Neo-Nazis dominate German village, underscoring far-right struggle in former communist east

Wooden signposts by the main road point to Vienna, Paris, and Braunau am Inn — the birthplace of Adolf Hitler. A far-right leader runs his demolition company from home, its logo featuring a man smashing a Star of David with a sledgehammer.

Every few months, townsfolk host outdoor parties where guests sing "Hitler is my Fuehrer" to chants of "Heil" around a massive bonfire.

Jamel is the most extreme manifestation of a chilling phenomenon in the former communist East Germany: a creeping encroachment of neo-Nazism that makes Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania one of only two states where Germany's biggest far-right party, the National Democratic Party, or NPD, sits in parliament.

The extreme-right is believed to be behind some 40 attacks in the state over the past year, including stones thrown through windows of political parties and fireworks blown up in a prosecutor's mailbox. Last year in Jamel, witnesses say, a neo-Nazi punched a visitor and shouted his allegiance to Hitler.

The state has Germany's highest unemployment rate outside Berlin, at 12.7 percent in December, and few industries — fueling xenophobia the neo-Nazis have capitalized on. Only 2 percent of the population is foreign born, but officials say that lack of immigrant contact itself has reinforced suspicions.

"Federally the Islamic extremists are the biggest problem; for us the extreme right is the biggest problem," said Reinhard Mueller, who heads the state branch of Germany's domestic intelligence agency.

In Jamel, six of the 10 houses are in the hands of the far right, and authorities consider 10 of the village's 28 adults right-wing extremists. Town life is dominated by one man: Sven Krueger, a 36-year-old leading NPD official, who grew up here.

Officials say Krueger has been known to authorities for small-time criminal activity, but had stayed off the radar in recent years after turning to politics. That changed this a week ago, however, when Krueger was arrested on charges of receiving stolen property and weapons violations after a five-month investigation.

In a search of his home, authorities confiscated power tools they believe stolen and a submachine gun with 200 rounds of ammunition.

A few days before the arrest, a pit bull and a German Shepherd roamed the fenced yard of Krueger's home in the middle of town, and an NPD poster with the pledge "we keep our word" hung from a blue industrial trash bin out front, filled with waste from his demolition work. A woman smoking a cigarette in the yard said she didn't know where Krueger could be found.

At the end of the road, a man with closely cropped hair in a green tank top, arms covered with tattoos, ran out of another house and yelled "get out you dirty pest" at a photographer. Others did not answer their doors, and Krueger did not answer calls to his business or cell phone.

His demolition company's main building is about six miles (10 kilometers) away, and doubles as the regional NPD headquarters.

It is set behind a six-foot (two-meter) wooden fence topped with razor wire; a guard tower shines a floodlight at night, and dogs bark incessantly through the padlocked steel gate. The black-white-and-red German imperial flag used in the last years of the Kaiser flies overhead — a common neo-Nazi substitute for the outlawed swastika banner. Through the fence on an inside door the smashed Star of David logo can be seen.

Legally, very little can be done to expel the neo-Nazis — they carefully skirt German laws against displaying Nazi symbols, like the swastika or the SS runes, and the banned songs people hear in the night cannot be pinned on any one individual.

Still, residents say their sympathies are clear. Horst and Birgit Lohmeyer, who have lived in Jamel for the past seven years, say the local far-right scene attracts scores of neo-Nazis for parties a few times a year — including several hundred at Krueger's wedding last summer.

"They sit around the bonfire and sing these songs — 'Adolf Hitler is mein Fuehrer' they sing — they call out 'heil' — there are sometimes as many as 300 right extremists at these parties," Birgit Lohmeyer said.

In protest, the Lohmeyers organized a party of their own — an annual music festival on their nearly two-acre (0.8-hectare) property that started in 2007.

"We hold this festival for democracy and tolerance to show that this town is not entirely in right-hands — that there are others here who don't believe in their ideology," Birgit Lohmeyer said.

The regional mayor of the 2,700-person district said he hopes the attention will help expose the agenda of the NPD to people who may otherwise have voted for them again in September. The party won 7.3 percent of the vote when Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has her constituency, last held state elections in 2006, giving them 6 of 71 seats.

"The NPD is nothing less than the successor to the Nazi party and their goals are the same," said Mayor Uwe Wandel in an interview at the Mercedes dealership he runs about 200 yards (meters) from Krueger's demolition company.

"Maybe today they're not talking about Jews but about foreigners in general, but their ideals are exactly the same.

Krueger was the only known far-right extremist in the village when the Lohmeyers moved there in 2004 from Hamburg. But his presence started attracting more extremists; as they moved in, others moved out — and Krueger encouraged his friends to buy up the property.

Lohmeyer said she and her husband for the most part keep to themselves in their 150-year-old half-timbered restored farmhouse with their 13 cats. She said they haven't suffered any retaliation from the neo-Nazis for holding their music festival.

The NPD is marginalized at the national level in Germany, and wherever the party holds rallies, the hundreds who show up are dwarfed in numbers by thousands of counter-demonstrators. And even though its popularity has slipped slightly in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it appears poised to remain over the 5 percent of the vote needed to keep its seats in the upcoming Sept. 4 state election.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency estimates that as of 2010 there were about 1,400 far-right extremists in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — a small fraction of the state's 1.6 million population. Of them, 400 are NPD members. Still, officials acknowledge the far-right extremists in the state make up a disproportionate number of Germany's overall 26,000.

Mueller said the state government supports a ban of the NPD, which would cut it off from funding given to all parties that receive a certain proportion of the vote, based on a sliding scale. The NPD got some euro1.19 million in 2009, the last year for which a figure was available, while by contrast Merkel's conservative party got euro41.9 million.

There is little support federally for a ban, however, after a previous attempt was thwarted in 2003 by Germany's highest court as it emerged that the argument for the ban was partially based on statements by NPD members who were also paid informers for state authorities.

Still, Birgit Lohmeyer thinks it's worth putting pressure on politicians to try again — even though she acknowledged a ban might actually make her own situation worse, by further antagonizing her neighbors.

"People need to mobilize against the NPD or for the ban of the NPD," Lohmeyer said. "This is something that has to come from the grass roots. We will not be terrorized."

LA Times

NPD banned from taking Frankfurt census (German)

Members of the National Democratic Party (NPD) have been banned from taking the census in the state of Hesse, following the far-right party's call on its members to volunteer and collect data.

The Hesse branch of the NPD called on its members to sign-up for census-taking duties so they could "draw conclusions about the mental state, the social problems and the political mood" of the people of that state.

Director of Frankfurt's census office Waltraud Schröpfer said NPD members had now been banned because the law did not allow census data to be used for political reasons.

On the NPD's website, the party said they would use the data to "lay the foundation of a national-democratic 'market research' for the best way to address voters." The NPD also called on members to donate to the party the expense allowances of between €250 and €1,000 that census interviewers receive.

The NPD has attempted similar census-based campaigns in Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia in the past.

According to Saturday's edition of the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, the local statistics office in Wiesbaden will try to prevent NPD members from taking the census by giving priority to volunteers who work for public authorities.

Hesse's census begins on May 9. The state will send out 7,000 interviewers to 12 percent of the population to collect data.

The Local Germany

Cops probe link between Loughner, white supremacists (USA)

An official familiar with the Arizona shooting investigation said Sunday that local authorities are looking at a possible connection between accused gunman Jared Loughner and an online group known for white supremacist, anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said local authorities were examining the American Renaissance website for possible motives for Saturday’s shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

American Renaissance is connected to the white supremacist New Century Foundation, according to an analysis by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based group that tracks hate crimes. New Century Foundation founder Jared Taylor has called racial, ethnic and religious diversity “one of the most divisive forces on the planet,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Taylor on Sunday denied any connection to the accused gunman. “No one by the name of Loughner has ever been a subscriber to American Renaissance or has ever registered for an American Renaissance conference,” Taylor wrote on the website.

“American Renaissance condemns violence in the strongest possible terms,” Taylor wrote.

Capitol Hill Blue

David Cameron's attack on multiculturalism divides the coalition (UK)

The language of Cameron's speech resembles that of Blair in the wake of the 7/7 bombings. But the issue still threatens to divide his party as badly as it did Labour.

David Cameron's speech attacking multiculturalism may seem to have come out of a clear blue sky, but its genesis can be traced back to long before he became prime minister. Indeed, in its tone and content it shares many similarities with a key speech made by Tony Blair in 2005, shortly after the London bombings.

Blair argued that the roots of violent Islamism were not "superficial but deep" and could be found "in the extremist minority that now in every European city preach hatred of the west and our way of life".

Those who perpetuated such an ideology, Blair claimed, play "on our tolerance and good nature … as if it is our behaviour that should change, that if we only tried to work out and act on their grievances, we could lift this evil … This is a misunderstanding of a catastrophic order."

