5 Oct 07 – Activists and Darfuri survivors of ethnic cleansing rallied outside Parliament on 4th October to demand the Home Office put an immediate stop to the removal of Darfuri Africans to Khartoum.

The demonstration, organised by Aegis Students in conjunction with the Darfur Union, coincided with a hearing by the House of Lords of an appeal by the Home Office against a ruling made in the Court of Appeal on 4 April this year that it would be ‘unduly harsh’ to remove Darfuri asylum seekers to Khartoum.

The protest also followed publication on Oct 3rd of a new report by the Aegis Trust, titled “Lives we throw away”, containing shocking evidence of the torture of Darfuris removed to Khartoum by the Home Office between May 2003 and February 2007; evidence that was not heard by the Lords.  In light of this report, the Home Office indicated in a letter to the Aegis Trust that it is now considering a change of policy on removals to Khartoum. However, it has yet to announce a moratorium on returns.

Speakers Criticise ‘Dumb’ Policy

At the rally, Hatem Mohammed Hussein, one of five Darfuris whose testimony features in the new Aegis Report (see here), movingly recounted his experience of torture following removal to Khartoum and speakers from a range of organisations voiced passionate condemnation of the Home Office policy. They included John Bercow MP (Con), Chair of the All-Party Group for Genocide Prevention; Simon Hughes MP, President of the Liberal Democrats; Donna Covey, CEO of the Refugee Council; and Holocaust Survivor Dr Martin Stern.

Dr Stern addressed the rally; “What justification can there be for choosing to believe government representatives who are not representative, who contradict everything we learnt from victims, NGOs, satellite photographs, African Union observers?  All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to luxuriate in ignorance and in wishful thinking.  The Home Office’s asylum policy is so dumb that it makes one gasp”.

John Bercow delivered a speech decrying the callousness of government policy.  “I do not in all sincerity understand for one moment how any decent well-intentioned public servant in the Home Office could read the evidence and the literally tear-provoking testimonials from terrorised and vulnerable people and not conclude that in the circumstances, now, today in 2007, it is totally unacceptable to return people to Khartoum and to place them at the mercy of the genocidaires.”

Khatir Mohammed, General Secretary of the Darfur Union, commented on the signal that British immigration policy sends to Khartoum and added: “we should learn from the history of what happened in Rwanda, what happened in Germany, because the same thing is happening to the people in Darfur.  I hope we will keep demonstrating until we sort out this problem.”

Simon Hughes MP, President of the Liberal Democrats delivered a message on shared humanity and stated:  “I assure you personally and collectively that I and all my colleagues will keep on making the case to the Home Secretary, to the ministers in the Home Office, and to the Prime Minister, that people who have come from Darfur as survivors should not be sent home until there is peace.”

Donna Covey, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, questioned the Government’s use of public money. “Why is one of the richest, most powerful countries on earth, the UK, going to use taxpayers’ money in order to deport asylum seekers from Darfur?  I think Gordon Brown should be ashamed that Home Office lawyers are scuttling round the courts trying to overturn this decision

[by the Court of Appeal].”

Gretchen Steidle Wallace, President of Global Grassroots, stated: “While the atrocities in Darfur continue, those who have risked their lives and travelled so far seeking refuge in a place where human rights are protected, now face the threat of being returned to the fire.  I say that any party that knowingly returns a victim to a place where it is likely if not definite that they will experience persecution, oppression and torture, that party is complicit in that violence.”

Katherine Blaker, Chief Executive of Student Action for Refugees, Mark Gettleson, Chair of Liberal Democrat Youth and Students and Jonathan Bower, National Coordinator of Aegis Students added messages of solidarity with Darfuri asylum seekers and support for the campaign on behalf of students and young people across the UK.