A wealthy businessman who painted the words "I am a monkey" on the chest of an African child attending his daughter's birthday party, has been ordered to unconditionally apologise and pay R15 000 in damages to the child's father.
Durban's Equality Court magistrate, John Sander, ruled that the discrimination suffered by the child and his father "strikes at their human dignity - the heartbeat of our democracy and our constitution".
The father, a sergeant in the defence force, laid the complaint against Deven Pillay with the help of the Human Rights Commission. He cannot be named to protect the identity of his son, who is now 12, but was 10 at the time.
Pillay denied the allegations, saying someone else had written the words on the child. He claimed that the father was attempting to extort money from him because, compared to his neighbours, he was "a man of means".
The court heard evidence that the children's party was held at Pillay's home in an SA National Defence Force complex because his wife is in the navy.
Pillay said he had spent R20 000 on a jumping castle and told his daughter she could invite whoever she wanted. She invited all the children in the street - about 60 to 70 - including the complainant's son.
The young boy returned home that day with "I am a monkey" written on his chest and a misspelt "I am a gorilla" on his back.
He said Pillay had written on the front of his chest. After seeing it, another child had written the other sign on his back.
While the son testified that he was not upset at all by the incident, his father said in his complaint to the court: "I am extremely upset by this crass, racist act and the insulting behaviour directed at my child. Painting this on the chest of an African child amounts to dissemination of propaganda or ideas which propound the racial inferiority of Africans."
In spite of Pillay's denial that he wrote the words, the magistrate ruled that he had. He said the child had not seen anything wrong in the words, so he would not have lied about who had written them.
He accepted that Pillay was not generally a racist, taking into account that the vast majority of children there that day were African. He ruled, however, that Pillay was guilty of discrimination and hate speech, and ordered him to apologise and pay damages.
IOL
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
'Anti-Semitism is worse in 2010 than 1910'
"Anti-Semitism is continually morphing all the time, which is its strength," he explained. "There's no sign of diminution and it will probably get worse. We see it in every indicator possible showing a clear and steady rise in the number of attacks recorded on Jews."
Why are things as bad as he believes they are? Wistrich says the last decade has seen a several strands of hatred towards Jews intertwine forming an unholy alliance between the extreme left and right together with fundamental Islam.
"What I think that really struck me about the last decade that I don't think was new but has become more intense is that we've seen the coming together of classical anti-Semitism with a number of other strands like anti-Americanism, Islamic fundamentalism and international delegitimization of Israel. Their convergence has become much starker."
But not everyone agrees with Wistrich's opinion. As one reviewer of his tome pointed out, as prevalent and intolerable as anti-Semitism may be nowadays it couldn't possibly be any worse than it was, say, back in 1910, could it?
However, according to Wistrich, it is.
"The year 1910 in comparison with what we've been living through in the past decade is a paradise," he said unhesitatingly. "There was a nasty and ugly potential for anti-Semitism in 1910 but relatively speaking Jews lived in a stable environment and as one Jewish writer Stefan Zweig wrote it was an age of golden security."
The one big exception to that rule is Czarist Russia, that great bastion of anti-Semitism where Jews were confined to live under institutional discrimination within the confines of the Pale of Settlement and were victims of periodic pogroms. Anti-Semitism in Russia in 1910 was worse than it is today, he admits – but not the West.
"Today, even in the most advanced and democratic societies, Jews are uncomfortable," he claims. "The real difference between 1910 and today is not that anti-Semitism is less common but that Israel provides a powerful shield and deterrent. Not a perfect deterrent and also a cause of anti-Semitism in itself."
Whether one agrees or disagrees with Wistrich no one can doubt the depth of his knowledge or his commitment to research.
Wistrich's book includes 150 pages of footnotes. In conducting his research he read sources in 12 different languages: English and Hebrew, as you'd expect from an academic who was raised in Britain and teaches in Israel; his mother's native Polish and its cousins Russian and Ukrainian; tongues of Germanic origin including German, Dutch and Yiddish; the Latin lingos of Western Europe, French, Italian and Spanish, and, finally, even Arabic.
In one important language of particular importance to the study of anti-Semitism in our time, however, he said he had to rely on translations: Farsi. Iran and the fundamental Islam it espouses are a key component in the surge of hatred towards Jews around the world.
"There's a common resentment of Israel and American often linked with anti-Semitic thinking. Clearly, this has been round 70-80 years but it picked up steam with the Islamic Revolution. What we see is an assault on the West in which Israel and the Jews have become a surrogate for an attack."
Wistrich's prose has won praise by reviewers but his thick brick of a book isn't light reading. In case you've ever wondered what kind of a person walks into a bookstore and picks up a 1,000 page history of anti-Semitism Wistrich's answer might surprise you –it's not just Jews, he says.
"By far the most insightful comments have been from non-Jews," he says. "In the US I appear on nationwide radio shows."
As one might expect those readers are mostly Mormons, Catholics and evangelicals, who tend to be supportive of Israel and Jews in general. But he said he has many secular non-Jewish readers in the US In any case, he commended his non-Jewish readership's "genuine horror of reading and grasping the scale of the phenomenon."
Nearing the end of the interview one might be tempted to label Wistrich a pessimist. But he denies that he is one.
Instead, he says he is a "guarded optimist." Ironically, the elites are the great hope in the struggle against anti-Semitism. Once, they despised and feared uppity Jews. Now, they realize the error of their ways.
"This is a sign of belated awakening of some of the political elites to anti-Semitism," he said. "There are some minority voices in the Arab world, they are inconsequential now but will not be forever. Doesn't mean we're going to turn things round. That would require a long and concerted effort. But it has to begin somewhere."
To Wistrich's mind the Jews in 2010 –as in 1910- have no one but themselves to rely on, and he ends the interview paraphrasing Rabbi Hillel's famous saying.
"If Jews don't mobilize," he asks, "then why should we expect others?"
JPost
Monday, 16 August 2010
Albania 'Road Rage' Death Sparks Ethnic Fears (Albania)
The death of a Greek minority man in an apparent road rage incident in Southern Albania has provoked fears of unrest among ethnic communities.
Officials from Athens, Tirana and the Orthodox Church have condemned the killing of Aristotel Gumi, 35, who died after being struck by a car in his home village of Himara four days ago following an argument with a group of Albanians.
Grigoris Delavekouras, the Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman, condemned the death, calling on the entire Albanian political class to react.
“Unacceptable criminal acts like that aim to arouse ethnic tension with unpredictable consequences and undermine the bilateral relations between Greece and Albania,” he said.
Sali Berisha, the Albanian Prime Minister, said: “If the motives reported in the media are right, this was a terrible crime, an extremely fanatical and blind act.”
Vangjel Dule, the head of the minority party, the Union for Human Rights, PBDNJ, said in a statement on Monday that only officers from the Greek minority should police Himara to avoid problems in the future.
Gumi is reported to have got into a quarrel with an Albanian man and four of his friends at a roadside bar on Thursday night.
He was allegedly run down by a car driven by his rival as he fled on his motorcycle.
The local community has been angered over reports the suspects turned on Gumi over his use of the Greek language.
Dozens of townspeople from Himara and nearby villages used boulders to block the main road connecting the town with city of Vlora in protest over the killing, leaving thousands of tourists stranded for nearly 14-hours.
Seven youths from the nearby city of Vlora have been charged with Gumi's premeditated murder and aiding a fugitive, after being arrested on Friday.
The main suspect reported to police on Sunday evening.
The head of Albania’s Orthodox Church, Archbishop Janullatos, who is also Greek, called on the authorities to inform the public about the incident “in order not to ruin the climate of coexistence between the two ethnic communities”.
In a string of interviews with the local media, the mayor of Himara Vasil Bollano, called the death “unprecedented,” saying it was motivated by ethnic hatred.
A controversial figure, Bollano was acquitted by an appeals court two months ago over charges of abuse of power for ordering the removal of road signs because they were not bilingual.
He has previously declared large areas of southern Albania as 'Greek land' and claimed autonomy for the region.
Estimates of the Greek minority in Albania range around three per cent of the total population.
