the views of Jack Straw and the Tory right, which is likely to be a much more dillicult issue to tackle.
To go much• beyond tinkering with relatively minor aspects of a system that racist chrough and through requires a challenge based on militant antiracist and anti-imperialist struggles throughout Europe and beyond. Various member states have tried to justify the tightening up of racist legislation on the basis that if they didn't go along with the rest of the EU their particular country would be overwhelmed with a 'tide of immigrants'.
Increasingly the challenge to racist legislation in one EU country racist legislation throughour the The Euromarch Campaign aims to develop an alternative vision of Europe that challenges all forms of racism throughout the EU, with participants in cach country organising mectings, demonstrations and events. A number of days of the march in Betain will focus on anti racist themes, explaining the effects of racist lecislation across kurope and trying to strengthen the fight axalnst hiS.
Many issues surrounding agreements on immicration are held in secret, and documents relating to them have been called 'non papcrs In February this year one such secret meeting of EU ministers Noordwijk was discovered by the Dutch Coslition for a Dil!erent Europe and the direct action group Counter Control.
S0 activists, dressed up as famous spies and detectives surrounded the conférence, with binoculars, hearing aids and long distance microphones.
Though the non-papers aren't supposed to exist, the Green group in the Euroncan Parliament has obtained copies of some and put them on the internet.
Though there are no concrete proposals within the paper, it is clear that signotaries of the Schengen agreement are pushing for it to be adopted as BU policy, that there are proposals that refugees are not accepted from other EU stares, aand foad Third Country Nation. als' given the right to emter one EU country will not be allowed the same freedom of morement throughout the EU that is envisaged for EU citizens.
UNITED, the largest anti-racist network in Europe, is organising a 2 day conference in Amsterdam on 12 and 13 June, prior to the InterGove aichl OneSe This must be used as a starting block for anti-racists to build the kind of alli. ances needed to co-ordinate the forthcoming struggles against Fortress Europe- from inside and out.