Tories come down on asylum policy

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JAN. 2.Nearly a year after a planeload of Afghans, claiming to be victims of the Taliban regime, landed here in what is suspected to have been a case of hijacking with the consent of the passengers, 12 alleged hijackers go on trial this month even as there is growing demand for a crackdown on asylum seekers most of whom are seen as opportunists in search of greener pastures.

The Afghan refugees have become a symbol of what the Opposition thinks is wrong with the Blair Government's policy on asylum. The Tories, who have threatened to make it an election issue, blame the endless flow of refugees into Britain on the Government's failure to deal with the problem firmly.

Over 70,000 people claiming to be fleeing from tyrannical regimes sought asylum here last year, setting a record for asylum applications. The fact that many of the Afghan refugees whose applications were turned down continue to remain here, pending decision on a review of their cases, is cited by the Tories as an example of the government's handling of the issue.

The cost of maintaining the Afghan refugees alone is estimated to be around 4 pound millions over the past 10 months. The Tory leader, Mr. William Hague, and his shadow Home Secretary, Ms. Anne Widdecombe, have called for asylum seekers to be locked up and on Sunday the former Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Michael Heseltine, generally regarded as a `liberal' among the Tories, threw his hat in the ring with a stinging attack on the Government for allegedly pampering the refugees. Denying that he was indulging in racist rhetoric, Mr. Heseltine said: ``This is not a racial business. This is simply a question of dealing with people who claim to be running away from tyrannical regimes when actually what they want is become part of the prosperity of our particular society.''

In an interview to the BBC, Mr. Heseltine accused asylum seekers of `cheating' immigration rules and asked: ``Why on earth should British citizens go without the houses they want, or take longer to get treatment they need, in order to make way for people who have cheated the immigration rules?''

His remarks brought a sharp reaction with the Refugee Council calling them `inflammatory'. A council spokesman said such language was likely to fuel racial prejudice and xenophobia. The remarks were particularly unfortunate in that they came in a week when an asylum seeker was nearly murdered on a London street, he said. The Government dismissed Mr. Hesetline's statement as `ill- informed'.

Observers expect more fireworks on the issue as the Tories seem to think that they have found a theme which they can use to mobilise public opinion in the run-up to the elections. The fact that Mr. Heseltine has joined the fray is seen as a signal that the Tories mean business and given the emotive nature of the issue its potential for mischief is real.

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Section  : International
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