THREE HUNDRED people marched through Oldham on Saturday calling withdrawal of the deportation order on Oldham youth Abdul Azad, and the scrapping of the racist immigration laws.
Bengalis and other from Oldham led the march. They were followed contingents from the Bradford Asian Youth Manchester overseas students, the Anti Nazi League, Socialist Challenge, Workers Party, as well people from Rochdale, Huddersfield and Tameside.
Over half the demonstrators then went on to picket the Risley detention Cheshire, to be joined there by Sheffield Bengalis and the Edge Hill Socialist Unity Campaign.
demonstration ahead despite the fact that Abdul Azad had temporarily released the previous Monday 1123US0O303U330DSU3IE original detention in October.
The Home Office, obviously worried by the pickets of Risley on for the temporarily lifted the deportation order, and released some of their forensic through which they claim Azad is not the son of his father and his mother.
A SETTS The response of the Joint Council for the by Immigrants, Movement, deshi High Commission, been to say that this evidence is Socialist deportation. Therefore they are conducting their own inquiries and tests to parentage.
In other words they are not openly challenging the brutality centre in Azad faced for ten days in Oldham police •Ine USE undemocratic and racist immiwent gration laws.
In contrast the majority been the demonstrators at - the third time who called for continued action to secure nis relesse on the oasis March, evidence Welfare grounds •101 gration laws.
ascertain his lor deportation.
end, station, of the of Risley applauded speakers At the Risley proof that there is.
defence succeeded.
way the conducted?
legal defence 'Asians on the march in Wolverhampton against racist attacks and police harassment, 11 March 1978.
of opposition to the immiSince the 1971 Immigration Act became law, over five thousand people have been held and denied the right to trial by jury or an appeal, held for several months and subjected to permanent intimidation by the police.
Indeed six other people are at present being held in Riley, to calls at the picket for all "prisoners of race' to be freed.
rally speakers from Socialist Challenge and Black Socialist ANARCE IS there any defence for victims of state harassment? DAVE STEVENS, recently acquitted on charges of assaulting police officers during a demonstration against racism, is living tion, In this interview, he says why he thinks the campaign in his growth What did you think about the trial itself WaS Nazi League with MPs.
The need for a well organised was taken seriously from the beginning.
But the defence campaign WISE outside the legal arena also had The lobbying of the Home Secretary, especially by MPs, meant that we got a judge who was going to make sure that against there could be no complaints from us about the conduct of This The *Support the Wolverhampton anti-racists' has been one of the most successful defence campaigns in recent years. How is I agree with that in two senses. My First, in that we won very broad what we MPs, trade union leaders, and black and immigrant organisations to the committees and The first issue now out contains reports on how the 1971 Immigration Act results in of race, the government's Green Paper on nationality law, and how the cal refuge as ate polas by campaign activities against the country.
such as the call for a conference by the Bradford organisation called for an inquiry organised by black and labour movement police brutality against Azad all other cases of harassment by the police and racists in Oldham.
Ins could new encourage organisation of by black community. The Abdul Azad Defence Committee will now be going out to build more suppor in the black community and labour movement.
The absence of the Allied Textile Workers Union [Azad himself is a textile worker], But it's also been seen in terms of the outcome in court. Of the twelve charges brought against the five people arrested on the 11 March demonstraonly two have so far resulted in conviction - both on minor charges. Not a high It's important to view this against the background of the of the anti-fascist movement, especially the Anti This made much easier for us to take up the issue in trade unions, and Part of this, of course, has to do with the growing concert defence against racist attacks and police harassment.
It should not be forgotten that my arrest occurred because the Anti-Racist Committee was in the forefront of a campaign police harassment.
The arrests on 11 March very seriously affected our cam paign on police harassment.
demonstration was intended to cal attention to s dossier of complaints against the police, and the demand for an investigation into the police was growing stronger. But the completely demobilised this campaign.
acquittal proves that were saying about police behaviour is true. As my defence lawyer put it in court, police concocted the charges against me.
this if Is CAlL told us: 'We want the newsletter to not only explain the immigration laws. also want to show how these laws are being challenged in action different campaigns and organisations up and down the *To do this effectively need our affiliates, and any individual Oldham Trades Council and from the maren neeos to be chanenged in particular by rank and file textile workers.
The Bradford Asian Youth Movement has called for a national conference on immigration. This can provide a focus for the campaign to defend Abdul Azad and all the other struggles against detentions.
Messages of support and further details from the Abdul Azad Defence Committee, c/o Sylvan St. Chadderton, Oldham. 061 624 8421. harassment? We intend to use my acquittal to revitalise the issue of police harassment in general in the town.
How will this be done?
We intend to use the video used in my defence to make a film of DOnce Harass Ci Wolverhampton for showing locally and nationally Renée Short MP. has already tim House Commons, as part of her campaign to get a Home Office inquiry into the police evidence concocted against me.
also considering organising a further labour movement inquiry into police harassment using my case and lany complaints we've received in the last year. As part of this we are considering legal achon agams te ponce Would you like to say anything Only to thank everybody who supported the campaign, especially the Indian Workers Association of Great Britain and its president, N.S. Noor. Without this support I might be sitting i prison today Can I also add that the defence campaign finished. Dave Hines still has to be tried, and we must not let him become a scapegoat for the police.
active on this issue, to send us reports and spread their experience.' not get your ANL branch, anti-racist committee, union branch or Labour Party ward to take copies? Better still affiliate to CAIL The Newsletter costs 5p and is available from: CAIL, Box 133, Rising Free Bookshop, 182 Upper St, London N1.
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