DOZENS of demonstrations took place on Saturday 3Ist January across Europe to call for the end of immigration detention and respect for rights of refugees and other migrants.
In Britain ten actions included the first demonstration outside Lindholme detention centre near Doncaster, where 200 potesters mounted a 'noise demo' in the pouring rain.
Another first was the demonstration at Waterloo station, where the "reception centre" alongside the Eurostar terminal is one of the main symbols of the government's anti-asylum seeker apparatus. Outside Parliament the new Congolese SOS-Immigration Discrimination group demanded a "Blunkett amnesty" undocumented migrants.
There was a "shanty town" outside the UN High Commissioner for Refugee's office on Millbank, and demonstrations outside the offices of the Daily Mail (where British National Party counter-demonstrators sported pictures of the paper's front page), at Campsfield detention centre, outside Hull prison, and in Liverpool and Bridgwater centres.
The Burns Day Dungavel detention centre the previous Sunday was part of the Europe-wide actions.
Across Europe ther were over 50 demonstrations in Il countries. Three thousand migrants marched in Athens from 50 migrant organisations. In Paris, more than 100 sans papiers (undocumented migrants) occupied the assembly chamber of the Economic and Social Council in order to meet the trade unions and associations support of the report concerning the needs of Europe, including France, in terms of immigration.
After a debate with the vice-president of the council, representatives of the CGT, FO trade union confederations and others, an appointment was made for a meeting in March with those who voted in favour of the Council's report and the collectives, associations, trade unions and sans-papiers who led this action.
The actions included at least 13 in France (Paris, Lille, Perpignan, Nanterre, Nantes, Rennes, Amiens, Grenoble, Palaiseau, Lyon, Calais, Marseille and Tours), and others in Ireland (Galway), Italy (Rome, Bologna, Crotone, and Germany (Frankfurt, Munich, Bremen and Göttingen), Switzerland (Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Basle and Bern), Belgium (2 in Brussels), Austria (Vienna), (Barcelona, Malaga and Madrid) and Portugal (Lisbon). for Bill MacKeith of Barbed Wire Britain network to end detention said:
"This is a first! Today dozens of demonstrations bring together Europe-wide opposition to the inhuman practice of imprisoning people who migrate to Europe.
"It brings to the attention of the public the daily affront to human dignity and justice that is meted out by governments of the European Union to refugees and other migrants. demonstration at "This is usually passed over in silence. Immigration policy is a European issue, and the new Manifesto drawn up by migrant organisations in Europe will prove to be an historic document."
There will now be discussion around "Where next?" Possibilities include focusing on a power centre such as the Europan Parliament. In fact, the parliament, where MEPs gave the UN Secretary General a standing ovation this week when he denounced Fortress Europe in so many words, exercises no power in matters of immigration policy.
Decisions are made in secret by the EU member states' interior ministers. So the Council of Ministers might be a better target. Caltanisetta (Sicily)), Spain
and the GMB. ty in favour. two years ment on performance targets. for it. here since 1988 Ford Focus. ered to be a management perk