...Stand Up To Hate..

BNP links to US extremists revealed by Anonymous

2012-02-01T20:12:00.000Z

'Hactivists' target websites of far-right American Third Position and publish emails praising BNP leader Nick Griffin.

Hacked emails from a far-right group appear to reveal links with the BNP, after the group of American "hactivists" Anonymous targeted a number of US extremists' websites.

The group infiltrated the site of American Third Position, a white nationalist political group, in a campaign ironically dubbed "Operation Blitzkrieg", publishing emails in which it praised the BNP leader, Nick Griffin.

In one January 2010 email from "WhiteNewsNow" with the subject "Your Beautiful Pontoon Bridge", Griffin is described as "probably the most effective white activist in the world today".

A member of the group writes: "I've got my tickets for Jared Taylor's 2010 American Renaissance. Your fellow WhiteNewsNow members [...] are meeting up with some more of us and probably the most effective White activist in the world today, Nick Griffin."

In another from December 2009, the sender refers to Griffin in an email about the Copenhagen climate conference. It states: "Today will definitely be a Pearl Harbor for the Global Warming criminals who are at this moment cringing in the 4,200-seat arena in Copenhagen where Nick Griffin is clobbering them with the truth about Climategate. Good things are happening … and this is our chance to seize the opportunity."

The links between the two groups appear to be current. Former BNP leadership contender Andrew Brons is mentioned in an email titled "minutes for leadership phone conference January 7, 2012".

It states: "Next Meeting: Andrew Brons, Member of European Parliament and no. 2 in BNP, will be joining our phone conference. He has expressed enthusiasm about Merlin's [Merlin Miller, the party's nominee for the 2012 presidential election] presidential campaign. We must be prepared ahead of time by subject matter, questions and inquiring director."

A spokesman for the BNP could not confirm or deny whether the party had links or was in contact with American Third Position. "We don't know if [Andrew Brons] had contact with them over the phone. If he did we don't see what the issue is, he's a popular MEP. If he spoke to them he's been elected to speak to people and share ideas, we speak to everyone including Muslim groups."

Commenting on American Third Position presidential nominee Merlin Miller, he added: "With regards to America, we would welcome any deviation from the farce of two-party politics."

Anonymous – a collective of hackers without any centralised authority – published thousands of personal emails, forum messages and personal details of members under the banner "Good Night, White Pride".

In a statement, the hackers denounced American Third Position as "racist losers" who "try hard to maintain a professional public image to camouflage their vile racism [...] we're now airing all their dirty laundry all over the internet."

It continued: "We call upon not only other anti-fascists but all those opposed to white supremacy to utilise this information and make hell for these white nationalist scumbags. It is essential if we wish to live in a world free from oppression to expose and confront racists at their jobs, their schools, at their homes and in the streets."

The Guardian

German radio host: ‘Holocaust invented as PR’

2011-11-14T11:31:00.000Z

A popular German radio host is slated to return to his program on Sunday, after being temporarily pulled from his post for writing an email denying the Holocaust and spreading conspiracy theories against the US to a listener earlier this month.

Ken Jebsen, who is a host at the publicly funded “Jugendwelle” music program aired by Radio Fritz, wrote, “I know who invented the Holocaust as PR.”

n his crude e-mail, Jebsen said Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels implemented the public relations plan of the Holocaust and the Americans provided fuel for the entire Nazi bombing campaign, citing Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller, the American businessman. The rambling e-mail is filled with grammatical and spelling errors.

In a separate comment, which was voiced before the published e-mail, Jebsen termed the destruction of the twin towers on 9/11 a “warm demolition.”

The listener sent Jebsen’s email to journalist Henryk M. Broder who published Jebsen’s convoluted diatribes against Jews and the United States on his website.

Broder, who writes for the daily Die Welt paper and has testified as an expert on modern expressions of Jew-hatred in a Bundestag hearing, told Bild newspaper on Friday, “This is clear anti-Semitism.”

After the scandal surfaced in early November, Jebsen was removed from the program but will now return to his large youth audience.

Jerusalem Post attempts to reach the 45-year-old Jebsen were not successful.

Jebsen denied that his email was anti-Semitic, and he wrote on Fritz’s website that “my biography and my background obligate me to advocate for international understanding, peace and democracy.”

Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), Fritz radio’s parent company, defended Jebsen’s continued employment.

“The accusations against the moderator that he spreads anti-Semitic ideas and denies the Holocaust are unfounded,” wrote the RBB management on Fritz’s website.

In a phone conversation with the Post on Saturday, Dr. Shimon Samuels, the Simon Wiesenthal center’s director for international relations, said Jebsen’s statements are “unadulterated anti-Semitism. The program has to be defunded.”

Speaking from Paris, Samuels said Jebsen and the radio’s management has “to understand their legal responsibility,” adding that Jebsen is “not competent to run a youth program.”

He called on the authorities to “take legal steps against” the Holocaust revisionism of Jebsen.

Germany has a hate-crimes law barring incitement against Jews and Holocaust denial. It is unclear at this stage if a criminal complaint has been filed against Jebsen or RBB.

Jerusalem Post

Hackers link MP's aide to neo-Nazi site in member list leak (Finland)

2011-11-14T11:28:00.001Z

The parliamentary aide to a right-wing Finnish MP has offered to resign after the Anonymous hacking collective published what it said was a list of applications to join a local neo-Nazi party.

Hacktivists broke into the website of Kansallinen Vastarinta, the magazine of the Suomen Vastarintaliike (Finnish Resistance Movement), before extracting and publishing what it said was the party's membership application database at the end of last month. The local cell of Anonymous warned of future internet-based attacks on its websites and forums unless Suomen Vastarintaliike (Finnish Resistance Movement) is disbanded.

Among the list that allegedly contained the names of hundreds of would-be members of the neo-Nazi group was Ulla Pyysalo, aide to Finnish MP Juho Eerola of the True Finns. Pyysalo told local media that she is offering to quit her job by the end of the year, providing she finds alternative work in the meantime, because she wants to avoid damaging the True Finns. Pyysalo maintains that she never actually joined Suomen Vastarintaliike, which espouses a confrontational anti-immigrant agenda and runs training camps in the Finnish countryside.

This item continues at The Register

Neo-Nazi terrorism sparks calls for NPD ban (Germany)

2011-11-14T11:23:00.000Z

As more details of an extreme-right terror cell continued to emerge on Monday, German politicians promised a full investigation into a series of murders and renewed calls to ban the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD).

nterior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich admitted gross failures by the security services after revelations of a decade-long killing spree by neo-Nazis.

"It is deeply troubling that there was no connection made between the murder series across Germany and the far-right scene in Thuringia," the east German state where the trio was based, Friedrich told the daily Bild. "State interior ministers are calling for better coordination between police and domestic intelligence on the state level. I strongly back that."

Friedrich said it was still unclear whether a group of extremists who admitted gunning down nine businessmen of foreign origin and a policewoman had a larger network behind them.

“The loved ones of the victims can be sure that (Germany) will do everything to get to the bottom of this affair,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told the ARD television network late on Sunday.

Four suspects – two of whom killed themselves last week – are suspected of involvement in a series of killings, including foreign shopkeepers from 2000 to 2006 and a policewoman in 2007. The two living suspects have been arrested and are currently in police custody. They were all allegedly part of a subversive group called the National Socialist Underground (NSU).

There have been suggestions that the suspects had connections with domestic intelligence agencies and Thomas Oppermann, the head of the opposition Social Democrats' parliamentary grouping, told the Bild newspaper he was seeking a special meeting of the parliamentary committee overseeing the secret services.

"I want to know what the authorities knew and how such criminal acts can better be prevented in future," he told the paper.

Friedrich described the so-called "döner kebab murders," as "new form of extreme-right terror" and said all unsolved crimes in Germany since 1998 suspected of being xenophobic should be reviewed to see whether they can be connected to the group.

Meanwhile Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann called for officials to discuss how to ban the NPD, despite there being no apparent direct link between the suspects and the party.

"I am for setting the NPD ban back on the agenda,” Herrmann said.

Discussion of the issue comes at a critical time for the NPD, which over the weekend ousted long-time leader Udo Voigt from the party chairmanship. Instead, 40-year-old Holger Apfel, head of the party in the Saxony state legislature, has taken the reins of the party.

German authorities tried to ban the extreme-right party before but failed in 2003 when the Federal Constitutional Court determined that state-affiliated informants were playing major roles in the party’s leadership.

In order for a ban to be successful, the state would need to convince the court, which is the only body with the power to ban parties deemed unconstitutional.

The GdP police union said a ban could be helpful because it would prevent the party from openly organising congresses and strip it of its financial base.

But Cem Özdemir, the leader of the Green party in Germany played down the possibility of a ban, saying “we have to discuss how the NPD and right-wing extremists have become socially hegemonic, especially in the eastern part of our republic.”

The Local Germany

Swiss far-right party mascot goat found painted black

2011-10-20T08:49:00.000+01:00


Zottel

The far-right party Swiss People's Party (SVP) has said its mascot goat which was reported missing over the weekend has been found safe and well.

The animal, named Zottel, and fellow dwarf goat Mimo were found in the Zurich-Witikon area, said the party.

They had been tied to a tree and smeared with black paint by "extremist delinquents", they said.

Members of a group called Anti-Fascist Action claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

Provocative campaignThe animals have now been returned to their owner, SVP parliamentarian Ernst Schibli.

"At the moment he (Zottel) and his friend Mimo are a bit in shock, but mostly exhausted and probably happy that they're home," Mr Schibli told Reuters news agency.

The 10-year-old Zottel has been the SVP's mascot since the 2007 elections, when the party ran a poster campaign across Switzerland depicting three white sheep kicking a black sheep off the Swiss flag.

The party then secured nearly 30% of the vote after the provocative campaign.

According to the SVP's website, "Zottel saves Switzerland" and is "against mass immigration".

For next week's legislative elections, the SVP has centred its campaign around the issue of immigration which it believes is out of control.

BBC News

Swiss party heading for victory wants to ban immigration

2011-10-20T08:46:00.000+01:00

A far-right party heading for a record margin of victory in general elections on Sunday has announced plans to turn Switzerland into an immigrant-free bastion.

Polls show that the Swiss People's Party (SVP) is likely to seal its place as Europe's most successful populist political force after a campaign targeting immigrants, whom its posters depict as black boots trampling on the Swiss flag.

As the election campaign drew to a close, the SVP announced that it had gathered the requisite 100,000 signatures to call a referendum, under Swiss direct democracy laws, on withdrawing from freedom of travel arrangements with the European Union.

This would mean a return to quotas of migrants from the EU, including Britain, limiting access to the Alpine state and reversing a decade of openness.

European companies would have to go through bureaucratic application procedures for their non-Swiss employees and EU visitors would lose the automatic right to stay there.

Analysts have dismissed the move as an election stunt, not least because a referendum would take up to two years to organise, but it fits a pattern of anti-immigrant campaigns backed by the SVP. These include the recent vote in the lower chamber of parliament to ban the Muslim veil, as well as a referendum last year in which Swiss voters backed a ban on the building of minarets.

“This seems like a last try to get some attention before the election,” said Georg Lutz, the director of Swiss Electoral Studies at the Swiss Foundation for Research in Social Sciences in Lausanne. “I do not think it will make too much difference to the election outcome because the Swiss People's Party is so far ahead. But it would be a disaster for Switzerland because if they managed to get it through it could mean the end of other bilateral agreements with the EU.

“It is popular, however - there has been a lot of immigration and in certain areas it puts quite serious pressure on the housing market.”

Researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany, commissioned by the Swiss Liberal Party, have warned that breaching the freedom of movement agreement would lead to the EU cancelling other bilateral arrangements.

Switzerland is not in the EU but it has agreed to allow freedom of cross-border transit and employment for fellow Europeans, and its citizens to travel and work freely across the continent.

Silvia Bar, the SVP deputy-general secretary, said that she simply wanted Switzerland to return to its pre-2002 position of running its borders and immigration.

“We have the problem that there are too many coming from Europe and especially from Germany. They always say they are qualified people but we are not talking about professors of chemistry, it is just anyone who has a degree at university now,” she said.

She denied that the SVP played on fears of foreigners or racism. “If you do not speak about things that people see on a daily basis, you will see racism come. That is why we are talking frankly and clearly about problems we have.”

There is resistance to the party however. Its mascot, a goat, was kidnapped and painted black in protest at the party's policies.

After its breakthrough election in 1999, the SVP has gone from strength to strength and been the most consistently popular far-right party in Europe.

It stands at 29.3 per cent support in the latest opinion poll, well ahead of the Socialist Party in second place on 19.9 per cent, and higher than its record 28.9 per cent share of the vote in the 2007 election.

The next most consistently successful far-right party is the Freedom Party of Austria, which joined a coalition government in 2000-05, and has polled at 29 per cent support this summer with the next elections due in 2013.

Populist anti-immigrant parties have enjoyed rising success in the Netherlands, Hungary and Finland, where the True Finns increased their vote in this year's election to 19.1 per cent from 4.1 per cent in 2007. In Denmark support for the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party, which was in government for 10 years from 2001, slipped slightly in last month's election from 13.8 to 12.3 per cent.

Under the Swiss system of consensus government by a seven-member Cabinet, made up of members from at least three parties, the SVP has made it clear that a convincing victory will lead it to demand an extra seat.

The Australian.com

Police quiz tattoist after Klan allegations (UK)

2011-10-20T08:41:00.000+01:00

Chris Hopgood

A North-East tattooist has been questioned by police after a national newspaper claimed he was the leader of the British wing of a notorious white supremacist group.

Chris Hopgood was visited by officers from Durham Police yesterday.

Detectives wanted to quiz him over allegations in a newspaper that he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

They left after a short time and last night a spokesman for Durham Police said no crime had been committed and no further action would be taken.

Mr Hopgood, who could not be contacted last night, has denied any links to the notorious Far Right group, which is still classed as a terrorist organisation in the US.

This item continues at The Northern Echo

Neo-Nazi group tricks German state into selling manor house

2011-10-20T08:34:00.000+01:00

Officials in the former East Germany have been stung by revelations that they were hoodwinked into selling a listed 19th-century manor house to a neo-Nazi group which used a front woman posing as a practitioner of alternative medicine to complete the deal.

The disclosures in yesterday's Der Spiegel are a major embarrassment for the once Communist state of Thuringia, which spends €2.6m (£2.3m) a year combating extremism in a region renowned for neo-Nazi politics and far-right violence. The neo-Nazi group plans to use the mansion as a centre for far-right extremists and Holocaust deniers.

Martina Renner, a spokeswoman for Thuringia's opposition Left Party, said the sale of the property was scandalous. "The state government will have to explain how such a well-known building could be sold off to right-wing extremists without anyone realising what was going on," she added.

The manor in the small village of Guthmannshausen, 30 miles north east of Weimar, is a neo-classical property containing a pillared banqueting hall, a sauna and numerous outbuildings. Previously owned by the state government, it was sold in May to a dubious neo-Nazi organisation called Gedächtnisstätte [Places of Remembrance], based in the western state of Lower Saxony. None of the officials involved realised that the buyer was a far-right group.

Yesterday, it emerged that Wolfram Schiedewitz, who is the president of Places of Remembrance, is a well-known extremist with a track record of propagating pro-Nazi views and Holocaust denial which goes back two decades.

"We have finally found a new home," Mr Schiedewitz declared in a message to his supporters. "We want to fill it with memory of our Second World War civilians who were the victims of bombardment, expulsions and prison camps."

But experts said they were certain the group intended to set up a rallying point for the far right. The group's clandestine purchase fits a well-defined strategy which has enabled neo-Nazis to gradually increase their presence in the former Communist East since Germany's reunification in 1990.

"The acquisition has enabled the far right to strengthen its infrastructure," said Fabian Virchow, a political analyst. State security officials in Thuringia say the purchase of the house was most probably masterminded by a shadowy female neo-Nazi named only as "B". She posed as an alternative medicine practitioner and duped officials into believing she wanted to hold seminars in the building and rent it to other users.

However, the security officials, who insisted they were not consulted during the sale, said yesterday that "B" was not only a member of Places of Remembrance but also had close links to a Nazi group called the Society for Free Communication, the country's "largest far-right cultural organisation".

Thuringia's finance ministry has said it will investigate with a view to cancelling the sale but legal experts said this could take the state years. "The new owners of the manor will bring together neo-Nazis and old Nazis," said the Left Party's Mrs Renner. "The Holocaust deniers will play a particularly important role."

The Independent

Soldier suspended over swastika flag (Austria)

2011-10-20T08:29:00.000+01:00

An Austrian soldier faces a trial for buying flags showing banned Nazi era signs and slogans while participating in an international peacekeeping mission.

A spokesman for the defence ministry said today (Tues) a colleague of the militiaman informed superiors when he showed the items to him while on patrol at the Golan Heights in Syria. Army officials said the incident was an isolated case, adding that the soldier was suspended. They explained Austrian prosecutors were already looking into the case. The member of an Austrian militia unit could face a fine or a prison term for publicly backing Nazi ideology. One of the flags he owned reportedly showed a swastika while the other one featured prohibited slogans.

Only last month, a 54-year-old man was sentenced to six months in jail by a court in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria, for glorifying the Third Reich. The man – a co-founder and former head of the banned Austrian Nationalist Party (NVP) – was found guilty of breaching Austrian anti-Nazi propaganda bylaws by celebrating late World War Two (WWII) era dictator Adolf Hitler’s birthday between 2007 and 2009. Prosecutors informed the court that he also gave the Nazi salute and praised banned symbols like the swastika as well as Hitler himself. Investigators said data found on the defendant’s computer confirmed his neo-Nazi attitude.

Austrian Independant

We expose vile racist biker as British leader of the Ku Klux Klan (UK)

2011-10-20T08:24:00.000+01:00

He tried to hide his identity behind the hideous hood of the Ku Klux Klan – but his tell-tale tattoos are visible for all to see.

This is Chris Hopgood, vile racist leader of a British wing of the white supremacists. In the first evidence of UK Klan activity in decades, the KKK Grand Dragon poses with other senior members of the sick organisation.

A Mirror investigation uncovered the snaps on a German extremist website, set up to lure new recruits to the infamous US-based hate group.

Hopgood, a tattooist living in Co Durham, proudly wears a Klan robe as he stands alongside another KKK Grand Dragon and the European White Knights of the Burning Cross Imperial Wizard. The same group staged a cross-burning ceremony in a field in Germany this year and posted a video of the disturbing

Hopgood, 51, is also a supporter of Nick Griffin’s far-right British National Party and the English Defence League.

He believed he could hide under a Klan hood during secret meetings. But as our photos show, he fails to cover the word KLAN tattooed across the knuckles of his right hand. Also on view are his distinctive spider-web tattoos creeping over both his hands.

In photos we took of the bearded, heavy-set biker out walking in the old mining town of Easington Colliery, the same tattoos are clearly showing – proving he is the hooded Klan leader. The married dad, who has multiple piercings, including a bull-ring through his nose, also sports a Nazi symbol sewn into his leather biker’s vest.

The European White Knights bring together white supremacists in Europe and the US who believe in a racist and anti-Jewish creed called Christian Identity.

HATE

The European White Knights
meeting.

The group claims it is officially recognised by the original KKK in the US and is partnered with several other US groups – including the gay and black-hating Keltin Klan Kirk, whose masked leader is on YouTube preaching hatred in front of a swastika with an assault rifle.

The European White Knights claim to be represented in Britain, Germany, France, Greece, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

Butch-looking Hopgood ran a separate whiteknights-kkk.co.uk website, which was recently taken down, on which he denounced homosexuality as a “cancer that threatens our way of life”, and warned: “We are a threat for we will never lay down to the oppressors and enemies of our white race.”

He has several tattoos across his body, including his nickname “Hoppy” on the side of his shaved head, and his tag on social networking site Fubar is Hoppy Texas Wolves.

Hopgood has posted dozens of photos of himself on his bikes and posing with the Confederate flag – associated with Southern US heritage but also used by some as a symbol of slavery and racism.

Hopgood – who has spent time in Georgia, a US state with a huge KKK presence – shared a picture with friends on Fubar of a pregnant white woman and blonde child with the words “Love Your Race”.Underneath, he has written: “For our kids and grandkids”. Under Interests, he writes: “www.whiteknights-kkk.co.uk go visit worth a look.”

The Mirror has discovered the whiteknights-kkk.co.uk website was set up using Hopgood’s address in Easington Colliery.

New recruits were invited to join by filling out an application form – and confirming: “I believe in the segregation of the races.”

His Facebook profile picture is the symbol for the EDL Bikers, a section of the right-wing English Defence League.

And Hopgood, born in Aldershot, Hants, also trumpeted his support for Nick Griffin and the BNP on his personal site: “The BNP is a legally elected political party elected by the people of England and as such he has the rights of any other legal party to have his say on our behalf.”

Our investigator made contact with a Chris affiliated to the White Knights site, who claimed to be the KKK Grand Dragon of England.

In emails, he boasted he was recruiting new members and hoped to open KKK branches in Scotland and Wales.

On an online forum used by extremists, a Grand Dragon called Chris wrote: “Greetings brothers and sisters and blessings to you all. I am Chris Grand Dragon ‘European White Knights Of The Burning Cross’ England. It is such an honour to be welcomed so well... and to talk to so many great members of the KKK. It is a hard struggle to bring a united white brotherhood to England. But one that is worth it. I send respect to all brothers and sisters in all parts of the white nation.”

According to a German newspaper, the European White Knights of the Burning Cross have recently printed copies of the Klan bible, called the Klorane.German and English language versions have been distributed to members.

CEREMONY
A video posted in February on their site shows 14 robed Klansmen burning a cross to stirring background music in Grabow, Germany.

They were all wearing gloves so it is not clear whether Hopgood took part in the ceremony.

One Klansman shouts in German: “White Power”. The group responds in chorus: “White Power.”

The arms of the men and women are then raised in a Hitler salute. An entry next to the video, written in German, signs off with: “Our life is for the cross. The cross is our life!...Become a member of our Brotherhood. Rev Imperial Wizard.”

Yesterday the Mirror paid Hopgood a visit but was told he was not home. Five minutes after we left, Hopgood called our reporter claiming he was not a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

When asked why he was dressed in a hood and the full Klan uniform, appearing in photos alongside KKK leaders from Europe, he claimed: “I do it for my personal jollies.”

Hopgood added: “I have no views on the KKK. The fact that I have my political views is known by 99.9% of my customers.

“One of the royals dressed as a Nazi stormtrooper, but that does not make him a Nazi. I am not a member of the Ku Klux Klan and I am not recruiting in England, Scotland or Wales.”

A spokesman for anti-extremist organization Hope Not Hate said he was shocked the KKK had a presence in the UK.

He declared: “It’s chilling to see the KKK bringing their message of hate to the heart of England.

“It shows how far the tentacles of international extremism have spread. This is why we must all remain vigilant to prevent racists getting a stranglehold on our communities.”

In 2009, the BNP demanded a former Klan leader be allowed into Britain.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had put ex-KKK Grand Wizard Don Black on a blacklist of extremists but Mr Griffin urged her to let him in. He said: “The only people who can be kept out are those who inflict violence, which Don Black has not.”

But in 1981, Black had been found in possession of weapons and ammunition and was jailed for three years. And Griffin was photographed with the white supremacist in New Orleans in 2005 and Washington in 2006.

Daily Mirror

Far Right Party's 'Fascist Goat' Mascot Snatched (Switzerland)

2011-10-18T09:35:00.000+01:00

A goat used as a mascot by a far-right political party in Switzerland has been kidnapped by left-wing rivals just a week before the country's General Election.

Zottel has been used in political hustings and campaigns since 2006 by the Swiss People's Party (SVP).

But sometime during the night of October 14, he and another goat were snatched from their stable in Zurich, at the home of Swiss MP Ernst Schibli.

Mr Schibli said he had received an anonymous letter with death threats to "fascist goat Zottel" this summer.

Left-wing group Anti-Fascist Action have claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in a statement posted on the internet - which the SVP responded to by issuing a statement demanding Zottel's return.

Zottel rose to fame in the 2007 election campaign, when he became a key figure thanks to his starring role in online games.

In the games, he expelled illegal migrants from the country, prevented them from becoming Swiss citizens and fired a crossbow at European officials which the party claimed were "seeking to steal money from Swiss taxpayers".

The SVP won 28.9% of the vote in 2007 and are expected to score a record 30% of the vote this year.

Police in Zurich say they are investigating several leads.

