Blackmail?

It looks like Muammar Gaddafi has the EU over a barrel. After years of having encouraged African migrants to seek their fortunes in his country or to use it as a stepping stobe to Europe, he has come under increasing pressure from the European Union to cut back on the numbers of migrants making for Italy and lucrative deals have been cut with the EU itself, via the International Organisation for (against) Migration, and more recently directly with his fellow autocrat Berlusconi.

At the same time he has launched his own war against his once welcome pool of cheap labour, setting up strings of detention camps and squalid prisons where tens of thousands of his fellow Africans survive some of the worst prison conditions on the continent since international approbation force his regime to quit using his previous preferred method of dealing with the 'problem' - wholesale transportation of migrants in converted container lorries to the desert borders with neighbouring countries where they were abandoned with no food, water or means of transport. Many hundreds are believe to have perished in this low-cost deportation solution.

Now, emboldened by his lucrative deal with Italy involving $5bn compensation for abuses committed during Italy's rule in Libya ($200m a year for 25 years invested in Libyan infrastructure projects) plus the loan of six fast patrol boats as part of an Italian sponsored 'push back' policy, Gaddafi is once again seeking €5bn a year from the EU in order to continue stopping African migrants from leaving Libyan shores in small leaky boats on their perilous trips across the Mediterranean.

Whilst he is right to criticise European countries for their neo-colonial attitudes in demanding that African countries open themselves up to more European exports and embrace neo-liberal free trade policies alongside 'good governance' policies (the EU argues that prosperity can only be guaranteed if Europeans don't have to pay too hefty a bribe in order to 'do business'), tying those demands to preventing "christian, white Europe" from becoming "black" is manipulative racist scaremongering of the lowest form.

Refugee Protest Camp Set Up In Athens

More than 50 Afghan refugees have set up camp next to the Propylaia Acropolis in the centre of Athens to protest against the Greek state's refusal to provide asylum and housing for the tens of thousands of refugees stuck in a Hellenic Limbo, many of them victims of Dublin II and unable to move on to the countries they desire because they have been detained, fingerprinted or otherwise identified as having passed through Greece, a country that grants only 0.04% of all asylum applications.

For more information and pictures on this story check out the Demotix website.

Glasgow Asylum Evictions: Cost-Cutting Negotiation Tactic?

Further details of the farce that has developed around the axing by the Border Agency of its contract with Glasgow City Council to house asylum seekers. It now appears that the termination of the contract on UKBA's part is a negotiating tactic to try and drive down the cost of the contract as it has not even bothered to contact at least one of the two organisations, Ypeople and Angel Group, that it claims are going to take over housing the 1300 people under threat of eviction and forced mass movement to points unknown across Scotland. In a parallel move, Alex Salmond has called upon Teresa May to reopen negotiations with the council.

Israel Plans Massive Internment Camp For Migrants

Following hot on the tail of Israeli plans to deport the children of migrants born in Israel and to erect a 150km long $372m hi-tech fence on its border with Egypt to keep out so-called 'infiltrators', come news that the country's government is planning to build a massive internment camp capable of holding up to 10,000 migrants and asylum seekers in the southern Negev Desert. The idea of such a facility, which could be ready in a matter of weeks and would be used to hold migrants from war-torn African countries such as Sudan and Eritrea that the Israeli state is currently unable to deport, is already drawing comparisons with Nazi concentration camps. But according to Eyal Gabbai, a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "Israel is trying to fight a situation in which the state, its citizens, are vulnerable to infiltrators who enter with economic motives" and the threat of internment "will weaken their economic incentive to come to Israel."

MigrationBotch Call For More Emigration

MigrationBotch has called upon the Coalition government to introduce further policies to drive up the number of UK residents leaving the country on a permanent basis following the latest migration figures showing that a jump of 25,000 in the net migration figures was down to only a measly 140,000 British citizens emigrating, down 33,000 on 2008 and the lowest figure since 1999. The thoughtless-tank's supremo Dame Alan Greenbyname-Greenbynature) is quoted as saying: "After the spiffing news of the government's cap on coolie labour, this is a clearly a kick in the proverbials. The government need to made further and deeper cuts in order to drive more people from our shores and stop Blighty sinking under the waves (of dreaded foreigners). If we can return to the sort of sustainable population figure that Britain had at the end of the 18th century (37m) rather than the dreaded and extremely significant figure of 70m that I keep inanely bandying around, then our country will stay afloat and have the extra added bonus of there not being so many darkies around to boot."

Glasgow Asylum Families' Reprieve

After a degree of confusion (not least from us) over exactly what was happening with regard to the UK Border Agency plans to end a contract with Glasgow City Council to provide accommodation for around 1300 asylum seeker families and single people, where people would be given as little as 48 hours notice of eviction, it has been announced that the threat of eviction has been lifted.

In our original piece, based on a Glasgow Evening Times article and comments by Phil Taylor, the Agency's regional director for Scotland and Northern Ireland (which suggested that Glasgow City Council had 'invited' the Borders Agency to cancel the contract) we understood that the new providers of the contract accommodation would be moving the refugees out of Glasgow. But, following UKBA clarification and an emergency meeting between Damian Green and a number of Scottish Labour MPs, the Herald claims that few if any will now have to move as the new providers will merely be taking over the asylum seekers tenancies rather than moving them out wholesale. And where it proves necessary for families to move, at least 14 days notice will be given and the new provider will pay any moving costs incurred.

Kabul Inundated With Glaswegian Refugees

After news that Kabul is now safer than cities like Glasgow, the Afghan capital has been inundated with Scottish refugees seeking political asylum from a despotic British regime.

Nato official Mark Sedwill said the Afghan capital, as a “city of villages”, and was a better environment for youngsters to grow up in than any city found on the west coast of Scotland.

Sedwill continued, “People will point to the violence, the drug trafficking and the religious zealots intent on imposing their way of life on everyone around them, but I would just tell them to leave Glasgow and try Kabul instead.”

“Sure, there are still a few issues, but at least it you get a bit of sunshine here, and you can understand what most of the locals are saying.”

“I’ve never been threatened with a pint glass in Kabul, I’ll say that much for it.”

Kabul Safer Than Glasgow

The queue of Scottish asylum seekers arriving at Kabul airport has stretched local authority resources to breaking point, and raised the possibility of rejecting many applications simply because they can not cope.

Fraser Donald told Afghan immigration officials, “Please don’t send me back! The government wants to take away my freedoms and potentially imprison me, just because I won’t go and do a bit of litter picking.”

“I am in genuine fear for the freedom of me and my family to sit around doing nothing all day.”

Some have already had their asylum applications approved, with Dougal McDonald telling us, “This morning I’ve been shot at twice, and had to run to avoid a couple of IEDs, so yes, I’m feeling much safer here already.”

“I’d recommend it to any Scots considering the move. Just bring plenty of sun-cream.”

[Reprinted from News Thump]