Indian man set ablaze in anti-immigrant assault in Italy
Friday, February 6, 2009
By: Radhika Miller
In brief
Public outrage has broken out in Italy after an Indian immigrant was beaten, doused in gasoline and set on fire Feb. 1 in Nettuno, Italy.
In the past year, Roma encampments have been torched, an immigrant from Burkina Faso was beaten to death, a Chinese immigrant was beaten while waiting for a bus, and a student from Ghana was beaten by police.
The government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been actively breeding racism. Shortly after he took office last year, police detained 400 immigrants—118 of them are now awaiting deportation. Berlusconi’s ruling coalition contains extreme-right elements who are openly and proudly anti-immigrant. His administration has implemented a "zero tolerance" anti-immigrant policy that has helped foster racism and hatred.
Demonstrations against the latest attack had to endure shouts of "Burn them all!" Opposition leader Walter Veltroni pointed his finger at the "xenophobic propaganda and a climate of hatred and fear that has been created [by the ruling government]."
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