But even though Blair returned to this argument recurrently, the Labour government was unable to resolve its internal battles over how best to combat violent extremism. The rows engulfed the government's chief response to the threat, articulated in its "Prevent" strategy, which originally sought to counter the spread of Islamism by empowering moderate voices in the Muslim world.

The Home Office and the Department for Communities vied with each other for cash and resources as they attempted to implement the strategy. Behind the scenes, ministers clashed over who should own the policy. A number of Muslim groups flagged concerns that senior civil servants were in thrall to Islamist organisations that preached non-violence in the UK but endorsed violent extremism abroad. There were even accusations that Prevent itself had been hijacked by extremist groups.

"There was this belief that supporting and reaching out to the non-violent extremists would prevent violent extremists from committing acts of terrorism," said Haras Rafiq, a founder of the Sufi Muslim Council and a director of Centri, an anti-extremism organisation. "It is clear that Cameron now believes that approach was muddled."

Cameron's speech signalled just how muddled he felt the approach had become. In the future, he pledged, only groups that would encourage integration would receive funding. "Let's properly judge these organisations," Cameron said. "Do they believe in universal human rights – including for women and people of other faiths? Do they believe in equality of all before the law?"

These questions will become increasingly important over the next few weeks as the government redrafts the Prevent strategy. Originally due to be unveiled in January, it now looks unlikely to appear until the summer.

As with Labour, the coalition is divided. Insiders say Cameron, along with education secretary, Michael Gove, the home secretary, Theresa May, and the security minister, Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, accept there has been too much of what the prime minister calls "passive tolerance" of extremist groups in recent years, while Nick Clegg and Baroness Warsi, the Tory party chairwoman, prefer a more multicultural approach.

Signs of the tension between both sides were evident last year when Warsi was due to attend the Muslim Global Peace and Unity conference in east London but pulled out under pressure from Tory party officials, who were alarmed at claims the event was to be attended by Islamist sympathisers.

Warsi was understood to be distraught at being unable to attend and used a speech last month at Leicester University – rumoured to have not been cleared by Tory party HQ – to warn that "Islamophobia has now crossed the threshold of middle-class respectability".

She said: "The drip-feeding of fear fuels a rising tide of prejudice. So when people get on the tube and see a bearded Muslim, they think 'terrorist' … when they hear 'halal', they think 'that sounds like contaminated food' … and when they walk past a woman wearing a veil, they think automatically, 'that woman's oppressed'. And what's particularly worrying is that this can lead down the slippery slope to violence."

As for the Liberal Democrats, many of their MPs and members will feel uneasy at Cameron's claim that multiculturalism has failed. The party has seen itself as distinct because of the way in which it embraces diversity. Nick Clegg was even prepared to stick his neck out in the election campaign in support of an amnesty for illegal immigrants, seeing it as an important badge of liberalism. Many Lib Dems will find being associated with Cameron's approach difficult.

Muslim groups were quick to voice fears that Cameron's speech was putting the UK on the same slippery slope, coming on the day the far-right English Defence League staged its largest ever rally in Luton.

"The prime minister chose to deliver his speech on a day when the extremists of the English Defence League will be marching on Luton to sow discord among our communities," said Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. "We find it very disappointing that, at a time when we should seek to stand together to fight violence and extremism, Mr Cameron omits any reference to this extremist group spreading hate and bigotry against British Muslims in towns and cities up and down this country."

But Cameron did use his speech to acknowledge the relationship between Islamophobia and the far right. "On the one hand, those on the hard right ignore this distinction between Islam and Islamist extremism and just say: 'Islam and the west are irreconcilable'," he said. "These people fuel Islamophobia. And I completely reject their argument."

Anti-fascist campaigners point out the EDL was formed in response to the rise of al-Muhajiroun, the now proscribed extremist organisation that glorified suicide bombers and influenced several British-born al-Qaida sympathisers jailed for terrorism. A mix of football hooligans, far-right supporters and disaffected white workers, the EDL lacks a common identity but is united in its target: Islam.

"The rise of the EDL can be seen as a failure by the British government to get to grips with Islamist extremism," said Maurice Cousins of the anti-far-right campaign group Nothing British.

Multiculturalism has, according to Cousins, helped Islamism flourish.

"We take the view that multiculturalism hasn't been the best way to integrate people in society," he said. "It ghettoises people into minority and majority groups with no common identity. You can argue in favour of pluralism, but multiculturalism says there's no one overriding culture and that causes divisions and makes society less cohesive."

Cameron signalled he had come down on the side of this argument. "The speech was an attempt to bring everything together," said James Brandon of Quilliam, the counter-extremism thinktank. "When they got into power, the government tried to draft anti-extremism policy in piecemeal form, but they've realised they need a bigger-picture approach to make sure every department is on the same page."

Insiders suggest it is likely Cameron's speech will trigger a further redrafting of the Prevent strategy. What eventually transpires will be radically different. "A lot of things were wrong with Prevent," Brandon said. "People were being loose with who the money was going to; they were working with the wrong people."

Having rejected the previous government's strategy, Cameron is now reverting to his default position, outlined in a speech he made in 2005 when shadow education minister. In the speech Cameron likened Islamist extremists to Nazis. "Just like the Nazis of 1930s Germany, they want to purge corrupt cosmopolitan influences," Cameron said.

Meanwhile, the EDL's website also invokes the Nazis. It carries a quote from Albert Einstein, a "refugee from Nazi Germany": "The world is a dangerous place to live in; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Indeed, at the march, several EDL members were quick to claim Cameron's speech reflected their own views. By waging war on one form of extremism, Cameron may unintentionally have given succour to another.

The Observer

Coogan blasts three 'racist' amigos (UK)

Comedian Steve Coogan has laid into Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, saying the trio were guilty of "casual racism" and describing them as "three rich, middle-aged men laughing at poor Mexicans".

The Mexican ambassador complained to the BBC about the "outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults" made on the show after Hammond joked that Mexican cars reflected national characteristics, saying they were "just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent".

But Coogan said the adjectives better described Hammond's comic approach.

And he also criticised the BBC for, saying its "initial mealy-mouthed apology was pitiful" and it defence of the presenters amounted to "tolerance of casual racism".

The corporation wrote to His Excellency Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza to say it was sorry if the programme, broadcast on January 30, caused offence.

But it claimed that national stereotyping was part of British humour and the remarks were akin to labelling Italians as disorganised and over dramatic, the French as arrogant and the Germans as over-organised.

Writing in the Observer, Coogan said: "All the examples it uses to legitimise this hateful rubbish are relatively prosperous countries full of white people. How about if the Lads had described Africans as lazy, feckless etc? Or Pakistanis? The Beeb's hand-wringing suggested tolerance of casual racism, arguably the most sinister kind."

Coogan said he was a "huge fan" of Top Gear and normally regarded the presenters' irreverence as part of the "rough and tumble" that goes with having a sense of humour, but he said there was a "strong ethical dimension" to the best comedy which actively challenges prejudices rather than reinforcing them, laughing at hypocrisy and narrow mindedness.

He said the presenters wore their offensiveness like a "badge of pride" and mistakenly believed it gave them an "anti-establishment aura of coolness" when in fact it was "uber-conservative".

Coogan, who admitted he was now unlikely to be invited back on the show, said the comments were all the worse because with its high viewing figures Top Gear was often the "public face of the BBC".

Google Hosted News

Police report massive rise in Scottish gay hate crime (UK)

Hate crimes against homosexuals in Scotland have risen almost fivefold in the past five years, shock new statistics have revealed.

The statistics - gathered by a freedom of information request to Scotland's eight police forces - show a disturbing rise in reports of violent attacks, indecent assaults, abuse and vandalism against people targeted just because of their sexual orientation.

Figures show there were 666 incidents of homophobic abuse in 2009-10, almost double the 364 incidents reported in 2007-8, and almost five times the 114 incidents reported in 2004-5.

In Strathclyde, reported incidents have risen from 50 in 2004-5 to 286 last year, while in the Lothian and Borders area there was a rise from 45 to 167 over the same period.

Rights organisation Stonewall Scotland revealed that two thirds of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people had been verbally abused in the past year, while a third had been physically attacked. The overall number of incidents is likely to be much higher as Stonewall said 61 per cent of victims did not report the crime to police.

The freedom of information statistics show that homosexuals have been abused or assaulted in their own homes, while eating in a restaurant, on public transport and while on a night out.

In one case, in the Central Scotland area, a lesbian and gay centre was set alight.

After a Stonewall Scotland campaign, police have been required to separately report incidents since March 2010.

However, the FoI figures pre-date the new laws. Carl Watt, director of Stonewall Scotland, said: Over a quarter of the people attacked told us they accept abuse and attacks as part of being LGBT in Scotland.

"Having said that we have a strong message from our police forces that crimes committed against people simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity will not be tolerated."

