Whitehall No Longer?
The top British story is a
massive strengthening of the country's anti-racism laws. As a result of a
report on the 1993 case of Stephen Lawrence, a young black man whose murder was
poorly responded to and inadequately investigated by the police, Home Secretary
Jack Straw declared all-out war on racist government action. Calling the
Lawrence case "a catalyst" and "a watershed," he announced that the police and
government officials will now be personally and criminally liable for any
expressions of the "institutional racism" common in British life. Nevertheless,
the reforms are less aggressive than those sought by the independent commission
that investigated the case. The
Times
reports that those recommendations would
make "racist language or behaviour" criminal and would allow racial attacks to
be defined by the victim not the police (if the victim says they're racist,
they are).
Despite calls by
Lawrence's parents for his resignation, the London Metropolitan Police
Commissioner Sir Paul Condon is staying in office. He conveyed his "sense of
shame" and vowed to make the police into "an anti-racist force." The
Guardian
stresses the drama and context of the changes:
It's the first major anti-racist legislation in 20 years and will cover "any
long-established, white-dominated organisation which is liable to have
procedures, practices and a culture which tend to exclude or to disadvantage
non-white people."
The
London Evening Standard
relays an embarrassing postscript to Straw's announcement:
He had to withdraw a thick chunk of the already published report Thursday
because it contained the names and addresses of witnesses and informants who
assisted investigators. The paper calls the information "the most sensitive
that could be imagined to be involved in any police investigation" and surmises
that those mentioned could already be in danger. The Standard also
reports that hours after the report was published, a
memorial to Lawrence was defaced with paint. The vandals were not caught
because a security camera trained on the memorial was not loaded with
videotape.
European papers keep a
troubled eye on yet more avalanches in the Alps and the rescue attempts they
are delaying. Just as rescuers were digging out victims of Tuesday's avalanche
in Austria, another hit Wednesday, decimating four buildings. The death toll is
still climbing, but all agree that this is the worst avalanche season in
generations. The Swiss paper
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
nervously watches smaller, and so
far nonlethal, avalanches in the Swiss neck of the mountains. Most of the
accounts are morose, but a British writer in the Times opines that the
Alps are exacting revenge on greedy tourists for exploiting their natural
beauty.
In Middle Eastern news, fresh ripples and rumors about
Yasser Arafat's future plans: Toronto's
Globe and Mail
reports that Arafat appears to have dismissed Faisal
Husseini, the Palestinian official responsible for Jerusalem affairs and, until
now, a name high on his list of potential successors. Husseini denies that he's
been ousted, but Arafat has already cut off his funding and handed his
portfolio to another minister. The paper mentions "disputes" between Arafat and
Husseini but gives no specific reason for his dismissal. The Jordan Times
quotes Arafat as saying that his successor will be chosen by the Palestinian
people in an election.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian
paper Al-Ahram reports that Arafat is giving new consideration to
the prospect of an official Palestinian-Jordanian confederation. Given the
recent transfer of power in Jordan, the upcoming Israeli elections, and his
self-imposed May 4 deadline for declaring a Palestinian state, the link with
Jordan could help Arafat consolidate ever-slippery support among his various
constituencies, Israel, and the United States.