Sky News

Parents slam school over 'racist' game (Sweden)

2011-10-18T09:28:00.000+01:00

The parents of children who attend a primary school in Valais in southern Switzerland have complained over the use of a game entitled "Who’s afraid of the black man?", a hide-and-seek game they argue is “racist".

Hedi Putallaz, the parent of a pupil at a primary school in Monthey first became aware of the game, used by teachers in a gymnastics class, back in 2010.

He complained to the head of the school, who instructed the teachers to suggest that the game should instead be called "The wolf in sheep’s clothing", according to a report in the La Tribune de Genève daily.

But in a recent class, one of Putallaz’s son’s teachers again suggested playing the game entitled "Who’s afraid of the black man?"

According to the head of the school, the staff member concerned was an external coordinator, so he was not aware of the directive.

This was however the final straw for Putallaz and his wife, who is of afro-American origin. Now the couple want the educational authorities in Valais to issue an “official directive” to change the name of the game in all the schools in the canton, where it is still widely used.

“The Valais should not be considered the Mississipi of Switzerland,” say the parents in their request to the cantonal authorities because they consider the game to be a throwback to a racist past many blacks had to overcome.

“If the game was called ‘Are you afraid of the Jew’or ‘of the homosexual’, how would people react?” Putallaz said.

Jean-François Lovey, chief of the Department of Education of Valais, is yet to review, but he told La Tribune de Genève that he does not see the situation in the same way: “Honestly, it is a harmless game,” he said.

“The reasoning of these parents shows the extreme [political] correctness of our society,” Lovey added.

The Putallaz family is now awaiting a resolution from the educational authorities in Valais, but they have already warned that if their petition is not accepted, they will bring the issue in front of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Local Switzerland

Mindless EDL thugs storm Muslim exhibition in Cradley Heath market (UK)

2011-10-18T09:23:00.000+01:00

A Muslim book stall in Cradley Heath market was stormed by over 25 thugs from the English Defence League this weekend.

The shocking attack occurred in front of shoppers, many of which were women and children, at the market at 2.30pm on Saturday.

The local Ahmadiyya Muslim book stall and Qur’an exhibition was attacked and volunteers were manhandled and abused by members of the Far Right organisation.

Shocked Ahmadiyya outreach worker Toby Ephram described the scene in the market.

He said: “About 25 of the EDL group stormed our stall in Cradley Heath pushing, shoving and threatening our members.”

“We have the book stall to raise awareness of our work in Britain and in the local community we are proud to be British Muslims and this incident saddened us.

“Our motto is ‘Love for All - Hatred for None’ and we do not meet violence with violence so we just stood there and did not respond to the provocation.”

He added: “I’d like to thank the police for responding to the problem so quickly and controlling the situation and we will be back as usual at the market on Saturday.”

Last week the News reported the Muslim group was setting up the stall and exhibition in a bid to ‘increase understanding and improve community cohesion’.

Halesowen and Rowley Regis MP James Morris condemned the incident and branded it an ignorant and mindless attack.

He said: “The people storming the stall may claim that they are defending their English identity, but tolerance for other people’s views and beliefs has long been a key part of what it means to be English.

“The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Cradley Heath actively works to help different sections of our society to live peacefully alongside each other, whatever their religion.”

He added: “This mindless attack is absolutely deplorable and can only have been caused by ignorance of the views and action of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community locally.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “We were called at 1.40pm with reports of people causing a disturbance in the Market Square area of Cradley Heath. “Officers attended the scene and the groups dispersed.”

On Boxing Day 2009 Cradley Heath Mosque and Islamic Centre in Plant Street was burnt to the ground by arsonists.

Halesowen News

Neo-Nazi boss to appeal to top court for hotel ban (Germany)

2011-10-16T12:23:00.000+01:00

Udo Voigt

Udo Voigt, chairman of the far-right National Demcrocratic Party, is preparing to appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe, after he was allegedly barred from a hotel for his political views.

Voigt's wife booked four days in the Hotel Esplanade in the eastern German spa town of Bad Saarow in December 2009, but the hotel refused to accept the booking, saying that Voigt's "political beliefs" meant that the hotel could not fulfil its aim of "providing every single guest with an excellent wellness experience."

Voigt's legal complaints have been unsuccessful so far, and according to a report on news magazine Der Spiegel's website on Sunday, he is planning to appeal to the BGH next Friday.

His lawyer countered the hotel's decision by saying that other guests could be disturbed by the presence of "black Africans, Muslims and severely disabled people."

But, Voigt's lawyer said, "in a free democracy, our citizens are expected to show tolerance that some people might consider an imposition." Otherwise a democratic society cannot function, "because there would be too many moves towards discrimination, and at the end we have a fractured society without solidarity."

The hotel's lawyer argued that Voigt was demanding "tolerance that neither he nor the NPD extend to others."

The Local Germany

Ukrainian street renamed after pro-Nazi battalion 'shameful' - PM

2011-10-16T12:18:00.000+01:00

A Ukrainian town's decision to rename a street after a battalion that fought alongside the Nazis during World War II is shameful, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Friday.

"I was shocked. It's hard to imagine such things taking place in our country... It's a shame for our country," Azarov said.

Peace Street in the village of Razliv in western Ukraine's Lvov region was renamed Nachtigall Battalion Warriors Street.

Two battalions, Nachtigall and Roland, were formed from ethnic Ukrainians in Nazi-occupied Poland in February 1941. They were among the first units to invade the Soviet Union in June 1941, but were disbanded in August after Germany failed to declare an independent Ukraine.

Shortly after Nazi troops entered Ukraine in June 1941, nationalist leader Stepan Bandera called on Ukrainians "to help the German army in defeating Moscow and Bolshevism." On June 30 the Nachtigall Battalion entered Lvov. The documentary record shows that its members committed atrocities against the Jewish population.

The street renaming was initiated by the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party and supported by members of Yulia Tymoshenko's party.

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the move and said it hoped that the street's original name would be restored.

The pro-presidential Party of Regions has already asked the Prosecutor General's Office to study the case and give a legal assessment.

Ukrainian society is deeply divided over the wartime role of the country's nationalists, namely the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its militant wing, the UPA. One part, mostly residents of the eastern regions bordering Russia, believe UPA fighters were traitors who killed Soviet soldiers, while another, mainly residents of western Ukraine, regard them as patriots who fought for an independent Ukraine.

On October 14, the anniversary of the UPA's founding, up to 30,000 Ukrainians - nationalists and communists - are expected to march in Kiev in two opposing rallies for and against the UPA.

The Ukrainian nationalist movement also demands that President Viktor Yanukovych approve construction of monuments to Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa and UPA leaders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych in Kiev.

They also want October 14 to be declared a national holiday - The Defender of the Fatherland's Day. The holiday's name and origin are a clear reference to a national holiday in Russia, which bears the same name and marks the first mass draft into the Red Army.

RIA Novosti

'Racist couple murdered parents then crossed US hunting for Jews'

2011-10-13T14:37:00.000+01:00

A white supremacist couple face the death penalty after allegedly being caught on their way to kill "more Jews" following a two-week manhunt in which at least three people were murdered.

David Pederson, 31, and his girlfriend Holly Grigsby, 24, were arrested north of Sacremento, California. An arsenal of loaded handguns and rifles was found in their vehicle.

Their alleged victims include Pederson's stepmother, Leslie Pederson, 69. Her body was found in her home near Puget Sound in Washington state, with her hands bound by duct tape, her head wrapped in a pillow soaked in blood and a sword lying nearby.

Yesterday the pair appeared at Yuba County Court, Marysville, California. The court heard Grigsby had confessed that after killing Pederson's stepmother they murdered his 56-year-old father by shooting him in the back of the head as he drove them to a bus station.

They then drove to Oregon where, Grigsby told police, they killed 19-year-old Cody Myers after mistakenly concluding that his last name meant he was Jewish. The couple were driving Myers's car when captured. Both have known links to white supremacist groups and Pederson has a prominent White Power tattoo on his neck.

After their arrest, Grigsby allegedly said that she and Pederson were on their way to Sacramento to "kill more Jews". They have also been named as suspects in the murder of Reginald Clark, a 53-year-old black man, whose body was found in a car in Eureka, California.

In an interview from jail, Pederson - who has spent most of his adult life in prison - claimed he killed his father because he believed he had sexually molested his sister and cousin.

Police think Mrs Pederson was killed because they thought she knew of the abuse but did not stop it. No proof has been found that the molestation happened.

Prosecutor Mark Roe said the pair face charges of aggravated first-degree murder and warned the killings in Oregon and California could also be prosecuted as hate crimes.

Pederson and Grigsby are being held in prison before extradition to Washington after bail was set at $1million each.

This is London

Migrants living in fear after racist bomb attack on Poles (Northern Ireland)

2011-10-13T14:33:00.000+01:00

A campaign of attacks against foreign nationals living in Antrim could force some to flee the area, it has been claimed.

The warning came after a pipe-bomb was left on the windowsill of a Polish couple's home at Seacash Drive yesterday. Community representatives said it was the latest in a series of incidents targeting foreigners in the town.

The alert began around 8am yesterday and saw the Parkhall Road closed and nearby homes evacuated for several hours. A PSNI spokesperson confirmed that a viable device had been taken away for examination.

UUP councillor Adrian Watson said he was hopeful that the family would stay in Antrim.

“They are giving it a lot of thought, although they are obviously very shaken,” he said.

There have been other racist attacks recently in Antrim.

“Last week a mob attacked a house belonging to foreign nationals and put the windows in, and the same night graffiti went up saying that foreigners were not welcome,” said Mr Watson. “There is no justification for it.”

Maciek Bator from the Polish Association warned that some foreign residents may leave.

“Some people will decide to move out of this area and some will decide to move out of Northern Ireland,” he said.

“They will take a bad image of Northern Ireland with them.”

A loyalist group claimed responsibility for the attack in a call to a news organisation. Progressive Unionist Party Ken Wilkinson — whose own home was targeted in a pipe-bomb attack last year — visited the family and apologised for what had happened.

He said: “These people carried this out in the name of loyalism, these people are loyal to nothing. These people are just bigots.”

Graffiti attacking the PUP — calling it the ‘Polish Unity Party’ — has also appeared in the area.

PSNI area commander Chief Inspector Natalie Wilson appealed information about the attack.

Belfast Telegraph

Two detained after neo-Nazi provocation in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic)

2011-10-10T09:07:00.000+01:00

Led by the convicted con artist Lukáš Kohout, right-wing extremists from the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS) and other neo-Nazi groups, 300 - 400 people marched through Ústí nad Labem today. The anti-Romani gathering was convened by locals, allegedly to support the rights of "decent" citizens against "the parasitism of inadaptables."

The crowd did not deviate from its planned route. At one place, neo-Nazis and approximately 10 opponents of neo-Nazism and racism yelled at one another. As many as 50 police officers kept them apart. Two demonstrators wore neo-Nazi slogans on their coats.

There were 100 state police officers, 100 municipal police, and members of an anti-conflict team deployed on the streets of the town. A police helicopter flew overhead and mounted police and police dogs were also on standby.

Several promoters of the DSSS arrived in town carrying flags. The gathering started with speeches by the organizers on the square: Convener Milan Sůra, right-wing extremists from the DSSS, and convicted con artist Lukáš Kohout, who has convened similar marches in Varnsdorf. The crowd then marched through the town. The organizers planned the route to lead from Mírové Square down Velká Hradební street to the Hotel Vladimír, returning to Lidické náměstí along Masarykova street. Along the way, people chanted the slogan "Stop Black Racism" and nationalist slogans such as "Bohemia for the Czechs" or "Nothing but the Nation". They bore banners referencing the attacks allegedly committed by Romani people in Nový Bor and Rumburk, which sparked the recent unrest the neo-Nazis are now exploiting.

Right-wing extremists from the DSSS and convicted con artist Lukáš Kohout occupied the head of the march. "That is exactly what the initiator of this event probably didn't want. It looks like the protest has gotten away from his control and party members have taken over this initiative," a reporter for Czech daily Mf DNES said.

An incident occurred at a point along the march route near a closed-down restaurant where local anarchists usually meet. They had hung a banner on the building reading "Nationalism is kitsch" which the marchers tore down. About 10 opponents of neo-Nazis and racism had to be separated from the protesting crowd by about 50 special forces police. The groups shouted at one another for several minutes before the crowd continued its march without further clashes. After roughly an hour and a half, the conveners of the march officially ended it on Lidické Square and people started to disperse.

Police detained two ultra-right radicals for interrogation. "They were wearing illegal slogans on their coats, but it's too early to say whether they have committed a crime or a misdemeanor," said Jarmila Hrubešová, spokesperson for the Ústí police. News server iDNES.cz reports that the men were wearing the English-language phrase "Blood and Honor", the name of an originally British neo-Nazi organization established in 1987 by a singer with the Nazi band Skrewdriver, Ian Stuart. The name was taken from the battle cry of the Hitler Youth. The group defines itself as a "Nationalist Revolutionary Movement" espousing the legacy of the Third Reich.

Early this morning, police discovered and removed a cache of paving stones and wooden tool-handles in a cellar along the march route. Mounds of paving stones were also found on Velká hradební street. Before noon, police also arrested a man armed with a machete. Vladimír Danyluk, the head of the Ústí nad Labem territory, said police had been monitoring all access roads to the town since morning but did not discover any more weapons.

At 13:30, a similar rally was held in Varnsdorf (Děčín district), where people were protesting for the ninth weekend in a row. Police spokesperson Daniel Vítek said the situation in the town was completely calm. About 150 people met on the town square, but did not march anywhere. The conveners of the demonstration once again criticized the Mayor of Varnsdorf, Martin Louka.

Romea.CZ

Racist-attacks pair are jailed for a year (EDL, UK)

2011-10-10T09:02:00.000+01:00

Two former English Defence League members are beginning year-long jail sentences after racist attacks at a mosque and two Asian-run businesses.

Steven James Vasey and Anthony Donald Smith launched their offensive after incidents at a war memorial in Luton on Armistice Day last November, where poppies were burnt by extreme Islamic groups.

On the eve of Muslim festival Eid, the masked men, along with an accomplice, climbed a fence at the Nasir mosque in Hartlepool.

The letters “EDL” and “NEI”, for the North East Infidels, were sprayed along with “no surrender” and images of poppies and the St George flag.

Prosecutor Chris Baker told Durham Crown Court that a taxi seen in the area at the time was similar to a vehicle spotted later in Potto Street in Shotton Colliery, where an upstairs window of the Milco store was smashed with a brick.

Similar graffiti to that left on the mosque was sprayed on the shop and the nearby Albert Guest House, which are both owned by an Asian businessman.

Mr Baker told Recorder William Lowe there was an irony that the store was selling poppies when the attack was carried out.

He said taxi driver Smith, 24, of Rydale Court, Trimdon, previously of Neptune Way, Easington Colliery, was arrested the next day.

Messages on his mobile showed planning with then-girlfriend Charlotte Christina Davies and Vasey and included claims they were going “Muzzy bashing” and were going togive the mosque a “makeover”.

Smith, Vasey, 32, formerly of Pittington and now of Eden Crescent, Darlington, and Davies, 19, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, all admitted conspiracy to commit racially aggravated criminal damage.

Stephen Constantine, representing Smith, said he showed a “lack ofinsight” into the consequences and it had been prompted by the poppy burning.

Shaun Dryden, mitigating for Vasey, said his actions were foolish.

Jane Waugh, mitigating on behalf of Davies, said her involvement came to text messages offering encouragement.

She was given a 12-week sentence, suspended for a year, and 200 hours’ unpaid work.

The barristers said all three had severed their ties with the EDL.

Jailing the men, Judge Lowe remarked that the attacks were carried out in the wake of the Luton incident.

He said: “It may be that was something these three had in mind, but it does not excuse this conduct.

He added: “It’s the sort of behaviour from which those who are militant feed.”

After the hearing, Inspector Dave Coxon, of Peterlee Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “I’m pleased that this has gone to court and they pleaded guilty and the sentence reflects the serious nature of the offence.

“We continue to take these sorts of offences seriously and we will strive to support all members of the community.”

Sunderland Echo

100 Detained in Moscow amid nationalist rally call (Russia)

2011-10-10T08:58:00.000+01:00

Police in Moscow have detained about 100 people suspected of planning a nationalist rally near the Kremlin. Police spokesman Anatoly Lastovetsky said some of those detained on Manezh Square were carrying weapons including pistols that fire rubber bullets. A heavy contingent of police was deployed in and around the sprawling square after calls appeared on the Internet for an unauthorized gathering to mark the death a week ago of an 18-year-old in a nightclub fight between a group of soccer fans and men of Caucasus descent.

Violence between ethnic Russians and people from the Caucasus is frequent. In December, about 5,000 people chanting "Russia for Russians" gathered at Manezh Square and beat dark-skinned passers-by. That gathering was a reaction to the killing of a Russian soccer fan during a fight with people from the Caucasus.

Associated Press

BNP facing accusations of fraud (UK)

2011-10-10T08:56:00.000+01:00

The British National Party is under investigation by the European Union and the Metropolitan Police for alleged fraud and breaches of electoral law.

The dual investigations come as a former BNP administrator told the BBC's Panorama programme that she was instructed to falsify invoices.

Those invoices were then submitted by the BNP to the Electoral Commission.

The BNP has strongly denied any suggestion of wrongdoing.

The allegations come as the party struggles with debts run up during the 2010 general election campaign.

'Invoices faked'Internal party documents seen by Panorama reveal that 12 months ago the BNP owed creditors more than £570,000. Party chairman Nick Griffin recently said the party now owes just £52,000.

Former party worker Marion Thomas said after the 2010 general election she was instructed by the party's treasurer, Clive Jefferson, to alter invoices and in at least one case stamp an outstanding invoice as "paid".

The invoices were submitted to the Electoral Commission and had been altered, Mrs Thomas said, in order for it to appear that the BNP had complied with the law on election spending.

Asked how she felt about doing this, Mrs Thomas said: "I made my objections known."

She added: "You can't do that, you cannot do that. That is fraud."

Mr Jefferson told the programme that Mrs Thomas' allegations are "untrue".

Mrs Thomas, who now works for Britain First, a rival political organisation, has since been interviewed about her claims by detectives from the Metropolitan Police who are investigating alleged breaches of electoral law by the BNP.

That investigation began after Richard Barnbrook, who used to be the BNP member of the London Assembly and Mr Griffin's 2010 election agent, went to the High Court to say that he had submitted printing invoices totalling nearly £10,000 as paid when they too were outstanding.

Mr Griffin also signed those returns. Both he and Mr Barnbrook, who has since been expelled from the party and now sits as an independent in London, have said they acted in good faith, believing the bills had indeed been paid.

The High Court judge has referred the case the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Metropolitan Police were notified.

'Cash cow'
Another former party worker, Alistair Barbour, was recruited to Mr Griffin's European staff after he and one other BNP candidate were elected members of the European Parliament in 2009.

Mr Barbour was hired to work on European Parliament business and was to be paid out of the £260,000 pot of EU money that each MEP has available to them to pay for staff and expenses.

He told the programme that some money intended for MEP business was diverted to help bolster the party itself.

"Europe was the big cash cow you know, 'let's get our noses in the trough and see what we can get out and... see what we can fund the party with,'" he said of the approach to the MEP funds.

He added: "This is what it was all about, party work and just trying to figure out what expenses we could get out of the European Union."

Other party insiders have told the programme that at one point electricity from Nick Griffin's European constituency headquarters on an industrial estate in rural Cumbria was siphoned to the unit next door which served as the BNP's national headquarters.

When the European Parliament's fraud unit, OLAF, travelled to Cumbria five months later to investigate the allegations they found no evidence of an electricity scam but Panorama understands that they continue to investigate other allegations of misuse of European money by the BNP.

The BNP has denied using money from the European Union to fund national party work.

Panorama: BNP - The Fraud Exposed, BBC One, Monday, 10 October at 2030BST and then available in the UK on the

German prosecutors to prosecute dozens of former Nazis

2011-10-07T13:13:00.000+01:00

Conviction of Jon Demjanjuk prompted the reopening of investigations against guards who worked in Holocaust extermination camps.

The criminal conviction of Nazi concentration guard John Demjanjuk in May prompted German prosecutors on Wednesday to reopen dozens of investigations and cases against guards who worked in the vast set of extermination camps during the Holocaust.

The German authorities announced the new prosecutions on Wednesday, according to media reports.

The 91-year-old Ukranianborn Demjanjuk was deported from the US to Germany in 2009. A Munich court convicted him in May of 28,060 counts of accessory to murder for working as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Demjanjuk’s attorney has appealed the conviction.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Thursday hailed the decision by German prosecutors to open criminal investigations against dozens of former guards at Nazi concentration camps.

Efraim Zuroff, from the Wiesenthal Center, said he welcomed efforts to bring former guards to justice based on the precedent of John Demjanjuk, found guilty of being an accessory to murder for the time he was guarding Treblinka concentration camp.

Zuroff, who is widely considered to be world’s leading hunter of Nazis, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that “The Demjanjuk conviction has created the possibility to prosecute perhaps as many as several dozen Holocaust perpetrators who served in the most lethal Nazi installations and units, and basically spent as much as two years carrying out mass murder on practically a daily basis.

He added that “These were the persons who carried out the major bulk of the mass murder of European Jews during the Holocaust – practically half of the approximately six million Jewish victims.”

Kurt Schrimm, the head of the Central Office for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Germany (Zentrale Stelle) said: “We don’t want to wait too long, so we’ve already begun our investigations,” according to a Guardian news report on Wednesday.

This item continues at Jewish World

BNP man faces gun charges (UK)

2011-10-07T12:59:00.000+01:00

A former parish councillor and BNP activist has appeared in court on firearms charges.

The trial of David Lucas, 51, of South Road, Lakenheath, began at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday.

Lucas is charged with possessing a gun capable of firing flares 500ft into the air – labelled ‘potentially lethal’ by prosecutors. He is also charged with having ammunition for the gun which he purchased more than three years ago in Alaska.

On Wednesday, jurors were shown the orange gun, made largely from plastic, which still bears a $24.99 price sticker.

Martyn Levett, prosecuting, told the court that police had arrested Lucas after searching Black Dyke Farm, in Hockwold, on August 18 last year. Officers found the gun and ammunition on a shelf inside a portable building.

Experts examined the items and decided the gun and ammunition were, under the 1968 Firearms Act, items which required a firearms certificate to possessf.

Lucas, who admitted he did not hold a firearms certificate, challenged whether the items were covered by the Firearms Act and claims he was not holding them illegally.

Mr Levett said the gun, an Orion Signal Launcher, was found with 11 flares of a 12 bore size.

“If carelessly pointed at someone the effect would be potentially lethal,” he said.

He added that a second firearms expert had also examined the gun and agreed that it was covered by the Firearms Act.

Lucas stood as a BNP candidate in the European elections in 2009 and has previously served on Lakenheath Parish Council.

In June last year he was given a one year prison sentence suspended for one year for possessing ammunition and gunpowder.

The trial is expected to finish today.

Bury Free Press

Judge orders house custody of far-right activist Budahazy (Hungary)

2011-10-04T16:47:00.000+01:00

The municipal court of Budapest released radical nationalist activist Gyorgy Budahazy, who is accused of terrorist activities, from pre-trial detention and into house custody on Friday. The prosecutor appealed against the decision, but this appeal will not delay implementation of the ruling. Budahazy will be placed in house custody until the municipal appellate court rules in the second instance. In his reasoning, the judge said it was uncertain how long the procedure would go on and suggested that its aims could be achieved through house custody rather than pre-trial detention. Budahazy’s lawyer had appealed for his client’s release, referring to an professional opinion stating that the defendant’s two young daughters had not seen their father for two years, causing them an irreparable loss. He added that his client loved his homeland and family and would not go into hiding to evade the proceedings. Budahazy had been in custody since June 2009.

He was arrested under charges of setting up a gang – the Hunnia Movement modelling itself on the Irish Republican Army – in early 2007 to carry out attacks against members of parliament, thereby exerting pressure on lawmaking. Later that year the gang allegedly fired shots and threw petrol bombs at the homes of lawmakers Istvan Hiller and Janos Koka, as well as making similar attacks in several locations in the countryside in February 2008. The group also threw Molotov cocktails at gay bars and outlets, such as a ticket office in Budapest’s 13th district. The court is expected to resume hearing Budahazy’s case in November.

Politics.hu

Ex EDL members targeted Hartlepool mosque and Shotton Colliery store (UK)

2011-10-04T16:43:00.000+01:00

Two former English Defence League (EDL) members daubed “racially offensive” material on a mosque and two Asian-run businesses in revenge for the burning of poppies by an extreme Islamic group.

