Protest at the Vienna Airport against Deportation

Platform for a World Without Racism informs:

Protest at the Vienna Airport against Deportation On the Occasion of the Arrival of Nicole Fontaine and Romano Prodi for the Initiation of the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC)

On thursday, 6th april there will be an informing demonstration, organized by the Platform for a World without Racism on the international airport of vienna, which is a trouble area of border-regime and forced deportation. Within the framework of an europewide resistance against deportation, this event wants to inform how to refuse deportation. The international campaign shows the active and doubtful part of airlines and airline-staff in the act of deportation. We appeal to the airline companies to refuse deportation. The passengers and airline-staff is challenged to get to action against deportation. The death of Marcus Omofuma could have been prevented.

The Platform for a World without Racism takes the initiation of the European Monotoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia by Romano Prodi as an opportunity to show the structural racism in the EU and demands the aboliation of remand pending deportation and deportation! It must be the right of everyone to self-determine the place of living. Not being handicapped in this by the prevailing national state, dictating the scale, for which reasons, and in which conditions people are allowed to live, for not being illegalized and deported. The "EUMC work schedule 1999" teaches, "the european future is based on its cultural, ethnic and religious variety. Rascim, xenophobia and antisemitism are an ill diametrically opposed to this principles, and are a threat, which have to be combated all over europe." The Platform for a World without Racism perceives this threat in the deportation itself and claims the EUMC to aboliate institutionalized racism in the European Community.

As long as people are politically, legally and socially treated differently, a world without racism will not exist!

Death happen on Deportation by Aircraft

On May 1st 1999 Marcus Omofuma died, guarded by three Austrian officials in attempted deportation. He was tied up on hand and foot and tethered to the airplane-seat with adhesive tape. On his mouth and nose, rests of adhesive tape were found. Marcus suffocated. Until now those responsible have never been called to account. The most part of the Austrian citizens is agreeing to deportations - the circumstances and consequences of this deportations are faded out, denied or simply accepted. In middle europe the label "illegal" has transformed to royal charter for violent, racist treatment for authorities . For this, deportations are done undesturbed, and their "frictionless course " is guaranteed. In 1998 Austria deported about 17.000 (!) people. 3000 of them by plane. According to the austrian ministery of the interior, a police escort was necessary in 10 to 15% of this cases. Marcus Omofuma presents no individual case. Because of violent deportations in the last years, people died in many european countries. Their resistance was suffocated!

Here are some documented Deportations to Death:
· In August 1994 the Nigerian Kola Bankole was killed in a
Lufthansa-airplane.Federal Border Guards tied up the heartseek like a parcel, put a gag in his mouth and a medical doctor gave him a tranquillizer-injection. Kola Bankole died during the start of the plane still at the airport Rhein-Main.

· On April 12th 1998 Asan Asanov died on the follows of his deportation from Germany to Macedonia. Even badly ill, he was deported.

· On September 22nd 1998 Semira Adamu was suffocated by police with a pillow, while being deported from Belgium. The police used in this praxis, wanted to supress her cries. The Minister of the Interior from Belgium Loui Tobback had to resign.

· On March 3rd 1999 the Palestinian Khaled Abuzarifeh died an the Kloten-airport in Switzerland. He was acompained by police from the Kanton Bern for deportation to Egypt. The chief of the Bernese police had to confess that, Abuzarifeh was tied up hand and foot for deportation. More than that, his mouth was taped. These measures were taken, because two months ago Abuzarifeh shouted loudely, while being deported for the first time, so the pilot of the plane did not take him on board.

· On May 28th1999 Aamir Ageeb died on board of the Lufthansa-plane LH558 on the way from Germany to Cairo. Three members of the Bundesgrenzschutz (federal border guard) illtreated the sudanese as brutal, that he suffocated. The Border Guard put him a motorcycle helmet on, tied up hand and foot and put his head to his knees most violently, while the plane was starting.

· Not "even" in relation to deportation deads are accepted. The restrictive immigration laws force more and more people to use dangerous ways to get to the fortress Europe. At night from March 10th to 11th four people drowned, while trying to cross the border to Austria.

United, a European antiracist network documented 1.622 deads from 1993 to August 1999, because of European seperation-politics. (www.united.non-profit.nl)

Politicans, who create the legal frameworks and deporting officials, actually never ever are called to account. The Austrian politicians and media put the guilt for Marcus Omofuma' s death on himself. The Viennese chief of police Stiedl mentioned, a hundred times deportations work good and once they may fail. Responsibility is deported as heedless as human beings are. The Platform For a World Without Racism wrote in a leaflet last May," It must not stop at short term public reactions, lasting changes must be set to the social structures and the peoples heads!"

THE ONLY CONSEQUENCE OF THE MURDERING PRAXIS OF DEPORTATIONS CAN ONLY BE THEIR IMMEDIATE STOPPING.

more information in the internet:
www.no-racism.net (For a World Without Racism)
www.united.non-profit.nl (anti-racist-network)
www.deportation-alliance.com ( campain "deportation class- against the business on deportations")
www.xs4all.nl/~ac/klm ( information on deportation done by KLM)

Für eine Welt ohne Rassismus