Officials from Athens, Tirana and the Orthodox Church have condemned the killing of Aristotel Gumi, 35, who died after being struck by a car in his home village of Himara four days ago following an argument with a group of Albanians.
Grigoris Delavekouras, the Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman, condemned the death, calling on the entire Albanian political class to react.
“Unacceptable criminal acts like that aim to arouse ethnic tension with unpredictable consequences and undermine the bilateral relations between Greece and Albania,” he said.
Sali Berisha, the Albanian Prime Minister, said: “If the motives reported in the media are right, this was a terrible crime, an extremely fanatical and blind act.”
Vangjel Dule, the head of the minority party, the Union for Human Rights, PBDNJ, said in a statement on Monday that only officers from the Greek minority should police Himara to avoid problems in the future.
Gumi is reported to have got into a quarrel with an Albanian man and four of his friends at a roadside bar on Thursday night.
He was allegedly run down by a car driven by his rival as he fled on his motorcycle.
The local community has been angered over reports the suspects turned on Gumi over his use of the Greek language.
Dozens of townspeople from Himara and nearby villages used boulders to block the main road connecting the town with city of Vlora in protest over the killing, leaving thousands of tourists stranded for nearly 14-hours.
Seven youths from the nearby city of Vlora have been charged with Gumi's premeditated murder and aiding a fugitive, after being arrested on Friday.
The main suspect reported to police on Sunday evening.
The head of Albania’s Orthodox Church, Archbishop Janullatos, who is also Greek, called on the authorities to inform the public about the incident “in order not to ruin the climate of coexistence between the two ethnic communities”.
In a string of interviews with the local media, the mayor of Himara Vasil Bollano, called the death “unprecedented,” saying it was motivated by ethnic hatred.
A controversial figure, Bollano was acquitted by an appeals court two months ago over charges of abuse of power for ordering the removal of road signs because they were not bilingual.
He has previously declared large areas of southern Albania as 'Greek land' and claimed autonomy for the region.
Estimates of the Greek minority in Albania range around three per cent of the total population.
Indonesia urges religious tolerance
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian president, has stressed the need for religious tolerance amid growing calls for him to act against extremists who regularly attack minorities in the country.
In a speech to parliament on Monday, the eve of the country's independence day, Yudhoyono called on Indonesians to exercise the "true philosophy of harmonious living in a pluralistic society".
"To build a democratic and fair life, I want to underline the importance of maintaining and strengthening our brotherhood, harmony and tolerance as a nation," he said.
"In everyday life we still find cases that don't reflect the harmony, tolerance and mutual respect ... related to religion, ethnicity, tribe and regions. We must not ignore such a situation."
Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the country of some 240 million people, 80 per cent of whom are Muslim, has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, in recent months, it has been plagued by rising violence by Islamic groups who have launched attacks on mosques belonging to minority sects and Christian churches.
Call for action
Hundreds of Indonesians, mostly Christians, held a prayer vigil in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, on Sunday urging Yudhoyono to stop the attacks and guarantee religious freedom.
In July the Indonesian rights group the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace said there were 28 cases of religious freedom violations from January to July, up from 17 for the whole of 2008 and 18 in 2009.
The violations, mostly by radical Muslim groups, included forced closure of churches and attacks such as torching and damaging churches, it said.
Human Rights Watch early this month said Indonesia was letting Islamist groups trample the constitutional rights of minorities, leading to inter-communal violence.
It called on Yudhoyono to repeal laws that it said gives extremists from the dominant religious group the legal space to launch violent attacks on people of other faiths and sects.
Yudhoyono also said during his speech that the government was optimistic of a 7.7 per cent growth in the economy by 2014.
aljazeera
In a speech to parliament on Monday, the eve of the country's independence day, Yudhoyono called on Indonesians to exercise the "true philosophy of harmonious living in a pluralistic society".
"To build a democratic and fair life, I want to underline the importance of maintaining and strengthening our brotherhood, harmony and tolerance as a nation," he said.
"In everyday life we still find cases that don't reflect the harmony, tolerance and mutual respect ... related to religion, ethnicity, tribe and regions. We must not ignore such a situation."
Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the country of some 240 million people, 80 per cent of whom are Muslim, has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, in recent months, it has been plagued by rising violence by Islamic groups who have launched attacks on mosques belonging to minority sects and Christian churches.
Call for action
Hundreds of Indonesians, mostly Christians, held a prayer vigil in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, on Sunday urging Yudhoyono to stop the attacks and guarantee religious freedom.
In July the Indonesian rights group the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace said there were 28 cases of religious freedom violations from January to July, up from 17 for the whole of 2008 and 18 in 2009.
The violations, mostly by radical Muslim groups, included forced closure of churches and attacks such as torching and damaging churches, it said.
Human Rights Watch early this month said Indonesia was letting Islamist groups trample the constitutional rights of minorities, leading to inter-communal violence.
It called on Yudhoyono to repeal laws that it said gives extremists from the dominant religious group the legal space to launch violent attacks on people of other faiths and sects.
Yudhoyono also said during his speech that the government was optimistic of a 7.7 per cent growth in the economy by 2014.
aljazeera
Roma protest blocks French bridge
Around 250 vehicles blocked the bridge for five hours on Sunday, causing tailbacks of up to five kilometres on a public holiday weekend.
More than 40 illegal camps have been closed in the past week.
The French interior minister says Roma from Eastern Europe will be deported on "specially chartered flights".
The blockade on the Aquitaine Bridge was the first major counter-protest by Roma and travellers since the French government began its crackdown.
The regional traffic information centre said the blockade caused tailbacks of five kilometres on the Paris-bound carriageway of the A630.
Police said the Roma had been expelled from a camp in the town of Anglet, to the south, and were prevented from setting up a new camp on an exhibition ground nearer Bordeaux.
There are hundreds of thousands of Roma or travelling people living in France who are part of long-established communities.
The other main Roma population is made up of recent immigrants, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria. They have the right to enter France without a visa, but must have work or residency permits to settle over the long term.
The interior minister has announced that he will be meeting Romanian junior minister next week to call on Romanian police to assist in the crackdown in France.
BBC News
Breaking through hate crime barriers (UK)
A squad of students who aim to banish hate crime have taken their campaign all the way to Westminster.
The pupils from De La Salle High School earned a top five place in a Parliamentary awards scheme with their project aimed at creating awareness of hate crime.
The School Council Awards were open to every primary and secondary school in the country and De La Salle’s effort won them a place at the final in London.
De La Salle students made the grade with their hate crime project – which aimed to remove the barriers created by racism and intolerance of just being ‘different’ – whether it be age, sexuality, disability, religion, or even the area are you come from, the music people listen to or the way they dress.
Council members Stephen Pennington, Catherine Brown, and Rachel Eden travelled to Westminster for the final, where they just missed out on first place in the 11-16 age group to a London school.
Back home, there was more civic recognition – with the pupils greeted in the Mayor’s Parlour.
St Helens Star
The pupils from De La Salle High School earned a top five place in a Parliamentary awards scheme with their project aimed at creating awareness of hate crime.
The School Council Awards were open to every primary and secondary school in the country and De La Salle’s effort won them a place at the final in London.
De La Salle students made the grade with their hate crime project – which aimed to remove the barriers created by racism and intolerance of just being ‘different’ – whether it be age, sexuality, disability, religion, or even the area are you come from, the music people listen to or the way they dress.
Council members Stephen Pennington, Catherine Brown, and Rachel Eden travelled to Westminster for the final, where they just missed out on first place in the 11-16 age group to a London school.
Back home, there was more civic recognition – with the pupils greeted in the Mayor’s Parlour.
St Helens Star
'White supremacist' puts a genteel face on racism (Canada)
It continued last week in Calgary, when he led a group of Aryan Guard skinheads to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's constituency office, and so terrified the receptionist that she locked the door and would not accept Mr. Fromm's delivery of a letter until police arrived.
But for Canada's best known racist agitator, things did not really get going until he reached the Pacific shore at Esquimalt, B.C., on Saturday, where the boat was docked.
There, accompanied by Doug Christie -- famous as the go-to civil liberties lawyer for every top Canadian racist of the last 30 years -- Mr. Fromm got himself front and centre on the national weekend news, flanked by his small group of two dozen protesters.