Ian Latimer, chief constable of Northern Constabulary and spokesman on diversity for the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland, said: "Hate crime in any form is unacceptable."

And a Scottish Government spokesman added: "There is no room for complacency in this fight."

Scotsman

David Cameron tells Muslim Britain: stop tolerating extremists (UK)

PM says those who don't hold 'British' values will be shunned by government

David Cameron will today signal a sea-change in the government fight against home-grown terrorism, saying the state must confront, and not consort with, the non-violent Muslim groups that are ambiguous about British values such as equality between sexes, democracy and integration.

To belong in Britain is to believe in these values, he will say. Claiming the previous government had been the victim of fear and muddled thinking by backing a state-sponsored form of multiculturalism, the prime minister will state that his government "will no longer fund or share platforms with organisations that, while non-violent, are certainly in some cases part of the problem".

In a major speech to a security conference in Munich, he will demand: "We need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism."

He will say that "some organisations that seek to present themselves as a gateway to the Muslim community are showered with public money while doing little to combat extremism. This is like turning to a rightwing fascist party to fight a violent white supremacist movement."

Cameron's aides, aware the speech may prove highly controversial, refused to identify the organisations in his sights, but it is clear one target is the Muslim Council of Britain.

Last night some Muslim groups criticised the prime minister for making the speech on the same day that the English Defence League is holding its biggest ever demonstration, in Luton.

Cameron will also make clear that his tougher stance extends to unambiguous support for the democracy movement in Egypt: "I simply don't accept that there's a dead-end choice between a security state and Islamist resistance."

His remarks suggest that a Home Office-led review into the government Prevent programme, being overseen by Lord Carlile, is going to lead to major changes.

It also suggests that he has sided unambiguously with figures such as Michael Gove inside his cabinet rather than his party chairman, Lady Warsi, who has complained of fashionable Islamophobia.

Cameron will argue many young men have been drawn to extremism due to a rootlessness created by the weakening of a clear collective British cultural identity.

He will say: "Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.

"We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values. So when a white person holds objectionable views – racism, for example – we rightly condemn them. But when equally unacceptable views or practices have come from someone who isn't white, we've been too cautious, frankly even fearful, to stand up to them."

He will warn his audience: "Europe needs to wake up to what is happening in our own countries. We need to be absolutely clear on where the origins of these terrorist attacks lie – and that is the existence of an ideology, Islamist extremism."

This ideology he says, is entirely separate from Islam, and "at the furthest end includes those who back terrorism to promote their ultimate goal: an entire Islamist realm, governed by an interpretation of sharia".

But he adds: "Move along the spectrum, and you find people who may reject violence, but who accept various parts of the extremist world-view including real hostility towards western democracy and liberal values.

"If we are to defeat this threat, he says, its time to turn the page on on the failed policies of the past. So first, instead of ignoring this extremist ideology, we as governments and societies have got to confront it in all its forms."

Echoing Tony Blair after 9/11, he rounds on the soft left that "lump all Muslims together, compiling a list of grievances and arguing if only governments addressed them, this terrorism would stop".

Inayat Bunglawala, chair of an anti-extremist group called Muslims4Uk, said: "Mr Cameron's remarks are ill-judged and deeply patronising. The overwhelming majority of UK Muslims are proud to be British and are appalled by the antics of a tiny group of extremists and so will hardly be pleased with his lecture on integration.

"Ironically, the PM's comments come on a day when the viciously Islamophobic English Defence League are to stage their biggest demonstration yet on our streets. Integration works both ways and we would expect Mr Cameron and his government to be openly challenging these EDL extremists. Instead, he and his senior ministers have to date remained totally mute. It is disgraceful."

In opposition the Tories began considering the policy on Muslims, which critics say risks branding many as extremists even though they do not espouse violence.

Critics say it is based on flawed neo-Conservative thinking and risks backfiring, while supporters say it is necessary to tackle those who are fellow travellers with violent extremists.


The Guardian

Czech police charge Litvínov man for wearing banned Workers' Party logo (Czech Rep)

Police in Most have charged a 24-year-old man from Litvínov with showing sympathy for a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms. Police spokesperson Ludmila Světláková said the man was spotted at a bus stop wearing a cap with the logo of the banned Workers' Party (Dělnická strana - DS). The Supreme Administrative Court dissolved the DS last year. The man has not been taken into custody. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.

Police officers say the original version of the DS logo represents the promotion of various movements and organizations (some of which no longer exist) whose activities are based on an ideology combining the contemporary concept of neo-Nazism, Nazism itself, racism and xenophobia. "Given that the person charged had previously been a member of the DS who regularly organizes and participates in right-wing extremist events, it is evident that he could and should have been aware of the meaning of the symbol he was publicly expressing his sympathy for," Světláková said. News server Romea.cz has determined that the man charged is probably the chair of the Litvínov chapter of the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS), Petr Križanovič, whose prosecution has been reported on the party's website.

The charges were filed by Miroslav Kováč, who at the time was working as a Roma police assistant in Litvínov. "I filed charges against Mr Křižanovič and I know he was interrogated by the criminal police in Most. I was also summoned as a witness,“ Kováč told news server Romea.cz.

In the charges he filed, Kováč wrote the following: "On 5 November 2010, I and my coworker Marek Nistor were standing at the crosswalk across from the elementary school at the Janov housing estate between 8 and 8:30 AM. A man unknown to us got off the bus (his name is allegedly Křižanovič and he lives at Janov) wearing the logo of the dissolved political party, the DS, on his baseball cap…. As far as the danger to society posed by this illegal behavior, I personally see it (the wearing of a baseball cap with the logo of the dissolved DS party, which is an expression and promotion of sympathy for a movement such as those described in section 260 of the Criminal Code) as presenting a high danger to society, as the Janov housing estate has long been an excluded locality with a predominance of Roma residents. Janov residents have very vivid memories of the attempted pogrom against them committed by the DS in 2008, as well as subsequent such attempts made in Přerov and other towns, such as the attempted murder of an entire Roma family in Vítkov by DS members. This citizen, through his actions, behavior, promotion of the DS and his sympathies, is publicly provoking or potentially provoking conflict with other Janov residents which could lead to a wave of ethnic and racial unrest, either locally or nationwide. In the past, the police response to suppress the unrest in Litvínov caused by the four or five visits the DS made to the town cost the state CZK 10 million.“

As news server Romea.cz previously reported, the town of Litvínov originally filed criminal charges against the three Roma police assistants, including Miroslav Kováč, for stopping the man and removing his baseball cap. Police have declined to press charges and are addressing the incident as a misdemeanor. Despite this, the Litvínov town hall will not be rehiring the assistants and has given this incident as their excuse.

The Supreme Administrative Court dissolved the DS last February, finding that its ideology, program and symbols included chauvinistic and xenophobic elements, a racist subtext, and were related to National Socialism. The court found that the party was inciting violence and striving for a radical change in the democratic order. According to the verdict, the party was attempting to artificially incite the sense that foreigners and immigrants pose a danger to Czech society.

Police in Most pressed similar charges earlier this year against an 18-year-old man who participated in an event sponsored by the DSSS, which is the successor to the banned Workers' Party. Police officers have also begun prosecuting the Vice-Chair of the Workers' Youth organization, Lucie Šlégrová, for the content of a speech she gave at a DSSS event. Police say she publicly expressed a positive relationship toward a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms, expressed solidarity with the ideology of German Nazism, and promoted German National Socialism.

Romea

Oldest form of racism' rears head as attacks against Jews rise (UK)

Last year there were 639 reports of bigoted violence and abuse against the Jewish community.
It is the second highest number of anti-Semitic incidents ever recorded by the Community Security Trust (CST). The charity, which monitors anti-Semitism in the UK, said these included street attacks, hate mail, threats, and the vandalism and desecration of Jewish property.

Although the figures were significantly lower than 2009, when 926 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded, fuelled by the ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces, researchers say they reflect a continuing long-term trend.

The number of physical and verbal attacks against Jews has doubled over the past decade and John Mann, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism, said the figures were a "sad and timely reminder", adding: "Our focus is absolute and we will continue to do all we can to ensure these numbers go down over the coming years."

The CST said the raid on the Gaza aid flotilla in May and prominent Jewish festivals in September led to two spikes in the number of incidents. There were 114 violent anti-Semitic attacks in the UK last year, down from 124 in 2009. But worryingly, the number of violent assaults rose as a proportion of the overall total, from 13 per cent in 2009 to 18 per cent last year.

London (219), Manchester (216), Hertfordshire (40) and Leeds (21) had the highest number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents in the country. It's no coincidence that these areas are home to four of the country's largest Jewish communities, but nevertheless the rising trend is cause for concern.

"We have this pattern that whenever there's a crisis in the Middle East involving Israel we see a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Britain," says CST spokesman, Dave Rich. "But what I think is worrying is after 2009 we expected a big fall last year and although the number of incidents did fall by a third, the trend over the past 10 years is heading upwards and what we are seeing is street racism that is becoming more embedded."

