Skip Navigation | HOME | UK Indymedia | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

manchester Indymedia

Kurdish family snatched and face deportation 06/11/06: TCAR Mobilises on Tyneside

TCAR (Tyneside Community Action for Refugees) | 05.12.2006 12:38 | Anti-racism | Migration | Social Struggles

On Tuesday 5 December around 25 refugees and local people living in Newcastle gathered outside Government Offices North East to say: ‘Immigration is no crime, End detention! Deportation is the crime, Lock up Labour!’. This comes in the wake of a week of protests inside Britain’s immigration detention centres, and follows the detention of a Kurdish asylum seeking family at their home in Fenham in the early hours of Monday morning, with the intention to deport them to Turkey on Turkish Airlines flight TK1980, leaving Heathrow at 11.45am this Wednesday. (this is the same flight booked for Hassan from Unity in Glasgow -  http://scotland.indymedia.org/newswire/display/3440/index.php) Tyneside Community Action for Refugees took to the streets Tuesday morning to protest against all immigration detention, and to demand the immediate release of Hidayet Ozdemir, his pregnant wife Hatin and their two children, 12 year old Denniz and 7 year old Guseren.






Immigration Detention in Britain: Recent Background
Britain now locks up more asylum-seekers and migrants than ever before: approximately 30,000 are detained each year. On Tuesday 28 November the Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers released a report strongly criticising Britain’s largest detention centre, Harmondsworth, for its bad management and poor conditions. When guards attempted to prevent detainees at Harmondsworth from watching coverage of the report on the evening news, the prisoners protested. Doors were broken, fires were lit, and the following day around 50 detainees were seen in the courtyard spelling out the words ‘HELP’, ‘SOS’ and ‘FREEDOM’ using their bed sheets. As a result 150 detainees have been released from other detention centres to make space for prisoners at the damaged Harmondsworth.  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/357432.html

Two days later, on 1 December, all but three of the families imprisoned at Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre went on hunger strike in protest at the lack of medical care for their children, many of whom have been suffering for two weeks now from an outbreak of diarrhoea at the centre. There are also reports that visits have been refused. This is the centre where Hidayet Ozdemir, his pregnant wife, and their two young children are being held. Hidayet reports that medical treatment has so far been refused to his pregnant wife Hatin. Yarl’s Wood is run by private company GSL-UK Ltd, contracted to the Home Office, and is the main holding centre in England for families facing deportation. On 26 July the Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers published a report strongly criticising the detention of children, saying there was ‘no evidence that the child’s welfare was taken into consideration’. TCAR has held a series of recent protests against the detention of children, and is calling for the release of all immigration detainees.

Kurds in Turkey: Background
If forced to return to Turkey Hidayet Ozdemir and his family face persecution because they are Kurdish. Since 1990 the Turkish state has been accused of the killing of 37,000 Kurds, the destruction of 3,500 Kurdish villages, and of leaving 2 million Kurds without homes. In Turkey Hidayet Ozdemir was an active member of HADEP, the Democratic People’s Party, which calls for national self-determination for the Kurdish people. Since HADEP was shut down by the Turkish state in the 1990s there have been thousands of assassinations of party members by Turkish paramilitaries, and four of the party’s MPs have been jailed for 15 years. Other HADEP MPs remain in exile. Danny Matthews, a spokesperson for TCAR, said: ‘The British Labour government stands in full complicity with the fascist regime of Turkey, as it does with any repressive government which is seen to serve British interests. We demand that human lives be placed above profits for Britain’s ruling class. Release the Ozdemir family now.’

Please fax Turkish Airlines and ask them not to aid the Home Office in removing the Ozdemir family and Hasan without giving time for the Judicial Review which is currently being submitted for the Ozdemir family, and without allowing Hasan the chance to properly state his case with access to full medical reports and x-rays.

Turlish airline fax: 0208-759 58 14 Or 01784 421726

Phone: 0208-897 17 31 or 0208 745 64 01 or 01784 421717

Ask to speak to the duty officer and say you want to LOG your concerns for the well-being of Hasan who is being deported on flight TK 1980 Turkish Airlines, Heathrow to Ataturk airport, Istanbul tomorrow at 11.45 hours.

2) FAX and EMAIL LIAM BYRNE
Liam Byrne, Minister of State for Immigration - fax no. 020 7035 4745

email: byrnel (at) parliament.uk

3) PASS THIS MESSAGE ON!!! to your friends and colleagues. If you have time it would help if you could let us know what action you have taken.

