The trial of MP Geert Wilders on inciting hatred and discrimination charges continues on Wednesday with the public prosecution department’s reaction to the defence opening statement.
On Monday, Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moszkowicz called for the trial to be scrapped.
The public prosecution department did not originally want to take the case, but it was forced to do so by the appeal court in Amsterdam following protests from a variety of groups and individuals.
At last year’s trial, abandoned following claims of prejudice, the department called for Wilders to be found not guilty on all charges.
Dutch News
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
WIESENTHAL CENTER SLAMS SWEDEN FOR 'JEWISH TAX'
US-based Jewish rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center on Tuesday criticised Sweden for not doing enough to protect the Jewish community in Malmö following a string of crimes against Jews in the southern Swedish town.
The group among other things blasted Swedish authorities for making the community pay the equivalent of a "Jewish tax," since they themselves had to foot the bill for most security measures, including setting up anti-attack barriers in front of the synagogue during religious celebrations. "It is long overdue that the Swedish authorities assume the costs of the security of the Jewish institutions, especially in a community of 800 people that's been suffering from incidents," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the centre's associate dean, told AFP. "That's a disaster waiting to happen," he cautioned, also lamenting numerous attacks on Malmö's Muslim and Roma communities. A spokesman for Democracy Minister Birgitta Ohlsson, who met with Cooper in Stockholm Tuesday, told AFP that "discussions" were going on within the government about the issue, but would not provide further details. Representatives from the organisation are currently visiting the southern Swedish city of Malmö for meetings with a number of Swedish officials, including Mayor Ilmar Reepalu, who has previously been criticised for remarks about the city's Jewish community.
The Wiesenthal Center still feels the situation for Jews in Malmö is serious and has proposed a number of measures to improve the situation. However, a travel advisory issued in December will likely remain in place for the time being. "If the status quo is maintained, the Wiesenthal Center's travel warning will remain," the group said in an email sent to the TT news agency. Following a meeting on hate crimes between Reepalu and Cooper, it appeared that differences remain in how both of them view the situation in Malmö. While Reepalu told reporters the meeting was "very good, direct, and open", Cooper was more sober, explain that "we have a lot of work ahead of us", according to the Sydsvenskan newspaper.
Malmö, which is Sweden's third largest city with a population of around 300,000, is home to some 800 Jews, alongside a large, mainly Muslim, immigrant community. Some 400 anti-Semitic acts were registered in Malmö in 2009 alone, accounting for more than half of the total number of hate crimes in that city, and several Jewish families have left in recent years due to the threatening atmosphere, according to local Jewish representatives. In December, shortly after Stockholm suffered its first-ever suicide bombing, the Wiesenthal Centre issued a rare warning, cautioning Jews to avoid traveling to Malmö and telling the ones already there to be very careful. Referring to numerous instances of harassment against people who are visibly Jewish, Cooper asked "How could that happen?" "In a country that rescued the Jews coming from Denmark during World War II, how come a rabbi can (no longer) go to the synagogue with his two children?"
In early 2009, a Davis Cup tennis match in Malmö between Sweden and Israel was forced to play behind closed doors due to security concerns amid massive ant-Israeli protests over the Gaza war. Malmö mayor Ilmar Reepalu has also faced harsh criticism for not taking the threat against the city's Jewish community seriously enough and for comparing Zionism to anti-Semitism. After meeting with Cooper Monday, he stressed to the TT news agency that he in no way was making light of the situation. "Every single Jew who feels fearful and afraid is one too many. This is completely unacceptable," he said, adding that it was up to the national government to provide more funds for addressing the problem. "I really hope that the state will prioritise Malmö in this matter," he said.
The Local Sweden
The group among other things blasted Swedish authorities for making the community pay the equivalent of a "Jewish tax," since they themselves had to foot the bill for most security measures, including setting up anti-attack barriers in front of the synagogue during religious celebrations. "It is long overdue that the Swedish authorities assume the costs of the security of the Jewish institutions, especially in a community of 800 people that's been suffering from incidents," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the centre's associate dean, told AFP. "That's a disaster waiting to happen," he cautioned, also lamenting numerous attacks on Malmö's Muslim and Roma communities. A spokesman for Democracy Minister Birgitta Ohlsson, who met with Cooper in Stockholm Tuesday, told AFP that "discussions" were going on within the government about the issue, but would not provide further details. Representatives from the organisation are currently visiting the southern Swedish city of Malmö for meetings with a number of Swedish officials, including Mayor Ilmar Reepalu, who has previously been criticised for remarks about the city's Jewish community.
The Wiesenthal Center still feels the situation for Jews in Malmö is serious and has proposed a number of measures to improve the situation. However, a travel advisory issued in December will likely remain in place for the time being. "If the status quo is maintained, the Wiesenthal Center's travel warning will remain," the group said in an email sent to the TT news agency. Following a meeting on hate crimes between Reepalu and Cooper, it appeared that differences remain in how both of them view the situation in Malmö. While Reepalu told reporters the meeting was "very good, direct, and open", Cooper was more sober, explain that "we have a lot of work ahead of us", according to the Sydsvenskan newspaper.
Malmö, which is Sweden's third largest city with a population of around 300,000, is home to some 800 Jews, alongside a large, mainly Muslim, immigrant community. Some 400 anti-Semitic acts were registered in Malmö in 2009 alone, accounting for more than half of the total number of hate crimes in that city, and several Jewish families have left in recent years due to the threatening atmosphere, according to local Jewish representatives. In December, shortly after Stockholm suffered its first-ever suicide bombing, the Wiesenthal Centre issued a rare warning, cautioning Jews to avoid traveling to Malmö and telling the ones already there to be very careful. Referring to numerous instances of harassment against people who are visibly Jewish, Cooper asked "How could that happen?" "In a country that rescued the Jews coming from Denmark during World War II, how come a rabbi can (no longer) go to the synagogue with his two children?"
In early 2009, a Davis Cup tennis match in Malmö between Sweden and Israel was forced to play behind closed doors due to security concerns amid massive ant-Israeli protests over the Gaza war. Malmö mayor Ilmar Reepalu has also faced harsh criticism for not taking the threat against the city's Jewish community seriously enough and for comparing Zionism to anti-Semitism. After meeting with Cooper Monday, he stressed to the TT news agency that he in no way was making light of the situation. "Every single Jew who feels fearful and afraid is one too many. This is completely unacceptable," he said, adding that it was up to the national government to provide more funds for addressing the problem. "I really hope that the state will prioritise Malmö in this matter," he said.
The Local Sweden
'No attention' paid to hate crime (UK)
"Virtually no attention" has been paid to why people carry out hate crimes in Scotland, the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland (EHRCS) has said.
The commission said the number of hate crimes in the country was rising, but there was still a "critical need" for programmes to prevent reoffending.
The body has launched the UK's first international study into how hate crime offenders could be rehabilitated.
As it launched the Rehabilitation of Hate Crime Offenders report, the EHRCS said there were "record levels" of racially motivated crime recorded in Scotland, with more than 6,200 incidents recorded between 2009 and 2010.
It also found two-thirds of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Scotland had reported being verbally abused or threatened, with more than a third reporting being physically attacked, and disabled people were four times more likely to be the victim of a crime than other people and twice as likely to be the victim of a violent attack.
Kaliani Lyle of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "This report highlights the critical need for rehabilitation programmes for hate crime offenders.
"Given the serious nature of this type of crime, and the detrimental and sustained impact that it has on victims, we need to improve our knowledge base about hate crime offenders and what motivates them, and develop strategies to tackle and reduce the problem and reoffending rates.
"Legislation on its own is not the magic solution. We need to plug the knowledge gap that currently exists when it comes to changing behaviours and attitudes, and draw on existing expertise to develop a nationwide approach."
The report puts forward recommendations for designing and delivering programmes that challenge offenders' motivations and help rehabilitate them.
The recommendations are aimed at community justice authorities and prison service managers in Scotland, and at third sector organisations working in partnership with statutory agencies to provide programmes for offenders.
Google Hosted News
The commission said the number of hate crimes in the country was rising, but there was still a "critical need" for programmes to prevent reoffending.
The body has launched the UK's first international study into how hate crime offenders could be rehabilitated.
As it launched the Rehabilitation of Hate Crime Offenders report, the EHRCS said there were "record levels" of racially motivated crime recorded in Scotland, with more than 6,200 incidents recorded between 2009 and 2010.
It also found two-thirds of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Scotland had reported being verbally abused or threatened, with more than a third reporting being physically attacked, and disabled people were four times more likely to be the victim of a crime than other people and twice as likely to be the victim of a violent attack.
Kaliani Lyle of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "This report highlights the critical need for rehabilitation programmes for hate crime offenders.
"Given the serious nature of this type of crime, and the detrimental and sustained impact that it has on victims, we need to improve our knowledge base about hate crime offenders and what motivates them, and develop strategies to tackle and reduce the problem and reoffending rates.
"Legislation on its own is not the magic solution. We need to plug the knowledge gap that currently exists when it comes to changing behaviours and attitudes, and draw on existing expertise to develop a nationwide approach."
The report puts forward recommendations for designing and delivering programmes that challenge offenders' motivations and help rehabilitate them.
The recommendations are aimed at community justice authorities and prison service managers in Scotland, and at third sector organisations working in partnership with statutory agencies to provide programmes for offenders.
Google Hosted News
NEO-NAZI CANDIDATE PROBED FOR WEB BOMB TIPS (Germany)
Matthias Heyder, who hopes to lead the far-right party into the state legislature on March 20, is under suspicion of using an online forum to discuss possible terrorist attacks, bomb-making methods and the "defiling" of left-leaning women under the pseudonym "Junker Jörg."
The story, first broken by public broadcaster ARD, was confirmed by the Saxony-Anhalt Interior Ministry on Tuesday.
"According to the excerpts of this internet forum made available to us, it's very plausible that no one other than Mr. Heyder is behind these entries," said Martin Krems, a spokesman for the ministry.
The state police have now been asked to secure computer data and other information.
The forum itself is registered to Holger Apfel, the NPD parliamentary group leader in Saxony. Apfel, who is also heading the party's election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt, is a close confidante of Heyder.
Investigators have found hundreds of entries made by "Junker Jörg" since 2004 on the forum, including a good deal of insider information about the NPD such as detailed postings on campaign strategy, photographs to be used in campaign material and drafts of party brochures.
Entries which concern investigators were found under the subcategory "weapons" and explain in seven steps how an explosive device could be assembled. Experts believe the detailed description, which includes exactly how much of various substances should be used, is punishable by law.
In one entry, Junker Jörg wrote: "20 suitcases, 20 men, 20 train stations. The Federal Republic paralysed. Everything legal. Cost under €1,000. What's the problem?"
Heyder, when contacted by ARD, said he doubted he had ever written anything in the forum in question. He did tell reporters, however, that the forum was private and threatened to press charges for "data theft" if postings were made public.
According to recent polls, the NPD could get enough votes in Sunday's election to gain seats in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament. It would be the third eastern German state to have members of the neo-Nazi party represented after Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Heyder and the party have been careful to cultivate a moderate image in the election campaign, however, discussions in the internet forum where Junker Jörg often posted smirked at the efforts while concluding that they were necessary politically.
The Local Germany
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS CRITICISE CALL FOR RELIGIOUS SYMBOL BAN (Netherlands)
MPs on Tuesday criticised calls from VVD MP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert for a debate on the separation of church and state. The MP made the comments in an interview in the Pers newspaper, during which she called for a ban on Islamic headscarves and other religious symbols in public buildings. CDA MP Mirjam Sterk said a ban would conflict with the fundamental right to freedom of religion. 'What problem does the VVD want to solve with this?,' she said. 'This plan will work against the emancipation of women.' The CDA and VVD form the current minority coalition government.
Freedom of religion
André Rouvoet, leader of the orthodox Christian ChristenUnie also criticised Hennis. 'Yet another Liberal who considers freedom of religion to be unnecessary,' he said, using the microblogging service Twitter. D66 MP Gerard Schouw accused the MP of 'headscarf hobbyism' and said the VVD might as well merge with the anti-Islam PVV. The PVV wants a ban on Islamic headscarves in all public buildings. In the interview, Hennis-Plasschaert called for a thoughtful debate. ‘We talk a lot about the separation of church and state, but the church has become involved in the state in a lot of ways,' she said. 'Look at religious schools and the way public broadcasting is organised. That goes for ritual slaughter as well.’ The coalition government has already made concessions on Sunday trading with the fundamentalist SGP. The coalition may also rely on the SGP for majority support in the upper house of parliament.
VVD MP calls for debate on separation of church and state
15/3/2011- There should be a ‘more reflective debate about the separation of church and state’, VVD MP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert says in an interview with the Pers newspaper. The current debate is ‘too confined’ because ‘Christian parties are exerting pressure as well,’ the MP said. Hennis-Plasschaert pointed out that Islamic headscarves are banned in Turkish public institutions and universities, and that France has brought in a ban on headscarves in schools. ‘I would very much like to have that debate about when you can wear a headscarf,’ she said. The MP said a ban on religious symbols would cover all religions.
Schools
‘We talk a lot about the separation of church and state, but the church has become involved in the state in a lot of ways,' she said. 'Look at religious schools and the way public broadcasting is organised. That goes for ritual slaughter as well.’ The VVD is in a coalition government with the Christian Democrats and has made concessions on Sunday trading with the fundamentalist SGP. The coalition may also rely on the SGP for majority support in the upper house of parliament.
Dutch News
Freedom of religion
André Rouvoet, leader of the orthodox Christian ChristenUnie also criticised Hennis. 'Yet another Liberal who considers freedom of religion to be unnecessary,' he said, using the microblogging service Twitter. D66 MP Gerard Schouw accused the MP of 'headscarf hobbyism' and said the VVD might as well merge with the anti-Islam PVV. The PVV wants a ban on Islamic headscarves in all public buildings. In the interview, Hennis-Plasschaert called for a thoughtful debate. ‘We talk a lot about the separation of church and state, but the church has become involved in the state in a lot of ways,' she said. 'Look at religious schools and the way public broadcasting is organised. That goes for ritual slaughter as well.’ The coalition government has already made concessions on Sunday trading with the fundamentalist SGP. The coalition may also rely on the SGP for majority support in the upper house of parliament.
VVD MP calls for debate on separation of church and state
15/3/2011- There should be a ‘more reflective debate about the separation of church and state’, VVD MP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert says in an interview with the Pers newspaper. The current debate is ‘too confined’ because ‘Christian parties are exerting pressure as well,’ the MP said. Hennis-Plasschaert pointed out that Islamic headscarves are banned in Turkish public institutions and universities, and that France has brought in a ban on headscarves in schools. ‘I would very much like to have that debate about when you can wear a headscarf,’ she said. The MP said a ban on religious symbols would cover all religions.
Schools
‘We talk a lot about the separation of church and state, but the church has become involved in the state in a lot of ways,' she said. 'Look at religious schools and the way public broadcasting is organised. That goes for ritual slaughter as well.’ The VVD is in a coalition government with the Christian Democrats and has made concessions on Sunday trading with the fundamentalist SGP. The coalition may also rely on the SGP for majority support in the upper house of parliament.
Dutch News
BNP’S secret union (UK)
A SHADOWY trade union run by a former National Front leader is causing strife at Shorts, it has been claimed.
But new members don’t realise they are getting into bed with the BNP.
Solidarity – a right wing union run by Edinburgh based activist Patrick Harrington – is targeting members of other trade unions to get them to jump ship.
Shorts Bombardier is one of Northern Ireland’s biggest employers with over 6,500 workers and the main union which supports workers there is Unite.
But traditional trade unionists at the aircraft components factory in east Belfast have described the Solidarity supporters as a “BNP cabal”.
Solidarity is the union wing of the British National Party and operates to drum up support for the right wing party although it’s believed they have less than 500 members across the UK.
The Ulster wing of the BNP is currently being run by nasty fascist Stephen Moore, who we revealed last year refers to Muslims as ‘Ragheads’ and Catholics as ‘Taigs’.
Force
Harrington and Moore are busy recruiting in Northern Ireland in the run-up to the Assembly and council elections in May.
And on Friday BNP leader Nick Griffin sent an open letter to thousands of targets asking them to join Solidarity.
However despite their name, Solidarity almost always takes the side of the bosses during any dispute, it has been claimed.
“There is a secret cabal of right-wing nutters working within Shorts,” said a source from inside the aerospace company.
“They are trying to force staff into breaking away from Unite to join Solidarity.
“They want people to join Solidarity and are digging up old sectarian fears.
“But what these people aren’t telling the workers is they would be marching into the arms of the BNP if they join them.”
Shorts has a history of sectarian tensions and the Sunday World understands that there has been a concerted rise in complaints made against Catholics employed by Unite as full-time or lay officials.
“The cabal are annoyed with Unite’s stance on a number of key issues and are secretly trying to stir up strife by writing anonymous letters to the press claiming hundreds of Unite members are planning to join Solidarity,’’ said our source.
“This group have been against Unite’s support for humanitarian aid for Palestine as well as opposing the union’s campaign for Lesbian and Gay rights.
“They have constantly carped that members would split away from the Union if these kind of policies persisted.
“We know the elements that make up ‘Bombardier’s Nazi Party.’ They are just a bunch of obstructionist drunks who drape themselves in the union flag when it suits them especially at voting time.
“Their links to the BNP and even the UDA are well known. Basically they are just a bunch of foul-mouthed bigots who do nothing for the membership.
“It’s a drinking club for idiots and slabbers who are in bed with the bosses anyway.
“The fact they have been writing to the press talking about a ‘Protestant backlash’ shows their true colours.
“A few gullible members may believe their tripe and follow them but they haven’t been told it will be the BNP they are marching into.
Joining
“Unite should call their bluff – if they want to go let them go!”
Patrick Harrington – who is himself on the BNP payroll – is a long term friend of BNP leader Nick Griffin.
The pair were senior figures in the anti-black group the National Front back in the 1980s.
Harrington split from the NF years ago and is now General Secretary of Solidarity as well as being a member of the National Liberal Party.
Anti-fascist magazine reporter Matthew Collins has warned anyone thinking of joining Harrington’s union.
“They should think about joining Harrington very carefully,” says Collins.
“Solidarity is a scab trade union that didn’t even defend the rights of the BNP office staff when they were made redundant.
“They are always on the side of the bosses and like all bosses they want to divide the workforce along ethnicity.
“During every major industrial dispute the BNP have supported the bosses like the miner’s strike and the print dispute.”
Hope not Hate/Searchlight
But new members don’t realise they are getting into bed with the BNP.
Solidarity – a right wing union run by Edinburgh based activist Patrick Harrington – is targeting members of other trade unions to get them to jump ship.
Shorts Bombardier is one of Northern Ireland’s biggest employers with over 6,500 workers and the main union which supports workers there is Unite.
But traditional trade unionists at the aircraft components factory in east Belfast have described the Solidarity supporters as a “BNP cabal”.
Solidarity is the union wing of the British National Party and operates to drum up support for the right wing party although it’s believed they have less than 500 members across the UK.
The Ulster wing of the BNP is currently being run by nasty fascist Stephen Moore, who we revealed last year refers to Muslims as ‘Ragheads’ and Catholics as ‘Taigs’.
Force
Harrington and Moore are busy recruiting in Northern Ireland in the run-up to the Assembly and council elections in May.
And on Friday BNP leader Nick Griffin sent an open letter to thousands of targets asking them to join Solidarity.
However despite their name, Solidarity almost always takes the side of the bosses during any dispute, it has been claimed.
“There is a secret cabal of right-wing nutters working within Shorts,” said a source from inside the aerospace company.
“They are trying to force staff into breaking away from Unite to join Solidarity.
“They want people to join Solidarity and are digging up old sectarian fears.
“But what these people aren’t telling the workers is they would be marching into the arms of the BNP if they join them.”
Shorts has a history of sectarian tensions and the Sunday World understands that there has been a concerted rise in complaints made against Catholics employed by Unite as full-time or lay officials.
“The cabal are annoyed with Unite’s stance on a number of key issues and are secretly trying to stir up strife by writing anonymous letters to the press claiming hundreds of Unite members are planning to join Solidarity,’’ said our source.
“This group have been against Unite’s support for humanitarian aid for Palestine as well as opposing the union’s campaign for Lesbian and Gay rights.
“They have constantly carped that members would split away from the Union if these kind of policies persisted.
“We know the elements that make up ‘Bombardier’s Nazi Party.’ They are just a bunch of obstructionist drunks who drape themselves in the union flag when it suits them especially at voting time.
“Their links to the BNP and even the UDA are well known. Basically they are just a bunch of foul-mouthed bigots who do nothing for the membership.
“It’s a drinking club for idiots and slabbers who are in bed with the bosses anyway.
“The fact they have been writing to the press talking about a ‘Protestant backlash’ shows their true colours.
“A few gullible members may believe their tripe and follow them but they haven’t been told it will be the BNP they are marching into.
Joining
“Unite should call their bluff – if they want to go let them go!”
Patrick Harrington – who is himself on the BNP payroll – is a long term friend of BNP leader Nick Griffin.
The pair were senior figures in the anti-black group the National Front back in the 1980s.
Harrington split from the NF years ago and is now General Secretary of Solidarity as well as being a member of the National Liberal Party.
Anti-fascist magazine reporter Matthew Collins has warned anyone thinking of joining Harrington’s union.
“They should think about joining Harrington very carefully,” says Collins.
“Solidarity is a scab trade union that didn’t even defend the rights of the BNP office staff when they were made redundant.
“They are always on the side of the bosses and like all bosses they want to divide the workforce along ethnicity.
“During every major industrial dispute the BNP have supported the bosses like the miner’s strike and the print dispute.”
Hope not Hate/Searchlight
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Greek police detain 7 suspects linked to domestic terrorism group
Greek counter-terrorism police Monday detained seven suspects with links to a domestic terrorism group in Athens and the central city of Volos, local media reported.
During raids on at least two hideouts, police arrested five men and two women and seized a number of arms. More raids were under way in Athens.
Police confiscated two AK-47 rifles, six pistols, ammunition, wigs, police uniforms, bullet-proof vests, police wireless radios and other objects, which were being examined at a police crime lab.
Three of the detainees were wanted for participation in the "Conspiracy of Nuclei Cells of Fire" guerrilla group, which has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks against political, police and financial targets in the country over the past few years.
The latest attacks were a strong bomb explosion at a courthouse in Athens last December, several parcel bombs against European leaders and foreign embassies in Athens in November, and a similar one against the Greek Justice Ministry in January.
Greece has suffered heavily from attacks of local guerrilla groups for decades. Domestic terrorists have stepped up attacks since December 2008, when a teenager was fatally injured by police fire in Athens and unprecedented riots were triggered.
People Daily
During raids on at least two hideouts, police arrested five men and two women and seized a number of arms. More raids were under way in Athens.
Police confiscated two AK-47 rifles, six pistols, ammunition, wigs, police uniforms, bullet-proof vests, police wireless radios and other objects, which were being examined at a police crime lab.
Three of the detainees were wanted for participation in the "Conspiracy of Nuclei Cells of Fire" guerrilla group, which has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks against political, police and financial targets in the country over the past few years.
The latest attacks were a strong bomb explosion at a courthouse in Athens last December, several parcel bombs against European leaders and foreign embassies in Athens in November, and a similar one against the Greek Justice Ministry in January.
Greece has suffered heavily from attacks of local guerrilla groups for decades. Domestic terrorists have stepped up attacks since December 2008, when a teenager was fatally injured by police fire in Athens and unprecedented riots were triggered.
People Daily
Germans still struggling to resolve issues of race
The country has no xenophobic far-right party, yet a book arguing that Turks have inferior genes is a runaway bestseller.
On 18 February 1943, Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister of propaganda, took to the stage at Berlin's sports palace calling for "total war". "Two thousand years of western civilisation are in danger," he said, before going on to blame his favourite scapegoat. "Things have gone so far in Europe that one cannot call a danger a danger when it is caused by the Jews."
Seventy years later, on the same spot, stands a housing estate called the Pallasseum, whose facade of vividly coloured satellite dishes and various flags hanging from balconies reveals how far Europe has come from Goebbels's moribund concept of "western civilisation".
Around 40% of the inhabitants are German, 40% of Turkish extraction and 20% hail from elsewhere, ranging from Bangladesh and Somalia to Australia and France. The different communities don't always mix, but neither do they clash.
Read the rest of this item at The Guardian
On 18 February 1943, Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister of propaganda, took to the stage at Berlin's sports palace calling for "total war". "Two thousand years of western civilisation are in danger," he said, before going on to blame his favourite scapegoat. "Things have gone so far in Europe that one cannot call a danger a danger when it is caused by the Jews."
Seventy years later, on the same spot, stands a housing estate called the Pallasseum, whose facade of vividly coloured satellite dishes and various flags hanging from balconies reveals how far Europe has come from Goebbels's moribund concept of "western civilisation".
Around 40% of the inhabitants are German, 40% of Turkish extraction and 20% hail from elsewhere, ranging from Bangladesh and Somalia to Australia and France. The different communities don't always mix, but neither do they clash.
Read the rest of this item at The Guardian
UCLA Student's racist rant goes viral.
Sometimes, just sometimes there is a need not only to expose and challenge racism and ignorance but to also ridicule the people who show it.
And there is a real need to ridicule American college student Alexandra Wallace.
On the day that Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, Alexandra decides to post a racist rant about Asian's on the You Tube website.
A spokesperson for UCLA has stated that her views are "repugnant and contrary to the values the university believes in".
Here's her video so you can see this glorious ignorance in action.
And here is really great video response.
Please support the video up-loader Xuyah by subscribing to his channel.
And there is a real need to ridicule American college student Alexandra Wallace.
On the day that Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, Alexandra decides to post a racist rant about Asian's on the You Tube website.
A spokesperson for UCLA has stated that her views are "repugnant and contrary to the values the university believes in".
Here's her video so you can see this glorious ignorance in action.
And here is really great video response.
Please support the video up-loader Xuyah by subscribing to his channel.
'Nazi' knife thug facing jail over racist attack (UK)
A Hitler impersonating knife thug was yesterday facing jail over a racist attack.
Gary Oswald - who is pictured on a social networking site giving a Nazi salute pretending to be Hitler - launched a tirade of racist abuse at an Asian woman.
When her partner leapt to her defence, Oswald pulled out a knife and slashed his victim's arm.
Oswald, whose Bebo page also states he is "scared of black people" then bit David Dandie's ear before fleeing the flat in Dundee.
Oswald and his two victims had been guests at a New Year party at the flat before the attack, which took place at around 4am on New Year's Day.
When charged by police with racially abusing Amelita Benn, he told cops: "I'm not bothered".
Nicola Gillespie, prosecuting, told Dundee Sheriff Court: "Oswald began making racist comments like 'P***' and 'Get back to your corner shop'.
"He was confronted about his behaviour by Mr Dandie. Oswald then came towards him and swung a knife."
