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‘Leadership’ is required to tackle racism - Enar

Last update - Thursday, March 18, 2010, 12:04 By Metro Éireann

An anti-racism body has said that politicians must show real leadership if racism is to be thwarted in Ireland.

Speaking at the launch of this year’s European Week Against Racism in Dublin, Catherine Lynch, national co-ordinator of the European Network Against Racism (Enar) Ireland, said: “We need the Irish Government to be proactive in putting in place effective and proportionate penalties for racist crime and incidents, including the circulation of racist material.
“Failure to do so will result in giving those persons and groups in society dead set on promoting hatred and racism, free reign.
“This type of societal cancer must be outlawed, and political leadership is vital.”
The launch coincided with reports of a racist message circulated within An Post’s employee e-mail system. Lynch said the e-mail was “a clear incitement to hatred towards the immigrant community”.
She added: “This situation highlights clearly the gaps in our system to counter and address this sort of offensive action.
“Incitement to hatred legislation has been universally deemed too weak to be of real use, and we are still waiting for the Irish government to define racism as a crime in Irish law.”
Lynch said that the situation provided the Government with an opportunity to “take action”.
Also speaking at the launch, Minister for Integration John Curran TD reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to tackling racism, but warned that “we must be very careful not to scapegoat migrants”.
“Oversimplified discourses and unfounded accusations about immigrants merely serve to create separation and division in our society, and to deny the enrichment which immigration has brought to our daily lives,” he said.
Meanwhile, An Post has said that those respnsible for circulating the racist e-mail are being “dealt with under the company’s internal disciplinary procedures”.
A statement released by the organisation added that the message did not originate within An Post.


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