TCAR (Tyneside Community Action for Refugees)
- e-mail: tynesidecarn@yahoo.co.uk

Download this article in pdf format >>

Email this article to someone >>

Submit an addition or make a quick comment on this article >>

Additions

Solidarity with all immigration detainees

05.12.2006 13:18

The demonstration today was called at extremely short notice and it was pouring with rain. This did not prevent the demonstration from being militant and spirited! Thank you to everyone who was able to show their solidarity against the racist attacks on asylum seekers by the Labour Government. As we were chanting today: Immigration is no Crime: End Detention! Deportation is the Crime: lock up Labour!

A Congolese asylum seeker recently made a very useful observation in a TCAR meeting. The strength of an organisation can be seen by the amount of people it can mobilise onto the streets in a short period of time. As the determined resistance in Glasgow shows and as people in Newcastle showed today, we are getting stronger! But in order to resist the attacks of the state we need even more organisation, more links between organisations nationally and more people to get involved.

Racism in this country is inevitable while Britain continues to exploit and oppress people around the world. It is OUR Government attacking Iraq, Afghanistan, supporting Israel and Turkey. It is OUR ruling class stealing mineral resources from the Congo, Iran and Nigeria. As imperialism goes deeper into crisis we can expect more attacks, more brutal regimes and more racism against people fleeing these horrors. We have to stand in solidarity with all those under attack by imperialism, whether it is asylum seekers or Muslims in this country, or people resisting imperialism in Palestine, Iraq, Cuba, Venezuela and around the world. As Chavez said after his reelection 'Down with Imperialism! We need a new world!'

And just one final chant:
unemployment and inflation are not caused by immigration
bullsh*t, Come off it, the enemy is PROFIT!

In solidarity,
Annabell,
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!

Annie
mail e-mail: frfi_northeast@yahoo.com
- Homepage: http://www.manchesterfrfi.co.uk


Demonstrate this Saturday on Tyneside!

05.12.2006 14:07

Additionally, TCAR will be holding a demonstration this Saturday (9th December) in solidarity with all those in detention, particularly those who rose up against the unjust and inhumane system at Harmondsworth last week, and with those on hunger strike at Yarls Wood. The protest will start at 12noon at Grey's Monument, all welcome, bring your friends, your families and your energy!

TCAR


Comments

Hide the following 2 comments

Update on deportation from TCAR

07.12.2006 04:49

GOOD NEWS!! Although we have already reported that the
Ozdemir family were deported back to Turkey this
morning, we’ve had an update that only Hidayet (the
father) was deported, Hatin and her 2 children Denniz
and Gurasen were not deported. We have been told that
the airline did not carry her because she was ill and
14 weeks pregnant, hopefully part of this decision was
influenced by the many phone calls and faxes we all
sent- thanks for your support, the airline and
Heathrow were obviously very frustrated by our
attempts. Many people have contacted us and said
that the airline were quite angry at the phone calls
and said they were only following orders- don’t be put
off by this response, the only way that this kind of
activism can work is if the airline-home
office-heathrow get so frustrated and clogged up with
our calls that they worry it will cause bad press and
lose them money. Don’t expect them to be sympathetic
but its still worth trying, the angrier they get the
more impact we’re having so it’s a good thing!
Currently Hatin is attempting to make a fresh asylum
claim for herself with the help of her solicitor. She
has been sent back to Yarl’s wood and we are awaiting
correspondence with the solicitor about what can be
done to get her out of the detention centre. We’ve
been informed that she is unlikely to be deported
until after she has had her 3rd child (5 months away).
However, she is still in danger as she is at Yarl’s
wood detention centre where there has been a outbreak
of sickness and diarrhea which has been pretty much
untreated sparking off a fresh wave of hunger strikes
in the centre (for reports of what’s happening in
Yarl’s wood see indymedia- for a report of the
emergency demonstration TCAR organized outside the
Government buildings in Newcastle for the Ozdemir
family on Tuesday see
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/357779.html)
We will update you when we know what hatin’s situation
is and if anyone knows anything that can be done to
get her out of detention let us know. We have had a
few offers of surety but we’re unsure whether we will
need it yet. Thanks again for everyone’s support. TCAR

END DETENTION! END DEPORTATION! SOLIDARITY WITH ALL
ASLYUM SEEKERS!

TCAR
mail e-mail: tynesidecarn@yahoo.co.uk


TCAR - Saturday, 19th May 2007 - National Day of Action

14.05.2007 21:02

Tyneside Community Action for Refugees (TCAR) has called for a National Day of Action in solidarity with Asylum Seekers throughout Britain. Events will be taking place in Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Glasgow.

To find out more, visit:

 http://www.frfinortheast.co.uk/

Citizen Sputnik


Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Manchester Topics

Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Manchester Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

Manchester Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

Manchester Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

Manchester Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

Manchester Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

Manchester Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

Manchester Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

Manchester Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

Languages

english

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech