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otal benefit recipients furthermore there is absolutely no empirical evidence that immigration reduces job opportunities for uk born workers with the national institute of economic and social research robustly debunking accusations from the anti immigration lobby as late as 2012 2 and bring invaluable skills going beyond the economic figures millions of immigrants have brought crucial experience and expertise here few of those who bemoan immigration have any qualms about using the nhs despite the fact the some 30 of its doctors and 40 of its nurses were born overseas and whilst references to mo farah are becoming somewhat clichéd it is hard to ignore the fact that a somali immigrant is one of team gb s greatest successes 3 we enjoy sharing other people s cultures on march 17 thousands of british people with no personal connection to the emerald isle will join london s irish community to celebrate st patrick s day at a huge open air party in trafalgar square hundreds of thousands more white british will join the west indian community for the notting hill carnival in summer its a far cry from the no blacks no dogs no irish signs that appeared in shop windows when these communities first came to the uk and is a brilliant illustration that once the initial fear of newcomers evaporates people more often than not enjoy sharing their cultures 4 migration is not a one way street the easing of restrictions on bulgarian and romanian citizens access to the uk is not a stand alone measure it is part of a wider eu framework that allows people from any member state to live and work in another millions of uk citizens have taken advantage of this including more than 700 000 living in spain almost 300 000 living in the republic of ireland and more than 200 000 living in france tens of thousands have also set up in states that joined the eu during the last round of accessions before bulgaria and romania 5 our tolerant society is something to be proud of hysterical media and political commentary linking bulgarian and romanian immigration to job losses crime and even social unrest stands to stoke racism and undermine the commendable level of tolerance in contemporary uk society whilst extremist groups such as the english defence league continually dredge up memories of 1980s racial tensions uk society has by and large moved on compared to many other european states race related violence is rare and openly racist parties fare badly in elections that is something to be proud of not something to be jeopardised by ignorant scare mongering about the bulgarians and romanians who will shortly be joining the long success story of uk immigrant communities technorati tags romania bulgaria romanian bulgarian uk united kingdom britain eu european union immigration immigrants communities racism welfare benefits workers work jobs employment unemployment housing crime tabloids tabloid press scaremongering ukip uk independence party edl english defence league mo farah irish polish west indian st patrick s day notting hill posted by liam subject bulgaria immigration romania uk sunday 27 january 2013 taking timbuktu little more than two weeks after french troops began to assist the malian army in a counter offensive against islamist rebels they have entered goa and timbuktu leaving just one major town left under the control of jihadists to many this will come as a great relief the scenes of devastation that troops are witnessing as they move through timbuktu s historic streets bear testament to the wanton destruction that the islamists brought to northern mali thousands of beautiful ancient shrines mosques relics and churches have been smashed and burnt in an iconoclastic spree that reached every corner of the world heritage site the human cost is even higher many of the city s residents have fallen victim to fundamentalist purges and summary justice including amputations beatings floggings and public executions crimes ranging from smoking or playing music to pre marital sex or wearing the wrong kind of clothing have all been cause for brutal treatment though as in any system without due process even many of those who toed the line were rounded up and punished whilst the french have been welcomed as liberators however the malian troops they are clearing the way for may bring little relief to civilians in the north over the past week reports have remerged of significant human rights abuses by government forces including extrajudicial executions and rape raising fears of bloody reprisals against the region s tuareg population the grievances of the tuareg have never been properly addressed by the central government and decades of armed rebellion have left a legacy of bitterness on both sides it was a temporary alliance between secular tuareg rebels and militant islamists that first drove the army out of northern mali last year leaving many troops now spoiling for revenge as they push back with french support there is also a track record abuse within the army s ranks and desertions are frequent boding ill for discipline particularly if as expected the jihadists begin a protracted guerrilla campaign rather than simply meting away furthermore the continued military interference in government since overthrowing the democratically elected president and handing power to a weak transitional administration has given officers a certain degree of impunity this leaves a dilemma for the french government which will be keen to withdraw troops as quickly as possible once the bulk of the fighting is over but will be reluctant to leave a vengeful and ill disciplined government force running amok against the tuareg civilian population already the pentagon has moved to distance itself from the support that america provided to the malian army for françois hollande and the french troops who facilitated the liberation of timbuktu that will not be so easy technorati tags malian mali islamists coup timbuktu shrines human rights flogging stoning ambutations abuses intervention ecowas economic community of west african states tuareg azawad al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim ansar dine movement for oneness and jihad in west africa iyad ag ghaly yahya abu hammam boko haram france planes bombings uk raf c17 hollande cameron usa pentagon training flights army abuses posted by liam subject mali sunday 20 january 2013 algeria after the dust has settled following the barbaric murder of civilian oil workers in algeria by mokhtar belmokhtar s jihadist militia david cameron has called for the world to come together in order to confront the growing threat from violent islamist groups across north africa these sentiments which have been echoed by leaders all over the world are perfectly understandable recent years have seen an ominous resurgence in armed islamist outfits throughout the sahel and surrounding regions including a large number falling under the banner of al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim nonetheless any practical steps flowing from such statements must be part of a coherent response that takes account of all nuances and local circumstances rather than a knee jerk reaction to the brutality that unfolded at the in amenas gas field talk of a robust security response to hunt down terrorists could easily backfire as recent history in iraq and afghanistan has shown only too well that is not to say the uk and other international powers should completely refrain from efforts to