Among the incidents reported was an assault on a Jewish man in Leeds who was standing at a cash machine when a car containing three or four men drove past. One of the occupants shouted "Jude" before they pelted him with eggs. In January last year, the words "F*** the Jews" with a swastika were drawn on a desk at Leeds University, while in Manchester a Jewish-looking man was about to get into his car when a large group of children shouted, "Hitler is coming" at him and threw a brick through his rear window.Such shocking behaviour will rightly upset people, but does the increase in the number of incidents being reported mean racial tension is rising?

"The numbers are a lot higher now and that is partly because we have become more integrated within the Jewish community, so we expected the report rate would increase. But that alone can't explain the year-on-year rise we are seeing," says Mr Rich.

"It could be because we get these spikes and the figures never quite go back to where they were before. There are different types of anti-Semitism and sometimes it relates to anti-social behaviour. It doesn't define Jewish life in this country, but it's a problem that is present for people and the more Jewish you look the more likely you are to be targeted."

Labour's Rotherham MP Denis MacShane, author of Globalising Hatred: The New Anti-Semitism, is concerned by what is happening. "Anti-Semitism has resurfaced recently in a very worrying way, so that people are attacked simply because they are Jewish, not because of the views that they hold. People are forgetting where anti-Semitism can lead, it's the oldest form of racism," he says. "It has moved away from the anti-Semitism of the 30s, but it's back out there in a way that it wasn't 25 or 30 years ago."

Which is why it still needs to be tackled. "We expose it, we report it and we don't allow it to resurface. I would like to see one of the big universities in our region starting a course dedicated to the study of anti-Semitism that looks at it in both historical and contemporary terms."

Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East (Lab), says although we are a much more tolerant and accepting society these days, there are still small pockets of communities that feed on ignorance and prejudice.

"If I talk to Jewish people about anti-Semitic crime they will say it was ever thus and ask if it is happening to others, and sadly the answer is 'yes'."

Yorkshire Post

WILDERS' TRIAL MAY BE DELAYED AS WRANGLING OVER ACQUITTAL CALL CONTINUES (Netherlands)

The trial of MP Geert Wilders on discrimination and inciting hatred charges may be delayed, Nos television reports on Thursday. A lawyer representing groups who forced the prosecution department to take legal action against Wilders has gone to the appeal court to fight the department’s call for Wilders’ acquittal. The original court case against Wilders collapsed last year after a number of irregularities involving the judges, which senior legal officials said could give rise to accusations of bias.

Not guilty
But the case had faltered earlier in the trial when the prosecutors called for Wilders to be found not guilty on all charges. The groups want new prosecutors to be appointed who believe in the case, but it is unclear when that case will be heard. The trial is due to resume on Monday, but Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moszkovicz says it will be a waste of time to restart unless the dispute over the prosecutors has been resolved.

Dutch News

GYPSIES AND AFRICANS ARE THE MOST DISCRIMINATED PEOPLE IN EUROPE

The population of African and Roma are discriminated against more often than minorities from the Balkans or Eastern Europe, according to a report released Wednesday by the Agency of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (FRA). The document notes that persons belonging to “visible minorities”, ie those who generally have a different appearance from the rest of the population feel discriminated against more often and for a greater number of reasons compared to other minorities. In particular, the Roma and African Americans have “more likely” to suffer discrimination that people from the former Yugoslavia, Russian-born and native of Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, people of “visible minorities” are more often subject to acts of “multiplediscrimination ” (for various reasons), such as age, sex and religion. For example, young men of immigrant origin tend to have higher levels of discriminatory treatment, according to survey conducted by the FRA.

The results show that one in four respondents from ethnic minorities or immigrants in the EU states have felt discriminated against by two or more grounds for the 12 months preceding the survey. 28% of North Africans claimed to have experienced discrimination on multiple grounds in recent months, compared with 18% of sub-Saharan Africans, 16% of Roma and 15% of Turks. In the case of immigrants from theBalkans or Central European countries, the figures are below 9%. Belonging to an ethnic minority or being an immigrant was the most common reason for multiple discrimination among respondents (93% for both men and women), followed by religion (72% for men and 56% among women ) and sex (24% and 44% respectively). Next, put the old (30 and 29%), other reasons (21% and 15%), disability (13% and 9%) and sexual orientation (11% and 9%).

Coffe Today

Retrial for neo-Nazi promoters in the Czech Republic

The trial of eight people charged in the Czech Republic with promoting and supporting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms will have to be repeated. Judge Věra Bártová has had to recuse herself as the result of a motion filed at the end of December. Libor Vávra, president of the Prague 1 District Court, told the Czech Press Agency today that he will be presiding over the trial from now on. The case concerns allegations of promoting neo-Nazism and the group called National Resistance (Národní odpor - NO) and organizing neo-Nazi events.

Bártová's recusal is the result of criticisms voiced by the K213 association, which told the court her previous membership in the Communist Party was "incompatible with the fair trial of the so-called neo-Nazis". Bártová admitted to her previous membership in the party in her recusal, writing that as a result of the criticism that she would be incapable of objectivity "she feels so negatively influenced by the conclusions and opinions directed against her that she cannot responsibly guarantee the maximum degree of objective decision-making which is one of the fundamental principles of her work."

The case for the prosecution describes four crimes; the accused have told the court they are innocent. The first crime was allegedly committed by five people: Former chair of the Prague organization of the banned Workers' Party (Dělnická strana - DS), Patrik Vondrák; former DS party member Michaela Dupová; Richard Lang; DS candidate in the EP elections Petr Fryč; and Filip Vávra. They are said to have posted NO promotion materials in the center of Prague during the evening of 4 December 2008.

Six people (Vondrák, Dupová, Lang, the former chair of the DS regional organization in Vysočina, Milan Hroch, former DS member Martin Václavek and Daniel Zavadil) are also charged with organizing and holding a gathering and march on 6 June 2009 in Jihlava which town officials had to disperse immediately after it began. The event had been advertised as a memorial march to honor the memory of victims of the Second World War, but its real aim, according to the case file, was to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers of the Wehrmacht and SS. The prosecution charges that the event was planned by Hroch and Lang and announced to the town hall by Zavadil, whose deputy was Václavek. Lang allegedly arranged for a funeral wreath and was present at the event as an organizer, while Dupová agreed with Lang to provide drums and another wreath. Those scheduled to speak at the event were Herbert Schweiger, a veteran of Adolf Hitler's Leibstandarte SS division, and Austrian nationalist Gottfried Küssel. Vondrák is charged with inviting and transporting them to the Czech Republic.

Dupová is also charged with two other crimes. According to the case file, she participated in creating and running the website Resistance Women Unity (RWU), which police say is the women's branch of NO. The prosecution claims she was the administrator of the website and posted articles there authored by herself and others. The state prosecutor says those texts disseminated and promoted Nazi and neo-Nazi ideology. She is also charged with participating in organizing and holding a white power music concert to benefit neo-Nazis who were either being sought by the law or had been sentenced to prison. The concert took place in February 2009 in Srby (Kladno district) and was attended by about 120 people. The prosecution alleges Dupová was aware that the audience and performers would be disseminating the ideology of Nazism and neo-Nazism during the concert and celebrating the NO.

Experts in right-wing extremism say Lang is linked to the NO, while police say Hroch is also actively engaged in its activities. Experts say Vávra, who recently invited former Ku-Klux-Klan leader David Duke to the Czech Republic, was also connected to NO. Vávra admitted to the court that he was a radical at the start of the 1990s, but is said to have gradually become more moderate.

Romea.Cz

Neo-Nazi group denies it's racist (USA)

 A neo-Nazi group planning a New Jersey statehouse rally denied it's racist, saying it wants to spotlight immigration and other political issues, the group said.

"We're basically speaking about the corruption here in New Jersey politics, the immigration problem that faces our nation, and the revolving-door criminal system," National Socialist Movement New Jersey representative Jason Hiecke told The Times of Trenton.

Other issues the April 16 rally will address are high state property taxes, child molesters and an alleged "double standard" in which only crimes by whites against minorities are described as "hate crimes," he said.

"We're all considered racists or white supremacists, but that's not what most of our members are about," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

He acknowledged the organization's symbol is a swastika, used by Nazi Germany during World War II.

"The National Socialist Movement is distinctive in that they will wear Nazi-style uniforms," state Anti-Defamation League regional Director Etzion Neuer told the newspaper.

"One will typically see them dressed in swastikas, even more than most white supremacists," he said. "The visual that we might see of neo-Nazis clad in uniforms on the steps of the Capitol will revolt most New Jerseyans."

He called the gathering "disturbing" and advised people to stay away from the rally.

