Black, Asian leaders protest MPs' remarks

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MAY 4. In the first non-political reaction to the deepening race row on the eve of next month's general election, a group of independent blacks and Asians today warned that racist remarks of the kind made by some Tory figures recently could make ethnic groups more vulnerable to racial hostility.

They quoted the police as saying that such remarks tended to lead to an increase in racist attacks because ``they create the misleading impression that such views are legitimate.'' In a separate development, a newspaper said the Commission for Racial Equality had reported an increase in hate- mail since the row erupted two weeks ago over the Tories' refusal to sign an anti- race pledge prescribed by the Commission. This was exacerbated by stridently anti-immigrant remarks of some Tory MPs.

In an open letter, signed among others by Mr. Lee Jasper, race adviser to the Mayor of London, Mr. Ken Livingstone, black and Asian professionals accused politicians of exploiting the race issue and urged them to put an end to ``this cynical'' debate as it did not reflect the concerns of ethnic communities. In a clear reference to the right-wing Tory MP, Mr. John Townend, they pointedly condemned the ``irresponsible comments'' of some politicians and the ``inflammatory'' language used by them to whip up passions.

Mr. Townend infuriated his own party leadership when he said recently that unchecked immigration was turning Britain into a ``mongrel race''. He was forced to apologise, but reports suggest that he intends to press on with his race agenda after the election.

Another Tory MP, Mr. Laurence Robertson, who apologised, has since spoken out again saying that Britain was becoming too ``crowded'' because of the influx of immigrants. He insisted that he was not a racist but maintained that it was turning into a ``struggle'' to come to terms with mass immigration.

Those who signed the letter, urging political parties to respond to the genuine priorities of ethnic groups, include Mr. Ravi Chand, chairman of the National Black Police Association, Ms Tara Mukherjee, president of the Confederation of Indian Organisations, and Mr. Simon Woolley, Director, Operation Black Vote. Mr. Woolley told The Independent which published the open letter that ordinary black people became easy targets of abuse and attack as a result of irresponsible comments of politicians.

Meanwhile, in an indirect acknowledgement that the Tories were scoring over Labour on the asylum issue, the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, promised to get tough on undeserving asylum seekers. He denied the Tory charge that his Government was ``soft'' on asylum seekers or was trying to silence the debate on the issue - a charge which the Tories have been able to drive home with some success.

In an article in The Times today, Mr. Blair said his Government in its second term would reform the rules on asylum to ensure quicker decision on applications. The Tories have charged that Britain has become a ``soft touch'' for asylum seekers because of the Blair Government's indecisive approach, resulting in a backlog of nearly 80,000 applications.

The Times said that Mr. Blair's intervention was an ``acknowledgement'' that the Conservatives' campaign on the issue was working.

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