Steven James Vasey, 32, and 24-year-old Anthony Donald Smith were yesterday jailed for a year for their attack, which followed incidents at a war memorial in Luton on Armistice Day last November.

Days later, on the eve of the Muslim Eid festival to mark the end of Ramadan, the masked men, along with an accomplice, climbed a fence after dark at the Nasir Mosque, in Brougham Street, Hartlepool.

The initials EDL and NEI – North-East Infidels – as well as the words “no surrender”, the cross of St George and figures of red poppies, were sprayed before two figures were seen fleeing the premises.

Chris Baker, prosecuting at Durham Crown Court, said a taxi seen in the area at the time was similar to a vehicle spotted later in Potto Street, Shotton Colliery, County Durham, where an upstairs window at the Milco convenience store was put out with a brick.

Similar graffiti to that sprayed at the mosque was daubed at both the shop and the nearby Albert Guest House, in Front Street, both run by an Asian businessman.

Mr Baker told the court: “There’s a certain irony in that the targeted store was selling poppies at the time.”

He said Smith, who drove for the taxi company and had links to the EDL, was arrested the following day.

Messages found on his phone revealed him planning with Vasey and a third accused, Smith’s girlfriend at the time, Charlotte Christina Davies, who he met at an EDL rally in Amsterdam earlier in the year.

Mr Baker said the text messages included claims they were going “Muzzy bashing” and that the mosque was going to be given “a makeover”.

Vasey, formerly of Pittington, near Durham City, but now of Eden Crescent, Darlington; Smith, of Rydale Court, Trimdon Station, County Durham and Davies, 19, of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, all admitted conspiracy to commit racially aggravated criminal damage.

Shaun Dryden, for Vasey, said it had been a “foolish venture”.

Stephen Constantine, for Smith, said he had, “a lack of insight” into the consequences of his actions, which were caused through his outrage at the poppy burning.

Jane Waugh, for Davies, said her involvement was merely text messages encouraging Davies’ involvement.

Barristers for all three said they have now severed their ties with the EDL.

Jailing Vasey and Davies, Recorder William Lowe told them: “It’s said this was carried out for what some extremists did on Armistice Day in Luton, as seen on TV.

“It may be that was something these three had in mind, but it does not excuse this conduct. It’s the sort of behaviour from which those who are militant feed.”

Davies was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, with 200-hours’ unpaid work.

Darlington and Stockton Times

Jobbik splinter party officially launched; returns focus to Roma (Hungary)

2011-10-03T12:07:00.000+01:00

Several former leading members of Jobbik announced the official launching of a new splinter party on Friday, nol.hu reports.

The Magyar Főnix Mozgalom (Hungarian Phoenix Movement, MFM) was initially formed in April but was only registered with the courts on September 15.

MFM chairman Tibor József Biber, who was deputy chairman of Jobbik until 2008, told the press that the new party would provide an alternative with voters disillusioned with Jobbik, which he said had been “eroded” from inside.

While in August Bíber criticized Jobbik for excessively focusing on questions relating to Hungary’s Roma minority – which he said could lead to a “civil war” – the new party appears to be putting a high priority on the issue, making it one of the most prominent points in its founding declaration.

At the news conference Bíber said that none of the governments of Hungary formed since the political system change had managed to solve the serious problem of “ethnic crime” – which he said could be called “Gypsy crime,” and disproportionately impacted those living in the countryside.

He said the exact size of Hungary’s Roma population should be known before their problems can be solved. The party’s deputy chair, Anna Szöőr, added that it was in the interest of the Roma population to “admit” their ethnicity in the national census launched this past weekend, otherwise researchers would again be force to work with false statistical data.

Politics.hu

Wilders' 'mentor' thinks he is exaggerating (Netherlands)

2011-10-03T12:04:00.000+01:00

Twenty years ago, VVD politician Frits Bolkestein said it is impossible for immigrants to integrate while maintaining their cultural identity. Back then, the prominent liberal was severely criticised. Now, Mr Bolkestein is seen as a forerunner of anti-Islam Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders. But the former VVD leader and European Commissioner does not share his ‘successor’s’ views.

The 78-year-old statesman may look a little frail, but he still works full time. In his office overlooking the river Amstel, he reflects on the commotion his comments caused in the early 1990s.

“I mainly objected to the Dutch government’s slogan ‘Integration while keeping your cultural identity’. I thought it was ridiculous: if you integrate, you lose part of your identity. I said immigrants have to conform to the essential values of the Dutch culture."

Mentor
These values are: freedom of religion, the separation of church and state, freedom of speech, and sexual equality. Looking back, the comments were not all that shocking, says the former VVD leader. “Nevertheless, it caused a lot of commotion, but maybe it was necessary.”

Now, former fellow party member Geert Wilders is winning votes for his Freedom Party, which he set up in 2006 with extreme views against immigration and Islam. Mr Bolkestein is sometimes called his mentor, but says he does not share his views. “Wilders says things that are just not right and I think he totally exaggerates.”

Moroccans
Mr Bolkestein once suggested in a leaked private conversation that orthodox Jews should consider moving to Israel or the United States, because of the anti-Semitism amongst Moroccans. Mr Wilders says the opposite; it is the Moroccans that should leave the Netherlands.

Recently, Mr Bolkestein wrote a book about ‘dangerous ideas in politics’. The book explains how rash ideas that have not been tested in practice can lead to chaos, abuses and worse. Nevertheless, Mr Bolkestein does not think Mr Wilders’ ideas have much influence outside his supporters. Mr Wilders supports the current government in parliament, but does not have any executive power. “There is little chance that Moroccans will be deported en masse,” he says resolutely.

Burka ban
Mr Wilders repeatedly says the Netherlands threatens to be overrun by a “tsunami of Islamists”. But, says Mr Bolkestein, he is wrong. Birth rates among immigrants are falling fast. For instance, Turkish women are already having fewer children than Dutch women. Mr Bolkestein also stresses that Muslim women are doing well at university, clearly showing they are catching up with their Dutch counterparts.

However, there are still big problems concerning integration, such as the high unemployment and crime rates among immigrant youths as well as anti-Semitism and homophobia.

Mr Bolkestein disagrees with the recent introduction of a burka ban, an idea championed by Geert Wilders. The Netherlands is the third European country to introduce such a ban after France and Belgium. “A ban makes martyrs of the few burka wearers there are in the Netherlands. You should avoid that,” he says, knowing all too well that it was his own party that proposed the ban.

Radio Netherlands

Two Alberta men jailed for racially-motivated assaults (Canada)

2011-10-03T11:59:00.000+01:00

Two Alberta men are going to jail after pleading guilty to their parts in a series of racially-motivated assaults in Edmonton earlier this year.

David Roger Goodman, 19, and James Andrew Brooks, 25, admitted on Friday to being among a group of four men who shouted racial slurs and attacked several black people in downtown Edmonton on February 12.

The accused admitted to distributing flyers that promoted a white supremacist group called "Blood and Honour." The men also admitted to going to several bars in the Whyte Avenue area and threatening black people with violence.

In one downtown bar the group sang Nazi-themed songs, shouted "White Power" and hassled non-white patrons and anyone who appeared to be homosexual, according to Crown prosecutors.

The Crown had alleged that on the evening of Feb. 12, Goodman attacked a black man, knocking him to the ground and punching him repeatedly. Brooks was alleged to have punched a young woman in the face while wearing a glove adorned with hard plastic knuckles.

Goodman was sentenced to 15 months in jail and 12 months probation after pleading guilty to two counts of criminal harassment, two counts of assault and causing a disturbance.

Brooks was given 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of criminal harassment, assault and assault with a weapon and causing a disturbance.

Two other men, Jason Anthony Anderson and Keith Virgil Decu, both 32, have been charged with criminal harassment, mischief, cause disturbance, and assault.

CTV

Still battling blackshirts (UK)

2011-10-03T11:48:00.000+01:00

We still feel the threat of the far right here, in Tower Hamlets, where the Battle of Cable Street was fought 75 years ago

In the London borough of Tower Hamlets on Tuesday we will be commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. This was a momentous day in the history of London's East End, when Oswald Mosley and his blackshirts were driven out of the then mainly Jewish area by demonstrators whose slogan was "They shall not pass!". Joining us on this anniversary – one in which I will unveil the restored Battle of Cable Street mural – will be a veteran of that day, Max Levitas.

What I suspect unites the very different racial and religious communities in the historic diaspora that is Tower Hamlets is a sense of revulsion at bigotry and racism, wherever it comes from. This is why so many people came together recently to protest at the outrageous plan by the far right English Defence League to march through the same area that Mosley's blackshirts had been ejected from. With the support of local MPs, councillors and religious leaders, as well as many outside the borough, we persuaded the Metropolitan police and the home secretary to ban the march.

So I was shocked to read recently that Adrian Tudway, the police's national co-ordinator for domestic extremism, said he had formed the view that the EDL was not extreme after reading its website. According to the Guardian's report, Tudway sent an email in April, urging a Muslim group to open up a "line of dialogue" with the EDL. He wrote: "In terms of the position with EDL, the original stance stands, they are not extreme rightwing as a group, indeed, if you look at their published material on their website they are actively moving away from the right and violence with their mission statement. As we discussed last time, I really think you need to open a direct line of dialogue with them and redirect their activity?"

At best this shows alarming naivety. At worst it demonstrates a callous disregard for those who have been on the receiving end of EDL violence. Disturbingly this came from a man whose unit was charged with investigating any links between the rightwing Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik and the EDL. Breivik boasted of having 600 EDL supporters as Facebook friends and said in his deranged 1,500-word manifesto that he had spoken with EDL members and supporters. This information should surely have been sobering enough for Tudway, and encouraged him to venture beyond the EDL's website. Recently the Daily Mail exposed a stockpile of weaponry assembled by EDL members, which rather takes away from the idea that the organisation is a beacon of moderation.

In any event, if the EDL is on a journey of atonement why did the Met feel it necessary to deploy more than 3,000 officers in Tower Hamlets on the day the EDL had planned a march, despite the home secretary's ban?

What really links Breivik to the EDL is a corrosive Islamophobia, which to all intents and purposes is similar to the antisemitism that many experienced in my part of London in the last century. Not that this in any way excuses those who respond by twisting Islam into a fundamentalism that most in the community do not approve of and do not want. The trouble is, it would appear that the only focus for those attempting to tackle extremism in Britain through the government's Prevent programme are such people – while those who express similar sentiments on the far right are treated with kid gloves.

I was pleased then to see that Dan Hodges from the anti-fascism organisation Searchlight appreciates what really lies behind the EDL. He has said that the police should classify the EDL as extremist and linked to violence, and that they should spend more time and effort trying to thwart the group's plans. To that should be added recent comments by Zaheer Ahmad, of the National Association of Muslim Police, who noted that: "There is a strong perception in the Muslim communities that the police service does not take the threat of rightwing extremism seriously."

Here, in Tower Hamlets, we do take the EDL seriously. That is why, in the wake of repeated threats from that organisation, we want it reclassified as an extremist group, and banned from being allowed to march through our London borough again. That would be the best tribute of all to all those who drove Mosley and his blackshirts out of the East End so many years ago.

The Guardian

Serbia police detain 6 suspected extremists

2011-10-03T11:42:00.000+01:00

Serbia's police say they have detained six people and prevented a gathering of a pro-Russian far-right group that threatened to burn an EU flag and spit on the portrait of the U.S. ambassador in Belgrade.

Riot police were deployed in large number across the capital Sunday to enforce a ban on a gay pride event and anti-gay protests, fearing they would turn violent.

Senior police official Srdjan Grekulovic says the six extremists were detained in central Belgrade with masks and baseball bats on them. He says police also prevented a protest on nearby Mount Avala by the Nasi group — an affiliate of a Russian organization of the same name.

Meanwhile, an EU official and other supporters attended an in-room gathering of gay activists.

AJC

Internet bigot Stephen Birrell facing prison term (UK)

2011-09-29T12:41:00.000+01:00

A man is facing a jail term for posting sectarian comments about Catholics and Celtic fans on a Facebook page called "Neil Lennon Should be Banned".

Stephen Birrell, 28, from Gallowgate, Glasgow, admitted posting the religiously prejudiced abuse between 28 February and 8 March this year.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how he was caught after a police crackdown on sectarian internet campaigns.

