See the call for the demostration in French and English
Express your Solidarity with the 26,000 victims of deportations and
resistance against the Fortress Europe’s Deportation regimes in Holland.
PROTEST AGAINST THE FORTRESS EUROPE!!
SUPPORT OUR FIGHT AGAINST THE DEPORTATION REGIMES!!
Demo in Luxemburg 04.03.2004 at 4pm in front of the Dutch Embassy.
You are invited to endorse the protest call by adding your groups’ names
under the text of our appeal!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3494627.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/17/dutch.asylum.reut/index…
Osaren Igbinoba The VOICE Forum Jena, voice_mail@emdash.org
Claude Frantz, Infoladen in Luxeburg, info@infoladen.lu
THE REFUGEE POLICY IN FORTRESS EUROPE
The VOICE Forum was guest of "The Infoladen Luxemburg" in conjunction with
groups such as Jugend Für Frieden und Gerechtigkeit ( JFFG, Luxembourg. ) ,
ECRE ( UK- BELGIUM - LUXEMBOURG ), Association pour la Dignité Humaine et
l’Intégration des Cultures, ADHIC (Lux), at the Conference on refugee policy in
the fortress Europe. The conference was part of the activities of the “ out
of the crowd benefit festival" which took place between the 20th and 22nd of
February 2004 at the Kultur Fabrik in Esch-Alzette Luxembourg.
The conference began on Friday the 20th with Osaren Igbinoba from The VOICE
and Godi a refugee from Congo DR living in Luxembourg giving interviews to
the RTL TV in Luxembourg and a German Newspaper.
A film show on the demonstrations against the "Residenzpflicht" and other
protest actions in Germany as well as film documentation on Woomera refugee
reception centre in Australia and refugee camps in Italy were shown to sensitise the participants to the seriousness of the situation and the discussions to follow.
The VOICE Forum was represented by Osaren Igbinoba and Ade Alabi while Gode
Kapwabwa , Alex and (Brian Hasall, a stateless activist from Zimbabwe) were
from the refugee community in Luxembourg .
The discussions papers were presented under the following:
1. Development of the Fortress Europe System and the current situation.
2. Personal Experiences and psychological consequences caused by the system
to the refugees.
3. What can / should be done.
The members of the Voice Forum present used the opportunity to discuss the
idea of networking with anti-racist or support groups in Luxembourg and more
importantly the networking of refugees in Luxembourg with their counterparts
in Germany.
On the second day Saturday 21st February ’04, a working group was set up to
plan and mobilise for a demonstration against the planned and imminent
deportations of about 26000 refugees from Holland.
The demonstration will take place at the Holland embassy in Luxembourg.
A mobilisation meeting was scheduled for Thursday 26th of February and the
demonstration itself will be on Thursday the 4th of March 2004.
An introduction of our political campaigns and mobilisation to the
demonstration at the Holland Embassy was made during band sessions at the festival
with a lot of people in attendance.
The following is an excerpt of the mobilisation call:
PROTEST AGAINST FORTRESS EUROPE.
The case of mass deportations threat on 26000 asylum seekers in Holland.
We the groups and associations present on the 21st of February at the
conference of “Refugees Against Fortress Europe” in Luxembourg, heard about the
decision of the Dutch government to expel 26000 asylum seekers with a lot of
apprehension and bitterness.
We believe that :
1.The expulsions or deportations are nothing but inhuman.
2.Some of the deported asylum seekers die in the process of deportations.
3.Behind this populist decision , is discrimination and social exclusion as
well as a lack of real socio-economic programs to alleviate the state of
poverty, in which many European people live today.
The universal declaration of human rights in article 14 line 1 states to the
effect that ; Everyone has the right to asylum and protection from persecution.
In view of the above;
We demand that the Dutch government :
1.Stop these planned deportations immediately.
2.Respect the international laws with regard to the right of asylum.
3.Not to relate asylum to immigration.
4.Not to use asylum seekers as political tools or scape-goats, in order to
justify their inability to solve problems of unemployment, housing shortages,
poverty etc.
Let us collectively demand that the international communities, the civil
societies and all who feel concerned and in solidarity with the oppressed,
impact pressure on this oppressive regime to stop its deportation policies.
SMASH FORTRESS EUROPE !!!
STOP THE DEPORTATION REGIME !!!
The VOICE Forum ( Germany ),
Infoladen ( Luxemburg ),ECRE ( UK - Belgium - Luxemburg ),Association pour la Dignité Humaine et l’Intégration des Cultures,ADHIC(Lux),Jugend für Frieden und Gerechtigkeit ( JFFG , Luxemburg ),Caravan For the Rights of Refugees and migrants ( Germany ).