Mr. Fromm, whose license to teach high school in Ontario was revoked in 2007 for his activism against non-white immigration and ties to groups like the defunct neo-Nazi Heritage Front, appeared in reports by three major news outlets, identified only as the leader of a group called "Canada First," or "Canada First Immigration Reform Committee."
“If we do need immigrants, the public opinion polls show that the majority of Canadians don’t want the ethnic balance upset,” Mr. Fromm said, according to the Toronto Star story.
The media exposure for his message recalls an episode in 2008, when Fox News was criticized by a U.S. anti-hate group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, for allowing Mr. Fromm to appear as a "free speech activist."
Fox News is one thing, but to score prominent coverage offering comment on a national refugee crisis to the Toronto Star, Canadian Press, and CTV indicates that Mr. Fromm's nose for media is especially refined.
No outlet responded to requests for comment.
Mr. Fromm said he was "pleasantly surprised at the amount of press interest."
"I did find it unusual," he said. "I took it to mean that some of the journalists have actually gone to journalism school."
The Victoria Times-Colonist reported on the protest and identified Mr. Fromm as a "white supremacist."
The others are not the first media outlets to be fooled in this way. On the surface, "immigration reform" has the same kind of naive appeal as "historical revisionism," a euphemism for Holocaust denial, and a field in which Mr. Fromm is highly regarded as a free speech champion.
Dressed as he was in a suit and tie on a sunny summer's day, Mr. Fromm made an obviously professional spokesman for the media pack. His manner is typical of the public pose struck by other elder statesmen of Canadian racism, such as Don Andrews, a fellow traveller back to university days in Toronto, whose conviction for the wilful promotion of hatred against blacks and Jews was upheld in 1990 at the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Andrews has a similar attention-grabbing prank of getting municipal governments across Canada to declare "European Heritage Week," without realizing that the sponsoring organization, his Nationalist Party of Canada, is explicitly white supremacist.
It is a winning strategy, to put a genteel face on racism for the unsuspecting public, as Jared Taylor of American Renaissance discovered in Halifax in 2007, when he challenged an unwitting Black studies professor to debate him on multiculturalism, then basked in media coverage when the professor realized he was an avowed racist, and cancelled.
In the case of the Tamil migrants, all Mr. Fromm had to do to seize the spotlight as a voice of dissent was to gather a few people on a roadside outside of Victoria, B.C., and just start talking.
"The only way to really do something about people smuggling is to make sure that if you come in through the back door illegitimately like this, you don't get in," he said in the CTV report. For balance, his remarks were followed by the more welcoming sentiments of a group of native women from a nearby reserve.
For the modern "immigration reform" activist, that is how to play the publicity game -- think like the media, get to the scene, and get on camera. And if success if measured by exposure, it is also how to win.
"I'll talk to anybody," Mr. Fromm said.
Financial Post
Garda issue warning over online racism (Ireland)
The Garda have warned people who set up pages inciting racism on online social networks that they are open to prosecution, and even people who join these sites could face charges.
Sgt David McInerney of the Garda Racial and Intercultural Office said site hosts like Facebook were also “open to prosecution” if there was a valid complaint about racist online material.
“It is only a matter of time before a prosecution is brought,” he said.
Two anti-Traveller pages were recently pulled by Facebook following complaints from members of the public.
One of the sites had more than 8,000 members before it was closed down, while another site still in operation which promotes abuse against Travellers has more than 300 members.
The Irish Traveller Movement described the sites as “particularly vile” and “grossly offensive”, while Pavee Point and the Waterford Travellers Community Development Project have lodged formal complaints with the Garda.
Sgt McInerney encouraged people with complaints to continue to come forward. He described racist online activity as “very harmful” and “a very very serious form of crime. People don’t realise the harm it causes. Such sites can lead directly to racial abuse against minorities in the streets.”
Also condemning the sites, Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs Pat Carey said: “Social networking sites have a responsibility to ensure that the platforms they provide aren’t being abused.
“There is a constant need for vigilance in relation to racism. Racism should be confronted however and wherever it manifests itself.”
The Minister’s reconfigured department now has responsibility for the Government’s equality remit, formerly with the Department of Justice.
Irish Times
Sgt David McInerney of the Garda Racial and Intercultural Office said site hosts like Facebook were also “open to prosecution” if there was a valid complaint about racist online material.
“It is only a matter of time before a prosecution is brought,” he said.
Two anti-Traveller pages were recently pulled by Facebook following complaints from members of the public.
One of the sites had more than 8,000 members before it was closed down, while another site still in operation which promotes abuse against Travellers has more than 300 members.
The Irish Traveller Movement described the sites as “particularly vile” and “grossly offensive”, while Pavee Point and the Waterford Travellers Community Development Project have lodged formal complaints with the Garda.
Sgt McInerney encouraged people with complaints to continue to come forward. He described racist online activity as “very harmful” and “a very very serious form of crime. People don’t realise the harm it causes. Such sites can lead directly to racial abuse against minorities in the streets.”
Also condemning the sites, Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs Pat Carey said: “Social networking sites have a responsibility to ensure that the platforms they provide aren’t being abused.
“There is a constant need for vigilance in relation to racism. Racism should be confronted however and wherever it manifests itself.”
The Minister’s reconfigured department now has responsibility for the Government’s equality remit, formerly with the Department of Justice.
Irish Times
Sunday, 15 August 2010
BNP finances come under police scrutiny
The BNP’s financial mess seems to be attracting the attention of the authorities. Rumours are circulating that Nick Griffin was arrested and had to post bail in Bruges last week. It also seems that party Treasurer David Hannam has been questioned by police over the party's finances.
According to the BNP’s former webmaster, Simon Bennett, the BNP has been served by a winding up order by the accountants Deloitte LLP, acting as liquidator on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs, Allied Irish Bank and two other organisations.
It’s going from bad to worse for Griffin and co.
Hope Not Hate
According to the BNP’s former webmaster, Simon Bennett, the BNP has been served by a winding up order by the accountants Deloitte LLP, acting as liquidator on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs, Allied Irish Bank and two other organisations.
It’s going from bad to worse for Griffin and co.
Hope Not Hate
Nurseries on guard for neo-Nazis (Germany)
A regional government in eastern Germany has ordered the operators of children’s day-care centres to pledge allegiance to the constitution following recent cases in which neo-Nazis have attempted to set up kindergartens, work in them or influence their teaching.
The measure is aimed at halting what anti-Nazi campaigners say is a new and disturbing phenomenon: the indoctrination of toddlers by teachers and parents in the former communist east, which has a strong neo-Nazi presence.
In future, anyone who wants to open a nursery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, one of Germany’s 16 states, must sign a declaration that they and their teachers adhere to the democratic values enshrined in the country’s Basic Law, the government announced late last month.
“I am concerned that right-wing extremists could become managers of kindergartens,” said Manuela Schleswig, the social affairs minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Her decision follows a recent case in which a village in the state almost permitted a father of seven to take over a kindergarten that was about to close due to a shortage of funds.
A background check on the man, who offered to run the kindergarten free of charge, revealed he was a member of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), and he was not hired.
The NPD is openly xenophobic and anti-Semitic and extols a vision of a Fourth Reich containing only Germans. It is more extreme than other European anti-immigrant parties such as France’s Front National, Austria’s Freedom Party and the Dutch Party of Freedom.
Eastern Germany has been dogged by right-wing extremism ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Attacks on Jewish property and racist assaults on ethnic minorities are commonplace there.
The violence has been blamed in part on high unemployment that followed the rapid economic collapse in the east in the 1990s and on a lack of education about the Nazi period in schools during the communist regime.
Analysts say that despite a myriad of government initiatives to combat racism and lure people away from the Nazi scene, the far-right is becoming more deeply entrenched because the neo-Nazi youths of the 1990s have had children and are trying to influence the way they are taught in kindergartens and schools.
Nursery teachers and activists say there has been a growing incidence of far-right members either training to be kindergarten workers or seeking to influence nurseries, for example by supplying racist books. There is mounting concern that there may be enough neo-Nazi families in some regions to secure a majority on parent boards.
