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| Europe |
| 'We must deal with asylum', says PM |
| 2003-01-26 |
| Prime Minister Tony Blair said he may have to re-examine the UK's commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights if his government's policies to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country failed. Mr Blair said there was "absolutely no doubt at all we have to deal with this issue", describing the present situation as "unacceptable". He said the government would push through new measures to stem the flow of illegal immigrants in the UK if they were needed. But Mr Blair said the key to solving the problem was to "substantially" reduce the number of applicants because under the convention asylum seekers cannot be removed to a country where they might be subjected to torture. If they come to your country and they commit crimes of violence, seems like they should be dumped back where they came from. What's wrong with making them guarantee their own good behavior? Think of it as a "social contract." If you claim asylum, it's because you're unfairly persecuted. If you're being fairly persecuted, what's your beef? And why would you deserve asylum? He said: "The present situation is unacceptable, and we have to deal with it. I'm under no doubt about that at all, which is why in the past few months we have been working very closely, myself and the home secretary, to take a whole series of new measures. We passed the legislation last November, that legislation is coming into effect now. It, for example, takes away the automatic right to benefits for asylum seekers..." Having to work for a living should cut the numbers somewhat. And having them gainfully employed should take some of that time off their hands that the Devil seems to find ways to fill. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 Sounds like the whole place is an asylum. I say, first sedate everyone, then calmly sort the whole thing out.... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-01-27 00:06:07 |