The Hindu : Tension in Asian towns in U.K. on poll-eve

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 13, 2002

International

International

Tension in Asian towns in U.K. on poll-eve

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON APRIL 12. One year after Britain's worst race riots in more than a decade, tension is rising again with the far-right British National Party (BNP) being accused of `stoking fires' ahead of the local council elections in a few weeks.

The potential trouble spots are the same as last year — the predominantly Asian towns of Oldham, Bradford and Burnley where the BNP contested the 2001 general elections on a "Rights for Whites'' platform and did surprisingly well, particularly in Oldham where it got 16 per cent of the votes in the heart of traditional Labour territory. This time it is targeting more seats and across a much wider "immigrant belt'' setting off alarm bells in the Labour Party which, in a departure from its policy of ignoring BNP, has launched an aggressive campaign against it and the National Front, another fascist outfit.

Amid reports of simmering tension, the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, on Thursday warned racist organisations saying that attempts to stoke "fires of hate'' would not be tolerated. "We should not be in the least bit complacent about those who are preaching hate, social dissension and racism,'' he said denouncing the BNP's agenda as a "disaster'' for the country.

Mr. Blunkett himself has been accused by ethnic groups of giving a handle to racist elements by harping on British "values'' and criticising certain Asian practices such as arranged marriages.

He provoked a row recently when he called for mandatory English language tests for immigrants, a new oath of loyalty and citizenship classes for those seeking a British passport. On Thursday, he countered the charge that his statements had heightened xenophobia.

``History teaches us that whatever we say racists will always distort the words of mainstream politicians to make them sound more reasonable,'' he said accusing the BNP of `exploiting' issues such asylum and immigration. It is alleged that the BNP is also playing on the anti-Muslim sentiment in the wake of September 11 terrorist attacks in America. Many of the seats which it is contesting have large Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, mostly poor and socially insular, whom the whites in the area regard as "fundamentalists'' and socially unacceptable. Oldham is where the BNP is concentrating much of its energy reviving ugly memories of last summer's riots.

``The BNP isn't just against Asians. If you support them, you have to be pretty much a white nationalist. They are like the Ku Klux Klan,'' an anti-racist activist said.

The Anti-Nazi League, which has launched a campaign to warn people of the danger of voting BNP, has blamed mainstream political parties particularly the Labour for the rise of racist parties. "Mainstream politicians are not engaging people while the BNP is extending them a helping hand,'' an ANL volunteer in Oldham said.

For the first time Labour feels threatened and the party's chairman, Charles Clarke, has admitted that these are "very tough elections''.

Council polls for over 5,000 seats across England would be held on May 2 in the biggest electoral exercise since the general elections and by all accounts Labour is expected to do badly.

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