“There appears to be a strategy within the far-right scene to encourage young women to train for jobs in the teaching and welfare sectors because that offers the opportunity to convey national ideology later on,” said Heike Radvan, an educational scientist at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, an anti-racism group.
A recent editorial in the newspaper of the NPD encouraged members to go into teaching to promote “nationalist education” for young Germans.
“There are cases where right-wing mothers get involved in day-care centres, for example by helping to set up a playground, and in a second step try to bring in their ideology,” said Ms Radvan. “For example they bring in a children’s book that portrays a racist view of the world.”
In one case, a mother who had argued against a school being called “School Against Racism” was found to have published recipes for swastika-shaped cakes on her private website.
The NPD openly espouses Nazi ideology but benefits from Germany’s liberal laws on freedom of speech and is a legitimate party, which entitles it to public funding. It has solid support in the east, and is represented in the regional parliaments of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony, another eastern state.
Immigrant groups have labelled parts of the east as no-go areas. Police recorded 891 far-right assaults in Germany last year, of which 382 were categorised as racist or anti-Semitic. There was a total of 18,750 far-right crimes, including offences such as arson, daubing swastikas on headstones in Jewish cemeteries or smashing the windows of restaurants run by immigrants.
In public statements, leaders of the NPD regularly praise the achievements of Hitler’s regime and dismiss Germany’s crimes during the Nazi era. Hitler salutes are commonplace at closed-door meetings and members talk about sending their opponents off in “freight trains”, in reference to the trains that took Jews to the concentration camps, say former NPD members.
The Amadeu Antonio Foundation, named after a contract worker from Angola who was beaten to death by neo-Nazi youths in 1990, has been training kindergarten teachers to spot far-right parents by their clothes and tattoos, and is advising them on how to resist attempts by them to influence teaching.
In some cases far-right parents can be identified by the Nordic names they call their children. “Some parents bring in children and say their child is called ‘Odin’ or ‘Heil Odin’. You have to think about how to deal with that,” said Ms Radvan.
Critics say forcing Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s kindergarten operators to sign a declaration won’t solve the problem. “I think it is nonsense and totally exaggerated to respond by issuing such a declaration,” said Bernd Wagner, a leading analyst of the far-right scene. “It won’t work because any NPD member would simply sign the pledge.”
Mr Wagner said the emphasis should be placed on tackling neo-Nazi parents. “The children aren’t infected in kindergartens, they’re indoctrinated at home, where they have access to nationalist literature and where you sometimes get relatives greeting each other with Sieg Heil,” he said.
“We urgently needed to address the welfare of children who grow up in such families and explore what scope local authorities have to deal with that.”
The National
The measure is aimed at halting what anti-Nazi campaigners say is a new and disturbing phenomenon: the indoctrination of toddlers by teachers and parents in the former communist east, which has a strong neo-Nazi presence.
In future, anyone who wants to open a nursery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, one of Germany’s 16 states, must sign a declaration that they and their teachers adhere to the democratic values enshrined in the country’s Basic Law, the government announced late last month.
“I am concerned that right-wing extremists could become managers of kindergartens,” said Manuela Schleswig, the social affairs minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Her decision follows a recent case in which a village in the state almost permitted a father of seven to take over a kindergarten that was about to close due to a shortage of funds.
A background check on the man, who offered to run the kindergarten free of charge, revealed he was a member of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), and he was not hired.
The NPD is openly xenophobic and anti-Semitic and extols a vision of a Fourth Reich containing only Germans. It is more extreme than other European anti-immigrant parties such as France’s Front National, Austria’s Freedom Party and the Dutch Party of Freedom.
Eastern Germany has been dogged by right-wing extremism ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Attacks on Jewish property and racist assaults on ethnic minorities are commonplace there.
The violence has been blamed in part on high unemployment that followed the rapid economic collapse in the east in the 1990s and on a lack of education about the Nazi period in schools during the communist regime.
Analysts say that despite a myriad of government initiatives to combat racism and lure people away from the Nazi scene, the far-right is becoming more deeply entrenched because the neo-Nazi youths of the 1990s have had children and are trying to influence the way they are taught in kindergartens and schools.
Nursery teachers and activists say there has been a growing incidence of far-right members either training to be kindergarten workers or seeking to influence nurseries, for example by supplying racist books. There is mounting concern that there may be enough neo-Nazi families in some regions to secure a majority on parent boards.
“There appears to be a strategy within the far-right scene to encourage young women to train for jobs in the teaching and welfare sectors because that offers the opportunity to convey national ideology later on,” said Heike Radvan, an educational scientist at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, an anti-racism group.
A recent editorial in the newspaper of the NPD encouraged members to go into teaching to promote “nationalist education” for young Germans.
“There are cases where right-wing mothers get involved in day-care centres, for example by helping to set up a playground, and in a second step try to bring in their ideology,” said Ms Radvan. “For example they bring in a children’s book that portrays a racist view of the world.”
In one case, a mother who had argued against a school being called “School Against Racism” was found to have published recipes for swastika-shaped cakes on her private website.
The NPD openly espouses Nazi ideology but benefits from Germany’s liberal laws on freedom of speech and is a legitimate party, which entitles it to public funding. It has solid support in the east, and is represented in the regional parliaments of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony, another eastern state.
Immigrant groups have labelled parts of the east as no-go areas. Police recorded 891 far-right assaults in Germany last year, of which 382 were categorised as racist or anti-Semitic. There was a total of 18,750 far-right crimes, including offences such as arson, daubing swastikas on headstones in Jewish cemeteries or smashing the windows of restaurants run by immigrants.
In public statements, leaders of the NPD regularly praise the achievements of Hitler’s regime and dismiss Germany’s crimes during the Nazi era. Hitler salutes are commonplace at closed-door meetings and members talk about sending their opponents off in “freight trains”, in reference to the trains that took Jews to the concentration camps, say former NPD members.
The Amadeu Antonio Foundation, named after a contract worker from Angola who was beaten to death by neo-Nazi youths in 1990, has been training kindergarten teachers to spot far-right parents by their clothes and tattoos, and is advising them on how to resist attempts by them to influence teaching.
In some cases far-right parents can be identified by the Nordic names they call their children. “Some parents bring in children and say their child is called ‘Odin’ or ‘Heil Odin’. You have to think about how to deal with that,” said Ms Radvan.
Critics say forcing Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s kindergarten operators to sign a declaration won’t solve the problem. “I think it is nonsense and totally exaggerated to respond by issuing such a declaration,” said Bernd Wagner, a leading analyst of the far-right scene. “It won’t work because any NPD member would simply sign the pledge.”
Mr Wagner said the emphasis should be placed on tackling neo-Nazi parents. “The children aren’t infected in kindergartens, they’re indoctrinated at home, where they have access to nationalist literature and where you sometimes get relatives greeting each other with Sieg Heil,” he said.
“We urgently needed to address the welfare of children who grow up in such families and explore what scope local authorities have to deal with that.”
The National
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Demonstrators allowed to protest neo-Nazi march (Germany)
A last-minute court ruling enabled around 1,000 people to take part in a demonstration in Lower Saxony on Saturday to protest an annual march by neo-Nazis.The site of British army interrogation of Nazis between 1945 and 1947, the town of Bad Nenndorf has attracted neo-Nazis staging a "remembrance" march for the last five years.
The Hannover administrative court gave permission for the neo-Nazi march on Friday, but banned a counter demonstration, only for the upper administrative court in Lüneburg to countermand that ban in the evening.
The demonstration organised by the German trades union association was thus allowed – and around 1,000 people showed up with banners reading "Bad Nenndorf defends itself" and "German perpetrators are not victims."
They were limited by the court to holding a rally rather than marching through the town or going near the neo-Nazi rally, where about 850 people gathered.
A small group disrupted the neo-Nazi march, managing to drive a small bus and trailer behind the police barriers and unload a concrete pyramid.
Four people chained themselves to it - around 100 metres from the planned neo-Nazi rally point.
