Racism & fascism - in brief (6)
01 September 1999
UK: Lawrence suspect's brother gets impunity: Clifford Norris, the brother of David Norris - one of five people named for the murder of black youth Stephen Lawrence in 1993 - walked free from Woolwich Crown Court, where he had been accused of a knife attack on an Asian man, in September. Norris had been picked out by Gatri Hassan, who received a cut to his face and needed hospital treatment, in an identification parade after the assault last November. In May a jury found Norris not guilty of possessing an offensive weapon but could not reach a decision on whether he had unlawfully wounded his victim. His retrial was halted by Judge Brian Prior who ruled that he could not receive a fair trial, partly because of the "notoriety" of his family. The Lawrence family solicitor, Imran Khan, described the ruling as "disturbing" and commented: "...because of the notoriety this family now has, they will be able to evade justice every time they go to court. That cannot be right." Standard 7.9.99; Independent 7.9.99.
Norway: KRIPOS stores illegal data on gypsies: The Samora Newsletter, citing the newspaper Aftenposten, has reported that: "A criminal register used by Norway's bureau of crime investigation (KRIPOS) almost certainly violates the UN's convention on race discrimination." KRIPOS maintained a paper-based system until the mid-1970s which highlighted cases involving gypsies by marking cards with a blue mark; a yellow mark was used if the accused was on the run and a red mark for those deemed mentally ill. The archive is still used by the police to establish if a current offender has a criminal record. Jens Petter Berg, an expert on privacy law, said that he believed the register was illegal and alarming: "It is alarming that these old records are still in use. This case highlights the need for clear rules governing the obliteration of old police archives." The Justice department is looking into the case. Samora Newsletter No 3, 1999.
Italy: Lega Nord splits after fighting at congress: The Lega Nord (LN, Northern League) congress in Varese on 24 July, saw widespread fighting and the expulsion of Domenico Comino, which paved the way for numerous defections in the following weeks. LN leader Umberto Bossi had promised that the congress would be explosive after their vote went down by 2% in the European elections on 13 June, due to an escalation of racist initiatives and support for Serbia during the Kosovo bombing. Comino was a senior figure in the LN's Piedmont cadres and was expelled for secretly organising a local alliance with the Polo della Liberta for the European elections. He was labelled a traitor who had sold out to Silvio Berlusconi by negotiating an agreement without the necessary authorisation. Several influential figures followed Comino out of the movement, after Bossi made it clear that the LN had no intention of establishing alliances with the left or right-wing coalitions. Vito Gnutti, Comino and other dissidents, including Francesca Calvo (see Statewatch vol 9 no 1 and 2), the mayor of Alessandria who introduced compulsory health certificates for foreign children to enrol for primary school, set up a new movement, called Futuro Nord. Those leaving blamed Bossi's authoritarian leadership for the split; Calvo said "Inside the League there is always talk of treachery. When the instances of treachery are so numerous it would be better to open a discussion rather than just condemning and expelling." The former mayor of Milan, Marco Formentini, left suggesting that Bossi's rejection of the possibility of alliances with the centre-left amounted to ensuring the victory of a "dangerous right" in Lombardy. Il Manifesto 25 & 27.7.99, 26.9.99; La Repubblica 26.7.99, 29 & 31.8.99, 7.9.99; La Stampa 17 & 26.8.99; www.lapadania.com july 1999 "Espulso il polista Comino".