Shetland News
EIGHT MPs from three different parties have signed a cross-party parliamentary motion tabled at Westminster by northern isles MP Alistair Carmichael in support of Sakchai Makao.
The 23 year old Shetland of Thai origin is presently at the high security prison at Durham where he is being threatened with deportation to Thailand.
The motion is the latest step in a growing campaign to secure Mr Makao's release.
It reads: "That this House notes with concern the appalling treatment of Sakchai Makao, in his arrest and subsequent detention in Durham maximum security prison; also notes that the deportation order was issued two years after serving eight months for fire raising; further recognises the widespread public support in Shetland for Mr. Makao and the valued position that he holds within the local community; and urges that the Home Officerescind the deportation order and release Mr. Makao."
Mr Makao was sentenced to 15 months in a young offender institution in 2004 after pleading guilty to two charges of fire raising in 2002. After serving eight months, he was re-employed by Shetland Recreation Trust.
Last Tuesday Mr Makao was hauled from his house by immigration officers in the Home Office's crackdown on foreign nationals with a criminal record.
Mr Carmichael said the Home Office had made no effort to investigate the case properly. "They continue to maintain an unsustainable position. Until they do I will do everything I can to highlight the unfairness of this case.
"A number of MPs have contacted me to say that they are keen to support the campaign to secure the release of Sakchai. I am confident that a large number of MPs from across the political spectrum will back this motion - adding further weight to the campaign to get Sakchai back to the community where he belongs. So far Liberal Democrat, Labour and SNP MPs have agreed to co-sponsor this motion.
"The huge turn out at the rally on Tuesday showed the strength of feeling in Shetland. It is difficult to imagine another community that would have responded in the way Shetland has responded to Sakchai's case. Ministers must be made aware of the massive support Sakchai has both in Parliament and from people in Shetland."
The motion has so far been backed by Labour MP Michael Connarty, SNP MP for the Western Isles Angus MacNeil, and Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs Jo Swinson (Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland), Michael Moore, (Foreign Affairs spokesperson), Danny Alexander, Alan Reid, Sir Robert Smith, and John Thurso.
Meanwhile, Highlands and Islands SNP MSP Rob Gibson has lodged a similar motion in the Scottish Parliament. He has also written to First Minister Jack McConnell urging him to intervene.
Mr Gibson wrote that the Home Office's actions were neither needed nor wanted and that it was up to the First Minster to stand up against injustice in Scotland.
He continued: "The Scottish Executive must petition the Home Office for his release. A failure to do so would send out a worrying message from Scotland that the ideal that lies behind the Fresh Talent Initiatives and One Scotland Many Cultures campaign, as well as strong local opinion, can be rode rough shod over by dictates from a distant, embattled and out of touch Home Office in London.
"I see no benefit in sending a young Shetlander back to the country of his birth. He has lived in Shetland longer than anywhere else and rightly regards it as his home.
"Should the First Minster not make representations to the Home Office for his release then that is a gross dereliction of duty which he should be ashamed of."
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