The Local Germany
ANTI-SEMITISM FEARED AHEAD OF EURO 2012 (Poland)
The stands surrounding the soccer field of the Resovia sports club in the Polish city of Rzeszów were quite full. The two local soccer teams, Resovia and Stal, which play in the Polish Second League, met for a local derby. Both clubs have a distinguished history: Resovia is one of the oldest sports clubs in history, while Stal won the Polish championship in the mid 1970s. As in most derby matches worldwide, the rivalry is bitter and filled with hatred. Even before the start of the game, Resovia's fans took to the streets of Rzeszów and chanted, "The Aryan masses are coming." During the game, some of them waved a huge cloth banner carrying a cartoon showing a Jew with a curved nose, wearing a striped yarmulke in the meaningful colors of blue and white – the colors of the flag of Israel, the colors of prisoners' uniform in Auschwitz and the official colors of the rival camp. On the devout Jew's face they scribbled the international "no entrance" sign. A poster held next to the cartoon read, "Death to those with curved noses."
Although the Nazis massacred masses of Polish people, the anti-Semitic racism raging in the Polish soccer stadiums lacks any historic cognition. It is based on pure hatred. The recent anti-Semitic incident in Rzeszów sparked a fervent response in Poland. After the incident was revealed to the media by organizations fighting anti-Semitism, the Polish Football Association decided to penalize Resovia with a ridiculous fine and close the fields to its fans for two months. A number of inciters were arrested by the police. The club's chairman, former Justice Minister Aleksander Bentowski, referred to the incident as "outrageous," and the team released a late apology saying that "the Jews of Rzeszów were starved to death and executed in the Rzeszów Ghetto, which later turned into a concentration camp for the entire region. Some of the city's Jews were sent to the death camps, while the others were shot in nearby forests. 'Death to the Jews' calls in this place must be punished."
The 'Jewish' club
Before World War II, one-third of Rzeszów's residents were Jews. The city even had a name in Yiddish – "Reisha." Nearly all of the Rzeszów's Jews were murdered by the Nazis, and today there is no information on Jews residing in the city, all the more so on Jews playing with the Stal club. Nonetheless, the club is considered "Jewish" by the fans of its rival club in the city – not only because of its symbol and its players' clothes, but simply because it's considered "the enemy." Despite the anti-Semitic posters and slogans, the heads of the rival clubs and representatives of the Polish Football Association who were present at the match kept silent. After all, anti-Semitism is a life's routine in Polish soccer. In nearly every city, as well as among the First League clubs, there are "Jewish teams" which are despised by their rivals and are subject to shocking anti-Semitic propaganda.
Fans of certain teams, which absurdly refer to themselves as "Aryan," arrive at the games with a racist belief about the need to create a "white Poland." They wave Nazi flags and posters sending the Jews to the gas chambers. Now, following the World Cup in South Africa, preparations have begun for the European Football Championship games scheduled to take place in two years in Poland and Ukraine for the very first time. But senior Polish government officials have voiced their concern that the wild racism of local soccer fans will prompt the European Football Association to punish their country and hold the desired championship in a different country. The situation in Ukraine is not much better. In a report released about a month ago, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) harshly criticized the slow progress made in the war against anti-Semitism in Poland, particularly in the soccer field. "Anti-Semitism is tolerated in part of the political world and influential media," the report said. "Racism among soccer fans, involving serious insults to black players and crude references to the Holocaust, is a major problem which must be tackled by the authorities as well as by the Polish Football Association and soccer clubs."
The Cracovia soccer club in Krakow, which plays in Poland's First League, is traditionally considered a Jewish club, because it had opened its ranks to Jews before the war. Its rivals regularly voice anti-Semitic slogans during matches. Two years ago, a police investigation was launched against Arkadiusz Mysona, one of the most popular soccer players in Poland, for wearing a shirt with anti-Semitic slogans after winning a league match with the £KS £ódŸ club. Mysona quickly apologized for the act, claiming that at the end of the match, as the players removed and changed their shirts, a fan approached him and handed him the anti-Semitic shirt. Mysona said he did not check the shirt, and immediately took it off after his colleagues showed him the writing. "Anti-Semitism in Polish soccer is a serious phenomenon, particularly in light of the fact that only a small number of Jews live in Poland," says Dr. Rafal Pankowski of the FARE (Football against Racism in Europe) organization. The organization was founded in 1999 by fans from across Europe, who decided to launch a war on the racism phenomenon.
"Anti-Semitism in soccer is not directed against the physical presence of Jews in the stadiums, as there are almost none, neither among the fans nor among the players. The incident in Rzeszów is not unusual or special in Polish soccer," stresses Pankowski, who also heads a center monitoring racism in soccer across Eastern Europe. "There are people who treat it lightly and claim it is virtual anti-Semitism. We say that using the word 'Jew' against fans of a rival club is as anti-Semitic if there are no Jews in those clubs. "Moreover, extreme right-wing organizations are very active in stadiums. They promote their ideology there and try to recruit new members. The most active movement is NOP (the National Rebirth of Poland) – a fascist organization which has been trying to influence the soccer culture for years." Pankowski notes that anti-Semitism in Poland is not restricted to the soccer world, but that in the soccer arena it is very clear.
"Soccer evokes emotions in a very special way," he explains. "It's related to the issue of personal and national identity, the element of the team and the masses, and these are used as emotion evokers. "For a long time, the main problem was the tolerance expressed by the Polish clubs and sports institutions towards this phenomenon. Only recently they began changing their attitude for the better, partially thanks to our work. But the situation could be better. We provide the clubs with training and instruction programs and provide them with information on neo-Nazis and anti-Semitic and racist symbols seen inside the stadiums."
Beginning of a change?
As part of the war on racism and anti-Semitism in Polish soccer, Pankowski and his colleagues recently inaugurated a wandering exhibition about the multi-cultural roots of Polish soccer. The exhibition reveals that many of the founders of Polish soccer and those who contributed to it in the first half of the 20th century were members of minority groups, mainly Jews. The different leagues had Jewish clubs, as well as Jewish actors, coaches and managers. Józef Klotz made history when he scored the first goal for the Polish team against Sweden in 1924. He was murdered by the Nazis in 1941, as was national team player and Cracovia Kraków star Leon Sperling and popular soccer player Zygmunt Steuermann, who played for the rival club in Krakow and later for Jewish club Hasmonea Lwów. "Beyond anti-Semitism, there is also the phenomenon of racism against black footballers," clarifies Pankowski. "They began coming to Poland in the early 1990s, at the end of the Communist era. The Polish national team also has foreign players who acquired citizenship, like Roger Guerreiro from Brazil. There was a harsh racist response towards them, but because they are such good players, this resistance died down. And still, many of them face serious racism."
Do you believe the European Championship could be moved to a different country?
"The Union of European Football Associations is aware of the situation. This is the reason they support anti-racism campaigns among the fans. They take it very seriously. "Some time ago we held a big European convention in Warsaw on racism in soccer. We chose Warsaw in order to convey a message on the importance of this matter in Poland. I don’t know if this racism will lead to the cancellation of the championship in Poland, but we must reduce the chance for racist and neo-Nazi incidents during the championship. "The European Championship is a very big opportunity for us. The improvement achieved so far is insignificant and not quick enough. We cannot eliminate the anti-Semitism phenomena completely before the Championship, but the state and society must do their utmost to improve the situation."
Dr. Maciej Koz³owski, a former Polish ambassador to Israel who serves today as head of a department in the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw involved in nurturing the ties with Israel and the Jewish people, agrees with Pankowski. "Ahead of the Euro 2012, we cannot tolerate racism on our football fields," he says. "The European Association is extremely tough on this matter. In general, anti-Semitism among the young generations in Poland is less common than among the older generations, but there are cells of violent anti-Semitism among young soccer fans. It's a serious problem. There are clubs which are tolerant of this phenomenon." In Krakow, even before World War I, there were two clubs – Wisla didn't take in Jews, while Cracovia did. "Before World War II, the great wave of anti-Semitism in Poland sparked a debate on boycotting the Jewish sports clubs," says Dr. Kozlowski. "Cracovia objected. A similar situation took place in Lodz. And then they began treating those clubs as 'Jewish' clubs. "There are fans who hold signs in the fields reading, 'White empire,' 'Jew hunters,' 'Jews to the gas chambers.' They are a minority, but a dangerous one. I'm encouraged by the large number of organizations fighting this phenomenon."