In the struggle that followed, Oswald bit Mr Dandie's ear and wouldn't stop.
Oswald, 22, of Beauly Avenue, Dundee, admitted assaulting Mr Dandie to his severe injury and disfigurement.
Sheriff Tom Hughes deferred sentence until next month and remanded Oswald in custody.
Daily Record
Gary Oswald - who is pictured on a social networking site giving a Nazi salute pretending to be Hitler - launched a tirade of racist abuse at an Asian woman.
When her partner leapt to her defence, Oswald pulled out a knife and slashed his victim's arm.
Oswald, whose Bebo page also states he is "scared of black people" then bit David Dandie's ear before fleeing the flat in Dundee.
Oswald and his two victims had been guests at a New Year party at the flat before the attack, which took place at around 4am on New Year's Day.
When charged by police with racially abusing Amelita Benn, he told cops: "I'm not bothered".
Nicola Gillespie, prosecuting, told Dundee Sheriff Court: "Oswald began making racist comments like 'P***' and 'Get back to your corner shop'.
"He was confronted about his behaviour by Mr Dandie. Oswald then came towards him and swung a knife."
In the struggle that followed, Oswald bit Mr Dandie's ear and wouldn't stop.
Oswald, 22, of Beauly Avenue, Dundee, admitted assaulting Mr Dandie to his severe injury and disfigurement.
Sheriff Tom Hughes deferred sentence until next month and remanded Oswald in custody.
Daily Record
EDL set to demonstrate in Blackburn (UK)
An English Defence League protest will take place in Blackburn next month.
The right-wing group said it planned to hold a three-and-a-half hour ‘peaceful’ demonstration on Saturday, April 2.
Lancashire Police is preparing for more than 1,000 supporters in the town centre.
At the same time, Blackburn & Darwen United Against Racism has called a counter-protest.
It is supported by Blackburn Trades Council, Blackburn College Student Union, Unite Against Fascism and Youth On A Mission.
Final negotiations were taking place yesterday between police and council chiefs over a suitable location.
The key issue is finding somewhere for a large-scale demonstration to take place safely.
Similar events in Bolton, Preston and Rochdale have taken place in the past.
The Preston demo in November led to 14 arrests but there was no major disorder.
A police spokesman said: “We are aware that the English Defence League may wish to hold an event in Blackburn on Saturday, April 2.
“The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental democratic right and we have a duty to facilitate that.
“At present nothing has been formally agreed or approved and we will work to ensure that these events pass off peacefully and with as little disruption as possible, if they go ahead.
“We will, of course, be working very closely with Blackburn with Darwen Council and other partner agencies throughout.”
According to the main EDL website and its Facebook page, which has 81,000 members, the Blackburn protest will run from 1pm until 4.30pm on Saturday, April 2.
Some promotional material on the internet has mentioned the case of Amy Houston, who died after being knocked down by a failed asylum seeker.
Former Darwen councillor Michael Johnson, 48, who has spoken at previous EDL demos, said: “I’ve spoken to Paul (Amy’s dad) and he doesn’t want people using his situation for political gain.”
In recent months, the EDL has held several protests outside the KFC in Blackburn, which has been trialling a halal menu.
Lancashire Telegraph
The right-wing group said it planned to hold a three-and-a-half hour ‘peaceful’ demonstration on Saturday, April 2.
Lancashire Police is preparing for more than 1,000 supporters in the town centre.
At the same time, Blackburn & Darwen United Against Racism has called a counter-protest.
It is supported by Blackburn Trades Council, Blackburn College Student Union, Unite Against Fascism and Youth On A Mission.
Final negotiations were taking place yesterday between police and council chiefs over a suitable location.
The key issue is finding somewhere for a large-scale demonstration to take place safely.
Similar events in Bolton, Preston and Rochdale have taken place in the past.
The Preston demo in November led to 14 arrests but there was no major disorder.
A police spokesman said: “We are aware that the English Defence League may wish to hold an event in Blackburn on Saturday, April 2.
“The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental democratic right and we have a duty to facilitate that.
“At present nothing has been formally agreed or approved and we will work to ensure that these events pass off peacefully and with as little disruption as possible, if they go ahead.
“We will, of course, be working very closely with Blackburn with Darwen Council and other partner agencies throughout.”
According to the main EDL website and its Facebook page, which has 81,000 members, the Blackburn protest will run from 1pm until 4.30pm on Saturday, April 2.
Some promotional material on the internet has mentioned the case of Amy Houston, who died after being knocked down by a failed asylum seeker.
Former Darwen councillor Michael Johnson, 48, who has spoken at previous EDL demos, said: “I’ve spoken to Paul (Amy’s dad) and he doesn’t want people using his situation for political gain.”
In recent months, the EDL has held several protests outside the KFC in Blackburn, which has been trialling a halal menu.
Lancashire Telegraph
Three sentenced for their parts in EDL protest disorder in Leicester (UK)
Three men were sentenced yesterday for their part in the public disorder which accompanied the English Defence League protest in Leicester.
Two of the men, who denied having any official political affiliation with the EDL, were among a group hurling missiles at the international arts centre Fabrika, in Humberstone Gate.
Christopher Chapman (22), of Armdale Drive, Netherhall, Leicester, was handed a 12-week suspended prison sentence, by city magistrates.
Unemployed Chapman pleaded guilty to causing £1,000 worth of damage to doors and windows at the venue and using threatening words and behaviour which caused people to fear for their safety.
At a previous hearing, Chapman's solicitor said he was "politically naive" and was still "suffering the effects" of the previous night's drinking.
Andrew Millard (27), of Bradmore Grove, Birmingham, was ordered to do 100 hours unpaid community work.
Millard, who has a five-year banning order from football grounds for hooliganism, admitted a charge of attempting to damage the arts centre with a large wooden pole.
Ian Johnson, prosecuting Millard, said the group attacked the building after spotting members of the media covering last October's protest from first floor windows. CCTV cameras filmed Millard picking up a large wooden pole, throwing it at the building but missing.
Chris Stewart, in mitigation, said: "It was a pathetic and half-hearted attempt."
Ryan Stapleford, of Ashby Road, Ibstock, was ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work in the community after admitting to launching a "flying kick" on a Muslim man on the afternoon of the EDL demonstration.
The 18-year-old, who was filmed on CCTV attacking the man outside Benny's Chicken, in Granby Street, claimed he had been defending a friend who had persuaded him to accompany him to the protest.
This is Leicestershire
Two of the men, who denied having any official political affiliation with the EDL, were among a group hurling missiles at the international arts centre Fabrika, in Humberstone Gate.
Christopher Chapman (22), of Armdale Drive, Netherhall, Leicester, was handed a 12-week suspended prison sentence, by city magistrates.
Unemployed Chapman pleaded guilty to causing £1,000 worth of damage to doors and windows at the venue and using threatening words and behaviour which caused people to fear for their safety.
At a previous hearing, Chapman's solicitor said he was "politically naive" and was still "suffering the effects" of the previous night's drinking.
Andrew Millard (27), of Bradmore Grove, Birmingham, was ordered to do 100 hours unpaid community work.
Millard, who has a five-year banning order from football grounds for hooliganism, admitted a charge of attempting to damage the arts centre with a large wooden pole.
Ian Johnson, prosecuting Millard, said the group attacked the building after spotting members of the media covering last October's protest from first floor windows. CCTV cameras filmed Millard picking up a large wooden pole, throwing it at the building but missing.
Chris Stewart, in mitigation, said: "It was a pathetic and half-hearted attempt."
Ryan Stapleford, of Ashby Road, Ibstock, was ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work in the community after admitting to launching a "flying kick" on a Muslim man on the afternoon of the EDL demonstration.
The 18-year-old, who was filmed on CCTV attacking the man outside Benny's Chicken, in Granby Street, claimed he had been defending a friend who had persuaded him to accompany him to the protest.
This is Leicestershire
Monday, 14 March 2011
Introducing Tyson. The EDL's new Dog Defence League's Leader.
Earlier on today whilst surfing the video sharing site You Tube, we came across a video uploaded by an EDL suppoter that reveals a new and interesting development in the EDL's campaign.
Apparently there is now a Doggy division of the protest movement.
This DDL(Dod Defence League) (sic) led by the Large Spiked Collared Muzzled Rottweiler Tyson, actively campaign against Muslim taxi drivers who refuse to allow guide dogs into their cabs.
As to why Tyson only feels its necessary to target Muslims taxi driver's who don't allow guide dogs into taxi's rather than any taxi driver that does not allow guide dogs is anybody's ruff guess.
I would ask readers to make up their own my mind as to why an EDL member would take such an "ard" dog to such an event with such a ferocious looking collar.
Here's the video description as it's posted on You Tube, it even has made up words.
And here's Tyson
Apparently there is now a Doggy division of the protest movement.
This DDL(Dod Defence League) (sic) led by the Large Spiked Collared Muzzled Rottweiler Tyson, actively campaign against Muslim taxi drivers who refuse to allow guide dogs into their cabs.
As to why Tyson only feels its necessary to target Muslims taxi driver's who don't allow guide dogs into taxi's rather than any taxi driver that does not allow guide dogs is anybody's ruff guess.
I would ask readers to make up their own my mind as to why an EDL member would take such an "ard" dog to such an event with such a ferocious looking collar.
Here's the video description as it's posted on You Tube, it even has made up words.
And here's Tyson
Hindu terrorism charges force India to reflect on prejudices against Muslims
When a series of bomb attacks ripped through Muslim neighborhoods, mosques and shrines in India in recent years, suspicion fell firmly on a familiar culprit: Islamist terror. After each incident, scores of Indian Muslims were rounded up, and many were tortured. Confessions were extracted, the names of various militant “masterminds” leaked to the media and links with Pakistan widely alleged.
Never mind that most of the victims were Muslims; it seemed natural to many people, from New Delhi to Washington, to assume the attacks were the work of extremist Pakistani militants and their Indian Muslim sympathizers, intent on fanning religious tensions in India and disrupting the peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Read the full item at the Washington Post
Never mind that most of the victims were Muslims; it seemed natural to many people, from New Delhi to Washington, to assume the attacks were the work of extremist Pakistani militants and their Indian Muslim sympathizers, intent on fanning religious tensions in India and disrupting the peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Read the full item at the Washington Post
Nationalist link suspected in FSB bombing (Russia)
Wednesday’s bomb outside the FSB Academy in Moscow may have been the work of a nationalist group, investigators believe.
However, there is no clear link between extremist groups and the attack, police sources admitted to gzt.ru, although yesterday saw the start of legal proceedings to outlaw far right movement DPNI.
And officers admit that the explosive device was more sophisticated than those usually planted by nationalist gangs.
The Moscow News
However, there is no clear link between extremist groups and the attack, police sources admitted to gzt.ru, although yesterday saw the start of legal proceedings to outlaw far right movement DPNI.
And officers admit that the explosive device was more sophisticated than those usually planted by nationalist gangs.
The Moscow News
Jewish Council 'alarmed' by anti-Muslim hearings (USA)
The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) has expressed concern over the hearings on so-called radicalization of Muslims in the United States spearheaded by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
JCUA says the anti-Muslim hearings “go against American values of religious freedom, diversity and equality”.
“We are disturbed by the narrow scope of the hearings, which are singling out and stereotyping an entire community. We oppose using a discriminatory lens of religion and race to investigate threats to national security,” JCUA said in a statement posted on its website.
The group said that the Muslim community in the United States is the victim of "injustices being perpetrated on a daily basis which is not just a threat to that community, but a threat to all people striving for equality in our diverse society." JCUA described the hearings as "troubling" adding that they could further fan the flame of anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.
FACTS & FIGURES
Congressman Peter King, who has rationalized his past defense of IRA terrorism without a hint of self-awareness or irony, is now the self-appointed protector of America from future terrorist attacks by holding a congressional hearing on the "Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response." Guardian
King has in the past claimed there are "too many mosques" in America and that 85% of American mosques and its religious leaders are radicalized, a statement that has been thoroughly discredited. Guardian
Despite a recent study showing that 40% of all extremist plots in America were thwarted as a result of Muslim American help, King ignores this evidence and stubbornly asserts that there is a "lack of cooperation" by Muslims with law enforcement. The intent, scope and framing of King's hearing have been criticized by law enforcement officials, counter-terrorism professionals, civil rights organizations, interfaith leaders and political commentators as being misguided, ineffective and potentially dangerous. Guardian
The majority of terror plots in America since 9/11 have been committed by non-Muslims, especially rightwing extremists and white supremacists. Examples include the failed Martin Luther King parade bomber in Washington State; Jared Lee Loughner, the Arizona shooter who killed six people, including a judge, and Joseph Stack who flew his plane into an IRS building last year. Guardian
In the first-ever, nationwide survey of Muslim Americans, the Pew research center found some rather interesting facts:
Roughly two-thirds (65%) of adult Muslims in the U.S. were born elsewhere. Among native-born Muslims, roughly half are African American (20% of U.S. Muslims overall), many of whom are converts to Islam. pewresearch.org
A majority of Muslim Americans (53%) say it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Most also believe that the government "singles out" Muslims for increased surveillance and monitoring. pewresearch.org
Muslim Americans express broad dissatisfaction with the direction of U.S. foreign policy. Most say that the U.S. made the wrong decision in using force against Iraq. pewresearch.org
More than one-fifth of U.S. Muslims (22%) currently are enrolled in college classes, with similar rates of college enrollment among foreign-born (22%) and native-born (20%) Muslims. pewresearch.org
About a quarter (24%) of Muslim Americans have a college degree, including 10% who have gone on to graduate study. These numbers are similar to the U.S. general public. pewresearch.org
Economically, family income among Muslim Americans is roughly comparable with that of the population as a whole. Among adults nationwide, 44% report household incomes of $50,000 or more annually, as do 41% of Muslim American adults. pewresearch.org
Press TV
JCUA says the anti-Muslim hearings “go against American values of religious freedom, diversity and equality”.