Sentence on Birrell was deferred and he was told to expect a prison term.

The court heard how Birrell committed the offences just days after being released earlier from a 12-month jail sentence.

Celtic abuse
Prosecutor Mark Allan told the court that a special team of officers began investigating hate comments on the internet after the so-called Old Firm "shame game" on 3 March this year.

Mr Allan said: "They came across a site called 'Neil Lennon Should Be Banned' and noted that the accused had made various comments on the Facebook page."

On 1 March, two days before the Old Firm match, Birrell posted: "Hope they (Celtic fans) all die. Simple. Catholic scumbags ha ha."

On 4 March, the day after the game, he wrote: "Proud to hate Fenian tattie farmers. Simple ha ha."

Four days later Birrell posted: "They're all ploughing the fields the dirty scumbags."

He also posted abuse directed at the Pope.

The court was told that the police traced Birrell to his then home in Dalmarnock on 23 April.

Deferring sentence for background reports, Sheriff Bill Totten told Birrell: "What you wrote was vile and hateful there is no place for these kind of remarks in our city or in our country."

Sheriff Totten told Birrell that his comments could encourage impressionable people to behave in this way and were unacceptable.

He added: "You should be under no doubt very real harm does result from this. A substantial custodial sentence will probably have to be imposed in this case."

The sheriff will also consider whether to ban Birrell from attending football matches.

BBC News

A.J. man indicted in case of bombs meant for border (Neo-Nazi, USA)

2011-09-29T12:33:00.000+01:00

Jeffrey Harbin

An Apache Junction man who was a former member of a group with neo-Nazi ties is facing up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for bomb-related offenses.

Jeffrey Harbin, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to possession of unregistered destructive devices and the unlawful transportation of explosive material.

Harbin will be sentenced Dec. 13 before Judge Neil Wake. He was charged with the crimes in January when he was pulled over in Apache Junction and officers discovered one of the grenade-like devices in his truck. After a search warrant was executed in his home, authorities discovered about a dozen of the devices.

Authorities say Harbin created them using polyvinyl chloride in a container filled with gunpowder, ball bearings and an improvised fusing system, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Harbin, who was a member of the neo-Nazi-linked National Alliance and formerly in the National Socialist Movement, had planned to take the bombs to the Mexico border, according to court documents. Authorities say used ball bearings to make them more dangerous.

According to authorities, Harbin was recruited into the National Socialist Movement by J.T. Ready, a former Mesa City Council candidate who leads patrols throughout Pinal County and other parts of Arizona in an effort to apprehend illegal immigrants. Ready says he no longer is a member.

The investigation leading up to Harbin’s indictment was led by the FBI and members of the Phoenix Joint Terrorism Task Force.

East Valley Tribune

Wellington English Defence League demo cost police £342,500 (UK)

2011-09-28T17:14:00.000+01:00

The cost of policing rallies by the English Defence League (EDL) and their opponents in a Shropshire town last month was £342,500.

The home secretary had banned a planned EDL march in Wellington amid fears of disorder but about 400 people from opposing groups still went to the town.

More than 40 people were arrested as rival groups clashed on 13 August.

A report to West Mercia Police Authority said £300,000 was spent on bringing in officers from other forces.

The match between AFC Telford United and Luton Town, due to be held on the same day in Telford, was also postponed because of fears of trouble.

The report by Chief Constable David Shaw said three police officers were assaulted during the clashes but none were seriously hurt.

BBC News

Swiss MPs vote for burqa ban

2011-09-28T17:12:00.000+01:00

Swiss MPs have approved a far-right move to impose a ban on the burqa or other face coverings in some public places, including on public transport.

With 101 votes against 77, the lower chamber of the house approved the motion, which was titled "masks off!", on Wednsday.

The draft bill will still have to be examined by the upper chamber.

Put forward by Oskar Freysinger, a politician of the Swiss far-right SVP party, the motion requires "anyone addressing a federal, cantonal or communal authority exercising his or her functions, to present themselves with their faces uncovered."

Burqas would also be banned on public transport, while "authorities can ban or restrict access to public buildings to such individuals in order to guarantee the security of other users."

Explaining the motion, Freysinger noted that "at a time when insecurity is growing in our streets, more and more people are hiding their faces behind a balaclava, a mask or a burqa.

"This makes it impossible to identify these people, a fact that is particularly troublesome in case of violence or identity checks," he noted.

France was the first European Union country to impose a ban on the burqa in public places, while Belgium joined it some months later.

On September 16, the Dutch government also agreed to a ban on the full Islamic veil under a deal with the far-right party of the anti-immigration MP Geert Wilders.

Sydney Morning Herald

Leading Jobbik figure assaulted by right-wing radical at rally (Hungary)

2011-09-27T14:14:00.000+01:00

Zsolt Tyirityán, head of the radical right-wing Betyársereg group, struck Jobbik MP Előd Novák at a rally in Gyula on Saturday, sending his glasses flying and cutting his lip. After Tyirityán (left) demanded that Novák tell him why he had called him a jailbird, Novák said he condemns efforts by some in the Betyársereg to “make imprisonment a virtue”. Tyirityán then struck Novák. A brief scuffle developed between those at hand and members of Betyársereg.

Novák said he will not file a report, as the matter was resolved “within the house,” but the executive committee of Jobbik discussed it and decided to take action.

Novák said Jobbik and Betyársereg had not been allies, as there was “only peaceful coexistence” between them, adding “this will not be so from now on”.

Politics.hu

Padiham mayor admits making racist remark (UK)

2011-09-27T13:57:00.000+01:00

The mayor of Padiham has been ordered to undergo ethnicity training after admitting making a racist comment to a call centre worker.

Coun Bob Clark referred to a member of staff at Calico Housing as a 'bloody P...' during a conversation about a resident of the town who had been locked out of his home after losing his keys.

A standards committee hearing at Burnley Town Hall yesterday found that Coun Clark had breached the councillors Code of Conduct for failing to treat others with respect and had brought Padiham Town Council into disrepute.

Coun Clark could have faced a six-month suspension but the committee decided his previous good character and work for the town did not merit that punishment.

If he had been suspended it could have opened the door for deputy mayor BNP councillor John Cave taking over the role.

The committee, made up of independent chair Andrew Neville, parish representative Gill Smith and borough councillor Julie Cooper, ordered Coun Clark to write a letter of apology, which he had already done, and to undertake ethnicity and diversity training.

The complaint against Coun Clark followed a telephone conversation with Calico worker Hazif Rehman on March 10 this year.

This item continues at Burnley Citizen

BNP leader to seek support in Hastings (UK)

2011-09-27T13:51:00.000+01:00

Controversial right-wing figure Nick Griffin is set to return to Hastings to rally support for the British National Party.

The much-maligned politician made a clandestine visit to 1066 Country back in 2008 amid much posturing from the party’s local branch which, at the time, was predicting electoral success at the then approaching local elections.

Mr Griffin spoke to BNP supporters at a meeting of Hastings-based members – with organisers taking the unusual step of meeting activists on a corner in Hollington and then leading them to a secret venue.

He spoke to the Observer and trumpeted his party’s plans to return Hastings to its former glories.

Speaking to the Observer, he said: “Tourists come visit the town expecting to see somewhere connected to 1066 and the Battle of Hastings. They are expecting an English seaside town - not what it has become now.”

His visit attracted a string of criticism – from the town’s then MP Michael Foster and a band of anti-fascists called Hastings United Against Fascism (HUAF), which organised a protest movement locally.

And, according to local sources, this particular political hot potato is set to kick-off again, with rumours suggesting Mr Griffin is pencilled in to speak at a meeting of the BNP on October 23 here in Hastings.

Nobody from the BNP was available to confirm the details, but a spokesman for HUAF said that if its members found out where the event was taking place, they would almost certainly mark the occasion with a protest.

Hastings Observer

Norwegian Far Right MP Quits After Being Filmed With Latvian Prostitute

2011-09-23T12:15:00.000+01:00

Bård Hoksrud, a representative for Norway's Progress Party, has stepped down from political duties after he was filmed soliciting sex from a Latvian prostitute, reports The Foreigner.

Hoksrud was in Latvia's capital, Riga last week with the Party's Youth Movement when he was filmed entering a brothel and leaving with a prostitute half an hour later.

The next day, cameramen from Norway's TV2 station entered the establishment where one prostitute confirmed that Hoksrud was her client, later stating that the two had sex.

Hoksrud denied this latter claim, but did confirm that he had paid the prostitute for services. And apparently at an above average rate.

The footage of Hoksrud leaving the brothel was aired on Norway's national television last night. It is the third major sex scandal to hit the far-right party after one prominent member was arrested last year for filming several young boys in his shower. Additionally, in 2001, Terje Søvikness, then the Mayor of Os, had sex with a 16-year-old girl at the Progress Party conference.

The Progress Party was also linked to the terror attacks carried out by Anders Breivik this summer, when it emerged that he had been a member of the far-right party from 1999 to 2004. Its leader, Siv Jensen was quick to distance her party from the attacks.

Business insider

Holocaust survivors protest far-right official (Czech Rep)

2011-09-22T13:55:00.000+01:00

Czech Holocaust survivors are calling for the dismissal of a controversial senior education official who led a far-right party.

The Terezin Initiative, an organization of former Jewish prisoners of Nazi concentration camps, says Ladislav Batora should be fired because of his links to the far right scene "infamous for its anti-Semitic and xenophobic" views.

Batora denies he's an extremist. But he led a far-right party and praised an anti-Semitic book. He recently criticized U.S. ambassador Norman Eisen for his support of a gay pride parade in Prague.

Batora, the former director of the ministry's human resources department is a deputy head of Education Minister Josef Dobes' office.

The survivors also criticized President Vaclav Klaus on Tuesday for backing Batora.

Taiwan News

SWISS DECIDE NOT TO BAN NAZI SYMBOLS

2011-09-22T13:50:00.000+01:00

The issue of Nazi symbols has come to the fore over the last decade as Swiss National Day celebrations on the Rütli on August 1st have increasingly been disrupted by right-wing extremists, newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reports. The Rütli is a meadow above the slopes of Lake Lucerne in the Swiss canton of Uri where the oath of the Old Swiss Confederacy is remembered every year. There skinheads have openly displayed Nazi flags and symbols such as “SS”, a Nazi army emblem, and English sports brand Lonsdale, the middle letters of which stand for the first letters in the acronym for the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), the Nazi party in Germany from 1919 to 1945. After former government minister Kaspar Villiger was booed by a neo-Nazi mob during his speech on the Rütli on August 1st 2000, politicians called for action to close a legal loophole. The public use and dissemination of racist symbols has actually been forbidden in Switzerland since a new anti-racism law came into effect in 1995. However, a clause states that the display of offensive symbols is only banned when they are used to promote a corresponding ideology, a correlation that is often difficult to prove. For example, Nazi war flags cannot be confiscated at the Swiss border if the owner claims not to be spreading propaganda.

After the neo-Nazi provocation on the Rütli both the Federal Council and National Council, the lower house of parliament, voted for the proposed ban, while the majority of cantons and associations also voted in favour. The Swiss police officers' association at the time said they would welcome “the introduction of a tool to fight this phenomenon, which is poisoning our society and democracy”. The police association called for a clear identification of the symbols that should be banned and several cantons and parties agreed. However, the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and the FDP (Liberals) rejected the new legal provision on the grounds that it was not sufficiently clear. Then in 2010, the Federal Council also decided to renounce the new legal provision. The government said it was too difficult to exactly define which symbols should be banned because right-wing extremists not only use unambiguous symbols like the swastika or Nazi salute, but also other symbols and codes such as the number 88, a numeric repesentation of of the phrase “Heil Hitler”. “Such a new legal provision would lead to boundary issues between legal and illegal behaviour,” the government noted. These arguments and the reference to the existing anti-racism law won the politicians over and in June the National Council also rejected the proposed legal change. On Tuesday the Council of States, the upper house of parliament, followed suit.

Marcel Niggli, a professor of criminal law at the University of Freiburg, told the Tages-Anzeiger he believed the hands-off approach was “a scandal”. “With their resistance, the parliament has cemented the unsatisfactory legal situation and delegated responsibility to the police.” After the scenes on the Rütli, police in Canton Uri asked what action they could take against Nazi symbols. “A police officer must decide if someone is campaigning with a Nazi symbol or not,” Niggli said. That leads to a dilemma. If the police do nothing, they are accused of inaction, he said, whereas if they react they are seen to be suppressing freedom of expression. According to Niggli, it is possible to clearly define a law banning Nazi symbols such as the swastika, as Germany has done.

