12 noon rally in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall. Followed by Mass Bike Ride from Albert Square to Manchester Airport. Then 2pm rally outside Pennine House Detention Centre – Meet outside Terminal 2.

Abolish Pennine House

2,500 people are currently locked up in 13 British immigration prisons. Phil Woolas, the minister for immigration and borders, is seeking the expansion of the detention estate to 4,000 spaces. 30,000 people pass through one of those prisons every year, including 2,000 children. All are held for indefinite periods without trial or sentence.

Some of these people are imprisoned in Pennine House, the immigration prison located airside at Manchester Airport in Terminal 2. Pennine House can now hold up to 32 detainees, double its previous capacity. As a so-called residential short-term holding facility, it can hold people for up to seven days until they are released, deported or transferred to other ‘long-term’ detention centres.

Pie more government ministers

Meanwhile, Phil Woolas’ office in Oldham is only a few miles away. And while hundreds of innocent people are kept in prison with no knowledge of when they will be released, he continues to make xenophobic and nationalist statements at every opportunity.

Phil Woolas may be trying to undermine the BNP, by demonstrating that New Labour are equally capable of using racist and xenophobic rhetoric. However, in using many of the same arguments as the BNP does, Woolas is actually lending them credibility. The only way to fight the BNP is by completely rejecting the nationalism and xenophobia promoted by the
government.

Once it becomes acceptable to imprison someone arbitrarily and indefinitely, we are all at risk of suffering the same fate. We can already see this with Woolas’ determination to bring in ID cards for everyone and to monitor and retain all our cross-border movements in a secret database in Wythenshawe.

This is why activists from Manchester No Borders attempted to check Phil Woolas’ passport at a public debate last October, and when he refused this landed him a custard pie in the face.

The story so far…

Pennine House closed for expansion in spring last year. From when we could expose Carillion plc as the construction company to expand the prison, No Borders put pressure on this detention profiteer, forcing them to step up security at their Manchester office. Unfortunately, Woolas could re-open the prison last December.

Earlier this month, we took the issue directly to Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese, who is also the Chair of the Committee for the Shareholders of Manchester Airport. When 100 jumpers were dumped in front of him and information leaflets handed out to the audience, he was visibly embarrassed to continue his presentation of Manchester as a cosmopolitan and inclusive city.

And last Friday, in the most high-profile action against Pennine House so far, 20 activists were able to enter the office of Phil Woolas and to ‘detain’ him symbolically for 30 minutes until police officers could ‘free’ him.

On Saturday 21st March, we will reiterate our demand of the immediate closure of Pennine House and all immigration prisons, and that everyone be free to come and go as they please, regardless of the country of their birth.

—————–

Join us for a rally at noon in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall with speakers from No Borders, the Anarchist Federation Manchester, No One Is Illegal, the Manchester Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers, and other
groups.

Mass Bike Ride from Albert Square to Manchester Airport (should take about 90minutes); or join others on the train (funds for train fares will be available for refugees and asylum seekers).

Rally at 2pm outside Pennine House Detention Centre – Meet outside Terminal 2.

More info:

• Pennine House in Corporate Watch: http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3183
• The custard pie attack: http://nobordersmanchester.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-cant-do-this-hes-government.html
• Exposing detention profiteers: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/392863.html
• Jumpers for the council leader: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/manchester/2009/03/423407.html
• Immigration minster detained: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/manchester/2009/03/424174.html
• Keep up to date: http://www.manchesternoborders.org.uk/

Read below for a leaflet from Manchester No Borders. Follow this link for an analysis of the bogus ‘overpopulation’ argument.
Find below the text for the leaflet that was handed out to the stunned audience at Manchester University where Woolas was speaking.

We are pleased to present the very 1st No Borders ?eco-nationalist award? to the recently appointed Minister for Borders and Immigration, Phil Woolas. He thoroughly deserves it.

In the past week alone, Woolas has received the admiration of every right-wing tabloid columnist out there. His most recent remarks that echoed the National Front?s antiquated ?British jobs for British workers? slogan and pandered to the fear that ?Britain is full up?, have rightly been recognised for bringing the debates on the environment and on immigration together.

Sure enough, he was Minister of State for the Environment just before the recent reshuffle. As soon as taking over office as immigration minister he loudly proclaimed a change of policy: ?It?s too easy to get into this country in the past and its going to get harder?.

Pointing to the looming recession and the job market, Woolas asked that employers should hire British job-seekers first, before considering new immigrants. He also suggested that the population in Britain should be capped at 70million.

Responses

The BNP was delighted with Woolas? tough talk, but maintained it?s the only party to deliver the necessary policy changes. The anti-immigration think tanks Migrationwatch and Optimum Population Trust welcomed the remarks, since only a reduction in population numbers could save both the economy and the environment (and where better to start than with the foreigners?). The tabloids had enough material to print headlines such as ?Immigrant jobs shocker? on a daily basis. And the Tories were gobsmacked that once again a Labour minister is more right-wing than them.

A few lonely Labour MPs cried out that Woolas was ?pandering to the right-wing extremists?.

?Overpopulation?

Woolas, of course, hasn?t just pandered to the extreme right, but the those neo-Malthusians who cry ?overpopulation? at every possible opportunity, especially when it comes to fears over climate change. The argument goes that Britain would be unsustainable in terms of ecological well-being, food production, housing and energy needs if it was to allow population figures to rise above a certain limit.

The argument is spurious. It both helps to protect the status quo from criticism and constructs vulnerable social groups as legitimate targets of control. Instead of acknowledging the unprecedented global disasters that come with capitalism, the ?overpopulation? argument asks not for a new form of social organisation (that might see land and resources accessed and shared more evenly, contributing to a more sustainable future) but takes the shameful route of scapegoating immigrants and those who are seeking a better life.