NSM rallies often attract counter-protests that sometimes turn violent. A Nov. 13 rally and march in Phoenix turned into a rock-throwing melee in which two young men were arrested.

Seventy NSM members demonstrated against illegal immigration in front of Los Angeles City Hall April 17, 2010, drawing a counterprotest of hundreds of anti-Nazi demonstrators.

An Oct. 15, 2005, demonstration to protest alleged black gang activity in Toledo, Ohio, sparked a four-hour riot that prompted a 36-hour citywide curfew.

UPI

Landowner and BNP donor facing court on dog charge (UK)

A landowner who was one of the biggest individual cash donors to the British National Party is facing court action accused of failing to keep his dog under control after it is alleged to have bitten a woman.

Charles Wentworth, 53, who lives at Friston Hall, near Aldeburgh, had his case listed before magistrates in Lowestoft on Monday following the incident on November 17 last year.

It was reported to police that Hannah Burns, a 47-year-old woman from the local area, was bitten on the thigh by a Doberman dog on a footpath between Benhall and Friston.

Mr Wentworth, who also owns Friston Village Hall and the village green, is accused of “being the owner of a dog which was dangerous and was not kept under proper control”.

The complaint was made by Ms Burns, and an application has been made for an order that the dog is to be kept under proper control or destroyed.

The case was adjourned and is next listed for the magistrates’ court on February 28. No plea has been entered yet.

Richard Barker, of Barker Gotelee solicitors, who is representing Mr Wentworth, said his client would be denying the charge.

Mr Wentworth made headlines in 2009 when it emerged he was one of the largest individual donors to the BNP, having handed over more than £38,000 in six cash payments between October 2006 and October 2007.

The largest individual payment was for £9,763 and the smallest was for £5,000.

Speaking to a national newspaper in 2009, he denied being a racist and said he had joined and helped fund the party because he believed that Britain was “overloaded”.

The Wentworth name has links to the village of Friston and nearby Aldeburgh back to the 18th Century with the family having owned about 100 cottages and farmhouses in the area.

Mr Wentworth’s farm is about 660 acres. He is known to support events in the village and has thrown Christmas parties for the village’s children.

EADT

Luton braced for violence in far-right's 'homecoming' march (UK)

It is being billed as a triumphant homecoming. Yet Luton, the designated home town of the far-right English Defence League, doesn't see it quite like that. With an estimated 12,000 EDL supporters and their opponents heading to Bedfordshire for a mass protest march tomorrow, police in the town are mounting their largest operation to try to prevent violence.

The EDL has invited its friends from the Dutch Defence League, and other far-right groups from France and Germany are also expected to march under the banner "No Surrender to Militant Islam". Counter-protests are being planned by Unite Against Fascism, and some 1,500 police officers will attempt to keep the sides apart. Bedfordshire Police warned: "The protests mean that there will be disruption to normal life in Luton on Saturday."

Luton is where the EDL was founded and the march is being promoted with the slogan "Back to Where It All Began". It was another homecoming march, by the Royal Anglian Regiment almost two years ago, that led to the group being set up in response to the actions of a small group of extremist Muslims, who had greeted the soldiers with placards reading "Butchers of Basra" and "Anglian soldiers go to hell".

Extremist politics and religious tension were added to Luton's claims to fame, alongside its international airport, the Vauxhall car factory and the town's links to the trade of millinery. That last tradition inspired the nickname of Luton Town Football Club, the Hatters, an institution that is suffering as much as any from the local rise of the EDL.

The far-right group has recruited heavily among football fans. The anti-racist group Searchlight has investigated links between the Luton division of the EDL and the MIGs (Men in Gear), a gang of Luton hooligans. Stephen Lennon, the founder of the EDL and the owner of a Luton sunbed shop, prefers to adopt the pseudonym of Tommy Robinson, the name of a notorious Luton hooligan and author of MIG Crew.

Luton Town have had enough difficulties in recent years. Once a top flight English team, they now find themselves outside the Football League. Their next fixture, against Gloucester City takes place this evening at the club's home at Kenilworth Road in the Bury Park district, which has a large community of Pakistani Muslims.

The club would have preferred to stage the game tomorrow but has been forced to reschedule the kick-off to distance it from the march. Gary Sweet, the managing director, has been deeply concerned by the attempts of the EDL to align the football club with its cause. "We are all very disappointed that the EDL has decided to target football and particularly Luton Town to recruit members. We would like to think that our supporters are a bit above that."

Mr Sweet also said that Luton Town was "disgusted about" the EDL's use of a customised version of the club crest in some of its promotional material. Luton Town has a proud record in overcoming prejudice within football and during the 1980s provided a platform for some of England's outstanding young black players, such as Ricky Hill and Brian Stein.

Meanwhile Mr Lennon summons his followers to Luton tomorrow. The news that Luton resident Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly was behind the Stockholm car bombing in December only strengthened his hand.

"This is the heart of militant Islam," he told a Newsnight reporter last week, posing in a bullet-proof vest which he claimed he needed for protection. Police will tomorrow attempt to ensure that others do not feel similarly at risk.

The Independant

BNP registers in Northern Ireland for the first time (UK)

The BNP has for the first time registered as a political party in Northern Ireland.

This means it can now field candidates in the Assembly or council elections.

The move was confirmed on Wednesday by the Electoral Commission.

The right-wing party has in the past expressed an interest in contesting elections in Northern Ireland but has so far failed to do so.

BBC News

Anti-Semitism in the UK remains high in 2010

A Jewish charity which monitors acts of anti-Semitism in the UK says it recorded 639 incidents of violence, threats and abuse last year.

The figure, from the Community Security Trust, is the second highest since it began its work in 1984.

The peak of 926 incidents came in 2009, and was attributed to a backlash against Israel's invasion of Gaza.

Most of last year's incidents happened near Jewish communities in London, Manchester, Hertfordshire and Leeds.

In its annual report, the charity said anti-Semitism had increased since the 1990s and, although said the total number of incidents for 2010 was almost a third less than the 926 recorded in 2009, that was still worse than 2008.

It said it recorded 114 acts of violence, but none of them could be classed as grievous bodily harm or life-threatening.

Some 59 of the incidents targeted synagogues and a further 52 were attacks on people coming or going from prayers.

Some 28 Jewish children suffered anti-Semitic incidents during their journey to or from school.

In one incident, a rabbi and his two sons were pelted with bottles. He was pushed over and needed eight stitches for a head wound.

Most incidents appeared to be random or opportunistic, said the charity, and a quarter referred to the Nazis or the Holocaust. Others related to the Middle East conflict.

In another incident, a builder who learned he was working on a Jewish family's home, told the householder: "Oh, I hate Jews, I'd like to kill the lot of you. If I had been in World War II, I would have gladly put you all in the gas ovens."

Among the acts of vandalism, homes or Jewish community property were daubed with swastikas. In Worcester, someone daubed the word "Jew" on a pavement, accompanied by an arrow pointing towards a drain.

The CST said that where it had established something of the perpetrator's identity, 47% were white, 29% were Asian, 10% were Arab, 7% were black and 6% were Eastern European.

Mark Gardner, of the CST, said: "Anti-Semitism is not the most important thing in British Jewish life, but there is clearly a significant problem.

"The CST, police, politicians and Government will keep working in close partnership to tackle anti-Semitism and its wider causes of bigotry and extremism."

The charity said there had been two spikes during the year - the first coming following the controversial Israeli Navy raid of a Gaza aid flotilla. Nine activists who were on board the vessel died in the May 2010 operation.

The second "trigger" had been prominent Jewish festivals later in the year, said the charity.

BBC News

National Socialist Movement to host April rally in city (USA)

A neo-Nazi organization whose events have attracted sometimes violent counterprotests will have a rally in front of the Statehouse on April 16, said the group's New Jersey representative Jason Hiecke.

The National Socialist Movement (NSM) will host a two-day conference in the area, including a rally of 75 to 150 people on the second day, Hiecke said. The State Police said the group has been issued an event permit.

Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League describe the Detroit-based NSM as the nation's largest neo-Nazi group and say it promotes an anti-Semitic and racist ideology through rallies, a website and other online activities.

Etzion Neuer, director of the Anti-Defamation League's office in Teaneck, said the NSM group seems to be trying to raise its local profile.

"The group has had a presence in New Jersey for some time," Neuer said. "I'd be hard-pressed to find the last time we've seen a gathering of this sort in New Jersey. It's been several years. And it's disturbing."

Hiecke said Brian Holland, a presidential candidate in 2008 and NSM member from Virginia, may attend the gathering in Trenton. Hiecke described the event as a political rally. He disputed the characterization of his group as racist.

"We're basically speaking about the corruption here in New Jersey politics, the immigration problem that faces our nation and the revolving-door criminal system," he said. Other issues he cited were the state's high property taxes, child molesters who he said are allowed to go out in the public wearing ankle bracelets, an alleged "double standard" in which only crimes by whites against minorities are described as "hate crimes," overspending on foreign aid, and the shipping of jobs overseas.

