B4-0455 and 0462/95

Resolution on acts of racist violence in France and Italy

The European Parliament,

A.horrified by the attack on two gypsy children in Pisa on 14 March 1995,

B.deeply shocked by the death of Ibrahim Ali, a 17-year-old French schoolboy of Comoro origin, who died during the night of 21/22 February 1995 in Marseilles after being shot in the back by National Front billposters, and by the attack on Mrs Joussef Hohalin Nurta, a 22-year-old, seven-months pregnant Somalian woman who was viciously kicked by four teenagers at Ostia,

C.disgusted by the attempts to explain and justify the killing of Ibrahim Ali by National Front leaders who have dared to invoke self-defence despite the fact that their billposters were armed and are reported to have fired shots from a car on a group of young people carrying musical instruments;

D.whereas the public prosecutor has found no evidence to support the self-defence argument;

E.extremely concerned about acts of racist violence on members of communities of foreign origin in numerous European countries,

F.outraged by the racist and xenophobic utterances of certain political leaders and by the spread of propaganda encouraging xenophobia for electoral purposes,

G.anxious about the machinations of certain extreme right-wing groups and the increasingly frequent acts of violence and attacks perpetrated by their members;

H.whereas racist acts are an offence against human rights and extremist ideas kill just as much as weapons;

1.Expresses its sympathy to the family of Ibrahim Ali, to all families of victims of racist acts and to Mrs Joussef Hohalin Nurta;

2.Strongly condemns these acts of racist violence and racist utterances or propaganda which may lead to crime;

3.Calls for those responsible for the death of Ibrahim Ali and the attack on Mrs Joussef Hohalin Nurta to be punished;

4.Calls also for the National Front leaders who attempted to explain and justify the murder of Ibrahim Ali to be prosecuted;

5.Urges the governments of the Member States to ensure the protection of foreign communities against racist and fascist violence and to contribute to an improvement in their living, housing and working conditions;

6.Calls on the governments of the Member States and the authorities of the European Union to tighten up measures to combat racism and xenophobia by implementing the proposals it has put forward on numerous occasions, and in particular by adopting and tightening up legislation against racism and xenophobia in all the Member States;

7.Calls on all political leaders to refrain from any utterances encouraging xenophobia, even indirectly;

8.Calls on the Member States to use all the legal means available to combat racist attacks, and to consider how the organizations and parties concerned can be made accountable for creating the moral climate in which killings like that in Marseilles are possible;

9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.