70 school students, their parents, teachers and asylum seekers attended a public meeting in Palmerstown to launch PLUS (Please Let Us Stay) Palmerstown.

This is an initiative of the students and teachers involved in the successful campaign to bring Kunle home from Nigeria after he was deported by Minister for "Justice", Michael McDowell. Their aim is to prevent the deportation of Kunle, his friend Tunde, who also faces deportation and others in their situation.

There was a very good response to the SY speaker, who emphasised that it was mass action by young people, rather than the media or appeals to McDowell that won the campaign to bring Kunle home. We emphasised that this campaign should learn this lesson and young people should lead the campaign, with support from parents and teachers, and also raised the need for PLUS Palmerstown to link up with other young people around the country affected by the same issue.

Unfortunately, at the first meeting of the committee elected at the public meeting, a few parents dominated, with the result being that a conservative approach, based on lobbying politicians and the clergy, was generally outlined.

While having good intentions, some of these parents fear that by protesting, McDowell would be antagonised and would then deport Kunle and Tunde. In reality, the opposite is the case. Only by stepping up the campaign and linking up with others in the same situation, will we be able to push McDowell back. At the next committee meeting, it is vital that the school students speak up and take control of their campaign!

Justice Minister Michael McDowell is planning to introduce Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) as part of the government's new Criminal Justice Bill.

They are sold as a tough solution to the problems of crime and anti-social behaviour in working-class areas. In reality ASBOs are an attack on democratic rights and the rights of young people.

ASBOs are court orders issued to people accused of anti-social behaviour, banning them from doing certain things or entering specific areas. There is no requirement of proof as in a normal criminal trial and people can be convicted on hearsay evidence. The activities recipients are banned from do not have to be criminal but those who breach the orders will face jail. There are many examples from Britain which show the insanity of ASBOs. An 87 year old man was given an ASBO for being sarcastic to his neighbours, a woman banned from walking around her house in her underwear, an 18 year old jailed for visiting his grandfather in an area he was barred from and a girl with tourettes syndrome was banned from swearing in public.

There are also cases of ASBOs being used against Palestinian solidarity activists and protesters at an arms fair. The latest statistics from Britain show that 42% of the orders are breached. As well as bringing in ASBOs, the Criminal Justice Bill also expands police powers to get search warrants and increases the amount of time a suspect can be held for without trial.

ASBOs are no solution to the real problems of anti-social behaviour in working class areas. Anti-social behaviour is caused by deprivation and alienation experienced by many young people. The government has failed to provide young people with decent facilities. Youth clubs and other initiatives have been shown to be successful in reducing youth crime in the past but the government has scandalously under-funded projects such as these.

When young people are given nothing to do, it's not surprising that anti-social behaviour is common. Schools in working-class areas are neglected and young people are often made to work in low-paid, casual jobs under terrible conditions. This is why Socialist Youth is campaigning against ASBOs. The government wants to use headline-grabbing gimmicks like ASBOs to cover the fact that they have failed to address the problems faced by working-class people. All capitalist politicians like McDowell offer is repression and scapegoating.

They have no solutions to the real causes of crime. Capitalism and the rule of profit inevitably breed the conditions of extreme inequality and poverty that are at the root of crime. In fighting against the government's repressive new legislation we must make the point that the answer to the problems of poverty, alienation and crime is to be found in the establishment of a socialist society where jobs, education and facilities could be provided on the basis of need not profit.