Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 18:32:09 +0100
From: jborovi <jb-AT-hol.fr> (by way of ludo <ludo-AT-ecn.org>)
Subject: SANS-PAPIERS of France/ international solidarity


_______________________________________________________
CONFLITS_L
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National Coordination of 'Sans-papiers'
22, rue Pajol, 75018 Paris, France
 fax :++ (331) 46 07 16 19
http://bok.net/pajol
E-mail : pajol-AT-bok.net


MARCH 18th 1996 - MARCH 18th 1997

ONE YEAR OF STRUGGLE FOR THE SANS-PAPIERS

H o m m a g e   t o   S a i n t   B e r n a rd

On March 18th, 1996, one year ago today, 300 foreign families took
refuge in the Church of St. Ambroise in Paris, determined to stand
together and bring their cause into the open. The struggle that we
started then and continue to this day poses France some fundamental
questions that have still not met with any substantial answer.
Brutality, recourse to ruse, subterfuge and stalling have revealed their
limitations in the violent eviction from the Church of St. Bernard and
have brought no fundamental solution to an underlying crisis that
highlights the incoherence of French State policy with regard to
immigrant populations.
For one year now, the "sans-papiers" ("paperless"  undocumented migrants
in France) have run the gamut of  the State's panoply of repressive
measures and have had to adopt original forms of struggle to enforce
respect, thereby demonstrating responsibility, courage, determination
and lucidity in their hard-won autonomy. The conditions of the struggle
are hard, because, on the other side, the French government is not
respecting any of the moral rules that have been the foundation of
France's established reputation in the world. Everything has been used
against us, from deportation campaigns unworthy of a democracy, using
special chartered flights with people rounded up, drugged, stuck to
their seats with adhesive tape and handcuffed, to detention under
inhuman conditions next to dogs being trained. These procedures are
unworthy of a democracy and reinforce the most xenophobic elements of
public opinion, inciting these elements to demand even tougher measures
against foreigners. This treatment is in complete breach of individual
human rights and international conventions. The victims are people who
find themselves in illegal or irregular legal situations due to the
actions of the French State itself, which has voted laws with the
specific aim of stealing the fire (and votes) of the the extreme right.
As a result, a regression of the rights of all people and of democracy
is under way in France, due to the inability of those in positions of
political power to answer the real concerns of the French people.
The struggle of those who first sought refuge in the Church of St.
Ambroise has opened the door to a vast movement in the struggle for
dignity, sharing the same roots as the industrial action and protest
movements of November-December 1995 and as the other struggles against
restrictions of rights and against the trend towards systematic
precariousness of employment and social conditions. Beyond the immediate
objective of legitimate papers and permits for the "sans-papiers", this
movement raises the question of the free movement of people and
highlights the problem of North-South relations in a context where
ultra-liberalism is sweeping all before it, leaving only profit as the
foundation of all strategy. The St Ambroise movement also shows us that
the people from the countries of the South demand to be taken fully into
account in a new social order that respects the fundamental values
without which our societies would sink into barbarism.
One year already, but the struggle goes on to obtain:

- 	REGULAR PAPERS FOR ALL THE "SANS-PAPIERS"
-	THE IMMEDIATE ABROGATION OF THE DEBR=C9 LAW ON IMMIGRATION
-	A HALT TO DEPORTATIONS AND THE RETURN OF ALL DEPORTEES
-	FREEDOM FOR ALL FOREIGNERS DETAINED FOR NOT HAVING THE RIGHT PAPERS
 *****************************************************************************

 CALL  FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

We urge you to send a letter of protest to the French
government and to
the president. A draft letter outlining our concerns follows.


Dear ....

We are very concerned about the way your government is
treating the 'Sans
Papiers' in France. Despite the actions they have taken which
include
life-threatening hunger strikes, numerous protests and
demonstrations of
solidarity, your government continues to refuse them the basic
right to
reside and work in France.

We admire their courage and determination. Despite their
imprisonment, shameful deportations, general repression and
harrassment, they continue to struggle for dignity and freedom. They
are fighting for our freedom too.

We therefore demand:

 * Resident permits for all of the 'Sans Papiers'
 * The immediate release of those currently imprisoned
  * To immediately suspend all deportations
 * The return of those who have been deported
 * A repeal of anti-immigrant legislation

Yours faithfully,

..........
Send your protest urgently to:-
M. le Premier Ministre
58, rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris
fax:++ (331) 45 44 15 72

M. le President de la Republique
55, rue du fbg. St. Honore, 75008 Paris
fax: ++ (331) 47 42 24 65

Please send a copy to :
Coordination Nationale des 'Sans-Papiers'
22, rue Pajol, 75018 Paris, France
 fax ++ (331) 46 07 16 19
E-mail : pajol-AT-bok.net

To know more about the 'Sans-papiers' fight visit their  WEB
site,
in  French, German, English, Italian, Wolof  and Saninke.....
http://bok.net/pajol/


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EUROPEAN COUNTER NETWORK - PARIS / FRANCE
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Ecn c/o Reflex - 21 ter, rue Voltaire, 75011 Paris (France)
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eMail : counter-AT-francenet.fr
Samizdat : http://www.anet.fr/~aris/
A-Infos : http://www.tao.ca/ainfos.html
TAO: http://www.tao.ca/
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