Manchester Labour Party calls 'Mendis must stay' rally

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 5-7 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 4 of the scan

the was recommenthe resolution prioritisin the AAM The adopted port in their black NC member Thea country racism.

apartheid deportations minister, ever before.

In Sri Lanka, the covernment forces systematically suppressing whole population, the Tamils. Viraj Mendis, quite rightly, supports the Tamils and this has pro pelled the Tories to take the position they have.

However, the most im portant factor is that Vira s one of 50 black people deported every week. He is being deported because he is black It is racism that is the key issue. white last hear Americans being deported?

The Viraj Mendis Defence Campaign has made the issues of deportation very clear. Thes have been expressed through all the national newspapers. The Guar dian 'has carried at least nive articies. It Is now alla tional campaign against ON 20 DECEMBER Viraj Mendis went into sanctuary in a Manchester church to avoid deportation to Sri Lanka. Despite this, David Waddington, the is pressing ahead. Viraj himself is being well-looked after by the church and his supporters, and now needs solidarity more than the immigration laws which are racist. campaign has gained examous suppor the and Andy Smith community in Manchester particular, the black community. The labour movement has also responded well.

The last meeting of District raised money for the campaign more importantly a support of Viral ale Labour-controlled city council has consistently supported all anti-deportation campaigns including Viraj's. This decision by the district party has put 'meat' on that support at a crucial time.

Furthermore, speaking at that District meeting Graham Stringer, leader of the council, called for the resubmission of a previol resolution to the NEC o the Labour Party, calling for the national executive publicly support the Mendis campaign This will push forward even more the national aspect of this deportation campaign.

Some 40 Labour MPs, local MP Bob Litherland Black Section and many wards. constituencies and trade unions the Bishop m paign. Bishop supports and, more recently, so do Amnesty International From the point of view of Manchester, the posi tion is very very clear: Virai must stay, deportation no way!

• The Viraj Mendis Defence Campaign can be contacted Hulme Centre, Jackson Crescent, Manchester M15 SAI by phoning 061-234 3168

page 5 of the scan

Socialist Action 23 Jan 1987

----- pull-quotes -----

When o did