Author:
Publication: BBC News
Date: December 9, 2001
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1699000/1699847.stm
UK Home Secretary David Blunkett
has urged people from ethnic minorities to develop what he calls a "sense
of belonging" in Britain.
In a newspaper interview, he says
racism is often deep-seated and must be confronted, but immigrants who
settle here must do their bit to ensure that future generations grow up
"feeling British".
Speaking ahead of the publication
of reports into the summer's race riots, Mr Blunkett warned the government
would not tolerate practices unacceptable in the UK, such as enforced marriages.
But Liberal Democrat leader Charles
Kennedy said there was a danger the home secretary's remarks could be misinterpreted
given the delicate situation of race relations in the country.
In an interview with the Independent
on Sunday, the home secretary said proposed legislation in the New Year
would require anyone seeking naturalisation to have a "modest grasp of
English".
The three separate reports into
the disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham in the summer are due
out on Tuesday. All three towns have south Asian communities.
Oldham's deputy mayor, Rhiad Ahmed,
said: "I can visualise BNP putting up election literature at the next local
elections, quoting these words from the home secretary."
Deeply held
Mr Blunkett, who is to unveil a
White Paper on immigration and nationality in the New Year, told the paper
that racial prejudice is deep seated in certain areas of the country and
would have to be faced.
But he suggested reviving those
areas would depend on a "two way street".
He said those who have come to Britain
from other parts of the world should encourage their children and grandchildren
to develop a sense of identity and belonging to the UK.
He denied he was echoing Norman
Tebbit's "cricket test" equating patriotism with support for the England
team.
"There is a big debate to be had...
about the test we apply to future generations to make sure that they are
part of this solution."
He told the paper: "If we are going
to have social cohesion we have got to develop a sense of identity and
a sense of belonging."
But Mr Kennedy urged the home secretary
to tread carefully.
He said: "The problem with the home
secretary's remarks is that they can be taken, give the language he used,
in a way that is not at all helpful."
Manwar Jan Khan, a community leader
in Bradford, said Mr Blunkett's comments were a "red herring" and more
focus was needed on racism.
He said: "I'd like to know what
David Blunkett means by integration. Like learning English - many of us
do speak English, many are quite westernised.
"But let's have the real debate,
let's talk about racism, let's talk about why white employees won't give
Asian kids in Bradford any jobs. Let's talk about the impact of Islamophobia."
Unacceptable behaviour
Mr Blunkett said Britain's multi-ethnic
community needed "sensitivity, not political correctness".
And he said the nation needed to
"build diversity, not separation".
He argued that practices such as
enforced marriages for Asian girls were unacceptable.
"We need to say we will not tolerate
what we would not accept ourselves under the guise of accepting a different
cultural difference.
"We have norms of acceptability
and those who come into our home - for that is what it is - should accept
those norms just as we would have to do if we went elsewhere."
And he called on the English to
"celebrate their roots and identity" more, to feel more confident about
welcoming those from other cultures.
Self-segregation blamed
The Home Office reports into the
race riots in the three northern cities are expected to partly blame voluntary
self-segregation for some of the racial tension, said the paper.
Mr Ahmed said if Asian Britons found
themselves in ghettos, it was due to poverty and deprivation, not self-segregation.
He told Sky News: "We all want to
get rid of segregation, but it is how you do it. People find themselves
in extreme poverty and deprivation.
"They have no mechanism to fight
out of that poverty and they end up in ghettos.
"Instead of offering them hope and
aspiration, all we are offering them is English tests. That's not the best
way to fight the National Front and the British National Party at the next
local elections."