“We are disturbed by the narrow scope of the hearings, which are singling out and stereotyping an entire community. We oppose using a discriminatory lens of religion and race to investigate threats to national security,” JCUA said in a statement posted on its website.
The group said that the Muslim community in the United States is the victim of "injustices being perpetrated on a daily basis which is not just a threat to that community, but a threat to all people striving for equality in our diverse society." JCUA described the hearings as "troubling" adding that they could further fan the flame of anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.
FACTS & FIGURES
Congressman Peter King, who has rationalized his past defense of IRA terrorism without a hint of self-awareness or irony, is now the self-appointed protector of America from future terrorist attacks by holding a congressional hearing on the "Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response." Guardian
King has in the past claimed there are "too many mosques" in America and that 85% of American mosques and its religious leaders are radicalized, a statement that has been thoroughly discredited. Guardian
Despite a recent study showing that 40% of all extremist plots in America were thwarted as a result of Muslim American help, King ignores this evidence and stubbornly asserts that there is a "lack of cooperation" by Muslims with law enforcement. The intent, scope and framing of King's hearing have been criticized by law enforcement officials, counter-terrorism professionals, civil rights organizations, interfaith leaders and political commentators as being misguided, ineffective and potentially dangerous. Guardian
The majority of terror plots in America since 9/11 have been committed by non-Muslims, especially rightwing extremists and white supremacists. Examples include the failed Martin Luther King parade bomber in Washington State; Jared Lee Loughner, the Arizona shooter who killed six people, including a judge, and Joseph Stack who flew his plane into an IRS building last year. Guardian
In the first-ever, nationwide survey of Muslim Americans, the Pew research center found some rather interesting facts:
Roughly two-thirds (65%) of adult Muslims in the U.S. were born elsewhere. Among native-born Muslims, roughly half are African American (20% of U.S. Muslims overall), many of whom are converts to Islam. pewresearch.org
A majority of Muslim Americans (53%) say it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Most also believe that the government "singles out" Muslims for increased surveillance and monitoring. pewresearch.org
Muslim Americans express broad dissatisfaction with the direction of U.S. foreign policy. Most say that the U.S. made the wrong decision in using force against Iraq. pewresearch.org
More than one-fifth of U.S. Muslims (22%) currently are enrolled in college classes, with similar rates of college enrollment among foreign-born (22%) and native-born (20%) Muslims. pewresearch.org
About a quarter (24%) of Muslim Americans have a college degree, including 10% who have gone on to graduate study. These numbers are similar to the U.S. general public. pewresearch.org
Economically, family income among Muslim Americans is roughly comparable with that of the population as a whole. Among adults nationwide, 44% report household incomes of $50,000 or more annually, as do 41% of Muslim American adults. pewresearch.org
Press TV
Wilders' inciting hatred trial reopens (Netherlands)
The original trial was halted last October after a number of irregularities that a law court panel said could be deemed prejudicial to the anti-Islam party leader.
The trial is now reopening with a new panel of three judges. The Netherlands does not have jury trials.
Monday morning’s proceedings will kick off with an opening statement from Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moszkowicz in which he will outline the legal arguments why he believes Wilders should not stand trial.
Alliance
Wilders, whose party is in an alliance with the new government, is on trial in Amsterdam on charges of discrimination and inciting hatred against Muslims, Moroccans and non-Western immigrants.
The trial centres on a number of statements made by Wilders over the years. In one, he likened the Koran to Hitler's book Mein Kampf and called for it to be banned.
In another, he said: 'The borders will be closed that day for all non-western immigrants....We have to stop the tsunami of islamisation. It is affecting our heart, our identity, our culture.'
In the earlier trial, the public prosecution department said Wilders should be found not guilty on all charges. The department had been ordered to take the case to court by the appeal court after a number of groups and immigrant organisations called on it to press charges.
Dutch News
More eyewitness testimonies from brutal police intervention in Nový Bydžov Czech Rep)
ROMEA, translated by Gwendolyn Albert
Eyewitnesses to the brutal police intervention against a peaceful gathering of those opposing the neo-Nazi march in Na Šarlejích street in Nový Bydžov have been writing in to the editors at news server Romea.cz. According to those harmed and to eyewitnesses, the entire intervention was disproportionate and very brutal. Mounted police officers rode their horses at top speed into a crowd of people who luckily managed to begin a retreat just before the onslaught began. News server Romea.cz and news server Denikreferendum.cz have published several accounts.
The start of the intervention was described for news server Romea.cz by Karel Richter: "The police horses set off at a gallop and charge the crowd with brutal force. Their riders, armed with long night sticks, swing at the demonstrators willy-nilly. The body of one of the horses throws me aside and pushes me against the alley wall. The crowd is separated into two parts, each pressed against the walls of the alley, with the police riders in the center charging people and beating them with their night sticks. I hear the smacking noise as one of the riders breaks the nose of a young girl standing next to me with his night stick. She is bleeding profusely. I want to help her but I can't, I can't get to her, the police rider is swinging his arms at me and luckily misses my head by a few centimeters, but air brushes my face as the stick swooshes past. Police officers then start using tactical explosions, throwing stun grenades into the tangles of people who are shouting with fear, pressed to the walls, being sliced at by the police riders. People are screaming with fear like animals and running away."
Another demonstrator wrote to news server Romea.cz: "As I started running out of fear, police officers riding those poor horses slammed me into the fence. I tried to speed up. Even though the mounted police could clearly see they had achieved what they wanted and that I and the other demonstrators, all out of our minds with fear, were now running away along the fence, they did not stop swinging at us with their night sticks. I was struck on the shoulder, as was a somewhat older woman in front of me."
Another 58-year-old demonstrator sent in her eyewitness account to news server Romea.cz and emphasized that she is not some teenager spoiling for a fight. "I was standing in the front, I believe in the third row (waiting for Ondřej Liška to return from the town hall) and I could not believe my eyes that it was possible to intervene against us so brutally and so quickly just because we were standing in the way. Aren't there worse misdeeds and crimes going on in this country? A cop grabbed my bag and pulled me out of the crowd, flinging me to the ground, and I was glad that some good soul pulled me out of the pandemonium and got me up off of my broken knees, because the pressure of the cops taking off and the horses and the shoving people could not be withstood. We had just been standing there with our arms linked, no one had done anything. A girl next to us got a truncheon to the head and was bleeding so much she couldn't even see the road," the victim told us.
Martin Marek, a student activist from Plzeň, described the intervention for Deník Referendum as follows: "The police called on those present to disperse, which most of them did not do, but rather attempted to form human chains in several rows. A disproportionate police intervention was then launched against the non-violent, peaceful gathering. The riot police parted their ranks and made way for mounted police to gallop aggressively and incomprehensibly into the passively standing people. Some people never even managed to get up off the ground before the intervention began and found themselves directly beneath the hooves of the police horses. Most of those gathered had no room to retreat in the narrow space, so they were struck by police with night sticks and collapsible truncheons. A small group of roughly six people were surrounded by police officers by the wall of one of the buildings. The officers repeatedly struck them with night sticks and charged them with the horses before letting them leave the scene. One of the police officers standing apart from the protesters was struck down by a horse and then the riot police ran at the surprised and out-of-breath demonstrators and started to use firecrackers in addition to truncheons."
Martin Marek also points out that some of the riot police were not wearing identification numbers, so it is not possible to identify them and complain against specific officers for using disproportionate force, such as those who used the metal collapsible truncheons. "People drew attention to the police officers' lack of numbers before the intervention, but in vain," Martin Marek writes.
Another demonstrator, Dagmar Daňková, responding to the coverage on TV NOVA, which labeled all of those who had counter-demonstrated as anarchists, wrote for Deník Referendum: "Am I a typical anarchist? I am the mother of a grown son, a teacher who forces her friends to stamp their public transportation tickets even coming home from a party at night. Before it all started, I was admonishing a boy from Antifa that the police are not our enemies. I hope the welt on my arm hurts a good while longer so I can be reminded how terribly clueless I am."
Another demonstrator sent an e-mail to Romea.cz that reads: "I, for example, was reading in order to make the time pass. When the horses suddenly charged us, I was pressed to the wall and the infantry started to push us. Before I could put my book away, a riot cop had battered it out of my hands. He let fly to get that book away from me, probably in the interest of securing order, and batted it beneath his colleagues' feet. There was no other reason for him to do that. One of the last people to be pushed out of the street selflessly managed to pick it up, so I won't have to pay the library fine. In the meantime, I saw a shower of completely unjustified blows being struck by the infantry with their truncheons and even more malicious blows being struck from the height of the horses' saddles - which surprisingly managed to miss me - and a few firecrackers exploded beneath my feet. In the noise, smoke and stench you couldn't see or hear. Of course, all it would have taken to get us to move out of the way of the neo-Nazi march would have been to have pushed us back with the infantry. Practically no one would have offered any resistance, we were all empty-handed. We did not come there to fight with anyone, the cops least of all. I did not see anyone who wanted a fight, and against a police phalanx we would have been powerless."
Were you among the demonstrators in Na Šarlejích street? Describe your experiences to us and let us know if you were injured! Send us your photographs or video footage of this brutal police intervention! Write to us at romea@romea.cz.
Romea
Eyewitnesses to the brutal police intervention against a peaceful gathering of those opposing the neo-Nazi march in Na Šarlejích street in Nový Bydžov have been writing in to the editors at news server Romea.cz. According to those harmed and to eyewitnesses, the entire intervention was disproportionate and very brutal. Mounted police officers rode their horses at top speed into a crowd of people who luckily managed to begin a retreat just before the onslaught began. News server Romea.cz and news server Denikreferendum.cz have published several accounts.
The start of the intervention was described for news server Romea.cz by Karel Richter: "The police horses set off at a gallop and charge the crowd with brutal force. Their riders, armed with long night sticks, swing at the demonstrators willy-nilly. The body of one of the horses throws me aside and pushes me against the alley wall. The crowd is separated into two parts, each pressed against the walls of the alley, with the police riders in the center charging people and beating them with their night sticks. I hear the smacking noise as one of the riders breaks the nose of a young girl standing next to me with his night stick. She is bleeding profusely. I want to help her but I can't, I can't get to her, the police rider is swinging his arms at me and luckily misses my head by a few centimeters, but air brushes my face as the stick swooshes past. Police officers then start using tactical explosions, throwing stun grenades into the tangles of people who are shouting with fear, pressed to the walls, being sliced at by the police riders. People are screaming with fear like animals and running away."
Another demonstrator wrote to news server Romea.cz: "As I started running out of fear, police officers riding those poor horses slammed me into the fence. I tried to speed up. Even though the mounted police could clearly see they had achieved what they wanted and that I and the other demonstrators, all out of our minds with fear, were now running away along the fence, they did not stop swinging at us with their night sticks. I was struck on the shoulder, as was a somewhat older woman in front of me."
Another 58-year-old demonstrator sent in her eyewitness account to news server Romea.cz and emphasized that she is not some teenager spoiling for a fight. "I was standing in the front, I believe in the third row (waiting for Ondřej Liška to return from the town hall) and I could not believe my eyes that it was possible to intervene against us so brutally and so quickly just because we were standing in the way. Aren't there worse misdeeds and crimes going on in this country? A cop grabbed my bag and pulled me out of the crowd, flinging me to the ground, and I was glad that some good soul pulled me out of the pandemonium and got me up off of my broken knees, because the pressure of the cops taking off and the horses and the shoving people could not be withstood. We had just been standing there with our arms linked, no one had done anything. A girl next to us got a truncheon to the head and was bleeding so much she couldn't even see the road," the victim told us.
Martin Marek, a student activist from Plzeň, described the intervention for Deník Referendum as follows: "The police called on those present to disperse, which most of them did not do, but rather attempted to form human chains in several rows. A disproportionate police intervention was then launched against the non-violent, peaceful gathering. The riot police parted their ranks and made way for mounted police to gallop aggressively and incomprehensibly into the passively standing people. Some people never even managed to get up off the ground before the intervention began and found themselves directly beneath the hooves of the police horses. Most of those gathered had no room to retreat in the narrow space, so they were struck by police with night sticks and collapsible truncheons. A small group of roughly six people were surrounded by police officers by the wall of one of the buildings. The officers repeatedly struck them with night sticks and charged them with the horses before letting them leave the scene. One of the police officers standing apart from the protesters was struck down by a horse and then the riot police ran at the surprised and out-of-breath demonstrators and started to use firecrackers in addition to truncheons."
Martin Marek also points out that some of the riot police were not wearing identification numbers, so it is not possible to identify them and complain against specific officers for using disproportionate force, such as those who used the metal collapsible truncheons. "People drew attention to the police officers' lack of numbers before the intervention, but in vain," Martin Marek writes.
Another demonstrator, Dagmar Daňková, responding to the coverage on TV NOVA, which labeled all of those who had counter-demonstrated as anarchists, wrote for Deník Referendum: "Am I a typical anarchist? I am the mother of a grown son, a teacher who forces her friends to stamp their public transportation tickets even coming home from a party at night. Before it all started, I was admonishing a boy from Antifa that the police are not our enemies. I hope the welt on my arm hurts a good while longer so I can be reminded how terribly clueless I am."
