The Human Rights Commissioner Of The Council Of Europe (Ce) On Tuesday Slammed The Italian Government For Recent Measures Cracking Down On Illegal Immigrants And Unauthorised Gypsy Camps.
Thomas Hammarberg Said In A 20-Page Report That The Measures Ignore ''Human Rights And Humanitarian Principles'' And ''May Spur Further Xenophobia'' In The Country.
The Report Was Compiled After He Visited Italy At The End Of June To Discuss The Government Crackdown.
Hammarberg Repeated Past Criticism Of The Government's Ongoing Census Of Gypsy Camps And Of Measures In The Security Package That Will See Harsher Prison Sentences For Foreigners Who Commit Crime.
He Also Said He Was ''Extremely Worried'' By The State Of Emergency Italy Declared Last Week Over The Number Of Illegal Immigrants Arriving In The Country.
The Commissioner Hit Out At What He Described As The Government's ''Repeated Recourse To Emergency Legislative Measures'' To Cope With Problems Linked To Immigration.
He Said This Indicated ''An Inability To Deal With A Phenomenon That Is Not New'' And That Should Be Handled Via Ordinary Laws.
Hammarberg Also Criticised The Government's Failure To Guarantee The Safety Of Its Immigrant Communities, Citing Acts Of Violence Such As The Torching Of Gypsy Camps In Naples In May, Arguing That ''Certain National And Local Political Figures'' Were Guilty Of Fuelling The Climate Of Xenophobia.
He Concluded His Report By Warning The Government To ''Apply All Necessary Measures'' To Prevent Infringements Of The European Convention On Human Rights.
Opposition Politicians Urged The Government To Take Note Of The Ce Report On Tuesday.
''It's A Clear Message That The Government Is Isolating Italy From Europe,'' Said The Democratic Party's Shadow Minister For European Union Affairs, Maria Paola Merloni.
''Instead Of Working Like Other Countries To Cope With The Immigration Phenomenon In A Structured Manner, It Continues To Bandy About Propaganda Measures And To Create A Climate Of Emergency And Social Alarm Which Precludes The Possibility Of Integration,'' She Said.
Government Says Report 'Totally Unfounded'.
The Italian Interior Ministry Described The Report As ''Totally Unfounded'' On Tuesday, Adding That It Had Already Sent Hammarberg Its Official Reply.
The Ministry Denied That Government Measures Targeted Any Ethnic Group And Said They Were Aimed At ''Curbing Criminal Behaviours Of Individuals''.
It Also Said The Census Of The Gypsy Community Was Aimed At Helping Gypsy Children Into The National School System.
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni Said He ''Denied With Indignation'' Hammarberg's Suggestions That The Italian Police Had Failed To Protect Gypsy Camps And Had Themselves Conducted ''Violent Raids'' On Settlements.
''It's A Barefaced Lie - The Police Never Did Anything Of The Sort,'' He Said.
Maroni Also Defended The Government's Declaration Of A State Of Emergency For Illegal Immigration, Claiming That Migrant Landings Have Doubled In The First Six Months Of 2008 Compared To The Same Period Last Year.
He Said That If The Trend Continues, Over 30,000 People May Have Entered The Country Illegally By The End Of The Year.
Northern League Mep Mario Borghezio Also Backed The Government's Stance Against The Ce Commissioner.
''Once Again The European Bureaucrats Judge From Their Comfortable Armchairs In Northern Europe The Emergency Measures That Our Country Has Had The Courage To Put Into Effect,'' Borghezio Said.
''Why Doesn't Hammarberg Come Here, If He Thinks He Has The Competence And The Ability, And Sort Out These Problems, But Not With The Same Feel-Good Recipes Of The Imbeciles In Power Who Have Turned Our Country Into A Criminal Paradise,'' He Added.
The Government Is Set To Answer Inquiries About The Measures From The European Commission By The End Of This Month And Has Pledged To Abide By Any Ec Ruling.
Gypsies Attacked In Tuscany.
Hammarberg's Report Arrived A Day After Two Masked Men On A Quad Bike Launched A Molotov Cocktail At A Gypsy Caravan Travelling Through Tuscany.
The Caravan Of 20 Vehicles Had Stopped For A Break Near The Town Of Cerreto Guidi When The Men Drove Up And Threw The Bomb, Which Failed To Explode But Damaged A Car.
Around 60 Gypsies With Italian Citizenship Were Travelling In The Caravan.
Tuscany's Vice President, Federico Gelli, Said The Attack Was A ''Serious Sign'' Of The Current Climate Of Xenophobia In Italy, ''Especially In A Region Like Tuscany, Which Has Always Prided Itself On Its Civility And Readiness For Integration''.
