[Imc-london-audio] Congo deportation story & interview

[Caspar Aremi]

Hi,

I did a little interview with someone today.  Audio isn't fantastic as it
was over Skype to a mobile, but I think it's audible.  You can decide if
it's worth usingin the show though.  It runs to 3 mins 18 seconds.  Also
below is suggested script for before the audio which will probably run to a
couple of minutes - I don't know if you covered the deportations in February
already so it could be shortened if so.

I've uploaded the audio to the wire at:
https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/04/366815.html

~~~

There were demonstrations held across the UK last Wednesday, to highlight
the dangers faced by Congolese people being deported to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.

The protests followed 19 Congolese adults and 23 children, all failed asylum
seekers, being snatched by Home Office squads in late February.

On the 21st of February over one hundred asylum seekers and supporters held
a protest outside the Home Office Reporting Centre in Glasgow.

ON Friday the 23rd, the group No Borders Brighton protested and did a banner
drop at the offices of XL Airways in Crawley.  Also that day, 70 protesters
in Leeds gathered at the Home Office Reporting Centre to call for a stop of
the planned removals.

In Middlesborough on the 25th of February a solidarity march was held.

Regardless, on the 26th of Feb, all the asylum seekers were placed on an XL
Airways chartered flight to DRC.  This was despite the UN reporting earlier
that week that the human rights situation in the country continues to
deteriorate, as the army and police perpetrate acts of violence against
civilians and the number of reported rapes surges.

Since 1998 over four million lives have been lost in the DRC and though the
war is over there is no peace.  Deaths continue at the rate of 1,200 per
week. Recruitment of child soldiers continues unabated. The infrastructure
of the country's hospitals, roads and power supplies are archaic and in some
areas are non-existent.

The Bishops of Winchester, Chichester, Durham and Ripon had spoken out
against the mass expulsion to DRC.  XL Airways complained they could not
cope with the number of faxes and calls they received regarding the flights
but failed to address any of the issues raised, referring everyone to
contact the Home Office.

Protesters had tried to stop the removals by locking themselves to the gates
of Tinsley House detention centre in Crawley where the deportees had been
held.  At the time, protests were also being held at the Home Office in
London.

The government was to have held a review of the 'Country Guidance' given in
relation to the Congo on 7th March, but this has been postponed until 12th
April.

the demonstrations were held last Wednesday in London, Leicester,
Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Glasgow.  A demo in Birmingham was
planned but was rescheduled for April.

We spoke to Innocent Empi  [pronounced as it reads; like MP] who is the
Manchester Representative of the Congo Support Project.

[Audio - 3m18s]

You can find out more details of the Congo Deportation protests on
Indymedia.org.uk under the Migration topic heading.



-- 
Caspar Aremi

Blog: http://www.casparian.org/
Skype: casparian  Tel: 020 787 12340
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-london-audio/attachments/20070402/9c6218c6/attachment.html