Following the serious incident in Rzeszów, the Polish foreign minister appealed to the country's new attorney general and asked him to look into the possibility of launching criminal proceedings against fans describing themselves as "Aryan" for supporting the Nazi ideology. "The war on anti-Semitism," Kozlowski stresses, "is long and hard. A significant breakthrough can take place through the church, which is capable of playing a decisive role in this matter thanks to its history and public importance in Poland. "This year we managed to convince the church in Krakow to include in seminars for young priests courses about Judaism and the relations between the Jews and the Polish people. It's the beginning of a change."
YNet
Although the Nazis massacred masses of Polish people, the anti-Semitic racism raging in the Polish soccer stadiums lacks any historic cognition. It is based on pure hatred. The recent anti-Semitic incident in Rzeszów sparked a fervent response in Poland. After the incident was revealed to the media by organizations fighting anti-Semitism, the Polish Football Association decided to penalize Resovia with a ridiculous fine and close the fields to its fans for two months. A number of inciters were arrested by the police. The club's chairman, former Justice Minister Aleksander Bentowski, referred to the incident as "outrageous," and the team released a late apology saying that "the Jews of Rzeszów were starved to death and executed in the Rzeszów Ghetto, which later turned into a concentration camp for the entire region. Some of the city's Jews were sent to the death camps, while the others were shot in nearby forests. 'Death to the Jews' calls in this place must be punished."
The 'Jewish' club
Before World War II, one-third of Rzeszów's residents were Jews. The city even had a name in Yiddish – "Reisha." Nearly all of the Rzeszów's Jews were murdered by the Nazis, and today there is no information on Jews residing in the city, all the more so on Jews playing with the Stal club. Nonetheless, the club is considered "Jewish" by the fans of its rival club in the city – not only because of its symbol and its players' clothes, but simply because it's considered "the enemy." Despite the anti-Semitic posters and slogans, the heads of the rival clubs and representatives of the Polish Football Association who were present at the match kept silent. After all, anti-Semitism is a life's routine in Polish soccer. In nearly every city, as well as among the First League clubs, there are "Jewish teams" which are despised by their rivals and are subject to shocking anti-Semitic propaganda.
Fans of certain teams, which absurdly refer to themselves as "Aryan," arrive at the games with a racist belief about the need to create a "white Poland." They wave Nazi flags and posters sending the Jews to the gas chambers. Now, following the World Cup in South Africa, preparations have begun for the European Football Championship games scheduled to take place in two years in Poland and Ukraine for the very first time. But senior Polish government officials have voiced their concern that the wild racism of local soccer fans will prompt the European Football Association to punish their country and hold the desired championship in a different country. The situation in Ukraine is not much better. In a report released about a month ago, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) harshly criticized the slow progress made in the war against anti-Semitism in Poland, particularly in the soccer field. "Anti-Semitism is tolerated in part of the political world and influential media," the report said. "Racism among soccer fans, involving serious insults to black players and crude references to the Holocaust, is a major problem which must be tackled by the authorities as well as by the Polish Football Association and soccer clubs."
The Cracovia soccer club in Krakow, which plays in Poland's First League, is traditionally considered a Jewish club, because it had opened its ranks to Jews before the war. Its rivals regularly voice anti-Semitic slogans during matches. Two years ago, a police investigation was launched against Arkadiusz Mysona, one of the most popular soccer players in Poland, for wearing a shirt with anti-Semitic slogans after winning a league match with the £KS £ódŸ club. Mysona quickly apologized for the act, claiming that at the end of the match, as the players removed and changed their shirts, a fan approached him and handed him the anti-Semitic shirt. Mysona said he did not check the shirt, and immediately took it off after his colleagues showed him the writing. "Anti-Semitism in Polish soccer is a serious phenomenon, particularly in light of the fact that only a small number of Jews live in Poland," says Dr. Rafal Pankowski of the FARE (Football against Racism in Europe) organization. The organization was founded in 1999 by fans from across Europe, who decided to launch a war on the racism phenomenon.
"Anti-Semitism in soccer is not directed against the physical presence of Jews in the stadiums, as there are almost none, neither among the fans nor among the players. The incident in Rzeszów is not unusual or special in Polish soccer," stresses Pankowski, who also heads a center monitoring racism in soccer across Eastern Europe. "There are people who treat it lightly and claim it is virtual anti-Semitism. We say that using the word 'Jew' against fans of a rival club is as anti-Semitic if there are no Jews in those clubs. "Moreover, extreme right-wing organizations are very active in stadiums. They promote their ideology there and try to recruit new members. The most active movement is NOP (the National Rebirth of Poland) – a fascist organization which has been trying to influence the soccer culture for years." Pankowski notes that anti-Semitism in Poland is not restricted to the soccer world, but that in the soccer arena it is very clear.
"Soccer evokes emotions in a very special way," he explains. "It's related to the issue of personal and national identity, the element of the team and the masses, and these are used as emotion evokers. "For a long time, the main problem was the tolerance expressed by the Polish clubs and sports institutions towards this phenomenon. Only recently they began changing their attitude for the better, partially thanks to our work. But the situation could be better. We provide the clubs with training and instruction programs and provide them with information on neo-Nazis and anti-Semitic and racist symbols seen inside the stadiums."
Beginning of a change?
As part of the war on racism and anti-Semitism in Polish soccer, Pankowski and his colleagues recently inaugurated a wandering exhibition about the multi-cultural roots of Polish soccer. The exhibition reveals that many of the founders of Polish soccer and those who contributed to it in the first half of the 20th century were members of minority groups, mainly Jews. The different leagues had Jewish clubs, as well as Jewish actors, coaches and managers. Józef Klotz made history when he scored the first goal for the Polish team against Sweden in 1924. He was murdered by the Nazis in 1941, as was national team player and Cracovia Kraków star Leon Sperling and popular soccer player Zygmunt Steuermann, who played for the rival club in Krakow and later for Jewish club Hasmonea Lwów. "Beyond anti-Semitism, there is also the phenomenon of racism against black footballers," clarifies Pankowski. "They began coming to Poland in the early 1990s, at the end of the Communist era. The Polish national team also has foreign players who acquired citizenship, like Roger Guerreiro from Brazil. There was a harsh racist response towards them, but because they are such good players, this resistance died down. And still, many of them face serious racism."
Do you believe the European Championship could be moved to a different country?
"The Union of European Football Associations is aware of the situation. This is the reason they support anti-racism campaigns among the fans. They take it very seriously. "Some time ago we held a big European convention in Warsaw on racism in soccer. We chose Warsaw in order to convey a message on the importance of this matter in Poland. I don’t know if this racism will lead to the cancellation of the championship in Poland, but we must reduce the chance for racist and neo-Nazi incidents during the championship. "The European Championship is a very big opportunity for us. The improvement achieved so far is insignificant and not quick enough. We cannot eliminate the anti-Semitism phenomena completely before the Championship, but the state and society must do their utmost to improve the situation."
Dr. Maciej Koz³owski, a former Polish ambassador to Israel who serves today as head of a department in the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw involved in nurturing the ties with Israel and the Jewish people, agrees with Pankowski. "Ahead of the Euro 2012, we cannot tolerate racism on our football fields," he says. "The European Association is extremely tough on this matter. In general, anti-Semitism among the young generations in Poland is less common than among the older generations, but there are cells of violent anti-Semitism among young soccer fans. It's a serious problem. There are clubs which are tolerant of this phenomenon." In Krakow, even before World War I, there were two clubs – Wisla didn't take in Jews, while Cracovia did. "Before World War II, the great wave of anti-Semitism in Poland sparked a debate on boycotting the Jewish sports clubs," says Dr. Kozlowski. "Cracovia objected. A similar situation took place in Lodz. And then they began treating those clubs as 'Jewish' clubs. "There are fans who hold signs in the fields reading, 'White empire,' 'Jew hunters,' 'Jews to the gas chambers.' They are a minority, but a dangerous one. I'm encouraged by the large number of organizations fighting this phenomenon."