The meeting also inform the participants of the EU conference in December
2005 Luxemburg PROTESTATION CONTRE LA FORTERESSE EUROPE :
CAS DE LA TENTATIVE D’EXPULSION DE 26,000 REFUGIES AUX PAYS BAS
Nous, associations présentes le 21 février, 2004 lors de la conférence
sur les réfugiés contre la forteresse Europe avons suivi avec un profond
regret et amertume la décision du gouvernement néerlandais d’expulser 26,000 demandeurs d’asiles.
Considérant que. :
- ces expulsions ne sont en réalité que des déportations ;
- nombreux de ces déportés décèdent lors de ces opérations,
- cette décision aux allures populistes cache dans son fond la
discrimination, l’exclusion ; mais aussi l’absence des vraies programmes
socio-économiques afin d’éradiquer la pauvreté dans laquelle aujourd’hui
le peuple Européen,
Attendu que la déclaration universelle de droit de l’homme dans son
article 14 alinéa 1, stipule que : « Devant la persécution, toute
personne a le droit de chercher asile et de bénéficier de l'asile en
d'autres pays ».
Vu tout ce qui précède, exigeons au gouvernement Néerlandais :
- de prendre son courage et d’arrêter sans délais les déportations,
- de respecter le droit international en matière d’asile,
- de ne pas lier l’asile à l’immigration,
- de ne pas utiliser les demandeurs d’asile comme bouc émissaire afin de
justifier son incapacité pour le chômage, le logement, bref la pauvreté.
Demandons à la communauté internationale, aux forces vives et à toutes
les personnes éprises de solidarité de faire préssion à ce régime
opressif pour qu’ il rénonce à sa politique de déportation.
SMASH FORTRESS EUROPE !
STOP THE DEPORTATION REGIME !
Fait à Luxembourg, le 21.02.04
Premiers signataires : The VOICE, Refugee Forum (Ger), INFOLADEN
«Schréibs» asbl (Lux), European Council of Refugees, ECRE (UK-Bel-Lux),
Association pour la Dignité Humaine et l’Intégration des Cultures,
ADHIC(Lux), CARAVAN FOR THE RIGHTS OF REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS (Ger), FIB
(Fluechtlingsinitiative Brandenburg; Refugees Initiative Of Brandenburg)
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APPEL A UNE MANIFESTATION
Jeudi,4 mars 2004, dès 16h00 devant l’Ambassade des Pays-Bas 6, rue Ste. Zithe (Lux-Gare)
- Réunion de préparation : Jeudi, 26 février dès 17h00 au sécrétariat
commun des organisations de paix (55, avenue de la Liberté, Lux-Gare) Appel aux organisations et associations de signer cet appel et de le
diffuser, Contact : info@infoladen.lu
We left Luxembourg on Sunday the 22nd of February '04 with good feelings of
having began a process of resistance against state machineries of oppression
and societal indifference to the plight of foreigners and refugees
especially.
One thing is clear though, a lot of work needs to be done to ensure effective networking and solidarity with refugees, antiracist and support groups in Luxembourg and the EU at large.
----------
Human rights concerns
CNN REport
Dutch refugee groups staged a mass demonstration outside parliament in The
Hague last week against the expulsions and several failed asylum seekers
have threatened to go on hunger strike, one sewing up his eyes and mouth
in protest.
While several countries, including Britain and Denmark, have tightened asylum policies, none has gone as far as mass expulsions, which some critics have compared with the World War Two deportation of Dutch Jews during Nazi occupation.
New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized the policy of Prime Minister
Jan Peter Balkenende's government last week, saying sending people home to
countries like Somalia and Afghanistan could put them at risk.
"The Dutch government's proposals ... signal a serious departure from the
Netherlands' historic role as a leader in human rights protection in
Europe," the group said in a report.
The Netherlands has seen the number of asylum seekers fall sharply since
2000, when 43,560 people applied for refugee status. Data from the Central
Bureau of Statistics showed that 18,670 people sought asylum in 2002. The
Dutch Refugee Council estimated that the number had fallen to about 10,000
in 2003. REUTERS
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/17/dutch.asylum.reut/index…
--------
'Critical'
BBC REport
The Dutch Council of Churches and a large number of mayors have been
campaigning against the new law.
"Many asylum seekers live in critical situations. They have physical and
mental problems, their families have been broken up and there is
insecurity
in their home countries," said the Council of Churches in a letter of
protest to the government.
The New York-based group Human Rights Watch has condemned the bill, saying
it would violate international standards by sending rejected asylum
seekers
- including children - back to unsafe areas, such as Afghanistan, Somalia
and Chechnya.
"The Dutch government's proposals... signal a serious departure from the
Netherlands' historic role as a leader in human rights protection in
Europe," the group said in a report.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Dutchman Ruud Lubbers,
has also expressed concern.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3494627.stm
Please note :
This information is circulated by The VOICE Refugee Forum in Germany
Schillergäschen 5,07745 Jena, Tel.0049 (0) 3641665214,
E-mail. voice_mail@emdash.org
www.thevoiceforum.org