Another demonstrator sent an e-mail to Romea.cz that reads: "I, for example, was reading in order to make the time pass. When the horses suddenly charged us, I was pressed to the wall and the infantry started to push us. Before I could put my book away, a riot cop had battered it out of my hands. He let fly to get that book away from me, probably in the interest of securing order, and batted it beneath his colleagues' feet. There was no other reason for him to do that. One of the last people to be pushed out of the street selflessly managed to pick it up, so I won't have to pay the library fine. In the meantime, I saw a shower of completely unjustified blows being struck by the infantry with their truncheons and even more malicious blows being struck from the height of the horses' saddles - which surprisingly managed to miss me - and a few firecrackers exploded beneath my feet. In the noise, smoke and stench you couldn't see or hear. Of course, all it would have taken to get us to move out of the way of the neo-Nazi march would have been to have pushed us back with the infantry. Practically no one would have offered any resistance, we were all empty-handed. We did not come there to fight with anyone, the cops least of all. I did not see anyone who wanted a fight, and against a police phalanx we would have been powerless."
Were you among the demonstrators in Na Šarlejích street? Describe your experiences to us and let us know if you were injured! Send us your photographs or video footage of this brutal police intervention! Write to us at romea@romea.cz.
Romea
MIGRANT ISLAND PUTS EUROPE ON EDGE (Italy)
Thousands of Tunisians landing on a rocky Italian outcrop have put Europe on edge about the fallout of North Africa's revolts -- and a visit by a French far-right leader is set to raise tensions. After a revolution in Tunisia in January sparked uprisings across the region, around 8,000 undocumented immigrants have made the perilous journey to the island of Lampedusa -- more than the total for the whole of 2010. While the island's fishing communities have been patient with the wave of weary migrants arriving on rickety boats, Lampedusa's 850-bed immigrant centre is heavily overcrowded and local authorities say the island has been overrun. And there are fears now that the strife in Libya will open the floodgates and bring hundreds of thousands more migrants -- a concern that Europe's leading anti-immigration advocates have been quick to seize on. Given by recent polls as a favourite in France's presidential election next year, France's National Front leader Marine Le Pen is set to visit Lampedusa on Monday with Mario Borghezio -- a lawmaker from Italy's Northern League party. As she prepared for her trip to the 20-square-kilometre island that has a population of just 6,000 people, Le Pen said she wanted to see the front lines of the immigration crisis to "get an idea of what's going on." "I have no intention of being provocative," Le Pen said in an interview with Italian news agency ANSA.
Local lawmakers from the centre-left opposition Democratic Party are not convinced. "It's a real provocation for all Lampedusans who believe firmly in Christian values, hospitality and human solidarity," they said. Migrants usually only stay a few days on Lampedusa and are then put on ships or planes to immigrant detention centres across Italy. An agreement with Tunisia on returning those not granted asylum has fallen through since the revolution, meaning thousands are stranded. Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, also from the Northern League, has warned that some of the 1.5 million people trying to flee Libya could be headed for Italy's shores -- and Italy can't cope on its own, he says. "Europe is being invaded," Maroni has said in one of many dramatic comments. But Maroni too, said Le Pen's trip should not "throw fuel on the fire" of a delicate situation on the gorund in Lampedusa. "We will ensure it is not used as propaganda for French domestic politics," he said.
There are major divisions in Europe on how much burden-sharing there should be on immigration, with many northern European states sceptical. "Europe's job is not to rescue North Africans from their own governments... and bring them to Europe," Andrew Brons, an MEP from the far-right British National Party told the European Parliament last month. When in late February Italy called for more EU help to handle the problem, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said: "There's no refugee influx right now. Let's not provoke one by talking about it." Germany and the Nordic countries have refused funding for a budget for the EU border management agency Frontex big enough to buy boats, helicopters and planes to help North African country's control their shores. In an interview Wednesday with French daily Le Midi Libre, Le Pen called for a three-way agreement with Spain and Italy to take a ruthless approach to incoming boats and use military vessels to tow them straight back. The measure, she said, would help save lives: "If we should welcome even just one of these boats without taking it back to the country it came from, we would be sending out a terrible signal to 'try the adventure'." But Jean-Pierre Cassarino, a professor at the European University Institute, said simply turning the boats back or expelling migrants from Europe were not solutions that addressed the social and economic reasons for migration. "They are short-sighted policies that are aimed at responding to emergency situations. They are responding to consequences, not causes. The approach has be reviewed," Cassarino told AFP.
AFP
Local lawmakers from the centre-left opposition Democratic Party are not convinced. "It's a real provocation for all Lampedusans who believe firmly in Christian values, hospitality and human solidarity," they said. Migrants usually only stay a few days on Lampedusa and are then put on ships or planes to immigrant detention centres across Italy. An agreement with Tunisia on returning those not granted asylum has fallen through since the revolution, meaning thousands are stranded. Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, also from the Northern League, has warned that some of the 1.5 million people trying to flee Libya could be headed for Italy's shores -- and Italy can't cope on its own, he says. "Europe is being invaded," Maroni has said in one of many dramatic comments. But Maroni too, said Le Pen's trip should not "throw fuel on the fire" of a delicate situation on the gorund in Lampedusa. "We will ensure it is not used as propaganda for French domestic politics," he said.
There are major divisions in Europe on how much burden-sharing there should be on immigration, with many northern European states sceptical. "Europe's job is not to rescue North Africans from their own governments... and bring them to Europe," Andrew Brons, an MEP from the far-right British National Party told the European Parliament last month. When in late February Italy called for more EU help to handle the problem, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said: "There's no refugee influx right now. Let's not provoke one by talking about it." Germany and the Nordic countries have refused funding for a budget for the EU border management agency Frontex big enough to buy boats, helicopters and planes to help North African country's control their shores. In an interview Wednesday with French daily Le Midi Libre, Le Pen called for a three-way agreement with Spain and Italy to take a ruthless approach to incoming boats and use military vessels to tow them straight back. The measure, she said, would help save lives: "If we should welcome even just one of these boats without taking it back to the country it came from, we would be sending out a terrible signal to 'try the adventure'." But Jean-Pierre Cassarino, a professor at the European University Institute, said simply turning the boats back or expelling migrants from Europe were not solutions that addressed the social and economic reasons for migration. "They are short-sighted policies that are aimed at responding to emergency situations. They are responding to consequences, not causes. The approach has be reviewed," Cassarino told AFP.
AFP
NATIONALISTS GETTING MORE DANGEROUS (Russia)
Nationalist groups in Russia are becoming increasingly clandestine and dangerous, researchers said on Thursday, speaking after violent riots by extreme-rightists and football supporters shook Moscow late last year. While fewer people died at the hands of nationalists last year than the year before, ultra-nationalist groups are gaining more supporters and becoming more sophisticated, said SOVA Centre, an independent group which monitors hate crimes in Russia. “The young have stopped rallying around their leaders. There are a lot of small groups which prefer to lay low. It’s thousands of people. “They believe they are conducting a guerilla war, not only against migrants but also against the authorities,” said researcher Alexander Verkhovsky as he presented the group’s latest report on xenophobia and racism in the country. “While it was relatively easy to fight them several years ago, it has now become much harder to find them,” he said, chalking up the change in tactics to an increasing pressure from the authorities.
“There has been a change that may have consequences in the future: football fans have joined radical nationalists,” said Verkhovsky. “They used to belong to two different environments that did not trust each other.” In December, scores of football fans and ultranationalists clashed with police near the Kremlin in a protest ostensibly at police handling of the shooting of a Spartak Moscow football fan in one of the most violent riots in recent years. Russia’s tough-talking premier Vladimir Putin has vowed to “respond severely” to the violence and said it was a “disturbing sign”. But many analysts say the Kremlin has deliberately courted nationalists for years and the December riots and the subsequent police crackdown showed that the authorities did not entirely control the situation. “The situation is bad, things have gone too far and it is not clear how to find a way out of it,” said Verkhovsky.
Last year, nationalists killed 37 people and injured 382, said the report co-authored by Galina Kozhevnikova, a founder and director of the SOVA Centre, who passed away earlier this month. By comparison, 84 people were killed and 434 injured in racist attacks in 2009.
AFP
“There has been a change that may have consequences in the future: football fans have joined radical nationalists,” said Verkhovsky. “They used to belong to two different environments that did not trust each other.” In December, scores of football fans and ultranationalists clashed with police near the Kremlin in a protest ostensibly at police handling of the shooting of a Spartak Moscow football fan in one of the most violent riots in recent years. Russia’s tough-talking premier Vladimir Putin has vowed to “respond severely” to the violence and said it was a “disturbing sign”. But many analysts say the Kremlin has deliberately courted nationalists for years and the December riots and the subsequent police crackdown showed that the authorities did not entirely control the situation. “The situation is bad, things have gone too far and it is not clear how to find a way out of it,” said Verkhovsky.
Last year, nationalists killed 37 people and injured 382, said the report co-authored by Galina Kozhevnikova, a founder and director of the SOVA Centre, who passed away earlier this month. By comparison, 84 people were killed and 434 injured in racist attacks in 2009.
AFP
Sunday, 13 March 2011
'Nazi' protesters outnumbered (London, Canada)
What was billed as a neo-Nazi rally outside London’s city hall instead turned into a bizarre shouting match between anarchists and two men who said they were there to protest fluoride in tap water.
The two fluoride protesters were known local white-supremacist Tomasz Winnicki and Dave Ruud, who heads the Northern Alliance, a far-right neo-Nazi group based in London.
Both held signs telling people to go to websites that promote taking fluoride out of city drinking water.
The two were far outnumbered by about 20 counter-protesters who showed up wearing black bandanas over their faces and shouting at the two men to go home.
“Are you a Nazi? Are you a Nazi?” yelled one man at Ruud, who backed away and said he was there to protest fluoride.
The rally was billed as a gathering of Combat 18 members. C18 is a violent neo-Nazi organization that began in England.
City hall security alerted councilors and other staffers of the planned rally on Thursday.
The Free Press reported about the C18 protest on Saturday.
“I’m here to protest fluoride,” Winnicki said, adding he’d heard of Combat 18 but didn’t know any members.
“The city website should have a voting system where we can vote on any issue that comes up and then we can vote ‘Do we want fluoridation?’” Winnicki said.
Winnicki said he'd heard about the neo-Nazi rally through the media and decided to show up to gain more publicity for his anti-fluoride movement.
Winnicki and Ruud held signs directing people to fluoridealert.org and waterloowatch.com, two anti-fluoridation websites.
The issue formed one of the planks of Winnicki’s unsuccessful bid for mayor in the October municipal election included getting rid of fluoride in the city’s tap water as one of its planks.
It's more recently come up at city hall after a group that helped lobby Calgary and Waterloo to take the substance out of its water supplies started lobbying in London.
The counter-protesters often got into the faces of the two white supremacists, yelling at them to leave.
“Word spread quickly about this and we tend to oppose fascists whenever we can,” said Anthony Verberckmoes, one of the counter-protesters. He’s part of an anarchist group called Common Cause.
“They pulled a crafty deflection. And there’s just two of them, which is great. White supremacist and fascism unfortunately has a history in London and in the broader world scene, in Europe and the United States, it’s on the rise.
“We don’t want to see London become a part of that rise.”
Another Londoner, Kara Jarvis, said she was compelled to come out to tell the white supremacists that “hate crime is wrong.”
“Everyone should not be complacent. We are a diverse city and these people are not tolerant and they are not welcome here. We have to let them know that,” she said.
Two uniformed police officers supervised the ongoing shouting match between the anarchist counter-protesters and the two men who said they were there to fight fluoridation. After about 15 minutes, Winnicki and Ruud left.
IFPress.com
The two fluoride protesters were known local white-supremacist Tomasz Winnicki and Dave Ruud, who heads the Northern Alliance, a far-right neo-Nazi group based in London.
Both held signs telling people to go to websites that promote taking fluoride out of city drinking water.
The two were far outnumbered by about 20 counter-protesters who showed up wearing black bandanas over their faces and shouting at the two men to go home.
“Are you a Nazi? Are you a Nazi?” yelled one man at Ruud, who backed away and said he was there to protest fluoride.
The rally was billed as a gathering of Combat 18 members. C18 is a violent neo-Nazi organization that began in England.
City hall security alerted councilors and other staffers of the planned rally on Thursday.
The Free Press reported about the C18 protest on Saturday.
“I’m here to protest fluoride,” Winnicki said, adding he’d heard of Combat 18 but didn’t know any members.
“The city website should have a voting system where we can vote on any issue that comes up and then we can vote ‘Do we want fluoridation?’” Winnicki said.
Winnicki said he'd heard about the neo-Nazi rally through the media and decided to show up to gain more publicity for his anti-fluoride movement.
Winnicki and Ruud held signs directing people to fluoridealert.org and waterloowatch.com, two anti-fluoridation websites.
The issue formed one of the planks of Winnicki’s unsuccessful bid for mayor in the October municipal election included getting rid of fluoride in the city’s tap water as one of its planks.
It's more recently come up at city hall after a group that helped lobby Calgary and Waterloo to take the substance out of its water supplies started lobbying in London.
The counter-protesters often got into the faces of the two white supremacists, yelling at them to leave.
“Word spread quickly about this and we tend to oppose fascists whenever we can,” said Anthony Verberckmoes, one of the counter-protesters. He’s part of an anarchist group called Common Cause.
“They pulled a crafty deflection. And there’s just two of them, which is great. White supremacist and fascism unfortunately has a history in London and in the broader world scene, in Europe and the United States, it’s on the rise.
“We don’t want to see London become a part of that rise.”
Another Londoner, Kara Jarvis, said she was compelled to come out to tell the white supremacists that “hate crime is wrong.”
