Inquiry to review race relations after Oldham

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JUNE 15. An inquiry is to be held into the recent racial violence in the Greater Manchester town of Oldham to review the role of the police and the local council in handling race relations.

The council has been told to produce an ``action programme'' within four months to reduce tension in the area, often described as a ``tinder box'' because of the perpetual stand-off between the Asian and white communities. The measures were announced after a delegation of M.P.s, police officers and councillors from Oldham met the new Home Secretary, Mr. David Blunkett here on Thursday amid a controversy that it did not include any Asian representative.

Oldham's Deputy Mayor, Mr. Riaz Ahmed, whose house was attacked recently, said he got an invitation at the last minute but was strongly advised by people ``at a senior level'' to stay away. ``I was keen to go but as a matter of courtesy I made telephone calls to certain people...I was given very strong advice from more than one person at a senior level not to become involved,'' he was quoted as saying. However, he said he did not want to make an issue of it and was more interested in the outcome of the meeting.

The Times reported that the exclusion of Asians from the delegation had ``provoked anger'' in the town's minority community. A leader of the Pakistani residents said a reason for the distrust was that the Asian community had ``never been consulted''. Asians and whites needed to work in ``partnership'' in order to sort out the problems. The Labour M.P. from Oldham West, Mr. Michael Meacher sought to play down the controversy saying there would be more meetings in which Asians would be fully involved. He also shrugged off reservations over the decision to divert funds meant exclusively for Asian- dominated areas to white communities. He said money which had previously been targeted on particular areas had produced ``a strong perception of unfairness - that certain parts of the community are being favoured over others''.

The Guardian said the decision to spread the funds more widely across the region was taken to ``appease disaffected white voters''. In last week's general election, a large number of whites voted for the racist British National Party (BNP) in what is seen as a backlash against Labour's perceived pro-Asian policy. This is the first time that BNP gained a significant vote anywhere in Britain, and its leader, Mr. Nick Griffin acknowledged that the race riots on the eve of the election may have helped his party.

Oldham is one of Britain's most deprived towns with high unemployment, particularly among Asians - mostly from Bangladesh - breeding frustration and anger. Mutual hostility, arising largely out of social and economic deprivation, has been exploited by far-right outfits like the National Front and the BNP to whip up racist passions. After the recent riots, Asian quarters have been fenced off to protect them but in effect, it has led to segregation which is what the BNP wants.

Mr. Blunkett said the meeting was a ``valuable opportunity'' to hear at first hand the problems of Oldham. ``It is vital that local people are able to develop solutions to the problems they face. I made clear that the Government, across departments, is prepared to provide support and independent advice in this process,'' he said.

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