"We're all considered racists or white supremacists, but that's not what most of our members are about," he said. At the same time, he noted that the organization's symbol is a swastika, the symbol used by Adolf Hitler and Nazis during World War II and the Holocaust.

While the NSM discusses issues that are part of mainstream political discourse, they clearly set themselves apart, Neuer said.

"The National Socialist Movement is distinctive in that they will wear Nazi-style uniforms," he said. "One will typically see them dressed in swastikas, even more than most white supremacists. The visual that we might see of neo-Nazis clad in uniforms on the steps of the capitol will revolt most New Jerseyans."

NJ.com

DUTCH JEWS WANT FAST PUNISHMENT FOR ANTI-SEMITISM

Jewish groups in the Netherlands called Wednesday for swifter punishment for Holocaust deniers as parliament debated how to combat rising anti-Semitism. Among other measures, a Jewish umbrella organization said it wants Holocaust deniers punished under rules usually reserved for drunk drivers, shoplifters, and football hooligans. Under the "snelrecht," or "fast justice" policy, police and prosecutors offer offenders a choice immediately after their arrest between a fine or a court appearance within two months. "I don't understand why it should be difficult for policeman to give a fine directly to perpetrators of these remarks," said Ronny Naftaniel of The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, in a telephone interview. He added that he would support the same measure for anti-Moroccan discrimination, which is also on the rise in the Netherlands. Anti-Semitism has become a hot-button issue as many native Dutch blame anti-Semitism on the country's Muslim minority, while Muslims say there is a double standard and discrimination against those of Moroccan and Turkish ancestry goes unpunished.

A national police report in September found a 48 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents to 209 in 2009. The same report found that anti-Moroccan incidents rose 17 percent to 103. After a wave of immigration in the 1990s Muslims make up around 1 million of the country's 16 million population. After being decimated during World War II, the Dutch Jewish population is estimated at 40,000-50,000. Rising anti-Semitism "can be attributed to the rise of influence of Islam in the Netherlands," said Freedom party member of parliament Joram van Klaveren during the debate. "The more Islam, the more anti-Semitism." Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, whose VVD party leads the country's ruling conservative coalition, was among several MPs who rejected those remarks. "It's not your belief that counts, but your behavior," she said.

The exchange reflects the state of politics in the Netherlands. A popular backlash against Muslim immigrants intensified in 2004 when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by an Islamic radical of Moroccan descent, over perceived religious insults. The 2008 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance found that there has been a "dramatic increase in 'Islamophobia' in the Netherlands" since 2001. In national elections last year, the explicitly anti-Islam Freedom Party finished in third place. It is not part of the country's minority government, but props up the administration by supporting it on key votes in parliament. Naftaniel of CIDI said his research showed Moroccan youth are disproportionately involved in anti-Semitic incidents targeting "visible" Orthodox Jews. However, he said anti-Jewish remarks on the Internet or in the workplace were usually made by Dutch Christians.

"We have the idea the taboo on anti-Semitism is diminishing," he said. In one recent high-profile case a Moroccan minor was interviewed by a shock news website saying he thought Jews should be "exterminated." The Utrecht District Court sentenced him to 40 hours of community service, including 16 at the Anne Frank House. Last April the same court acquitted Abdoulmouthalib Bouzerda, chairman of the Arab European League, of hate speech charges for publishing a cartoon on its website questioning the reality of the Holocaust. The group had intended to spur a public discussion about a perceived double standard: that European media are willing to publish cartoons mocking Islam's prophet Muhammad, while cartoons about the Holocaust are taboo.

Van Klaveren of the Freedom party was skeptical about the proposal of "fast justice" for anti-Semitic remarks: His party's leader Geert Wilders is on trial for alleged discriminatory remarks — including some equating Islam with fasciism and calling for a ban on the Quran. His trial resumes Monday after a two-month pause. Holocaust deniers "should be directed to psychiatrists, not judges," Van Klaveren said. Wednesday's debate frequently referenced remarks by one of the country's most prominent conservative thinkers, Frits Bolkestein, who was quoted in December as having said that "visible" Jews should consider emigrating to Israel or the United States because they have no future in the Netherlands. He later clarified that those remarks were intended as a warning about the failures of Dutch integration policies to date, not literal advice to Jews. After the debate, Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner promised to return to parliament later this year with concrete policy proposals.

AP.org

SAYS NO TO TROMSØ NAZI FASHION (Norway/Germany)

Neo-Nazi related clothing shop in Berlin provokes anger in Northern Norway.

The shop is called “Tromsø”, and Mayor of the town of Tromsø, Arild Hausberg will now ask Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to help having the name removed. - This is a desecration of the name of Tromsø and I demand that they remove the name from the shop, Hausberg says to iTromsø. The shop is part of a chain that flirts with Nazism and Nazi symbols, he says. Hausberg has sent a letter to the German shop chain Mediatex Gmbh, demanding that they stop using the name Tromsø. He has also contacted the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin and is now going to take up the issue in a meeting with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The shop opened in 2009, and is part of a chain of shops that all have names after Norwegian towns like Narvik, Trondheim, Oseberg, Tønsberg, Haugesund and Larvik. The shop chain sells the clothing brand Thor Steinar, which was banned in Germany in 2004 because of the logo's similarity to symbols worn by SS officers. The company later rebranded, and its new look is legal. The brand uses the Norwegian flag and other Norwegian symbols as central parts of its collection.

Barent Observer

Race hate thugs target Mosque and homes (UK)

Race hate thugs are behind a series of inflammatory attacks with pork on a Mosque and Muslim homes.

The thugs have been throwing bacon and pork at several houses in South Shields town centre since the turn of the year.

Community leaders today told how they fear the attacks are an attempt to intimidate the town’s Muslim community.

Pork is banned in Muslim households as the pig is considered “a dirty animal” under Islamic law.

In one attack, a slab of bacon was left outside one of the community’s most popular mosques - The South Tyneside Jam-E-Masjid Bangladeshi Muslim Culture and Welfare Association in Baring Street.

Police, who have stepped up patrols in the area and confirmed they have received five reports of pork products being thrown or left outside of properties in the town centre.

But today a town centre politician said he believes it could be more widespread as many of the community may feel too scared to report the crimes.

Independent Coun Ahmed Khan, of the Beacon and Bents ward, said: “The first thing I’ve got to say is that it is extremely disappointing that this is happening.

“The second is that I hope these are just pranks and nothing more serious.

“If these racist attacks are driven by hate then something needs to be done before this gets out of hand.

“However, at the moment I would urge the community to keep calm and put this into perspective.

“Yes, these attacks are upsetting for the town’s Muslim community but as yet no one has been hurt and I hope it stays that way.”

Chief Supt Ian Dawes today said officers from South Tyneside Area Command are working closely with the town’s Muslim community in an attempt to trace the racist gang.

He said: “We’re pursuing a number of lines of enquiry in relation to these offences.

“We have a strong and productive relationship with the diverse communities in South Tyneside and we are all working hard to identify those responsible.

“We urge anyone who suffers harassment, intimidation or any other racist crime to report it to police as soon as possible so that it can be thoroughly investigated. We take any allegations of racist crimes very seriously.”

Anyone who has any information about the recent incidents is asked to call police on 03456 043 043 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Chronicle Live

Police launch new hate crime website (UK)

A new website to encourage people to report hate crime has been launched.

True Vision gives information on what hate crime is and how to report it.

The website, at report-it.org.uk, also has an online reporting facility and gives links to organisations that can offer support and advice.

It also allows people to report hate crimes anonymously.

Police believe that many hate crimes – crimes motivated by hatred of LGBT people, difference races or disability – are not reported.

The website was set up by the Association of Chief Police Officers and is supported by all police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, who leads on hate crime at ACPO, said: “Hate crimes cause a great deal of fear amongst victims and damages[sic] communities.

“Whilst we are committed to reducing the incidence of hate crime, it is vital that we close the gap of under-reporting.

“Only by increasing reporting can we gain a better understanding of the extent of hate crime and it is for this reason that I urge victims and witnesses to use the True Vision website and to continue to come forward so we can bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Professor John Grieve CBE, independent chair of the government’s Hate Crime Advisory Group, said:“The UK is amongst world leaders in the way that it responds to hate crime, but there is still much work to do. One of the greatest challenges is to reduce the under-reporting of hate crime.

“We welcome the government’s commitment to increase reporting and we will be examining this data in the forthcoming months and years to better understand the extent of hate crime and to challenge where performance does not meet the high standards that the public rightly demands of the criminal justice agencies.”

In November, figures released by ACPO showed that there were 50,000 reported hate crimes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2009.

The vast majority concerned racism but almost 5,000 were motivated by homophobia and more than 300 related to transphobia.