“Everyone should not be complacent. We are a diverse city and these people are not tolerant and they are not welcome here. We have to let them know that,” she said.
Two uniformed police officers supervised the ongoing shouting match between the anarchist counter-protesters and the two men who said they were there to fight fluoridation. After about 15 minutes, Winnicki and Ruud left.
IFPress.com
ALBANIA POLICE CRITICISED AFTER ATTACK ON ROMA CAMP
Some dwellers in the camp, which was home to roughly 40 families, told local media the attackers arrived at night and beat them with sticks while setting fire to their barracks over several days, pressuring them to relocate. The residents of the camps say the police failed to prevent the attacks and provide protection for the families, who now have moved to live in settlements in Tirana and other cities. It remains unclear if the attack was the result of racism or instigated by the financial interests of real estate developers looking to build in the area. Police denied on Friday that they had disregarded the laws against discrimination of minorities and the protection of children while dealing with the case. According to the police statement, the Roma “initiated the conflict” with their neighbors that then escalated. “We have questioned the Roma about the fire that swept their dwelling but they have refused to testify,” read the statement. According to the Union for Albanian Roma, a Tirana-based NGO, up to 150,000 Roma people live in Albania, part of a community that struggles with discrimination, poor literacy rates and massive unemployment.
Balkan Insight
Balkan Insight
FBI Joins Probe To Nab “Hate-Crime” Killers While Sikh Community Offers $30,000 Reward (USA)
A troubled Sikh community shocked by the shooting of their two elderly members offered a reward of $30,000 for any information leading to the culprits, as the local police said they suspected it to be a hate crime and has called in the FBI to join the manhunt.
The West Sacramento Police in California said they suspect that the tradition turbans worn by the Surinder Singh, 68, and Gurmej Atwal, 78, could have become beacons for an attack on them.
“Because they sported the turbans they might have been singled out,” the police said. The Elk Grove police department said that last week’s shootout would be the first targeting the Sikhs in the city if it turns out to be the hate crime. They also said FBI had been called in as it was suspected to be a hate crime.
While Surinder Singh died on the spot, Atwal is still reported to be in a critical condition and a deeply shocked community in the area have joined together to offer a reward of $30,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the culprits, who shot the two on March 4. This amount is over and above the $5,000 reward offered by a top Islamic body, who strongly condemned the attack.
Sikh men in beards and turbans are often targeted for discrimination by bigots who mistake them for Muslims, the Council on American-Islamic Council-Sacramenton Valley’s Executive Director, Basim Elkarra said.
“The Muslim community offers its condolences and support to the Sikh community in this time of sorrow, he said.
About 100 religious leaders, including ones from the Sikh community gathered at a Gurudwara in California, announcing a rise in the award money to informants that would lead to arrest of those responsible.
The Link
The West Sacramento Police in California said they suspect that the tradition turbans worn by the Surinder Singh, 68, and Gurmej Atwal, 78, could have become beacons for an attack on them.
“Because they sported the turbans they might have been singled out,” the police said. The Elk Grove police department said that last week’s shootout would be the first targeting the Sikhs in the city if it turns out to be the hate crime. They also said FBI had been called in as it was suspected to be a hate crime.
While Surinder Singh died on the spot, Atwal is still reported to be in a critical condition and a deeply shocked community in the area have joined together to offer a reward of $30,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the culprits, who shot the two on March 4. This amount is over and above the $5,000 reward offered by a top Islamic body, who strongly condemned the attack.
Sikh men in beards and turbans are often targeted for discrimination by bigots who mistake them for Muslims, the Council on American-Islamic Council-Sacramenton Valley’s Executive Director, Basim Elkarra said.
“The Muslim community offers its condolences and support to the Sikh community in this time of sorrow, he said.
About 100 religious leaders, including ones from the Sikh community gathered at a Gurudwara in California, announcing a rise in the award money to informants that would lead to arrest of those responsible.
The Link
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Former neo-Nazi becomes leftist after sex change (Germany)
"I have completely broken with the NPD," Strub told German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung this week, referring to the right-wing extremist National Democratic Party (NPD). "I am a true socialist."
Strub was a member of the NPD from 2000 to 2002. Photos show "Horst Strub," as she was known in the years before her sex-reassignment surgery, with cropped hair, a beard and a bomber jacket.
Today, the 35-year old nurse and photographer named Monika Strub is campaigning for the socialist party The Left.
Strub told Süddeutsche Zeitung she is now a victim of far-right harassment, saying she has been threatened multiple times. On Thursday. Strub said her home was vandalised after NPD stickers were placed on her windows and doors.
Meanwhile, The Left party has not tried to bury Strub's political past.
Christoph Kröpel, spokesman for The Left party in the state of Baden-Württemberg, described Strub's history with the NPD as a "youthful transgression" and said she has "fundamentally changed."
He told the paper Strub had so clearly distanced herself from her former party "that there is absolutely no doubt as to her political bearing."
The Local Germany
EU fear of north African migrants 'overblown'
Concerned about the "massive migration movements" from Libya, EU leaders on Friday (11 March) called for extra staff and money for the bloc's border agency and offered financial assistance to north African countries in stemming potential waves of immigrants.
"We need to be very upfront on the question of migratory flows. There are 200,000 displaced persons between Libya, Egypt and Tunisia," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said during a press briefing after an EU leaders' meeting dedicated to the Libyan crisis.
"If we don't deal with them humanely then there is a huge temptation for them to come to Europe and we don't have the wherewithal to deal with them," he said. The French leader warned of a "Lampedusa times ten", in reference to the Italian island just 113 km off the Tunisian coast, which has seen a massive increase in refugee boats arriving in past weeks.
Most of the young, French-speaking Tunisians arriving in Italy are actually France-bound. Right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, a candidate for the presidency in 2012, is set to kick off her pre-campaign on Lampedusa on Monday.
German chancellor Angela Merkel also indicated Europe struck a stern note. "I don't see a future for having more and more people emigrate to Europe. Of course, there is a difference when we are having a civil war situation, but the future for these people is to rebuild their countries on the ground."
In the final conclusions, EU leaders expressed their solidarity for those member states "most directly concerned by migratory movements" and said that the bloc's border agency, Frontex, should receive more personnel and equipment from national governments and extra money from the EU budget.
"The European Union will consult with the countries of the region concerned on financial and technical support to improve the control and management of borders and measures to facilitate the return of migrants to their countries of origin," the text reads. A special plan on "development of capacities to manage migration and refugee flows" is requested from the EU commission by June.
One sweetener, introduced by the more migration-friendly countries, foresees a "comprehensive approach" to migration, including visa facilities and encouraging students and pupils exchanges between the northern and southern Mediterranean shores.
But aid workers on the ground dismiss talk of a "biblical exodus" as Italian authorities have repeatedly put it.
Out of the roughly 250,000 refugees who fled Libya to neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, the number of people potentially heading to Europe is in the hundreds, Jumbe Omari Jumbe from the International Organisation for Migration told EUobserver from the Tunisian-Libyan border.
"I just came back from a transit camp where there are some 15,000 refugees, mostly Bangladeshi and Bengali, awaiting to be repatriated," he said.
Subsaharan refugees, less than 3,000, were also mostly keen on returning home, except for a couple of hundreds of Somali and Eritrean people who may try to cross over the Mediterranean.
"It's an overblown fear. Leaders should not take advantage of people suffering," the aid worker said. In order to attempt to cross over the sea by boat, migrants usually have to accumulate some money to pay off the middlemen and traffickers. "But most of these people have been stripped of all their belongings, they don't even know where to start," he stressed.
Instead of stirring up fears of massive immigration, the EU should help international organisations such as the UNHCR and the IOM with more money.
With only four flights a day, the 12,000 Bengalis who are awaiting to be repatriated could spend months in the refugee camp. Some have already started "mini riots," Omari Jumbe said.
"There is big support in terms of EU funds, but the problem is that it's piecemeal. One flight to Bengali and back costs 1 million US dollars," he explained.
The IOM has appealed for an extra €35 million from the international community to assist in the evacuation of up to 65,000 migrants caught up in the Libyan crisis. The EU this week upped its humanitarian assistance to €30 million.
euobserver
"We need to be very upfront on the question of migratory flows. There are 200,000 displaced persons between Libya, Egypt and Tunisia," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said during a press briefing after an EU leaders' meeting dedicated to the Libyan crisis.
"If we don't deal with them humanely then there is a huge temptation for them to come to Europe and we don't have the wherewithal to deal with them," he said. The French leader warned of a "Lampedusa times ten", in reference to the Italian island just 113 km off the Tunisian coast, which has seen a massive increase in refugee boats arriving in past weeks.
Most of the young, French-speaking Tunisians arriving in Italy are actually France-bound. Right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, a candidate for the presidency in 2012, is set to kick off her pre-campaign on Lampedusa on Monday.
German chancellor Angela Merkel also indicated Europe struck a stern note. "I don't see a future for having more and more people emigrate to Europe. Of course, there is a difference when we are having a civil war situation, but the future for these people is to rebuild their countries on the ground."
In the final conclusions, EU leaders expressed their solidarity for those member states "most directly concerned by migratory movements" and said that the bloc's border agency, Frontex, should receive more personnel and equipment from national governments and extra money from the EU budget.
"The European Union will consult with the countries of the region concerned on financial and technical support to improve the control and management of borders and measures to facilitate the return of migrants to their countries of origin," the text reads. A special plan on "development of capacities to manage migration and refugee flows" is requested from the EU commission by June.
One sweetener, introduced by the more migration-friendly countries, foresees a "comprehensive approach" to migration, including visa facilities and encouraging students and pupils exchanges between the northern and southern Mediterranean shores.
But aid workers on the ground dismiss talk of a "biblical exodus" as Italian authorities have repeatedly put it.
Out of the roughly 250,000 refugees who fled Libya to neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, the number of people potentially heading to Europe is in the hundreds, Jumbe Omari Jumbe from the International Organisation for Migration told EUobserver from the Tunisian-Libyan border.
"I just came back from a transit camp where there are some 15,000 refugees, mostly Bangladeshi and Bengali, awaiting to be repatriated," he said.
Subsaharan refugees, less than 3,000, were also mostly keen on returning home, except for a couple of hundreds of Somali and Eritrean people who may try to cross over the Mediterranean.
"It's an overblown fear. Leaders should not take advantage of people suffering," the aid worker said. In order to attempt to cross over the sea by boat, migrants usually have to accumulate some money to pay off the middlemen and traffickers. "But most of these people have been stripped of all their belongings, they don't even know where to start," he stressed.
Instead of stirring up fears of massive immigration, the EU should help international organisations such as the UNHCR and the IOM with more money.
With only four flights a day, the 12,000 Bengalis who are awaiting to be repatriated could spend months in the refugee camp. Some have already started "mini riots," Omari Jumbe said.
"There is big support in terms of EU funds, but the problem is that it's piecemeal. One flight to Bengali and back costs 1 million US dollars," he explained.
The IOM has appealed for an extra €35 million from the international community to assist in the evacuation of up to 65,000 migrants caught up in the Libyan crisis. The EU this week upped its humanitarian assistance to €30 million.
euobserver
'Eta military chief' Arriola arrested in France
Alejandro Zobaran Arriola and three other Eta suspects were seized by French police at a holiday cottage in a remote village near the Belgian border.
One of the other three detainees is also thought to be a senior militant.
Eta's campaign for independence for the Basque region has cost more than 800 lives since 1968 but it called a halt to armed attacks last year.
The four suspects were arrested at a cottage overlooking the tiny hamlet of Willencourt, population 140, south of the port of Dunkirk.
Police swooped on the house, local resident Mickael Catouillard told AFP news agency, adding that there had been a sudden swarm of cars and flashing lights.
Firearms and documents were seized inside the house, Spanish national radio said, citing counter-terrorism sources.
'Odd kind of tourists'
Local hunter Pierre Dufour told AFP that the suspects had moved into the cottage almost two weeks ago, saying they had come to tour the Belgian coast.
"They planned to stay three weeks and they paid for it all up front," he added.
According to the Spanish daily El Pais, the owner of the cottage tipped off police about the men when he found their identity documents suspicious. They had reportedly tried to pass themselves off as students.
"I too found it weird," Mr Dufour said.
"For tourists, they hardly ever went out. One day one of them, a young man, asked me the way to a baker's. He spoke with a strong foreign accent. He was very polite, very friendly."
Mr Arriola - known as Xarla - is believed to be the sixth Eta military chief to be detained since Francisco Javier Lopez Pena was arrested in May 2008.
Eta has been coming under increasing pressure to lay down its weapons and, in January this year, announced that it would cease "offensive armed actions".
But Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero rejected the declaration, saying he wanted the group to be completely disbanded.
Spanish authorities believe their campaign against Eta has crippled its operational capacity, with dozens of arrests - including a number of top leaders - made in collaboration with forces in other countries.
BBC News
Businessman who sold 'terrorist handbooks' online jailed for three years (UK)
The man who used the 7/7 bombings as a “marketing tool” to sell a terrorist handbook was yesterday jailed for three years.
Terence Brown, 47, made £62,000 by selling CDs called the Anarchist Cookbook, which instructed how to make various explosives and enter countries illegally.
Sentencing at Winchester crown court, Mr Justice Blair accepted Brown was not a terrorist. He said: “You admit you used (July 7) as a marketing opportunity to boost sales.
“Motivated only by money, you acted in a completely irresponsible way.
“The information could have been used in further incidents in this country or abroad.”
Brown, from Portsmouth, was earlier found guilty of collecting and distributing material that could have led to attacks.
