Feedback: London Demonstration Against French & European Roma Evictions
John O | 06.09.2010 06:28 | Migration | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World
Took place Saturday 4th September outside the French Embassy in London
The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB) and various UK refugee/migrant support groups demonstrated in solidarity with the Roma communities who are being forcefully evicted and deported in France. ITMB deplores President Sarkozy's policies which have resulted in families with children as young as 2 weeks old being evicted with less than 30 minutes notice.
Irish Travellers Group (who organized the demo) and English Gypsies are acutely aware of the racist anti Roma policies that are spreading across Europe. In recent days Roma communities in Italy have been made homeless when bulldozers razed the camps they lived on to the ground. In Hungry the far right Jobbick party have called for Roma communities to be detained in special guarded camps for indefinite periods of time.
ITMB would like to remind the British Government and public that the largest eviction of a Gypsy Roma Traveller community in Europe is presently taking place in Dale Farm, Essex. Like the Roma in Europe, Irish Travellers and English Gypsies in Britain face direct racism and discrimination on a daily basis.
GRT - Gypsy, Roma and Irish Travellers are the largest Minority group in Europe.
Gypsy's gained Ethnic Minority status in 1989 and Irish Travellers in 2000 and are since protected under the 'Race Relations Act 1976'. 9 out of 10 children from the GRT community have experienced racial abuse and nearly a third have been bullied or physically attacked.
For further information please call Irish Traveller Movement in Britain on 020 7607 2002 or email
info@irishtraveller.org.uk
The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB) and various UK refugee/migrant support groups demonstrated in solidarity with the Roma communities who are being forcefully evicted and deported in France. ITMB deplores President Sarkozy's policies which have resulted in families with children as young as 2 weeks old being evicted with less than 30 minutes notice.
Irish Travellers Group (who organized the demo) and English Gypsies are acutely aware of the racist anti Roma policies that are spreading across Europe. In recent days Roma communities in Italy have been made homeless when bulldozers razed the camps they lived on to the ground. In Hungry the far right Jobbick party have called for Roma communities to be detained in special guarded camps for indefinite periods of time.
ITMB would like to remind the British Government and public that the largest eviction of a Gypsy Roma Traveller community in Europe is presently taking place in Dale Farm, Essex. Like the Roma in Europe, Irish Travellers and English Gypsies in Britain face direct racism and discrimination on a daily basis.
GRT - Gypsy, Roma and Irish Travellers are the largest Minority group in Europe.
Gypsy's gained Ethnic Minority status in 1989 and Irish Travellers in 2000 and are since protected under the 'Race Relations Act 1976'. 9 out of 10 children from the GRT community have experienced racial abuse and nearly a third have been bullied or physically attacked.
For further information please call Irish Traveller Movement in Britain on 020 7607 2002 or email
info@irishtraveller.org.uk
Roma Demo French Embassy - Photo Copyright: "Stalingrad ONeill"
Roma Demo French Embassy - Photo Copyright: "Stalingrad ONeill"
Tens of thousands protest across Europe against Roma crackdown
Tens of thousands joined protests across France on Saturday against a government crackdown on immigrants and the high-profile repatriation of Roma people to eastern Europe. In Paris, leaders of left-wing parties, rights groups and trade unionists marched with Roma immigrants and protesters chanting "stop repression" and "no to Sarkozy's inhumane policies". Organisers said the demonstration attracted 50,000 people, though police put the figure at 12,000.
Critics see this summer's expulsions of Roma as part of an attempt by president Nicolas Sarkozy to revive his popularity and divert attention from contentious pension reforms, spending cuts and a series of political scandals. There has been rancorous debate over government proposals to revoke French citizenship from naturalised immigrants found guilty of certain serious crimes.
"For me, this is a day of fighting against racism and xenophobia," the socialist mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, said. Thousands more marched in Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse and other cities, while smaller protests took place outside French embassies in Brussels, London and Madrid.
Irish Times, Monday 6th September 2010
Brussels: Some 100 people are participating in the Roma rights demonstration outside the French embassy in Brussels held by the international human rights organization European Network against Racism. The participants are holding banners reading "No connection between emigration and crime," "Liberty, Fraternity and Equality for Everyone," "No to Expulsion, Yes to Integration."
EU questions legality of French Roma expulsions
- The European Commission has in an internal report called into question the legality of France's recent dismantling of Roma camps and repatriations of roughly one thousand Romanian and Bulgarian citizens.
"The Commission is seeking detailed information from the French authorities on whether and to which extent the safeguards required by the Free Movement Directive have been applied in recent cases," reads the report, seen by EUobserver.
Brussels, 02/09/2010
Irish Roma communities face discrimination, says report
03/09/2010 - Ireland's native Roma community suffers from discrimination, health problems and a much lower life expectancy than the rest of the population, a study showed Thursday. The research by a team from University College Dublin comes amid concerns in the European Union about the treatment of Gypsy communities, sparked by France's ongoing expulsion of hundreds of Roma migrants.
Daily News & Economic Review
Rome prepares to demolish 200 illegal Gypsy camps
Aid workers fear thousands of Roma will be left homeless. Plans by Rome city officials to demolish up to 200 illegal Gypsy camps this week have raised fears by aid workers that thousands of Roma, including women and small children, will be forced on to the streets.
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 September 2010
Tens of thousands joined protests across France on Saturday against a government crackdown on immigrants and the high-profile repatriation of Roma people to eastern Europe. In Paris, leaders of left-wing parties, rights groups and trade unionists marched with Roma immigrants and protesters chanting "stop repression" and "no to Sarkozy's inhumane policies". Organisers said the demonstration attracted 50,000 people, though police put the figure at 12,000.
Critics see this summer's expulsions of Roma as part of an attempt by president Nicolas Sarkozy to revive his popularity and divert attention from contentious pension reforms, spending cuts and a series of political scandals. There has been rancorous debate over government proposals to revoke French citizenship from naturalised immigrants found guilty of certain serious crimes.
"For me, this is a day of fighting against racism and xenophobia," the socialist mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, said. Thousands more marched in Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse and other cities, while smaller protests took place outside French embassies in Brussels, London and Madrid.
Irish Times, Monday 6th September 2010
Brussels: Some 100 people are participating in the Roma rights demonstration outside the French embassy in Brussels held by the international human rights organization European Network against Racism. The participants are holding banners reading "No connection between emigration and crime," "Liberty, Fraternity and Equality for Everyone," "No to Expulsion, Yes to Integration."
EU questions legality of French Roma expulsions
- The European Commission has in an internal report called into question the legality of France's recent dismantling of Roma camps and repatriations of roughly one thousand Romanian and Bulgarian citizens.
"The Commission is seeking detailed information from the French authorities on whether and to which extent the safeguards required by the Free Movement Directive have been applied in recent cases," reads the report, seen by EUobserver.
Brussels, 02/09/2010
Irish Roma communities face discrimination, says report
03/09/2010 - Ireland's native Roma community suffers from discrimination, health problems and a much lower life expectancy than the rest of the population, a study showed Thursday. The research by a team from University College Dublin comes amid concerns in the European Union about the treatment of Gypsy communities, sparked by France's ongoing expulsion of hundreds of Roma migrants.
Daily News & Economic Review
Rome prepares to demolish 200 illegal Gypsy camps
Aid workers fear thousands of Roma will be left homeless. Plans by Rome city officials to demolish up to 200 illegal Gypsy camps this week have raised fears by aid workers that thousands of Roma, including women and small children, will be forced on to the streets.
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 September 2010
John O
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JohnO@freemovement.org.uk
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