Following the serious incident in Rzeszów, the Polish foreign minister appealed to the country's new attorney general and asked him to look into the possibility of launching criminal proceedings against fans describing themselves as "Aryan" for supporting the Nazi ideology. "The war on anti-Semitism," Kozlowski stresses, "is long and hard. A significant breakthrough can take place through the church, which is capable of playing a decisive role in this matter thanks to its history and public importance in Poland. "This year we managed to convince the church in Krakow to include in seminars for young priests courses about Judaism and the relations between the Jews and the Polish people. It's the beginning of a change."
YNet
Sarkozy's party furious over UN racism report
France's ruling right-wing UMP party has lashed out at a UN committee that accuses the government of failing to stem a rising tide of racism in the country. Members of the UN’s Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Cerd) come from countries which do not respect human rights and are “100 leagues from reality”, party leaders said Friday.
The committee's report denounced a “lack of political will” to end an allegedly increasing number of racist and xenophobic incidents.
But members of the party hit back with an attack on the countries of origin of committee members.
UMP Dominique Paillé deputy spokesperson told RTL radio that he was “surprised by the attitude of the committee” and notably of “its composition ... which includes people from countries which absolutely do not respect human rights”.
UMP MP Christian Vanneste declared that the committee's make-up "renders it suspect" on France Info radio.
"Not every country that is on it is an example of living democracy or of respect for minorities," he said. "Algeria, Russia, Romania, which treat Roms very badly - you see the state they're in when they get here."
Vanneste also cast doubt on the democratic credentials of Pakistan and Turkey.
The report also criticised President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent declarations concerning the Roma population in France, as well as his plan to strip criminals of foreign origin of French citizenship.
A Roma camp in Anglet, where 1,000 people have lived in 274 caravans since 1 August, was evacuated Friday morning in an emergency procedure at the request of the mayor, the day after Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux revealed that 40 Roma camps have been closed in a fortnight.
RFI
The committee's report denounced a “lack of political will” to end an allegedly increasing number of racist and xenophobic incidents.
But members of the party hit back with an attack on the countries of origin of committee members.
UMP Dominique Paillé deputy spokesperson told RTL radio that he was “surprised by the attitude of the committee” and notably of “its composition ... which includes people from countries which absolutely do not respect human rights”.
UMP MP Christian Vanneste declared that the committee's make-up "renders it suspect" on France Info radio.
"Not every country that is on it is an example of living democracy or of respect for minorities," he said. "Algeria, Russia, Romania, which treat Roms very badly - you see the state they're in when they get here."
Vanneste also cast doubt on the democratic credentials of Pakistan and Turkey.
The report also criticised President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent declarations concerning the Roma population in France, as well as his plan to strip criminals of foreign origin of French citizenship.
A Roma camp in Anglet, where 1,000 people have lived in 274 caravans since 1 August, was evacuated Friday morning in an emergency procedure at the request of the mayor, the day after Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux revealed that 40 Roma camps have been closed in a fortnight.
RFI
European Right-Wing Leaders Visit Japan War Shrine
French nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen and other European right-wing politicians paid a visit Saturday to a Japanese shrine that has drawn outrage for honoring war criminals.
Mr. Le Pen, leader of the far-right French National Front, and Adam Walker of the British National Party said they were making the visit, which came a day ahead of the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II, to pay respect to those who died in war.
"What counts is the will that we had to honor those who have fallen for defending their country, whether they are Japanese, or any soldiers of the world, we have the same respect for them," Mr. Le Pen said.
Mr. Le Pen is known for his anti-immigrant and extremist views. He shocked France when he qualified for the second round of the 2002 presidential race, which Jacques Chirac eventually won.
The visit to Yasukuni, an ornate Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo, was arranged by the International Conference of Patriotic Organisations, which brought together right-wing parties from eight European countries with members of a Japanese ultranationalist group called the Issuikai.
Yasukuni honors Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals. Pacifists and victims of Japanese aggression, such as China and the Koreas, say it glorifies Japan's past militarism.
The visit by Mr. Le Pen and others may also anger some former prisoners of war in those countries being represented by the right-wing groups.
Tens of thousands of British, Dutch and other European soldiers and civilians were captured by the Japanese Imperial Army as they swept across Europe's former Asian colonies at the beginning of World War II. Thousands were executed, tortured and starved to death in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps.
When asked about his visit, Mr. Walker told Associated Press Television News: "I'm honoring the dead. I am here to honor the dead—heroes that have died for their country."
Past visits to Yasukuni by Japanese politicians have provoked outrage from China, Korea and neighboring Asian countries.
Some lawmakers, as well as hundreds of regular Japanese whose relatives and friends died as soldiers in World War II, are expected to visit Yasukuni on Sunday to mark the end of World War II.
But Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his ministers are expected to shun the visit—the first time all members of a cabinet will stay away.
Mr. Kan's liberal Democratic Party defeated the long-reigning conservative Liberal Democrats for the first time in decades in last year's parliamentary elections.
Mr. Kan on Tuesday apologized to South Korea for its colonial rule and the suffering Japan caused the Korean people, and expressed hopes for a partnership.
Japanese leaders have repeatedly apologized for wartime aggression against the country's Asian neighbors, including a 1995 apology from a leftist-leaning prime minister that marked the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
WSJ
Mr. Le Pen, leader of the far-right French National Front, and Adam Walker of the British National Party said they were making the visit, which came a day ahead of the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II, to pay respect to those who died in war.
"What counts is the will that we had to honor those who have fallen for defending their country, whether they are Japanese, or any soldiers of the world, we have the same respect for them," Mr. Le Pen said.
Mr. Le Pen is known for his anti-immigrant and extremist views. He shocked France when he qualified for the second round of the 2002 presidential race, which Jacques Chirac eventually won.
The visit to Yasukuni, an ornate Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo, was arranged by the International Conference of Patriotic Organisations, which brought together right-wing parties from eight European countries with members of a Japanese ultranationalist group called the Issuikai.
Yasukuni honors Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals. Pacifists and victims of Japanese aggression, such as China and the Koreas, say it glorifies Japan's past militarism.
The visit by Mr. Le Pen and others may also anger some former prisoners of war in those countries being represented by the right-wing groups.
Tens of thousands of British, Dutch and other European soldiers and civilians were captured by the Japanese Imperial Army as they swept across Europe's former Asian colonies at the beginning of World War II. Thousands were executed, tortured and starved to death in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps.
When asked about his visit, Mr. Walker told Associated Press Television News: "I'm honoring the dead. I am here to honor the dead—heroes that have died for their country."
Past visits to Yasukuni by Japanese politicians have provoked outrage from China, Korea and neighboring Asian countries.
Some lawmakers, as well as hundreds of regular Japanese whose relatives and friends died as soldiers in World War II, are expected to visit Yasukuni on Sunday to mark the end of World War II.
But Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his ministers are expected to shun the visit—the first time all members of a cabinet will stay away.
Mr. Kan's liberal Democratic Party defeated the long-reigning conservative Liberal Democrats for the first time in decades in last year's parliamentary elections.
Mr. Kan on Tuesday apologized to South Korea for its colonial rule and the suffering Japan caused the Korean people, and expressed hopes for a partnership.
Japanese leaders have repeatedly apologized for wartime aggression against the country's Asian neighbors, including a 1995 apology from a leftist-leaning prime minister that marked the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
WSJ
Friday, 13 August 2010
Rates of anti-gay hate crime rise in Portsmouth (UK)
Homophobic hate crime in the city of Portsmouth has risen by 12 per cent, this year, compared to 2004.
Over half the people who responded to a local council survey said they'd experienced hate crime in the area, according to Portsmouth News.
Fifty nine per cent of respondents had experienced one or more incidents or homophobic crimes in the last year. To put that into context, the national average is 12 per cent.
But the problem is not just with people outside of the community – 29 per cent said they had experienced some kind of abuse within a current or former relationship.
However, the survey found the gay community's confidence in public services was rising thanks to lesbian and gay liaison officers.
Pink News
Over half the people who responded to a local council survey said they'd experienced hate crime in the area, according to Portsmouth News.
Fifty nine per cent of respondents had experienced one or more incidents or homophobic crimes in the last year. To put that into context, the national average is 12 per cent.
But the problem is not just with people outside of the community – 29 per cent said they had experienced some kind of abuse within a current or former relationship.