Imran Khan, defending, said: “Terrorist is a label that will be attached to this defendant for some time to come.
“He has no religious, political or ideological beliefs. This was a man who was simply motivated by making money to live.”
Daily Mirror
Terence Brown, 47, made £62,000 by selling CDs called the Anarchist Cookbook, which instructed how to make various explosives and enter countries illegally.
Sentencing at Winchester crown court, Mr Justice Blair accepted Brown was not a terrorist. He said: “You admit you used (July 7) as a marketing opportunity to boost sales.
“Motivated only by money, you acted in a completely irresponsible way.
“The information could have been used in further incidents in this country or abroad.”
Brown, from Portsmouth, was earlier found guilty of collecting and distributing material that could have led to attacks.
Imran Khan, defending, said: “Terrorist is a label that will be attached to this defendant for some time to come.
“He has no religious, political or ideological beliefs. This was a man who was simply motivated by making money to live.”
Daily Mirror
Friday, 11 March 2011
FAR-RIGHT NPD LEADER ACQUITTED OF INCITEMENT AGAINST SOCCER PLAYER (Germany)
A German court on Wednesday overturned the conviction of Udo Voigt, chairman of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), for inciting racial hatred and defamation against a black German soccer player. Voigt and two other party members were first convicted of the charges in April 2009 and given suspended sentences of seven to 10 months. The men distributed flyers in the run-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup which appeared to insinuate that defender Patrick Owomoyela was not worthy of a spot on Germany's national team because he is black. The flyers showed the German white jersey with the number 25, at the time worn by Owomoyela, over the title: "White - not just a jersey color! For a real NATIONAL team!" The Berlin state court acquitted the men, saying that the association of the number 25 with Owomoyela alone was not strong enough to prove they were specifically inciting racial hatred against him.
The use of the word "white" could also be interpreted as criticism of manipulation and corruption in football, the court said. The court concluded that the flyers fell under the protection of freedom of speech, and that a xenophobic attitude is not enough to warrant punishment for incitement to racial hatred. The defamation charges were also rejected. Owomoyela and the German Football Association originally filed the charges, with Owomoyela testifying that he had never in his life felt so attacked because of his race.
The Deutsche Welle
The use of the word "white" could also be interpreted as criticism of manipulation and corruption in football, the court said. The court concluded that the flyers fell under the protection of freedom of speech, and that a xenophobic attitude is not enough to warrant punishment for incitement to racial hatred. The defamation charges were also rejected. Owomoyela and the German Football Association originally filed the charges, with Owomoyela testifying that he had never in his life felt so attacked because of his race.
The Deutsche Welle
English Defence League racist gets criminal Asbo after abusing Asian family (UK)
Shane Overton, 38, a member of the English Defence League (EDL), was given the Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order, known as a Crasbo, at Doncaster Crown Court.
It bans him from going to any public meeting organised by the far-right EDL and from travelling by train.
Overton, a self-proclaimed local leader of the EDL, pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence, which happened at Doncaster train station as he returned from an EDL rally in Newcastle on May 29 last year.
He shouted racist and Islamophobic abuse at an Asian couple and their two young children as they waited on the station platform.
It is just the second time a Crasbo has been used against members of the EDL.
Acting detective inspector Simon Bromiley, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "We are extremely pleased with this result.
"We have worked closely with our national partners on this case and we are hopeful that utilising this kind of legislation will enable us to curb Overton's offending and tackle racism and Islamophobia in our community in the future."
Chief Inspector Tom Naughton, of British Transport Police, said: "Racist abuse of any sort is unacceptable, but the nature of Overton's insults levelled at a family minding their own business sitting on the platform were despicable.
"Everyone has the right to travel without fear of abuse or threatening behaviour and when that behaviour is further exacerbated by racist undertones, our stance becomes firmer still."
Overton, of Parker Avenue, off Brant Road, Lincoln, was given a football banning order along with 10 other people in 2001 after trouble at a Lincoln City v Hull City game.
The terms of his Crasbo prevent him travelling on any train or entering a railway station, participating in, organising or controlling an EDL event or from entering in to or loitering outside any mosque, Islamic prayer room, meeting room, school, cultural centre or festival site, or any site under development for these purposes.
DC Andy Haworth, of the National Domestic Extremism Unit, a national police unit which worked alongside the transport police and Lincolnshire Police, said: "It is only the second time a Crasbo of this nature has been granted to individuals participating in EDL demonstrations.
"It is widely anticipated other police forces will follow suit and apply for Crasbos to stop violent individuals from subverting otherwise legitimate, lawful protests.
"While the Defence Leagues is entitled to protest, violence has been a persistent feature of their demonstrations.
"On this occasion, an offence was committed while travelling from a demonstration."
Yvette Levy, the local CPS Criminal ASBO lead, said: "No one should be made to feel fear or concern for their safety purely because of the language they speak or the colour of their skin.
"Overton's victims were subjected to racially offensive language while patiently waiting for their train.
"The extreme views expressed by Overton caused two children to cling to their parents in fear."
Simon Cressy, of the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, said: "Once again, we see the racist side of the EDL rearing its ugly head.
"Searchlight will be watching closely to make sure Overton stays away from future EDL events."
This is Lincolnshire
Thursday, 10 March 2011
As King Targets Muslims, There Have Been Almost Twice As Many Plots Since 9/11 From Non-Muslim Terrorists (USA)
Tomorrow, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, will hold hearings singling out the Muslim American community for supposedly aiding and abetting domestic radicalization and terrorism.
When asked why he is singling out the Muslim American community and refusing to investigate other forms of terrorism, King has responded by saying that “it makes no sense to talk about other types of extremism, when the main threat to the United States today is talking about al Qaida.”
Yet as a January 2011 terrorism statistics report — compiled using publicly available data from the FBI and other crime agencies — from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) shows, terrorism by Muslim Americans has only accounted for a minority of terror plots since 9/11. Since the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, Muslims have been involved in 45 domestic terrorist plots. Meanwhile, non-Muslims have been involved in 80 terrorist plots.
In fact, right-wing extremist and white supremacist attacks plots alone outnumber plots by Muslims, with both groups being involved in 63 terror plots, 18 more plots than Muslim Americans have been involved in. Here is a breakdown of attacks by group, along with a few examples of plots by some of these groups:
Think Progress
When asked why he is singling out the Muslim American community and refusing to investigate other forms of terrorism, King has responded by saying that “it makes no sense to talk about other types of extremism, when the main threat to the United States today is talking about al Qaida.”
Yet as a January 2011 terrorism statistics report — compiled using publicly available data from the FBI and other crime agencies — from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) shows, terrorism by Muslim Americans has only accounted for a minority of terror plots since 9/11. Since the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, Muslims have been involved in 45 domestic terrorist plots. Meanwhile, non-Muslims have been involved in 80 terrorist plots.
In fact, right-wing extremist and white supremacist attacks plots alone outnumber plots by Muslims, with both groups being involved in 63 terror plots, 18 more plots than Muslim Americans have been involved in. Here is a breakdown of attacks by group, along with a few examples of plots by some of these groups:
Anti-Government/Anti-Tax Extremists: There have been 36 plots by right-wing extremists since 9/11. These attacks include Joseph Stack’s suicide attack on a Texas IRS building and Joshua Cartwright, who became enraged after the election of Barack Obama and “believed that the US Government was conspiring against him.”
KKK/NeoNazi/White Supremacist: There have been 27 plots by white supremacists since 9/11. These attacks include a 2004 letter bombing of the Arizona Office of Diversity and Dialogue that injured three employees.
Unknown/Miscellaneous: There were five attacks that federal crime officials did not categorize.
Christian Extremists/Anti-Abortion: There were three attacks by anti-abortion extremists and Christian extremists. The killing of abortion provider George Tiller is the most prominent of these attacks.
Black Supremacist Cults: There were two plots by black supremacist cults.
Jewish Extremists: There were two plots by Jewish extremists. The most prominent of these was a plot by Robert Goldstein to attack a local Islamic center with home made C4 and other explosives.
Extreme Anti-Immigrant: There were two plots by anti-immigrant extremists. One of these was the attack by Shawn Forde, who murdered a Queens deli clerk and was motivated by racist and anti-immigrant feelings.
Anti-Jewish: There was one plot by an anti-Semitic extremist. Norman Leboon made anti-Semitic threats against Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA).
Anarchist: There was a single plot by an anarchist. Joseph D. Konopka “wreaked havoc in 13 counties by setting fires, disrupting radio and television broadcasts, disabling an air traffic control system, selling counterfeit software, and damaging the computer system of an Internet service provider.”Given the fact that non-Muslim terrorists account for almost twice as many plots as Muslim terrorists in the United States since 9/11, King’s justification that he is targeting Muslims because they represent the primary threat seems hollow. Additionally, King’s hearings come at a time when Muslim American terrorism and involvement in extremism has actually plummeted in the past couple years, according to a Duke University study put out last month. Moreover, nearly 4 in 10 Al-Qaida related plots in the United States have been broken up thanks to intelligence provided by the Muslim community themselves and 70 percent of recent terror plots in the United States have been foiled by help from Muslim Americans.
Think Progress
Racist shadow rises in Australian politics
The specter of racism has returned to Australian politics with former One Nation MP Pauline Hanson announcing her intention to run for the NSW upper house.
The former One Nation leader is attempting a political comeback, standing as an independent in the run up to the March 26 election.
The controversial Hanson launched her surprise bid for the NSW seat Tuesday night, with the nomination accepted by the NSW Electoral Commission.
Running as part of a group of 16 independents, the divisive Ms Hanson last stood for election to the NSW Parliament in 2003 where her anti-immigration rhetoric and arch-conservative policies angered ethnic communities and failed to gain traction.
Speaking to Xinhua from his office in NSW parliament, NSW Greens MP Ian Cohen said on Wednesday the former One Nation Party leader's return into the national eye was a serious step backwards in Australia's fight against racism.
"Pauline Hanson's election will be a huge threat to our multi- cultural community. It appears there will be a grand conservative coalition in the upper house of parliament which will change the political culture in NSW to a very worrying degree."
News of Hanson's candidacy casts a long conservative shadow over the nations most populous state where a labor government is almost certainly coming to the end of a 16 year run in office.
Fears are growing that a large Liberal-National party Coalition victory could deliver a working majority in the Legislative Council with the support of Christian and Shooters and Fishers party MPs.
Labor says a decision by the Greens not to preference Labor has increased the likelihood of a conservative controlled upper house.
Embattled NSW Premier Kristina Keneally was quick to condemn Hanson's candidacy.
"We absolutely condemn the sorts of racist and discriminatory policies which come from Ms Hanson and parties like One Nation," Keneally said.
The NSW Liberal Party has also said it would offer no preferences to Hanson.
But Hanson shot back on local radio: "I'm not racist."
"I have ... as an Australian ... a right to question immigration and multiculturalism, which I don't believe is helping our country. I don't think there's anything wrong with that," she added.
The right-wing One Nation Party's populist and xenophobic slogans include anti-immigration policies, anti-globalization, demands for renewed tariff protection and bitter attacks on the establishment, governments and politicians while seeking to appeal to "ordinary Australians".
Ian Cohen fears the tone of debate that Hanson's return will engender.
"It will have a massive impact on social issues in this country.. I'm extremely worried," he said.
People Daily
The former One Nation leader is attempting a political comeback, standing as an independent in the run up to the March 26 election.
The controversial Hanson launched her surprise bid for the NSW seat Tuesday night, with the nomination accepted by the NSW Electoral Commission.
Running as part of a group of 16 independents, the divisive Ms Hanson last stood for election to the NSW Parliament in 2003 where her anti-immigration rhetoric and arch-conservative policies angered ethnic communities and failed to gain traction.
Speaking to Xinhua from his office in NSW parliament, NSW Greens MP Ian Cohen said on Wednesday the former One Nation Party leader's return into the national eye was a serious step backwards in Australia's fight against racism.
"Pauline Hanson's election will be a huge threat to our multi- cultural community. It appears there will be a grand conservative coalition in the upper house of parliament which will change the political culture in NSW to a very worrying degree."
News of Hanson's candidacy casts a long conservative shadow over the nations most populous state where a labor government is almost certainly coming to the end of a 16 year run in office.
Fears are growing that a large Liberal-National party Coalition victory could deliver a working majority in the Legislative Council with the support of Christian and Shooters and Fishers party MPs.
Labor says a decision by the Greens not to preference Labor has increased the likelihood of a conservative controlled upper house.
Embattled NSW Premier Kristina Keneally was quick to condemn Hanson's candidacy.
"We absolutely condemn the sorts of racist and discriminatory policies which come from Ms Hanson and parties like One Nation," Keneally said.
The NSW Liberal Party has also said it would offer no preferences to Hanson.
But Hanson shot back on local radio: "I'm not racist."
"I have ... as an Australian ... a right to question immigration and multiculturalism, which I don't believe is helping our country. I don't think there's anything wrong with that," she added.
The right-wing One Nation Party's populist and xenophobic slogans include anti-immigration policies, anti-globalization, demands for renewed tariff protection and bitter attacks on the establishment, governments and politicians while seeking to appeal to "ordinary Australians".
Ian Cohen fears the tone of debate that Hanson's return will engender.
"It will have a massive impact on social issues in this country.. I'm extremely worried," he said.
People Daily
Suspect arrested in case of bomb at MLK day parade (USA)
A federal law enforcement official says a man has been arrested in the case of a bomb placed at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane in January.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that federal agents arrested the man Wednesday and are preparing to search a location tied to the man.
The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case ahead of an official announcement planned later in the day.