The Local Switzerland

Germany Bans Largest Neo-Nazi Group

2011-09-22T13:48:00.000+01:00

Germany has banned its largest neo-Nazi association, the HNG, which supports prisoners with far-right views and their families, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday, the government's latest step to curb the influence of radical groups. The Help Organization for National Political Prisoners and their Families (HNG) is, say German authorities, a threat to society and works against the constitution. With the slogan "A front inside and outside," the HNG seeks to reinforce prisoners' right-wing views and motivate them to continue their struggle against the system, said the ministry. "It is no longer acceptable that imprisoned right-wing extremists are being strengthened by the HNG in their aggressive stance against the free, democratic order," Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement. "By rejecting the democratic constitutional state and glorifying National Socialism, the HNG tried to keep right wing radical criminals in their own milieu," the ministry said.

The group, founded in 1979, has some 600 members. The ban follows raids in which police seized material from leading HNG members across Germany. Although far-right groups attract most support in the eastern states, where unemployment is high and prospects few, the raids took place in western states including Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. Germany's domestic intelligence agency has said that far-right groups have in the last few years sought to use the financial crisis and euro zone debt crisis to prove that the capitalist system has failed. The ban comes two weeks after the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), which espouses the end of parliamentary democracy, regained seats in the state assembly of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is also represented in Saxony. Right wing groups in Germany, including the NPD, are more radical than populist, anti-immigration parties in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Sweden which have enjoyed greater success at the ballot box.

Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution describes the NPD as racist, anti-Semitic and revisionist and says its statements prove its inspiration comes from the Nazis. The party says the German constitution is a "diktat" imposed by victorious Western powers after World War Two. Germany has banned several right-wing groups in the last few years but critics say the government needs to do more to weed out extreme views which permeate society. "It is a sensible, if overdue, step to ban a criminal Organization like the HNG," said Anetta Kahane, head of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation which supports projects to boost civil society. "But we need to do more to educate people so that they can resist right-wing ideas. For example, judges and the police need to be educated to deal with extremists," she told Reuters. "The problem of neo-Nazis has not gone away." The police and judicial systems in several eastern German states have been condemned for failing to recognize and tackle the problem of neo-Nazi crime.

Reuters

Security chief warns of 'radicalised' Australians

2011-09-20T08:49:00.001+01:00

Australia's security chief has warned of the risk of "radicalised" home-grown extremists committing terror acts, adding that "lone wolf" attacks such as occurred in Norway could not be ruled out.

David Irvine, Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said that a decade after the September 11 attacks on the United States, "radicalised" youth posed a realistic threat.

"In terms of current threats, the fact that Al-Qaeda and its associated anti-Western transnational terrorist partners have declared Australia to be a legitimate target of attack continues to be a major concern," he said.

"Of equal concern is that small numbers of Australians have absorbed the ideology of violent religious extremism and have planned or are contemplating and planning acts of terrorism in Australia or overseas.

"This home-grown brand of terrorism, involving mostly young Australians who have been 'radicalised' either by Australian extremists or by overseas inspiration, requires constant vigilance."

In an address late Monday to Adelaide University, Irvine said an event similar to the July bomb and gun attacks which killed 77 people in Norway could not be ruled out in Australia. Far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, 32, has confessed to the attacks.

"Particular worries are the so-called 'lone wolf' or 'stand-alone' groups who act independently and throw off few clues as to malicious intent," Irvine said.

He praised the work of Australian authorities, particularly ASIO, in preventing a terror attack on home soil for many years.

"Nevertheless, planning for terrorist attacks on Australian soil has occurred and has been thwarted by ASIO and its law enforcement partners since 9/11," he said.

"Our job is to predict and alert, thereby to prevent the bomb going off."

Irvine, who has headed ASIO since March 2009 and previously led Australia's overseas secret intelligence collection agency (ASIS), said balancing the need to protect the country against personal privacy was a constant concern.

Australia has disrupted four major terror plots since the 9/11 attacks on the United States which killed close to 3,000 people, with 37 of the 38 people prosecuted for those plots being Australian citizens.

Google hosted news
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Euro lawmakers gather in Kiev to condemn anti-Semitism

2011-09-20T08:42:00.000+01:00

Dozens of lawmakers gathered in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Monday for an international conference condemning anti-Semitism.

Participants at the event, organized by Ukrainian lawmaker and businessman Oleksandr Feldman, issued a joint declaration commemorating the 70th anniversary of the massacre of Jews by the Nazis at Babi Yar, which takes place next week.

“Babi Yar should be viewed as a symbol of man’s inhumanity to man and an example of the horrific cost which can be imposed in the name of hatred and intolerance,” the declaration stated.

Educational efforts must be reinforced all over the globe to establish the Babi Yar massacre as not simply another event within the horrific scope of the Holocaust, but as a telling indicator of the breadth of Nazi evil.”

During the two-day gathering delegates from over a dozen countries debated the significance of the Holocaust at the Ukrainian parliament with local lawmakers.

Vice President of the Bundetstag Petra Pau spoke on behalf of the German government saying events which took place in her country over 70 years ago were examples of why supporters of democracy must stay united against totalitarianism.

“Germany’s history teaches us that the reasons fascism gained power was not that the Nazis were so strong but because democrats were hopelessly divided on crucial issues,” the social democrat said. “This must be remembered when commemorating the millions of victims of the Holocaust.”

Israel’s representative to the conference, MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu) used the opportunity to call on delegates to oppose the expected unilateral Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations.

“Nowadays we often see that anti-Semitism is being converted into anti-Israeli sentiment,” he said. “Recognizing a country which does not recognize us could potentially take us back to the dark times of the mid- 20th century.”

Other lawmakers in attendance included MPs John Mann and Denis MacShance of the UK; Raffi Hovannisian of Armenia; Yusuf Ziya Irbec of Turkey; and Rufat Guliyev of Azerbaijan.

“I first arrived in Kiev in 1975 to study and I know the city very well,” Guliyev said. “But before I visited Babi Yar I had never realized the size and significance of the Holocaust.”

At the end of the gathering participants issued a second declaration calling for the establishment of a museum in Kiev depicting the history of the Jews in Ukraine.

“So as to transform this important vision into reality, we call for broad international support – both moral and financial,” it said.

Feldman, who is also the head of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, said he hoped to turn the conference into an annual event.

JewishWorld

Romanian Foreign Minister Claims Dutch Govt 'Held Captive' by Far-Right Party

2011-09-20T08:37:00.000+01:00

The Dutch government is "held captive" by a far-right party with anti-European attitudes, according to Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi.

Commenting Monday on Dutch opposition to Romania and Bulgaria's accession to Europe's visa-free Schengen zone, he stressed that "France and Germany have become more flexible, they have proposed us a two-step entry scenario".

The two countries, however, have "failed to convince the Dutch government which is in a certain way held captive by the anti-European and anti-immigration political agenda of an extremist party," Baconschi added, as cited by Romanian news agency Mediafax.

The Dutch center-right government, which vowed last week to block Romania and Bulgaria's bids to join the Schengen zone, rules with the backing of Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom Party (PVV).

According to diplomatic sources close to the matter, the two countries, which firmly opposed the the two countries' Schengen accession in spring, advising them to step up the fight against corruption, "left the door open for compromise", which was suggested by the Polish EU presidency.

Poland came up with a two-step solution that would see air and sea borders open by the end of October.

A decision on giving the two countries dates on the land borders, "which are more controversial," would only be taken "in the next year," the source said.

The Dutch government, however, remained adamant that it would "not even approve the partial entry."

Several days ahead of Thursday's meeting of foreign ministers of EU member states on the issue, where all decisions are taken by a unanimous vote, Baconschi expressed hopes that the Netherlands' blockage would be surmounted.

Novinite

Racist slogans found on Muslim graves in French military cemetery

2011-09-19T09:03:00.000+01:00

About 30 Muslim graves have been desecrated in Carcassone, south-west France. A legal inquiry has been launched to find the perpetrators and punish them.

The caretaker of the military cemetery of Saint-Michel de la ville discovered racist and Nazi slogans daubed on the gravestones when he closed up on Saturday.

The graves belonged to Muslims killed fighting for France during World War I and were immediately repainted and restored.

The graffiti were “really racist” and “particularly disgusting”, according to Carcassonne prosecutor Antoine Leroy, who has opened an inquiry into the incident.

http://www.english.rfi.fr/france

ANTI-ROMA DEMONSTRATION STAGED IN VARNSDORF (Czech Rep.)

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

Some 500 members of majority population came to an anti-Romany demonstration in the north Bohemian town of Varnsdorf this afternoon, local police spokeswoman Jarmila Hrubesova told CTK Saturday. However, the police blocked the road of the marchers to the hostel mostly inhabited by Romanies and then the anti-Romany protest was dissolved. There were no incident during the march, but the police detained two persons, Hrubesova said. One of them shouted racist slogans. He had with him two cobblestones and was drunk. The other man, an extremist from Prague, had racist signs tattooed on his arm, she added. If convicted, both of them can be sentenced up to three years in prison. The demonstrators were joined by members of extremist groupings, but they only constituted a minority of the crowd, Hrubesova said. The march stopped about 50 metres before the hostel where the police had formed a barrier. At 15:15, a town hall representative called on the demonstrators to disperse, but they did not obey. Instead, the crowd went past the hostel and was heading to the town centre.

"The other march was not announced and since it is illegal, we will ask its participants to go away. Those who will disobey will be taken to the police station," Hrubesova said. The rally started with the Czech national anthem, followed by other songs. Some protesters demanded that the mayor of Varnsdorf resign. By staging the demonstrations, the locals want to attract attention to their plight. They seek changes in the legislation and criticise the government for being indifferent to the problems in north Bohemia. They unfolded a big banner saying "Necas has no time for us." Prime Minister Petr Necas has not been to north Bohemia since the situation came to a head in the area, but unofficial sources say he will go there next week. Tension between the majority society and Romanies has been escalating for some time in a northern Bohemian border area, including the towns of Novy Bor, Rumburk, Sluknov and Varnsdorf. Locals say the crime rate is rising because of Romanies who have recently been moving to the area.

In August, two violent incidents occurred and the police are prosecuting several Romanies. Locals protested against the violence but the situation is being used by extremist groups that started organising protests in the area. The police are checking cars on the roads leading to the town and patrolling outside the local railway station. Some 30 minutes before the beginning of the rally, the police detained 14 men with suspicious tattooing, Hrubesova said. "We arrested nine of them at the railway station and the rest throughout the town over the suspicion of various delicts. Some of them did not have identity cards and we found knives by some of them," Hrubesova said, adding that the police did not find any weapons during the car checks. The demonstration was preceded by a public meeting called by the town hall. The local cinema building was filled by hundreds of dissatisfied and angry local people. They criticised the town hall over a lukewarm approach to the problem as well as the police. Here, too, the mayor and the whole town hall were asked to step down. The protesters demanded more rigorous payment of welfare benefits, a reduction of the places in hostels and more support to public works.

Prague Monitor

SP: Geert Wilders breaks promises (Netherlands)

2011-09-19T08:58:00.000+01:00

Geert Wilders’ PVV has broken over 200 promises in the first year after the elections, says the SP in a report out today.

‘We noticed that the PVV never engages in public debate. Wilders and other PVV MPs refuse to take responsibility for their opinions and so we decided to have a closer look at the way they vote.’, says Arjan Vliegenthart, director of the SP’s research bureau.

According to the report, the PVV has consistently refused to oppose the so-called ‘grab what you can’ remuneration culture in Dutch public service and supported free market forces in healthcare. It also came back on its promise not to change the system of student grants.

PVV promises on immigration – ‘the party’s litmus test’- have largely floundered because they contravene European guidelines, the SP concludes.

Dutch News

IKEA founder pledges £1bn to charity following Nazi past revelations

2011-09-19T08:54:00.000+01:00

IKEA’s billionaire founder Ingvar Kamprad has pledged £1bn to charity in a move which follows revelations about his Nazi past.

The 85-year-old businessman has instructed the IKEA foundation, which has owned the company since 1982, to more than double its charitable spending to close to £100m a year.