However, the survey found the gay community's confidence in public services was rising thanks to lesbian and gay liaison officers.
Pink News
Resistance grows among Christian Democrats against Geert Wilders
The number of signatories to a petition by Christian Democrats against the involvement of Geert Wilders and his anti-Islam PVV party in any government has doubled in one day.
Since the petition was published in Trouw on Thursday, the number of signatories has reached 100, up from 44.
The signatories want the party to stop negotiating with the PVV and the Liberal VVD for a minority government supported in parliament by Wilders. They say the ideology of the PVV is 'against the Dutch constitution and a threat to our demoncratic society'.
A spokesman for party leader Maxime Verhagen told the press on Thursday that Verhagen understands the concerns of the party members, but added: 'We are only at the beginning of negotiations and it's the result that matters'.
Party conference
A special party conference is scheduled for the end of August when Verhagen will explain to party members what sort of support Wilders is offering and what he wants in return. But the signatories, who include local politicians and former MPs and mayors, are not prepared to wait.
According to historian Wouter Beekers, who initiated the petition, Christian Democrats will tend to accept what Verhagen says at the conference and action must be taken now, reports the Volkskrant.
Unique action
It is most unusual for Christian Democrats to make any criticism of their party public, particularly in the form of a mass demonstration. But many members are still keeping silent.
Some, like Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, have already fought back. The former Nato general secretary told the Volkskrant he would not be joining 'that herd of old elephants'. In his opinion, former politicians always think they know best.
Dutch News
Since the petition was published in Trouw on Thursday, the number of signatories has reached 100, up from 44.
The signatories want the party to stop negotiating with the PVV and the Liberal VVD for a minority government supported in parliament by Wilders. They say the ideology of the PVV is 'against the Dutch constitution and a threat to our demoncratic society'.
A spokesman for party leader Maxime Verhagen told the press on Thursday that Verhagen understands the concerns of the party members, but added: 'We are only at the beginning of negotiations and it's the result that matters'.
Party conference
A special party conference is scheduled for the end of August when Verhagen will explain to party members what sort of support Wilders is offering and what he wants in return. But the signatories, who include local politicians and former MPs and mayors, are not prepared to wait.
According to historian Wouter Beekers, who initiated the petition, Christian Democrats will tend to accept what Verhagen says at the conference and action must be taken now, reports the Volkskrant.
Unique action
It is most unusual for Christian Democrats to make any criticism of their party public, particularly in the form of a mass demonstration. But many members are still keeping silent.
Some, like Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, have already fought back. The former Nato general secretary told the Volkskrant he would not be joining 'that herd of old elephants'. In his opinion, former politicians always think they know best.
Dutch News
BNP want Jewish 'comrades' to fight Muslims (UK)
Small groups of BNP and English Defence League supporters are championing the Jewish state as part of a perceived struggle with the Muslim world.
They call for Israel and the BNP to be "comrades in arms".
One person commenting on a pro-BNP blog suggested that the party should open an office in Israel to "show solidarity with the Israeli people".
But Jon Benjamin, Board of Deputies chief executive, warned: "No one in their right mind should have any truck with the BNP or their ilk."
A blogger on The Green Arrow, an independent website which supports the BNP, encouraged others to look to Israel to avoid the West's "meek surrender to Islam".
Under the name Reconquista, the blogger wrote: "Against the backdrop of an enormous anti-Israel propaganda campaign waged by Muslims and by the Marxist left, Israel continues to fight for its very survival.
"I believe it is absolutely imperative for British Nationalists to be fully aware of the lies, deceptions, hypocrisy and moral cowardice surrounding Israel and the Jewish people."
One person commented on the blog: "I have written several times calling for committees for the mutual defence of white and Jewish communities to be set up here. Both people are under attack… Jewish people need to stop opposing us as their enemy."
Another adds: "We need Israel. We must join with them to fight this terrible wave of Islam trying to take over the world. The Jews know all about ethnic cleansing, and they will never allow themselves to be in that position again."
In May, the extreme right-wing anti-Islamic fundamentalism group the English Defence League launched a "Jewish division", encouraging Jews to "lead the counter-Jihad fight in England".
Mr Benjamin said: "Short-term political expediency and pronouncements of this kind are merely a cynical ploy by the BNP to try to re-invent themselves to capture the support of those who should know better."
A CST spokesman said: "There may be the odd BNP activist who thinks that antisemitism is stupid, and there may well be others who think that supporting Israel is a good idea, but none of it changes what the BNP is all about."
Such concerns may be well-founded. The Green Arrow site includes readers' comments such as "it's the Jews who own all the media".
The JC
Court approves neo-Nazi march, but bans counter demonstration (Germany)
The administrative court confirmed its decision on Thursday to exclude the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), overturning a previous ruling by a Schaumburg district court, which had said there were not enough police there to handle both sides at the same time. But the Hannover court said the some 2,000 officers could at least handle one demonstration.
Because the neo-Nazis registered for permission first, and officials expect violence-prone anarchists to be attracted to the counter demonstration, the far-right extremists will be allowed to march unopposed, the court said.
The DGB called the decision an “unbelievable ruling” and said it would appeal to the state of Lower Saxony’s top administrative court.
Right-wing extremists have come to Bad Nenndorf since 2006 to stage a "funeral march" in honour of Nazis they say were mishandled there between 1945 and 1947 at an interrogation centre by occupying British troops.
The Local Germany
Racist Serial Stabber Arrested By FBI (USA)
A young man notorious for being a racist serial stabber has been arrested for attacking 20 men.
Commonly known to everyone as Racist Serial Stabber, the person stabbed 20 men out of whom 5 died and 15 survived having severe injuries. The victims belong from Michigan, Virginia and Ohio.
The people whom Racist Serial Stabber attacked were mostly dark men. Only two of the attacked victims were of white skin. He got his Racist Serial Stabber name from there.
The suspect was wearing a dark green Chevy blazer when authorities at the airport caught him after spotting him via security cameras at the airport. His portrait was already released by police after he was seen at the site of his last crime.
According to police, the suspect was boarding flight for Tel Aviv from the Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. Further details about the case will be released once the investigation is done.
All Voices
Commonly known to everyone as Racist Serial Stabber, the person stabbed 20 men out of whom 5 died and 15 survived having severe injuries. The victims belong from Michigan, Virginia and Ohio.
The people whom Racist Serial Stabber attacked were mostly dark men. Only two of the attacked victims were of white skin. He got his Racist Serial Stabber name from there.
The suspect was wearing a dark green Chevy blazer when authorities at the airport caught him after spotting him via security cameras at the airport. His portrait was already released by police after he was seen at the site of his last crime.
According to police, the suspect was boarding flight for Tel Aviv from the Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. Further details about the case will be released once the investigation is done.
All Voices
Champagne binge woman's racist tirade (UK)
A woman who launched a racist rant after drinking champagne at Fortnum and Mason was spared jail yesterday
Holly Mercer, 20, subjected doorman Jean Luc Abenou to a barrage of abuse at another bar after she was wrongly accused of stealing a wallet. Southwark crown court heard she called him a "f***ing black man" and added: "I will send you back to Jamaica where you belong ... BNP will get you all out."
She admitted racially aggravated harassment. Judge Nicholas Lorraine-Smith gave her a 12-month community order. She must do 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £150 costs. "Your behaviour was atrocious [but] what you shouted didn't betray your true views," he said.
The court heard Mercer, of Aldwych, spent the night of April 13 in bars including Fortnum in Piccadilly. She abused Mr Abenou in the Ku Bar, Soho.
This is London
Holly Mercer, 20, subjected doorman Jean Luc Abenou to a barrage of abuse at another bar after she was wrongly accused of stealing a wallet. Southwark crown court heard she called him a "f***ing black man" and added: "I will send you back to Jamaica where you belong ... BNP will get you all out."
She admitted racially aggravated harassment. Judge Nicholas Lorraine-Smith gave her a 12-month community order. She must do 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £150 costs. "Your behaviour was atrocious [but] what you shouted didn't betray your true views," he said.
The court heard Mercer, of Aldwych, spent the night of April 13 in bars including Fortnum in Piccadilly. She abused Mr Abenou in the Ku Bar, Soho.
This is London
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)