Police said that the figures showed an increase in incidents but urged more people to report crimes.

Pink News

Top Gear faces racism test case following Mexico comments (IUK)

A Mexican woman has accused the BBC programme Top Gear of racism and instructed lawyers to  bring a test case against the show after remarks made by the presenters characterised Mexicans as lazy and oafish. 

Lawyers for Iris de la Torre, a 30 year-old jewellery design student, said the BBC had used racism to boost ratings and could cost the Corporation up to £1million in damages.

In the episode, which was viewed by more than 6 million people, Richard Hammond claimed that cars imitate national characteristics.

"Mexican cars are just going to be a lazy, feckless, flatulent, oaf with a moustache leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat," he said.

Jeremy Clarkson went on to joke that being Mexican would be "brilliant" because then he could sleep all day.

The Mexican ambassador to Britain has already made an official complaint to the BBC for the programme's "xenophobic" and "offensive" content and demanded an apology.

De la Torres' lawyers, from the firm Equal Justice, also brought legal action against Channel 4 following remarks made about Shilpa Shetty during Celebrity Big Brother.

In a legal complaint to the BBC they claim that the remarks are unlawful and a breach of rules banning discrimination by public bodies, according to a report by The Guardian.

De la Torre said: "I was shocked at what the BBC allowed to be broadcast...I do not understand how such ignorant people hold such high-profile jobs."

If taken to court it could become the first case to be brought under the Equality Act which came into effect in September last year.

Lawrence Davies, from Equal Justice, said: "These remarks were probably calculated and deliberate to fuel anger and hence boost ratings - the presenters apparently feel that they are fighting a battle against political correctness."

The BBC said it had not yet received the legal letter but said that it would be dealt with through appropriate channels.

The Telegraph

Man given 10-year sentence for assault (USA)

A member of a neo-Nazi group was sentenced Tuesday to serve at least 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to three assaults.

Timothy J. Dufresne, 29, of School Street, will serve at least 10 years in prison, said Deputy State’s Attorney Christina Rainville. After that, the rest of his sentence will be suspended and he will be on probation.

Dufresne was charged as a habitual offender because of past felony convictions.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault stemming from an April 25 incident in which Bennington police said he stabbed a neighbor, 25-year-old Christopher Strattman, in the eye with a broom handle after breaking it over Strattman’s head. Police said Dufresne and Strattman had been in an argument over items left on the porch they shared.

Police located Dufresne a few days after the incident hiding in the back of his mother’s vehicle under a pile of clothes after she was pulled over on Route 9.

According to another police affidavit, Stephanie O’Dell accused Dufresne of punching her in the face a number of times on April 10 near Pleasant Street. Dufresne and his then-fiancee, Sarah B. Ennis, told police O’Dell and another person instigated the fight, and they were assaulted as well.

A third police affidavit describes an incident on April 24 involving Dufresne and Ennis, and a number of other people. Police said Dufresne and Ennis got into an argument with a group by the Stewart’s Shop on Main Street. It progressed to the nearby cemetery where Dufresne sprayed a man with pepper spray. From that incident Dufresne was charged with aggravated assault by administering a drug.

Ennis was also charged with several felonies for threatening members of the group with a BB gun. Those charges were lowered to misdemeanors, and the state also decided not to pursue the charges as hate crimes. Ennis was given a 18- to 36-month suspended sentence.

Dufresne told the Banner in an interview last year that he joined a group called Hitler’s Henchmen while serving a jail stint in Kentucky. Dufresne has a number of tattoos featuring Nazi imagery and racist themes.


Bennington Banner

‘Hate crime’ victims can tell all in confidence (UK)

Victims of crime motivated by hate or discrimination in Warwickshire are being urged to report it in confidence on a new website to help the police tackle the issue.

The county’s police force has joined forces with the Association of Chief Police Officers to launch the site, True Vision, which provides information about what hate crime is, why it is important to report it when it happens and sets out how to do so.

This includes a new form which enables victims to report hate crime online. The site also provides links to organisations that can offer support and advice on related issues.

ACPO’s lead on hate crime, Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, said: “These crimes cause a great deal of fear among victims and damages communities. It is vital that we close the gap of under-reporting.

“Only by increasing reporting can we gain a better understanding of the extent of hate crime and it is for this reason that I urge victims and witnesses to use the True Vision website and to continue to come forward so we can bring the perpetrators to justice.”

In November ACPO published its first set of national hate crime recorded crime statistics which showed that during 2009 the police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded 52,028 hate crimes, of which 1,402 were motivated because of the victim’s disability.

Chief Inspector Mike Slemensek of Warwickshire Police’s equality, diversity and human rights unit said: “One of the greatest challenges is to reduce the under-reporting of hate crimes in Warwickshire. We therefore welcome the launch of the True Vision website.

“It will help encourage local people to report hate crimes – which are those crimes perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated by prejudice or hate.”

To report a hate crime, call the force’s dedicated hate crome helpline on 0845 129 2221 or visit the new website.

Kenilworth Weekly News

Muslim dignitaries pay their respects at Auschwitz (Poland)

Dignitaries from the Muslim world are paying respects to the millions of Jews and others who were systematically killed in the Holocaust.

About 150 people, including the Senegalese president, former heads of government and Arab world ambassadors are traveling on Tuesday to the former Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz in Poland to learn first-hand about crimes perpetrated there during World War II.

The mission is organized by UNESCO, Paris City Hall and a group aiming to fight anti-Semitism and fear of Islam.

It comes amid the recent upheaval in the Arab world that toppled a regime in Tunisia and is threatening Egypt's longtime president, Hosni Mubarak, with whom Israel has painstakingly built strong ties.

AJC.com

Islamophobic sought to bomb US mosque (USA)

 A man planning to blow up one of the largest Islamic centers in the US has been caught with explosives in his vehicle near the mosque, where a large group of people were gathering.

Roger Stockham, 63, was arrested on January 24 in the parking lot of the Islamic Center of America in Michigan while about 700 mourners were gathered inside the mosque attending a funeral, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Dearborn police Chief Ronald Haddad said that police received a 911 call from a resident.

"I was comfortable with the fact that we had taken him off the street -- he isn't going anywhere," Haddad said. "I think the society he wanted to impact is safe."

Stockham, a resident in Southern California, remained jailed Sunday on a USD 500,000 bond. He will appear in a preliminary examination on Friday.

Stockham had a large number of class-C fireworks including M-80s in his vehicle, which are illegal in Michigan, Haddad added.

Though police authorities believe that Stockham was acting alone in the plot against the Detroit mosque, but they still take him “very seriously.”

The incident comes while a report by the Guardian Weekly says that Islamaphobia is on the rise in America.

Anti-Muslim attacks have sufficiently increased since 2001 and an increasing number of Muslims are subjected to hate crimes.

A quarter of all religious discrimination claims has been filed by Muslims since 2001.

Muslim workers filed record number of discrimination claims in 2010, up 60% from the year 2005.

Protests against the mosque and Islamic center planned to be built about two blocks from ground zero in Manhattan is another example of religious intolerance and Islamophobia in the United States.

Press Tv

Sikh and Hindu groups slam EDL (UK)

Leaders of some of the largest Sikh and Hindu organisations as well as Sikh Students in this country have signed a ‘Joint Statement’ condemning the English Defence League (EDL) including any Sikh youth who support the EDL.

The statement is also signed by two Members of Parliament from Asian background as well as a number of councillors, including Councillor Lakhbir Singh, former Mayor of Luton, who himself had suffered a vicious attack by a racist youth last year after some protests in Luton.

Other signatories include, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Southall, the largest Sikh temple outside India, together with many other Sikh and Hindu temples in Southall, west London. Its also been signed by a major Sikh temple in Barking, east London, a hotspot for the British National Party (BNP), as well as by the British Sikh Council (UK), an umbrella organisation for a number of Sikh temples in this country.

The Sikh Student Societies include some of the most famous colleges in London, like the London School of Economics (LSE), University College London (UCL) and Imperial College as well as the University of Hertfordshire.

The statement is also signed by the Indian Workers Association (GB), Sikhs In England ( SIE ), an influential Sikh organisation, and Unite Against Fascism (UAF).

The statement reads, “We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned by the rise in fascism, Islamophobia, anti-semitism and racism. The English Defence League (EDL) has organised events across the country, stirring up hatred, Islamophobia and racism – running riot in some cases and provoking violent attacks on Muslim, black and Asian communities and on Mosques and Mandirs (Hindu temples)”.

It further highlights, ” They are using the old tactics of ‘divide and rule’ and are trying to divide the Asians by isolating the Muslim community. Furthermore, some misguided Sikh youth are letting themselves to be used by the EDL while a Sikh man has disgracefully joined the BNP. These people are helping to spread mistrust within our communities and we whole heartedly condemn their actions”.