Around £40m will go to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, split over three years, with the rest shared between UN agencies such as UNICEF, UNHCR and UNDP, and Save the Children, to which the foundation is already the largest corporate donor.

“We will donate 1bn Kr per year (£95.7m),” Per Heggenes, Mr Kamprad’s press spokesman, told Sweden’s Expressen newspaper. “There’s been a strong will from Ingvar to do more things for more people by setting a more ambitious goal for the foundation.”

The move follows last month’s revelations that Mr Kamprad at the age of 17 had been an active recruiter and a registered member of the Svensk Socialistisk Samling (SSS), the successor to the Swedish Nazi party.

Mr Kamprad’s youthful Far Right sympathies first came to light in 1994, with the posthumous publication of the letters of Per Engdhal, the leader of the Far Right New Swedish movement of the 1950s, which detailed the friendship and financial support he had enjoyed from Mr Kamprad.

But they were revived last month by Swedish journalist Elisabeth Åsbrink, who unearthed a 1944 file opened by the Swedish Secret Police.

The increase in the IKEA Foundation’s spending will also help counter accusations that foundation is designed more for efficient tax management than international aid.

The Economist concluded its 2006 investigation into IKEA’s finances, by stating: “The overall set-up of IKEA minimises tax and disclosure, handsomely rewards the founding Kamprad family and makes IKEA immune to a takeover.”

The foundation, it said, was,“not only the world’s richest foundation, but is at the moment also one of its least generous.”

It estimated that the Stichting Ingka Foundation which owns IKEA was in 2006 worth about $36bn, making it the richest charitable foundation in the world, far ahead of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was worth $26.9bn in that year.

But at the time, its outgoing grants were both tiny and dedicated to the underwhelming goal, of “innovation in the field of architectural and interior design”.

Mr Kamprad has already reacted to the bad publicity. After the Economist article, he fought a court battle in The Netherlands to change the goal of the Foundation, allowing it to spend money on poor children in the developing world.

The Telegraph

Netherlands to Ban Islamic face covering veil

2011-09-19T08:47:00.000+01:00

Prime Minister Mark Rutte also announced tougher rules for immigrants and asylum-seekers wanting Dutch nationality who, in future, must show they have earned income and have not received financial assistance or benefits for at least three years. The country's reputation as relatively easy on immigration has changed over the past decade, reflecting voter concerns over the large number of Muslim immigrants. "The government believes the wearing of clothing that completely or almost entirely covers the face is fundamentally at odds with public life, where people are recognised by their faces," the government said in a statement yesterday.

"Face-covering clothing prevents this and goes against the principles of equality between men and women, especially women." The new measures reflect the influence wielded by populist politician Geert Wilders, whose anti-Islam, anti-immigration Freedom Party is the third-largest in parliament.

Wilders has a pact with the minority coalition government to provide crucial support in parliament in exchange for tougher policies on Islam and immigration from non-Western countries. The Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition government has already faced tough opposition from Wilders' Freedom Party over its support for euro zone bailouts, and needs to keep it on side in order to push ahead with crucial budget cuts. The government said it did not consider the ban on face-covering veils a restriction of religious freedom, but that even if it was, it was "necessary and justified in the interest of protecting the character and way of life in the Netherlands". The proposals will first be presented to the council of state, the administrative court, and then to parliament. No time frame was given, but Wilders has said he hopes to introduce the ban on face-covering veils this year or next.

Arabic-style niqabs which leave the eyes uncovered and Afghan-style burqas that cover the face with a cloth grid are far less commonly seen on the streets of the Netherlands than Muslim headscarves which leave the face exposed. France imposed a ban on burqas last year and on Friday banned street prayers.

Debate invite to BNP chief prompts major row at TCD society

2011-09-19T08:42:00.000+01:00

A planned debate at Trinity College’s Philosophical Society has divided its committee and been thrown into disarray following a decision to invite British National Party MEP Nick Griffin to take part.

The debate, on the motion that This House Believes Immigration Has Gone Too Far , is scheduled for October 20th next.

Mr Griffin has agreed to speak in favour of the motion. Another speaker who had agreed to oppose the motion withdrew at the weekend on discovering that Nick Griffin was to take part.

John Palmer, who is on the governing board of the European Policy Centre and deputy chairman of its Political Europe programme, told The Irish Times last night he found it “totally unacceptable” that Mr Griffin should take part in such a debate, and had told the organisers he would not take part if Mr Griffin’s invitation was not withdrawn.

Former European correspondent at the Guardian , Mr Palmer said: “The BNP’s roots are in Nazism, and it is very clear those roots remain strongly Nazi.” He had “no problem taking part in debates with people who had racist or reactionary views on immigration”, but he would not do so “with a party rooted in support for the Holocaust and all that represents”. The BNP also had “extreme anti-Muslim policies”, he said.

TCD’s Socialist Party Society has also opposed the invitation to Mr Griffin, as has the Union of Jewish Students in Britain. They called on the Philosophical Society to withdraw its invitation to Mr Griffin, pointing out that “as was witnessed at Durham and Oxford universities, publicity stunts such as these tear apart student communities and contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students on campus”.

In a brief statement last night, the Philosophical Society said: “The Phil is a neutral forum for discussion. We do not endorse the views of any of our speakers. Nick Griffin has been invited to speak solely on immigration. He is a prominent speaker on this issue. The debate will be balanced, with two guest speakers on each side of the motion.”

When asked who those guest speakers would be, society president Eoin Ó Liatháin said he did not wish to comment further.

According to Trinity News, the story about Nick Griffin’s participation in the debate first leaked on the blog of the BNP’s press officer, Simon Darby.

Mr Palmer said last night he had been first contacted by the Trinity society about taking part in a debate “some months ago, and had agreed in principle”. He was presented with the motion “a couple of weeks ago, but no further information”.

He believes he was sent another message in the middle of last week indicating Mr Griffin would be taking part, but as he was abroad at the time he did not receive it until Saturday evening last. He then contacted the society to say that “unless the invitation to Nick Griffin was withdrawn I would not participate”.

He also believed the debate had divided the Phil committee, some of whom had told him they “strongly opposed” the Griffin invitation.

Irish Times

Essex: Reaction to English Defence League group in the town (UK)

2011-09-19T08:38:00.000+01:00

A group that aims to challenge the “spread and threat” of Islamic extremism in the UK has set up a Colchester Garrison branch.

The English Defence League section says it supports serving soldiers in the town.

However, there is no suggestion the group is in any way linked to the garrison.

Its group on social networking site Facebook has 65 members and men have been seen in the town wearing T-shirts with the group’s logo.

Terry Sutton, president of the Royal British Legion in Colchester, said the group represented a minority of radicals.

He added: “With only 65 members online, they are not representing the views of the majority of people in Colchester.

“People are allowed to demonstrate their feelings however they wish. Whatever you may think about that, we live in a free country.

“Some people will be offended by it while others will just brush it aside and think it is just a radical few letting off some steam.”

Administrators of the Facebook group say it represents “the county of Essex and the people of Essex” and aims to challenge “the spread and threat of sharia law, sharia law courts and radical Islam, primarily at a local level within Essex”.

The new group is affiliated to the East Anglian division of the national league, which is the biggest in the country.

Most of the members from the newly-formed Colchester Garrison branch are believed to be from the Colchester and Clacton areas.

A Colchester shopkeeper who saw a man wearing the group’s T-shirt in the town recently said he was disgusted.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: “It is pretty unpleasant and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

“I don’t think people should be allowed to advertise their prejudiced views in that way and, considering this is a garrison town with lots of soldiers, I think it looks bad on them.

“I would hate to think there were soldiers in this town who agreed with their extremist views.

The Ministry of Defence said: “Soldiers are not precluded from joining the English Defence League, as long as they do not wear uniform, take part in demonstrations or do anything that would bring the Army into disrepute.”

Braintree and with Witham times

Jewish rabbis take part in U.S. anti-Islamophobia event

2011-09-11T11:21:00.000+01:00

Jewish rabbis took part in an anti-Islamaphobia in Washington on Thursday, days before the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 Twin Towers attack in New York, JTA reported.

“Ten years after 9/11, it has somehow become respectable to verbally attack Muslims and Islam in America,” Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the Union of Reform Judaism, reportedly said at an event organized by Shoulder to Shoulder, a group founded a year ago to combat anti-Muslim rhetoric.

“There are very real consequences when entire populations are represented in the public imagination by their worst elements, when the sins of the few are applied to the group as a whole. I have watched in astonishment as prominent politicians, including candidates for president of the United States, have found it politically opportune to peddle divisive anti-Muslim bigotry,” Yoffie added.

Rabbi Burton Visotzky from the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary said Muslims “have always been part of the fabric of America,” the JTA report said.
Steve Gutow, a Reconstructionist rabbi and the president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the public policy umbrella group reportedly spoke at the event as well, saying “a great people and a great nation do not let their brothers and sisters suffer from bigotry and persecution.”

He condemned those who discriminate against Muslims throughout the United States, saying “our Muslim brothers and sisters suffer exactly that in all corners of this great country of ours. Today is a day to stand up and say we have had enough,” the report said.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, co-founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Rabbi Jack Moline, representing the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi Sidney Schwarz, representing the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and the Faith and the Common Good project, and Rabbi Dr. Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, representing the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, were also in attendance, the JTA report said.

Haaretz

SDL and Unite Against Fascism stage Edinburgh rallies (UK)

2011-09-11T11:16:00.000+01:00

Hundreds of police have staged a show of force in central Edinburgh at a rally by the Scottish Defence League.

Almost 200 supporters of the far right group were heavily outnumbered by officers drawn from forces across the central belt.

They were penned in after the city council refused them permission to march.

A counter demonstration of about 400 Unite Against Fascism protesters was allowed to hold a procession.

They marched along Princes Street before attending a rally.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police confirmed there was a "substantial police presence" and said both demonstrations passed off without incident and without any arrests.
'Minimum disruption'

The Lothian and Borders force was supported by officers from Strathclyde, Tayside, Fife, Central, and British Transport Police.

Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "We are satisfied with the conduct of the vast majority of those who visited Edinburgh for their respective demonstrations.

"The day passed without significant incident and allowed local residents and businesses to go about their day with minimum disruption."

He added: "I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the public in Edinburgh for their patience and support throughout the policing of this event.

"Edinburgh remains a hub for various demonstrations to take place and Lothian and Borders Police have a wealth of experience in facilitating both planned and spontaneous gatherings."
Disorder fears

The Scottish Defence League is an offshoot of the English Defence League, which has been associated with trouble at gatherings south of the border.

Last year there were minor skirmishes when about 50 SDL supporters staged a rally in the capital.

They were outnumbered by 2,000 counter-protesters marching under the banner of Scotland United.

This year the SDL had originally wanted to march from near the US Consulate to the east end of Princes Street.

This proposal was turned down by members of the council's licensing committee over fears of public disorder.

Speakers at a UAF rally were due to include Malcolm Chisholm MSP, Colin Keir MSP and union representatives.

BBC News

Neo-Nazi Authour released for being old. (Austria)

2011-09-11T11:13:00.000+01:00

A fascist writer who has denied the Holocaust has been released from jail early for being advanced in years. Viennese newspapers reported yesterday (Thurs) that Gerd Honsik was allowed to travel to Spain where he has lived with his family for years. The High Court of Vienna (OGH) argued the 69-year-old integrated well into society there. It cited his age as another reason for the early release on probation. The Austrian was sentenced to five years behind bars in 2009 for extreme-right statements he had made in articles in a magazine he published. His prison term was reduced by one year in an appeal hearing a few months later before he was ordered to spend an extra two years in jail in another trial last September.

Honsik was convicted of breaking Austria’s law against spreading Nazi propaganda and ideology in his book "Freispruch für Hitler?" (Acquittal for Hitler?) and sentenced to one and a half years in prison in 1992. He fled to Spain, a country criticised as a safe haven for neo-Nazis and alleged World War Two (WWII) criminals by many anti-fascism groups. Honsik was arrested in Malaga and eventually extradited to his homeland in 2007. Honsik has been in court over various disputed statements many times over the years. He doubted the existence of gas chambers at Nazi death camps in WWII in his books "Der Juden Drittes Reich" (The Jews’s Third Reich) and "Schelm und Scheusal" (Prankster and Monster). The infamous fascist claimed the Nazis’ mass murder could be doubted and called for a "forensic examination" of the "alleged Holocaust."

Austrian Times