UN ENVOY: RACIST CLIMATE SPARKED ANTWERP MURDERS(Belgium)
23/5/2006- The racist double murder in Antwerp on 11 May is characteristic of a political and ideological climate in Europe that fosters crime, a top UN official has claimed. 'Someone thinks that the ideological climate allows him to buy a weapon and take to the street to commit murders,' UN Special Rapporteur on racism, xenophobia and intolerance, Doudou Diène, said. Diène was speaking at a seminary on racism and xenophobia in the media held in Vienna by the European Commission on Monday, newspaper 'De Tijd' reported. The Senegalese envoy linked the double murder in Antwerp to the reactions to the murder of teenager Joe Van Holsbeeck a month earlier in Brussels. He said the media and politicians involved one community in the debate, referring to the fact that North African youths were falsely accused of the Brussels Central murder. The suspects eventually turned out to be Polish nationals. Diène said individual crimes are on the rise, but so too is the making of a political statement, raising concern about the trivialisation of racism and xenophobia through their inclusion on political agendas. 'The policies of extreme-right parties slowly influence the election policies of the democratic parties. The red line is gradually being breached,' Diène said. He added that there is also increasing legislation that 'criminalises' immigrants and asylum seekers.
Expatica News http://www.expatica.com/