Tolerance of Illegal Immigration Leads to Riots In Italy
Posted on Saturday, January 09 @ 16:43:50 EST
Topic: nations countries immigration immigrants
|
 ALIPAC NOTE: America's future?
Immigrants riot in Italy amid racial unrest
08 Jan 2010 19:58:31 GMT
* Worst episode of Italian racial unrest in years
* Opposition accuses govt of fuelling xenophobia
* Southern town still tense, more immigrants wounded Friday
By Ilario Filippone
ROSARNO, Italy, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Clashes between immigrants and locals
in a southern Italian town entered a second day on Friday, with the
government rushing extra police to try to stem one of the worst
episodes of racial unrest in years.
The violence inflamed a long-running political debate on
immigration, with the interior minister saying years of excessive
"tolerance" were behind the violence, and the opposition accusing the
government of fuelling xenophobia.
President Giorgio Napolitano called for an immediate end to the unrest, during which at least 37 people, including 18 policemen, have been injured.
Some 8,000 illegal immigrants work in the
southern Calabria region where the clashes have erupted, most as day
labourers picking fruit and vegetables. Many live in abandoned
factories with no running water or electricity and human rights groups
say they are exploited by organised crime.
The clashes started on Thursday, when a gang of white youths in a
car fired air rifles at a group of African immigrants returning from
work on farms, injuring two of them.
The attack set off a night of rioting by dozens of Africans, who
smashed car windows with steel bars and stones and set cars and rubbish
bins on fire.
"Those guys were firing at us as if it were a fair ground, they
were laughing. I was screaming and there were other cars passing by but
nobody stopped, nobody called the police," Kamal, a Moroccan, told La
Repubblica newspaper.
On Friday, the violence continued. Police said two immigrants were
shot at with air rifles and suffered leg wounds, while two others were
attacked with iron bars and were said to be in serious condition.
"WE ARE NOT ANIMALS"
Earlier, about 2,000 immigrants demonstrated against what they said
was racist treatment by many locals. Some shouted "we are not animals"
and carried signs reading "Italians here are racist".
Scattered acts of vandalism by immigrants continued throughout the
day as some smashed store windows. Police said that in two separate
incidents locals had tried to run over immigrants with their cars.
Schools and many shops were closed.
Hundreds of local residents gathered outside the town hall on
Friday evening, many of them asking that the government intervene
against the immigrants.
"They are the ones who should be afraid now, they should go away," one resident told Sky Italia television.
The national police chief ordered additional security forces to the area.
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, from the far-right Northern
League party that is a junior partner in Silvio Berlusconi's
government, set up a task force to look into what caused the violence.
Maroni sparked controversy when he said one of the reasons for the
violence was that illegal immigration had been "tolerated all these
years".
Opposition leader Pierluigi Bersani and several centre-left politicians accused Maroni of fuelling the tension.
"Maroni is passing the buck ... we have to go to the roots of the
problem: Mafia, exploitation, xenophobia and racism," Bersani said.
Italy has taken a hard line against illegal immigration and has
moved to stem a tide of immigrants who board boats in Africa to try to
reach its southern shores. Some boats have been turned back on the open
seas. (additional reporting by Antonella Cinelli; Writing by Silvia
Aloisi and Philip Pullella; editing by Noah Barkin)
DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE WITH OUR ONLINE ACTIVISTS AT...
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-184517-napolitano.html
|
|
| |
| Article Rating | Average Score: 4.68
Votes: 73
| |
|
Contribute/Join
