AdvocacyNet News Bulletin 125
*****Dale Farm Travellers Win Key Concession as Eviction Deadline Approaches
December 11, 2007, Dale Farm, UK and Washington, DC: In a development=20 that could have major implications for the growing international=20 campaign against evictions, the Basildon Council in southeast England=20 appears to be softening its position on the Travellers at the Dale Farm=20 site.
After three years of intimidation and threats against the Travellers,=20 the Council has let it be known that their rights will be considered=20 before any attempt is made to evict them. The shift is reflected in=20 documents submitted to Keith Lomax, the Travellers' lawyer, in advance=20 of a key meeting of the Council=E2=80=99s planning committee this Thursda= y.=20 (Visit
The development has brought a glimmer of hope to Traveller advocates,=20 who have appealed to the British Red Cross for humanitarian support in=20 the event of a mass eviction, and are even talking to NGOs about setting =
up a Tent City for displaced families.
Thursday's meeting will review a decision by the Council to spend =C2=A33= =20 million ($6 million) to evict 86 Traveller families (more than 500=20 people) because they live on Green Belt land, which is protected from=20 development. The meeting will also give a sense of how the Council will=20 argue its case before the British High Court, which will review the Dale =
Farm controversy starting February 11, 2008.
The Dale Farm confrontation has come to symbolize Britain's inability to =
integrate Travellers and Gypsies into society, and also served as a=20 litmus test of the larger crisis of housing that afflicts Roma and=20 Gypsies throughout Europe.
Mr Lomax welcomed the prospect of a less confrontational position by the =
Basildon Council. "They appear to be waking up to some of their duties=20 that they have previously ignored," he said. "Miracles could happen."
The Travellers suspect that the Council may be trying to soften its=20 image in advance of the crucial High Court review early next year. But=20 Mr Lomax also pointed out that the Council is required by law to assess=20 how an eviction would affect race relations. A local independent body =E2= =80=93=20 the Essex Race Equality Council =E2=80=93 is currently collecting data on= the=20 Travellers, which leaves little doubt that the impact of eviction would=20 be shattering.
Second, new government regulations require that an effort be made to=20 find alternate land for Travellers who are marked for eviction. The=20 Travellers have requested land at a nearby site, Pitsea. This has been=20 rejected by the Basildon Council, but the original idea came from the=20 former Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, and Pitsea is not on Green=20 Belt land. This could make it harder for the Council to maintain a=20 hard-line position.
Mr Lomax said that an approach based on rights is particularly relevant=20 because the Dale Farm Travellers include elderly, disabled and sick.=20 Article 8 of Britain's Human Rights Act calls for the rights of the=20 family to be respected.
Adding to the pressure on the Basildon Council, the Travellers have=20 proved effective advocates at home and abroad. The Children's Legal=20 Centre at Essex University is suing the Basildon Council for releasing=20 private data on the Travellers. Last month sympathizers for the=20 Travellers marched on the British Embassy in Ireland and protested=20 outside the residence of Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown. This summer, The Advocacy Project recruited Zach Scott, a US national=20 and student at Georgetown University, to volunteer as a Peace Fellow at=20 Dale Farm =E2=80=93 much to the irritation of local residents. After a lo= cal=20 newspaper profiled Mr Scott, one reader commented: "Good riddance tree=20 hugger ....DON'T COME BACK IN A HURRY!!!" But the Basildon Council =E2=80=93 and the British government =E2=80=93 c= an expect more=20 international pressure if hundreds of women and children are violently=20 evicted from Dale Farm and made homeless. In late October, human rights=20 investigators from the UN and Council of Europe issued a statement=20 deploring the lack of respect for housing rights in Europe. Four leading =
organizations followed up by comparing Dale Farm to several other=20 "serial abuses" in Russia, Romania and elsewhere =E2=80=93 a searing indi= ctment=20 of British policy. The latest advocacy tactic by the Travellers is to bring attention to=20 the destruction that always seems to follow evictions by Constant and=20 Company, the firm that has been contracted by the Basildon Council to=20 evacuate Dale Farm. The Travellers are demanding that Constant follow=20 health and safety provisions, and have asked AP to publicize video=20 footage of previous evictions. If no agreement can be found between the Travellers and Basildon=20 Council, the losing side will likely appeal against the High Court=20 decision in February and the case could eventually go to the House of=20 Lords, the upper house of parliament.
- To support the Travellers of Dale Farm, write to the Basildon Council=20 demanding that alternate land be found: snipped-for-privacy@basildon.gov.uk=20
- For a timeline of the Dale Farm controversy, and accompanying=20 documents, visit: formatting link* For blogs by Zach Scott, visit:=20formatting link* For profiles of Zach Scott and the reaction of local residents visit:=20formatting link
- For the statement by the UN and European human rights investigators,=20 visit:=20 formatting link# The Advocacy Project is based in Washington D.C. Phone +1 202 332 3900;=20 fax +1 202 332 4600. Visit the AP website for information about our=20 current projects atformatting link.=20 For questions or comments about the AP and its projects, please email us =
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