Racists failed to cash in on Kriss

| Thursday, 9 November 2006 Source: Scottish Daily Record

KRISS'S murder increased racial tensions in Pollokshields.

And there were fears the killing would make the situation on the multi-cultural south side of Glasgow boil over.

The ultra-right British National Party were quick to try to cash in on the situation, moving party members into the area.

They believed they could drum up support as it was widely known a gang of Asians had been seen bundling a helpless Kriss into their car.

The neo-Nazis said police had failed to crack down on violent Asian gangs for fear of being labelled racist.

But the dead boy's mother Angela was quick to dismiss that and to warn against tit-for-tat violence on the streets.

She said: "It doesn't matter to my family what colour these men are. Kriss is gone because of gangs, not just in Pollokshields but every area of our communities."

The residents of Pollokshields stayed united in their desire to see the perpetrators caught and the calls for calm from Kriss's mother were respected.

Osama Saeed, of the Muslim Association of Britain, said: "Crazy and his friends were really just very bad apples within Pollokshields - they terrorised the community for many years.

"People feared the murder would spark racial tensions but there were no revenge attacks after the murder. Residents handled it well.

"People focus on Pollokshields because of the ethnic mix but these are anti-social problems rather than racial ones.

"Whether you are black, white or whatever, everyone was sick to the stomach about Kriss."

Bashir Ahmad, SNP councillor for Pollokshields, said: "It's a very diverse community but very co-operative.

"We have all been living together for many years.It's a good relationship. "There are good and bad people everywhere and those who create the problems, the police are hard on them."

A spokes woman for the Commission for Racial Equality said: "There is something even more abhorrent about violent crime that is motivated by antipathy towards some body's race or ethnic background.

"It is to Britain's credit that our legal systems recognise this. The law must be applied equally, so those convicted of the same sort of racist crimes receive similar punishment, regardless of their background."