The watchdog said the attitude of the British police toward ethnic minorities is still negative.

CAIRO, June 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The Muslim minority in Britain has been living in a “climate of fear” since the September 11 attacks, a European race watchdog revealed, blaming the British media for vilification of ethnic minorities, The Independent said Wednesday, June 15.

"Members of the Muslim communities also experience prejudice and discrimination, especially in connection with the implementation of legislation and policies against terrorism", said a report of the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

The watchdog urged the government to examine the impact of its anti-terror laws, which had "considerably contributed to a climate of fear and suspicion around ethnic and religious minority communities and in particular around Muslim communities".

Muslims in Britain have been complaining of maltreatment by police under the Terrorism Act for no apparent reason other than being Muslim, citing the routine stop-and-search operations.

Senior British parliamentarians admitted last August that anti-terrorism laws are being used “disproportionately” against the Muslim minority.

ECRI is an independent panel of experts set up by the Strasbourg- based Council of Europe to monitor racism and intolerance in any of the Council's 46 member states, which include all 25 EU countries.

Its report, which relates to continuing problems of community cohesion and race equality, is its third on the UK and is based on its visit to Britain last December.

The ECRI maintained that despite initiatives taken "members of ethnic and religious minority groups continue to experience racism and discrimination".

Although it recognized progress by police in dealing with ethic minorities, the anti-race group said there was "still evidence of negative attitudes in the police service".

According to the report, asylum seekers and refugees "are particularly vulnerable to these phenomena".

It cited an increasing number of attacks on members of ethnic minorities across Britain.

The group also pointed to a 12.4 per cent increase in the number of people arrested for racially motivated offences in 2003 compared with the year before.

A report revealed on Monday, July 19, 2004, that more than nine out of 10 white Britons have no or hardly any Muslim or other ethnic minority friends, raising warnings against growing racial hatred and belief in racist propaganda.

The European watchdog criticized the British media for giving "extensive coverage to arrests of suspects of terrorism, who are predominantly Muslims".

It accused the media of failing to report on their release "which has reportedly followed almost each of such arrests."

The anti-race watchdog urged the British government to ensure that "reporting does not contribute to creating an atmosphere of hostility and rejection" towards minority groups and play a more proactive role in countering such an atmosphere.

"ECRI recommends that the authorities of the United Kingdom engage in a debate with the media and members of other relevant civil society groups on how this could best be achieved," said the report.