by Cary Gee
A UNITED NATIONS committee has called on Basildon district council to abandon plans to bulldoze Britain’s largest traveller site. About 90 families could lose their homes at Dale Farm in Essex if the threat of eviction, which has been hanging over the community for almost five years, goes ahead. A meeting chaired by Lord Avebury was held in the House of Commons to lobby support for those facing homelessness.
The UN intervened following an Appeal Court ruling in January which gave the green light for eviction. That decision overturned an earlier ruling which ordered the council to provide an alternative site for the travellers. Since then, Basildon council leader Malcolm Buckley, has stood down. Dale Farm residents have expressed concerns about what eviction could mean, particularly for the elderly and for those with young children.
Yves Cabannes, chair of the UN advisory group on forced evictions, visited the settlement and expressed solidarity with residents, telling them: “We have heard you want to stay where you are. We support you in that.” Mr Cabbanes said Britain is a signatory to international legal agreements that strongly oppose forced evictions under circumstances similar to those at Dale Farm, and he praised the travellers at Dale Farm as an example to Roma everywhere who face racial discrimination.
Fears have been raised that the stand-off between the council and travellers could play into the hands of the British National Party at the local elections. The BNP is fielding 75 candidates in Essex.
