ben moretti on Wed, 12 Dec 2001 07:28:02 +0100 (CET) |
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[Nettime-bold] Loyalty pledge to Britain urged for all cultures |
http://www.guardian.co.uk/racism/Story/0,2763,617395,00.html Loyalty pledge to Britain urged for all cultures Alan Travis, home affairs editor Wednesday December 12, 2001 The Guardian A new agreed concept of citizenship, including a formal statement of allegiance, is needed to help bridge the polarisation between the white and non-white communities that exists in Britain's towns and cities, says the official Home Office inquiry report into this summer's northern city riots. The report of the inquiry into the riots in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford, chaired by Ted Cantle, Nottingham's former chief executive, also proposes that church and other faith schools should offer at least 25% of their places to pupils of other faiths and all schools should avoid more than 75% of their pupils from one culture or ethnic group. The Cantle report makes clear that the root cause of the summer riots lies in a segregation in Britain's towns and cities which is so deep that "many communities operate on the basis of a series of parallel lives". Extremist groups, including the British National Party, exploit the fear and ignorance generated by this gulf to undermine community harmony and foster divisions. It says the failure to communicate between communities is compounded by the lack of an honest debate as people in all communities "tiptoe around" the sensitive issues of race, religion and culture. But the report also stresses that the majority white community must make as much of an effort as minority ethnic groups in improving their understanding of other sections of society. The report criticises weak leadership from political and community figures who suffer from "back home politics", calls for quicker police action to stamp out potentially inflammatory marches and assemblies, and condemns "postcode" discrimination by private employers; it also highlights the need to "bust myths" about the distribution of government grants among white and non-white communities. But Cantle's most startling recommendation is his support for the introduction of a statement of allegiance, similar to that used by Canada for new citizens, which would establish a "clear primary loyalty to Britain". He calls for a debate over what common elements now make up British "nationhood". "This might revolve around key issues such as language and law. For example, a more visible support for anti-discrimination measures, support for women's rights, a universal acceptance of the English language (particularly important in some areas) and respect for both religious differences and secular views." The use of English, which is already a pre-condition of citizenship, should become more rigorously pursued with appropriate support, it adds. "A meaningful concept of 'citizenship' needs establishing - and championing - which recognises the contribution of all cultures to this nation's development throughout its history, but establishes a clear loyalty to this nation. This is, after all, the responsibility of citizenship and a clearer statement of allegiance, perhaps along the lines of the Canadian model should be considered." The Cantle report is critical of the failure of all political parties to ensure full representation of all minority groups. But perhaps its strongest recommendations are in the field of education, where the review team found monocultural and single faith schools where the intake was almost 100% from one ethnic background. It says that all schools should be under a statutory duty to promote respect for the cultures in the school and neighbouring areas, including twinning arrangements to compensate for the lack of contact with other cultures. The report of the group of ministers, chaired by the Home Office minister John Denham, and published at the same time as the Cantle report yesterday, made clear that developing policies with the specific aim of community cohesion is to become an explicit objective of government when it comes to decisions over schools, housing and neighbourhood renewal. The report echoes much of the analysis of the Cantle report, describing different communities having retreated into segregated "comfort zones" partly out of fear of racist attacks and a lack of choice about housing, jobs and schools. The Denham report also stresses the importance of government taking the necessary measures to prevent disorder arising from the activities of far-right organisations. Mr Denham said in some cases that the ability for the police to respond to rumours of activity by extremist organisations was as important in preventing disorder as stamping down on actual racist activity. Main points · Segregation has left many communities operating on the basis of parallel lives · National debate needed on new concept of citizenship, including oath of allegiance · Faith schools and mono-cultural schools should have no more than 75% of pupils from single group · All towns and cities to develop community cohesion strategies including "myth busting role" · Regeneration funding should not assume ethnic minority group needs are greater than others -- ben moretti mailto:bmoretti@chariot.net.au http://www.chariot.net.au/~bmoretti news and events in adelaide: http://www.active.org.au/adelaide __o _`\<,_ (*)/ (*) _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold