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Italy fingerprint plan criticised

by Sanjay Jha | June 27, 2008 at 01:17 am | 188 views | 4 comments

Profiling of a community in Italy has triggered off big controversy. Italian government plans to fingerprint immigrants living in Camps.

Italy's interior minister has sparked criticism with a proposal that would see police fingerprinting all members of the Roma community living in camps.

Roberto Maroni, of the anti-immigrant Northern League, said the move would guarantee that those with the right to stay could live in decent conditions.

Those without that right, including children, would be sent home, he said.

The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) has criticised the proposal, as have opposition MPs.

Mr Maroni said the fingerprinting of Roma - or Gypsy - people would include "children too, to avoid phenomena like begging".

Since Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was returned to power in elections two months ago, his government has focused on law and order, says the BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome.

The blame for the rising crime has fallen on the Roma gypsy community and, in recent weeks, camps have been raided by police while others have been attacked and burnt by vigilante mobs, our correspondent adds.

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zichi

at 12:47 on June 28th, 2008

good stuff:

Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.

This is an outrageous story, and shinks! No children anywhere should ever be fingerprinted like criminals..

Disappointing from an EU country, hope its quashed immediately.......

Anonymous (not verified)

at 15:25 on July 10th, 2008

yes but illegal immigrants are commiting crimes like rape, burglary and murder , Italy are protecting their own people, illegal immigrants are breaking the law in the first place!!

they are not torturing people just taking fingerprints how is that outrageous ???

they have every right to take precautions to protect their people and that also includes italian children from crimes committed by these illegal immigrants

I have been in Italy and you can see the illegal immigrants actually using children to commit their crimes for them, in addition I saw in rome once a gypsy women deliberatley biting her child to make them cry so people would giver her money!!

I rest my case!

desi.italy

at 05:50 on July 16th, 2008

I just tried to search articles on the major online press worldwide, but I didn't find anything yet about the news item of tonight's amandment which was approved by the Italian government: from 2010 fingerprints for EVERYBODY into the identity card.
And maybe it won't stop here. They'll repress the truth as usually thanks to the Italian mass media which are slaves of this diabolic Government.

They don't mind about the strong criticism which came some days ago from the EU which already prohibited that measure, they found this pretext to take citizens' fingerprints to do what they want, always and in any case, so that everybody will be under control (immigrants and citizens) more than how we've already been until now. These are NOT security measures, this is FASCISM.

I'm an Italian young woman, I'd really like to shout:-"PLEASE WORLD, SAVE US FROM OURSELVES!!! AND BY THOSE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE AT THE POWER INTO THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT!!!"-.
I pray that God help us soon.

This is probably the beginning of a new era of fascism.
I'm too ashamed about my Country, like many others here, maybe we don't feel it like our Country anymore because of these men without scruples (I'd like to move abroad, but young ones, like me, don't have enough money even to pay a flat for rent for a month).
Sorry, I don't have words anymore to tell about my disgust, the unique way to let the world hear our voices is to know English and to write to foreign websites, blogs, newspapers and so on...so that people know the truth!! What can we do now? :-(((((

Thanks for your patience and greetings from this apparent paradise,

Desi