defeat fanatics like belmokhtar but this must never be allowed to happen in a manner that alienates the people of north africa or ultimately acts as a recruiting tool for extremists as so many western interventions have before france s decision to put troops on the ground in mali ostensibly one of the reasons for belmokhtar s offensive was seemingly necessary due to the speed ansar dine s advance on the capital and delays in deployment of troops from the economic community of west african states ecowas however a number of questions now hang over the next step not least concerning the broader political instability in mali and the role of secular armed tuareg groups who have alternately supported and fought against the multitude of islamist militias at various points over the past year whilst french deployment has brought welcome immediate relief therefore it could yet turn disastrous if the wrong decisions are made on these issues similarly in algeria the situation is far from a clear cut case of helping the government to defeat violent jihadists algerian politics is still heavily influenced by the 1990s civil war that began with a military coup following the electoral victory of the islamic salvation front fis and subsequently developed into a multi faceted conflict between the army and various islamist militias at the cost of more than 150 000 lives endless questions remain about responsibility for many of the worst atrocities committed during the war with the only certainty being that no side fought without recourse to massacres and torture this raises another issue around cameron s pledge to thicken ties with governments in affected nations in many cases their responses to terrorism are simply unjustifiable one only needs to look to nigeria where the abhorrent and bloody insurgency by jihadist militia boko haram has been met with callous state actions including torture secret detention and extrajudicial killings local solutions to local problems is a worthy aspiration but when those local solutions involve severe human rights abuses it is rarely advisable or productive to throw support behind them perhaps one of the most critical factors at risk of being eclipsed amidst the focus on tackling the african jihadist threat is the dire humanitarian situation still affecting millions of people across the sahel a combination of drought and food prices has resulted in rapidly escalating food insecurity malnutrition and disease over recent years and whilst stabilising regional conflict zones is important to tackling this it should never be forgotten that poverty and desperation themselves create fertile ground for extremism aid and development initiatives to address the crisis should not be side lined in the rush to take military action against extremists in the region the threat to north africa is clear and the involvement of the international community is important but rushed unwelcome or ill conceived support will be no help at all technorati tags algeria hostage oil bp in amenas north africa mokhtar belmokhtar al qaeda al qaeda in the islamic maghreb ansar dine and the movement for oneness and jihad in west africa malian northern mali mali france internvention cameron boko haram nigeria economic community of west african states ecowas tuareg rebels david cameron posted by liam subject africa algeria human rights sunday 13 january 2013 mali intervention then what international intervention against the alliance of islamist groups in control of northern mali has been inevitable for some time yet the acceleration of action by the country s former colonial ruler has taken many by surprise it was a sudden push south towards the capital by ansar dine one of largest rebel militias that spurred france with logistical uk backing to rapidly deploy troops and launch bombing raids this week before the main african led intervention had even begun that decision it would seem was a necessary evil if ansar dine and its associated groups had seized control of more territory they would naturally become harder to displace that would not be in anyone s interest least of all those forced to endure the arbitrary round ups of anyone deemed to have violated the militias warped version of islam and the public executions that often follow of course the primary concern for the french and other european governments is not necessarily those horrendous human rights abuses but rather the spectre of an islamist stronghold in north africa that could threaten their national interests or ultimately their own citizens the french force it appears has seen off any chance of rebel advances south in the immediate future apparently buying time for the main intervention force led by the economic community of west african states ecowas to find its feet still necessary as it may have been the speed and scale of france s involvement could yet generate painful side affects the presence of european forces at the forefront of the intervention will be an easy recruiting factor for the kind of foreign jihadists who have been pouring into the north since last year whilst the heavy use of airpower increases the risk of civilian causalities and despite foreign minister laurent fabius throwaway remark stopping the terrorists that s done the french government would do well to heed the law of un intended consequences after all it was the removal of colonel gaddafi following extensive international intervention that fuelled mali s rebellion in the first place most importantly all of the states committing to this intervention must be prepared to play the long game for as the situation is somalia has shown time and time again such forays are never simple and require political and well as military will to produce any lasting solution for one thing the plight of the tuareg people must be addressed if peace is to be found whilst the current international focus is understandably on ansar dine and their ilk it was secular tuareg rebels angry at the malian government s treatment of their people who allied with the islamists last year thus providing a spring board to their position today such groups retain considerable arms and followers giving them a key stake in what happens next similarly the role of the army in malian politics must be curtailed a military coup last year was intended to remedy shortcomings against the northern insurgency but had precisely the opposite effect by creating widespread instability and allowing the rebels to advance despite a formal handover to an interim civilian president coup leader amadou sanogo continues to interfere in the running of the country casting continuing doubt on stability post intervention and as always the wider regional picture must also be taken into account jihadists from countries including sudan libya algeria senegal and the ivory coast are all reported to have arrived in rebel held towns many via the network of al qaeda in the maghreb aqim members of nigeria s brutal boko haram have also been sighted whilst french bombing raids may remove the immediate threat from rebel strongholds only an on going regional security effort can have any hope of preventing small foreign insurgent groups from de railing mali s future overall international intervention stands to liberate thousands of people suffering under the brutality of islamist control in northern mali and to bring some degree of stability to a nation in unprecedented turmoil but it is only the start technorati tags mali malian islamists coup timbuktu shrines human ri...