London protest over asylum death

A letter was handed in for the Home Secretary

The Home Office has been targeted by protesters angry at the way asylum seekers are treated by the UK Government.

About 50 demonstrators gathered in London to demand urgent changes to the current system, following the murder of a Kurdish refugee in Glasgow last week.

They waved placards in memory of 22-year-old Firsat Yildiz, also known as Firsat Dag, who was stabbed to death in Glasgow's troubled Sighthill area.

The protesters chanted: "Stop killing, stop racism."

About 50 demonstrators took part

A letter for Home Secretary David Blunkett - from Lee Jasper, secretary of the National Assembly Against Racism - was handed in.

The letter called for a new approach in asylum seeker related dealings and said that the government should consider launching a "positive public information campaign".

It said the campaign should focus on the positive contributions of asylum-seekers to the British economy, culture and society over the ages.

There was also a cal for the reintroduction of welfare benefits to "restore dignity and end the stigma attached to asylum seekers".

Mr Jasper's letter also suggests allowing asylum seekers to work as soon as they arrive in the UK.

'Pernicious environment'

It also said deportations of refugees should be suspended ahead of a consultation process which would reduce community tensions.

Saeed Arman, director of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, said it had only been a matter of time before there was an incident like Mr Yildiz's murder.

He said: "There had been over 70 recorded incidents of racist attacks on asylum-seekers in the Sighthill area prior to the murder.

"Such incidents do not take place in isolation but are the product of a hostile and pernicious environment created by the government and its policies against asylum seekers, fuelled by the right-wing media."

Mr Arman added that it was "certain" there would be more tragedies unless drastic action was taken to address the situation.