Support Cécile Kyenge MEP against the Northern League

The Italian politician Cécile Kyenge MEP has been subject to some high levels of racial abuse, some of it perpetrated by the Northern League (Lega Nord). For example, Roberto Calderoli, a senate vice-president of the Northern League, likened her to an orangutan, and further suggested that she doesn’t belong in Italian politics and should do politics in ‘her own country’.

Another League member called for her to be raped. The Northern League's leader Matteo Salvini, who is now Deputy Prime Minister of Italy recently compared African migrants to ‘slaves’.

Salvini’s party made huge political success on a rabid anti-immigrant platform, and has ordered a process to expel undocumented Roma people from Italy. In the regards those Roma who clearly have legal documentation he said, “Unfortunately we will have to keep the Italian Roma because we can’t expel them".

Much of this kind of racial rhetoric has led Kyenge to state that the Northern League is racist. But now in a strong position of political power, the Deputy Prime Minister Mr Salvini has issued a legal writ suing Cécile Kyenge for defamation of his party.

This act of defiance by Salvini should deeply worry the civilised world. He is basically saying we demand the right to be and act as racially negative as we desire, and we’ll sue you if you dare call us racist. One can only speculate what the likes of Salvini would do to Kyenge and Roma people if he/they had absolute power.

This type of unprecedented attack is not just an attack on Kyenga but is an attack on us all Black and White.

Parallel to this petition will be a letter of solidarity led by non-white politicians, but signed by politicians around the world to state how we abhor the Northern League's racist comments and actions against Kyenge.

Please sign today and show your support.
https://www.change.org/p/...kyenge-mep-who-is-being-sued-by-the-northern-league

Simon Woolley