By Guy Dinmore, reporting from Rome and Naples

Italy’s Gypsy communities are living in fear of attacks on their homes by Mafia-backed mobs and possible deportation under tough anti-immigration legislation tabled by the new centre-right government.

Presenting a package of security policies last week in Naples, Silvio Berlusconi, elected prime minister for a third time last month, said the state had a duty to “uphold the right of citizens not to be afraid”.

However, the racist rhetoric of some rightwing candidates elected in April on law and order platforms has unleashed a spate of assaults against the Roma, or Gypsy, people who are blamed for fomenting crime. In the Naples mob-controlled suburb of Ponticelli, criminal gangs and residents have torched the homes of several hundred Gypsies.

Their illegal settlements were still smouldering as the prime minister unveiled proposals that have left many confused over their future.

The Secondigiliano camp, set up by the Naples council in 1995 for Gypsies from former Yugoslavia, houses about 90 families, or 900 people. Unlike the deprivation of Ponticelli, the barrack-like bungalows and caravans look well kept and some have neat gardens.

“This law of Berlusconi – where will they send us to?” asked a man at the camp, who did not want to be named. His five children, who attend school and receive medical care, had papers stating they were born in a Naples hospital, but nothing else.

His wife had an Italian interior ministry statement declaring her stateless. He only had an Italian residence permit that expired in 2001, which he has not been able to renew.

Their unclear status is typical of an estimated 30,000 ex-Yugoslav Gypsies in Italy. Some, such as those in Secondigliano, live in reasonable conditions. But many, even in the third generation, exist in squalid illegal camps with high mortality rates, as do the more recently arrived Gypsies from Romania who perhaps number 50,000.

“We are living in fear. All of Italy is against us. The media has declared war on us,” said the man. “The whole government is fascist,” he added.

Sensationalised reports that a young Romanian Gypsy woman had been arrested in Naples for trying to steal a baby triggered the attacks in Ponticelli. Copycat assaults followed in other cities. Repubblica, a centre-left daily, published a poll that said 68 per cent of Italians wanted to deal with the “Gypsy problem” by expelling all of them.

What the government really intends to do is unclear. Like much security legislation, the proposed laws may be diluted in parliament or not implemented in full. Officials insist the package is not targeted at any particular group. But for about 100,000 Gypsies without Italian citizenship, the legislation stirs memories of centuries of repression.

Under Mr Berlusconi’s draft legislation to go before parliament, EU citizens – which would include Romanian Gypsies – must have adequate housing and regular incomes to stay in Italy for more than three months. Illegal entry would carry a jail sentence of up to four years. Child beggars would be taken into state care.

Roberto Maroni, the hardline interior minister from the xenophobic Northern League, says foreigners living in “shacks” will be expelled under the proposals.

By immediate decree, expulsion of illegal immigrants will be made easier. Landlords who rent to illegals will have properties confiscated and mayors will be given enhanced powers to preserve “urban security”.

Gianni Alemanno, Rome’s first postwar rightwing mayor, has started, albeit slowly, his campaign pledge to clear the city of 20,000 “nomads” (as Italians call Gypsies). Rome, Milan and Naples are also appointing commissioners to tackle their Gypsy problem.

Leftwing groups accuse the government of diverting social discontent with low wages and poor factory conditions towards vulnerable minorities.

Mario Marazziti, spokesman for Sant’ Egidio, a Catholic NGO, says the election campaign played on a perception of widespread crime despite statistics to the contrary. Noting that the Mafia and “nazi-skins” have been allegedly involved in attacking Gypsies, he says the government risks unleashing something it cannot control.

“If you open the gates, the lions get out and it is difficult to get them back in,” he warns.

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Rights groups accuse authorities of fuelling racism

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have severely criticised Italy’s new centre-right government and its centre-left predecessor for discriminating against the Roma community and legitimising the use of racist language.

Responding to a spate of attacks “by non-state actors” on Gypsy camps in Naples and other cities, Amnesty and nine other NGOs making up the EU Roma Policy Coalition issued a statement accusing Italy of “blatantly disregarding the values and principles of the European Union”. They said Italian authorities were making arbitrary detentions to facilitate expulsions, drawing up discriminatory laws and measures and “fuelling racism through anti-Romani speech”.

Amnesty’s 2007 worldwide report, released on Tuesday, criticised the previous Italian government led by Romano Prodi for issuing a decree that empowered local authorities to expel EU citizens based on concerns for public security. It said the decree appeared directed against Romanian Gypsies.

Government spokesmen on Wednesday did not respond to the accusations. Rightwing officials have criticised vigilante attacks and insisted the security package was not aimed at Gypsies in particular.