ETHNIC CATALOGUING: THE POLITICS OF FEAR

On the 13th of May a woman in a suburb of Naples in Italy alleged that a young Roma girl had broken into her apartment and tried to kidnap her baby. Within hours of the accusation a local mob of several hundred Italians attacked the Roma camp throwing Molatov cocktails, scattering the inhabitants and burning the place to the ground.

Far-right governments have a grand tradition of blaming 'the other' particularly in times of economic hardship and stagnation as we find in Italy today. This tactic is being used to full effect in Italy by the right-wing government led by Berlusconi and including the far-right, anti-immigration Northern League.

Since they arrived in power the government and the (Berlusconi owned) media have been whipping up a storm of controversy and rumour around the Roma gypsies. Blaming them for a rising crime rate and suggesting that the ordinary Italian is 'living in fear'. As a result the minister of the Interior Roberto Maroni has declared a 'security emergency'. The first part of tackling this emergency came in early May when the police began a series of mass expulsions of Roma from their camps at the edges of the major Italian cities.

However, worse may be yet to come as a law is being proposed that will allow the Italian government to keep a fingerprint database of all of the Roma- including children. This is nothing short of an ethnic catalogue. Not since the 1930s have such blatantly racist policies been seen in Europe.

Mr Maroni says that the register will help protect Roma children who are not always sent to school, but as UNICEF Italy state that if that was really case that they would treat ALL Italian children in the same way not just the Roma.

High profile figures from the Italian Jewish community such as Riccardo Di Segni, chief Rabbi of Rome and Amos Luzzatto from Italy's Union of Jewish Communities have registered their protest against the policies. As Di Segni puts it "We have to be on the alert, not only because of what is happening but because of what could happen. First one group is singled out, then another. This must be stopped."

These Italian policies are in clear violation of the EU anti-discrimination rules and respect for fundamental rights. As a mark of my protest against the activities of the Italian government I have added my signature and fingerprint to a letter of protest to Mr Berlusconi here at the Parliament. I will also be voting to ask the European Commission to take action against the Italian government if it decides to proceed with these plans.

And if anyone thinks that such a horror could not happen in Britain may I please refer you to the manifesto of the BNP.

TODAY'S TORIES - CUDDLY AT HOME, NASTY ABROAD

Last plenary session we voted on a report on sexual health of women and girls in developing countries, which included a section on providing money for maternal health in developing nations, an established part of the European Parliament's overseas aid budget. An amendment to the report to cut funding for this important service duly appeared, encouraged no doubt by Development Committee member and religious zealot, Anna Zaborska.

Slovakian Zaborska, who views Aids as god's punishment for homosexuality, is a natural suspect for such anti-women sentiments. However, eleven Tories voted for the amendment and in favour of cutting references to the call by the UN's development goals for universal access to reproductive health care. Very nasty indeed. I wonder if David Cameron knows.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RENEWS CALLS FOR BEIJING BOYCOTT

Last week the European Parliament debated the situation in Tibet. There were calls for a boycott of the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing this summer. Many, including the President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering, expressed solidarity with the Dali Lama.

I do not believe we can continue to let China get away with human rights abuses. China should respect the cultural and religious identity of the Tibetan people. The Olympics must be fairly reported.A boycott of the opening of the Beijing Olympics would show we are serious. There are times when a strong stand is needed.

LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR WOMEN IN ZIMBABWE IS 34

Women in Zimbabwe can hope to live for just 34 years. It’s slightly higher for men – 37. Life expectancy has actually fallen by two months during the past year. Aids, the crumbling economy and hyper inflation are all taking their toll.In the UK female life expectancy is 81 and 76 for men. At the turn of the 20th century in 1901, it was 49 for women and 45 for men.

Women in the relatively prosperous west have always lived longer on average than men.There are also more first time mothers in the UK in the 30 – 34 age range than aged 25 – 20. In England and Wales there were 669,601 live births during 2006. 110,509 were to women between 35 and 39 and 22,512 to those aged 40 -44. The majority of British mothers give birth after the age at which their Zimbabwean sisters die.

Yesterday I wrote about the lack of women in senior positions in the European Commission and Council. Women’s representation is important and I will continue to work to make it better.

Yet if you were a woman in Zimbabwe you would stand a snowball’s chance in hell of getting anywhere. You would be dead.