Madiba (Mandela) fans 'removed by force' - Austria

[dArKeR]

Vienna - Austrian human rights campaigners were "forcibly" stopped from meeting with former South African president Nelson Mandela during his current visit to Vienna, they said on Thursday.

Members of pressure groups had tried to gain access to Mandela and hand him leaflets at Vienna's famous Sacher Hotel, where he was meeting with Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel on Thursday.

But police were called and the activists "removed by force", said anti-poverty campaign Martin Schenk.

He said they had wanted to inform Mandela about refugee legislation due to pass parliament on Thursday. Critics say Austria is getting one of Europe's most restrictive asylum laws.

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