And adds that, “At a time of economic crisis with mass unemployment and impending deep public spending cuts - if the racists are allowed to make any further gains then we all would suffer from grave consequences. Thus we urge all Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews and people of other faiths to come together to strongly condemn the actions of these racist organizations and unite to turn back this tide of hatred”.

Balwinder Singh Rana, spokesperson for UAF, also added, “The EDL pretend that they are not racist but they are no different than the old NF and the BNP. Now is the time for Sikhs and Hindus to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim brethren and tell the EDL that their sinister aims of ‘divide and rule’ will not work. Otherwise it’s the Muslims today and it will be all us tomorrow”.

Varinder Singh, youth representative for the Turban Campaign, said, ”It is of great concern that our youth are being recruited into the fascist and Islamophobic ideology which the English Defence League promotes. We as a community must face this threat to our youth head on by staying true to the core teachings of the Sikh Guru’s, which emphasise the importance of pluralism and brotherhood amongst mankind.”

So far the EDL has held more than thirty marches and demonstrations up and down the country, often ending in violence. Now they are to return to Luton on Saturday, 5th February , which they regard their hometown as that’s where they began about 18 months ago.

Councillor Lakhbir Singh, ex Mayor of Luton, who himself had suffered a vicious attack by a racist youth last year after some previous protests in Luton is also one of the signatories.

Asian Image

Police ask for alcohol ban on day of demonstrations (UK)

 A restaurant owner in Luton says businesses in the town will suffer when the English Defence League (EDL) and Anti-Fascist marches take place.

Pubs and restaurants in Luton are being asked by Bedfordshire Police to stop serving alcohol from 12 noon on 5 February 2011.

This is in an effort to reduce the risk of violence between the two factions.

Council leader Hazel Simmons has said the town will be open for shoppers as normal.

However, David Westcott, who has a restaurant in Park Street, has already been told by police not to sell alcohol.

"They have told me to keep the place closed and not to sell any alcohol on the day" he said, "and they'd let us know when it was safe for it to be re-opened.

"Unfortunately, when you've got to employ staff you've got to let them know when you're going to be open so we've got to make a decision whether or not we open which is quite unfair because we'll lose the busiest day of the week."

"Basically Luton's going to close down for the day and the loss and cost to businesses is enormous.

"I think we should be allowed to trade and the police should protect the town at all costs so that the town can trade and not be held to ransom by people who want to march around. OK - they can air their views but the don't have to stop everyone else from working by doing so."

Bedfordshire police say they are not imposing a ban, but asking landlords on a voluntary basis. They said:

"Bedfordshire Police and Luton Borough Council are working closely with all communities, businesses and organisations to ensure our town remains peaceful.

"We are already in consultation with many groups and their representatives such as the Chamber of Commerce and licensees via Luton Safe and through the Community Cohesion Contingency Planning Group meetings."

BBC News

German animal trainer under fire for teaching dog to give Fascist salute

Admin comment: A news item from Germany that really needs a double facepalm. 

An animal trainer for German television and movie productions has come under fire for teaching a dog called Goldie to give the 'Heil Hitler!' salute. 

Goldie raises her right paw in homage to the Fuehrer in a new production about the destruction of the airship Hindenburg that airs next weekend.

The Zeppelin crossed the Atlantic in May, 1937, but crashed and burst into flames upon landing, killing 35 of the 97 people on board and bringing to an end the age of airship travel.

Goldie plays the pet of a cabaret artiste opposed to the Nazis in the two-part dramatisation.

"Goldie is a professional film dog and has learned many things in his time," said Hannes Jaenicke, the actor who will appear with him.

"It was my idea to get him to raise his paw in the Hitler salute. He got a biscuit each time he did it and an animal welfare specialist was on hand throughout. Animals are strictly regulated when they work for German TV."

But some politically correct animal lovers have branded the salute training a "form of cruelty." Why make a poor dumb animal pay reverence to history's greatest killer," Jens Mueller from Berlin asked?

Several years ago, a crazed neo-Nazi pensioner was jailed for teaching his German Shepherd Adolf to give the Nazi salute outside schools with high numbers of immigrants. His dog was given away to spend the rest of his life with a family with no radical political affiliations.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that a real dog called Jackie saluted when Hitler's name was mentioned in wartime Finland.

In 1941, just before the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union, Berlin told diplomats to gather notes on Finnish businessman Tor Borg's pet, as they felt it was insulting to Hitler.

The Telegraph

Texans protest racist symbols (USA)

Hundreds of workers and community leaders in Houston Monday held a protest rally against a local company they accuse of displaying racist symbols.

Civil rights activist Sara Kane, the Rev. Peter Johnson and other demonstrators massed in front of the Mickey Leland Federal Office Building, pressuring for a federal investigation of the Turner Industries factory in Houston, television station KTRK reported.

The protesters allege Turner, a business servicing the oil industry, has been displaying rebel flags and nooses -- actions they say violate their civil rights.

Turner Industries allegedly has had civil rights complaints in other cities where it operates, KHOU-TV, Houston reported.

Roland Toups, chief executive officer of Turner Industries, responded Monday to a federal lawsuit filed last week in Texas alleging race harassment and discrimination against his company saying, "Make no mistake, Turner Industries stands for diversity and inclusion for all. Our record supports that. We intend to defend our company and the jobs of our 15,000 employees who are employed in various divisions of the company."

UPI.com

EDL plans for Luton protest raise fears of disorder (UK)

Police expected to mount biggest operation in town's history as councillor says vast majority reject extremism of any kind


The far-right English Defence League is due to stage the biggest demonstration in its 18-month history this weekend amid growing fears of widespread disorder.

Thousands of EDL activists from across England will descend on Luton, the Bedfordshire town where the organisation started, for the protest on Saturday.

The EDL has staged more than 30 protests in towns and cities across the UK since it was formed in March 2009, many of which have been marred by Islamophobia, racism and violence.

On Saturday, between 25 and 30 coaches packed with EDL supporters are expected to travel to Luton, including a number of activists from far-right groups in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

"This event is creating more fear than anything else, especially among the elderly who have seen the pictures of what has happened at these events in the past," said Luton councillor Mahmood Hussain.

"Everyone is very much concerned about what could happen because you only have to look at the record of this group to see what we face."

Bedfordshire police are planning the biggest operation in Luton's history with around 2,000 police expected to be on duty, with several hundred more on standby.

Community leaders and politicians have been working with different community groups in the town since the EDL announced it was going to stage the protest under the catchline "Back to where it all began".

"We had a very emotional meeting last week where the young people were very concerned with some of the awful things that were written on the internet by EDL people," said Hussain. "But we are trying to tell them not to be provoked because that is just what these people want."

The EDL was formed in Luton after a small number of protesters from an extremist Muslim group held up placards at the homecoming of the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment reading "Butchers of Basra" and "Anglian soldiers go to hell."

At a subsequent protest in the town scores of EDL supporters attacked Asian businesses, smashing cars and threatening passersby. The group has branches across the country and its leadership insists it is not violent or racist and is opposed only to what it describes as radical or militant Islam. However, many of its demonstrations have descended into violence and racist chanting. Some supporters are known far-right activists and football hooligans.

Nick Lowles from anti-racist group HOPE not hate said: "The EDL poses the biggest threat to community cohesion in Britain today. Its activities are designed to increase tensions in communities with a large Muslim population and especially in areas that have had problems in the past. By demonstrating in these areas they embolden local racists and seek a violent reaction from local Muslim youths, which in turn will lead to a new cycle of violence."

Luton has had links to Muslim extremism in the past. In December, it emerged that Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swede who set off a car bomb in the Swedish capital before killing himself with a second bomb, had spent time in Luton.

However, Lowles said the vast majority of people in Luton rejected extremism of any kind.

"The danger is that people will get the impression that there is only extremism in this town which is simply not true. What we want to do is mobilise mainstream opinion and give them a voice to oppose the EDL and any other extremists."

Hussain agreed that the vast majority of people in Luton were opposed to the EDL's message of hate and division.

"I have been here since 1969 and we have never had any race riots or anything like that," said Hussain. "This is a truly diverse place and we won't turn our back and let the EDL destroy all that is good about it."

The Guardian

Far right party expelled from HQ over unpaid debts (Romania)

Corneliu Vadim Tudor, president of extreme right wing Greater Romania Party (PRM) and 2000 presidentual run-off candidate has been evicted from his party’s headquarters on Strada Emile Zola in Sector 1 Bucharest. Ex-Communist propagandist poet Vadim and party members resisted the eviction, where the party head threw water in the face of the bailiff and complained of sickness due to the stress of the process. Prosecutors have launched criminal proceedings against Vadim Tudor for assaulting policemen and breaching a court order. The State Administration of Patrimony (RAAPPS) gave the building to the PRM in 2007, but the party accumulated debts from rent, utilities and penalities worth almost 66,000 Euro.

The Diplomat