KHQ-TV of Spokane reported that federal and local law enforcement officers had surrounded a home near Colville, Wash., about 80 miles northwest of Spokane. Two T-shirts found inside the bomb were tied to that rural area.
Additional details were not immediately available.
The FBI has said nothing about possible suspects, but public opinion from the beginning focused on some of the white supremacist groups that have brought notoriety to the region in the past three decades. The area once served as headquarters for Richard Butler's Aryan Nations, whose members were lured by the small number of minorities.
Officials for the FBI in Spokane, which is leading the search, declined to comment on the developments Wednesday.
The bomb was found inside a backpack by city workers before the parade started on Jan. 17. The parade was rerouted and the bomb was defused without incident.
Officials for the FBI described the bomb as sophisticated and designed to produce mass casualties.
The bomb was sent to an FBI lab in Quantico, Va., and the agency offered a $20,000 reward for information from the public.
The two T-shirts found with the bomb were tied to Stevens County. One of the shirts was distributed last year at the "Relay for Life" race in Colville. The second shirt — which had the words "Treasure Island Spring 2009" on the front — was from a local theater production in 2009 in the town of Chewelah.
Associated Press
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that federal agents arrested the man Wednesday and are preparing to search a location tied to the man.
The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case ahead of an official announcement planned later in the day.
KHQ-TV of Spokane reported that federal and local law enforcement officers had surrounded a home near Colville, Wash., about 80 miles northwest of Spokane. Two T-shirts found inside the bomb were tied to that rural area.
Additional details were not immediately available.
The FBI has said nothing about possible suspects, but public opinion from the beginning focused on some of the white supremacist groups that have brought notoriety to the region in the past three decades. The area once served as headquarters for Richard Butler's Aryan Nations, whose members were lured by the small number of minorities.
Officials for the FBI in Spokane, which is leading the search, declined to comment on the developments Wednesday.
The bomb was found inside a backpack by city workers before the parade started on Jan. 17. The parade was rerouted and the bomb was defused without incident.
Officials for the FBI described the bomb as sophisticated and designed to produce mass casualties.
The bomb was sent to an FBI lab in Quantico, Va., and the agency offered a $20,000 reward for information from the public.
The two T-shirts found with the bomb were tied to Stevens County. One of the shirts was distributed last year at the "Relay for Life" race in Colville. The second shirt — which had the words "Treasure Island Spring 2009" on the front — was from a local theater production in 2009 in the town of Chewelah.
Associated Press
JEWISH RADIO CANCELS FRENCH FAR-RIGHT INTERVIEW (France)
A Jewish radio station Wednesday cancelled an interview with French far-right leader Marine Le Pen after complaints by Jewish groups that her party was anti-Semitic. Radio J had justified inviting her to come on air Sunday on the grounds that polls appear to show her anti-immigrant National Front has moved beyond marginal status and she could win a first-round presidential vote. But its top political editor Frederic Haziza told AFP on Wednesday that the station had cancelled the interview since it was "impossible to ensure that it would take place in good conditions." It would have been a first for Radio J, which always declined to interview Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine's father and predecessor as leader of the Front, because of his public comments about Jews that caused outrage. Among complaints from several groups, the Jewish students' union UEJF said the radio invitation was "dangerous and inappropriate," branding the National Front "structurally anti-Semitic and racist." The interview "could give rise to a kind of complacency among the Jewish community and its institutions concerning Marine Le Pen and risks giving her even more exposure," the group said. The deputy leader of the Front, Louis Aliot, said the party planned to sue the UEJF and the anti-Semitism watchdog BNCVA for defamation based on their complaints.
AFP
AFP
Racism conviction for neo-Nazis (Belgium )
A court in the western town of Veurne has convicted three members of the extreme right wing Blood & Honour organisation on charges connected with the staging of several neo-Nazi concerts.
This is the first time that members of Blood & Honour have been convicted on the basis on anti-racism legislation.
One of the concerts took place during a ceremony honouring the Nazi's paramilitary organisation, the SS.
One of the concerts was also covertly filmed by VRT News.
One of those convicted also attended a memorial concert in honour of Ian Stuart Donaldson, the English founder of Blood & Honour.
The court ruled that it was established that the three defendants were involved in the organisation of a neo-Nazi ceremony of remembrance and that during the concerts inflammatory and racist language was openly used.
Two of the three defendants received a three month suspended gaol sentence. Given his record the third will have to serve his three month custodial sentence.
Belgium's anti-racism centre CGKR is upbeat. Jozef De Witte (photo): "We're pleased that there is a conviction. It's an important precedent. At last a court has acted and taken account of the spirit of the law."
Flanders News
This is the first time that members of Blood & Honour have been convicted on the basis on anti-racism legislation.
One of the concerts took place during a ceremony honouring the Nazi's paramilitary organisation, the SS.
One of the concerts was also covertly filmed by VRT News.
One of those convicted also attended a memorial concert in honour of Ian Stuart Donaldson, the English founder of Blood & Honour.
The court ruled that it was established that the three defendants were involved in the organisation of a neo-Nazi ceremony of remembrance and that during the concerts inflammatory and racist language was openly used.
Two of the three defendants received a three month suspended gaol sentence. Given his record the third will have to serve his three month custodial sentence.
Belgium's anti-racism centre CGKR is upbeat. Jozef De Witte (photo): "We're pleased that there is a conviction. It's an important precedent. At last a court has acted and taken account of the spirit of the law."
Flanders News
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Nationalist party stages "pro-Hungarian" demo (Hungary)
Some 1,000 supporters of the radical nationalist Jobbik party staged a demonstration in Gyongyospata, a small town in northern Hungary, on Sunday, saying that crime had increased in the area.
Jobbik leader Gabor Vona insisted that the protest was not "anti-Gypsy" but "pro-Hungarian".
"We want peace and calm," he added.
Vona said that the government and the national police had failed to ensure public order since the general elections last April, and called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Interior Minister Sandor Pinter and police leaders to resign.
Deputy leader of Jobbik Tamas Sneider said his party was against crime in general, but "ethnic crime" was especially unacceptable. He suggested that criminals consituted "ethnically homogeneous groups", which he said could trigger unrest and (anti-Roma) pogroms in the country.
Some 200 police officers were present to secure the demonstration, an unnamed source from the site told MTI.
Polotics.Hu
Jobbik leader Gabor Vona insisted that the protest was not "anti-Gypsy" but "pro-Hungarian".
"We want peace and calm," he added.
Vona said that the government and the national police had failed to ensure public order since the general elections last April, and called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Interior Minister Sandor Pinter and police leaders to resign.
Deputy leader of Jobbik Tamas Sneider said his party was against crime in general, but "ethnic crime" was especially unacceptable. He suggested that criminals consituted "ethnically homogeneous groups", which he said could trigger unrest and (anti-Roma) pogroms in the country.
Some 200 police officers were present to secure the demonstration, an unnamed source from the site told MTI.
Polotics.Hu
BILL ON PENALIZING GENOCIDE DENIAL: HANDLING IN DUTCH PARLIAMENT RESUMED
The replies of Christian Union faction, published in a document of 23 pages, to the questions of various factions in the Dutch parliament take the bill to penalise public and deliberate denial of genocide, one step further. The bill which was introduced in 2006 by the Christian Union faction in Dutch parliament (The Dutch House of Representatives), could so far not count on a majority support. This was evident from many critical questions of the factions in the parliament during the written preparation. One of the issues raised was whether such a bill is necessary, assuming that the articles on discrimination and insulting of a group already present in Dutch Penal Law sufficiently cover the criminalisation of genocide denial. Also restrictions on freedom of expression in present Dutch public debate are weighing seriously. There are also many questions about the scope and definition of the term genocide.
The Christian Union party has recently held a roundtable discussion in which several groups have commented on the bill and some like the Centre for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI) and the Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands (FAON) have brought forward arguments to move to the explicit criminalisation of genocide denial. The Christian Union faction, as the author of the bill, has in a memorandum of reply among others emphasised the need for explicit criminalisation of genocide denial based on the text and the objectives of the EU Framework Decision of 28 November 2008 on “Combating certain forms and manifestations of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law”. This decision explicitly assumes the criminalisation of the genocide denial by the Member States. The author of the bill also considers that clarity of legislation is needed, which can not be inferred from the existing case law. In this case law, for example, the fact that the denial of the Holocaust was offensive to surviving Holocaust victims and their immediate families played a role. It is not clear what a judge would decide if there are no longer (Holocaust) survivors or their next of kin.
With regard to freedom of expression, it is among others argued that its protection for example in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not intended for such serious offences of a group. Regarding the concept of genocide, in any case, as examples of genocide are mentioned the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, as well as the genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica. Criteria such as recognition and "general consensus" in this context are also discussed. The coming period will show if, in the current political situation in Holland regarding the election results to Dutch parliament in 2010, a majority in the Dutch parliament will support the bill. It can be expected that later this year the plenary debate will take place on the bill in the Dutch parliament.
Panorama
The Christian Union party has recently held a roundtable discussion in which several groups have commented on the bill and some like the Centre for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI) and the Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands (FAON) have brought forward arguments to move to the explicit criminalisation of genocide denial. The Christian Union faction, as the author of the bill, has in a memorandum of reply among others emphasised the need for explicit criminalisation of genocide denial based on the text and the objectives of the EU Framework Decision of 28 November 2008 on “Combating certain forms and manifestations of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law”. This decision explicitly assumes the criminalisation of the genocide denial by the Member States. The author of the bill also considers that clarity of legislation is needed, which can not be inferred from the existing case law. In this case law, for example, the fact that the denial of the Holocaust was offensive to surviving Holocaust victims and their immediate families played a role. It is not clear what a judge would decide if there are no longer (Holocaust) survivors or their next of kin.
With regard to freedom of expression, it is among others argued that its protection for example in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not intended for such serious offences of a group. Regarding the concept of genocide, in any case, as examples of genocide are mentioned the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, as well as the genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica. Criteria such as recognition and "general consensus" in this context are also discussed. The coming period will show if, in the current political situation in Holland regarding the election results to Dutch parliament in 2010, a majority in the Dutch parliament will support the bill. It can be expected that later this year the plenary debate will take place on the bill in the Dutch parliament.
Panorama
Skinhead Murder Prompts PETA "KKK" Ad (USA)
A T.V. ad produced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is raising eyebrows among dog owners in the Sacramento area. It is linked to the death of white supremacist David Lynch, who was murdered last week in Citrus Heights. The ad shows a meeting of the American Kennel Club that is attended by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
When asked if he was at the wrong meeting, he says he fits right in because the organization believes in purity of bloodlines and selective breeding. The ad is designed to get people to adopt mixed breed dogs as opposed to purebreds.
“Whenever somebody buys a dog from a breeder or a pet store a dog from local animal shelter loses that chance for a good home,” said Ashley Byrne, Senior Campaigner for P.E.T.A.
Byrne said Lynch’s murder was an opportunity to make something good of an topical story.
“The death of white Supremacist David Lynch has rekindled the dialogue about those who believe in the purity of the races and bloodlines,” said Byrne.
But dog owner Meribeth Bean, who owns two mixed breed dogs, said P.E.T.A. was “going to the extreme.” She said purebred dog owners love their animals too and that the finger-pointing should go to people who don’t spay or neuter their dogs. In addition, she said she lived in the South with a black family when the Klan was active.
“I felt the vibes of the KKK and what they were trying to do and I was it was hurtful to them,” said Bean.
Dog owner Jennifer Dossman was also taken aback when she viewed the dad, but reacted with nervous laughter. She and others at a Sacramento dog park thought the ad was clever as well as controversial. She acknowledged that some people might be offended, but said “I never really thought about it like that. I see the similarities between the KKK and the AKC). I understand what P.E.T.A. is doing.”
That is of course P.E.T.A.’s goal. But the controversy also means some T.V. stations won’t run the ad. However, P.E.T.A. gets free media coverage as a result of that controversy as well.
Fox 40
When asked if he was at the wrong meeting, he says he fits right in because the organization believes in purity of bloodlines and selective breeding. The ad is designed to get people to adopt mixed breed dogs as opposed to purebreds.
“Whenever somebody buys a dog from a breeder or a pet store a dog from local animal shelter loses that chance for a good home,” said Ashley Byrne, Senior Campaigner for P.E.T.A.
Byrne said Lynch’s murder was an opportunity to make something good of an topical story.
“The death of white Supremacist David Lynch has rekindled the dialogue about those who believe in the purity of the races and bloodlines,” said Byrne.
But dog owner Meribeth Bean, who owns two mixed breed dogs, said P.E.T.A. was “going to the extreme.” She said purebred dog owners love their animals too and that the finger-pointing should go to people who don’t spay or neuter their dogs. In addition, she said she lived in the South with a black family when the Klan was active.
“I felt the vibes of the KKK and what they were trying to do and I was it was hurtful to them,” said Bean.
Dog owner Jennifer Dossman was also taken aback when she viewed the dad, but reacted with nervous laughter. She and others at a Sacramento dog park thought the ad was clever as well as controversial. She acknowledged that some people might be offended, but said “I never really thought about it like that. I see the similarities between the KKK and the AKC). I understand what P.E.T.A. is doing.”
That is of course P.E.T.A.’s goal. But the controversy also means some T.V. stations won’t run the ad. However, P.E.T.A. gets free media coverage as a result of that controversy as well.
Fox 40
MUSLIMS, JEWS WARN EUROPE: MAINSTREAMING OF FAR-RIGHT PARTIES IS UNACCEPTABLE
In Paris, European Muslim and Jewish leaders agree on joint action against extremists
Prominent Muslim and Jewish leaders from across Europe gathered in Paris have pledged to stand together against the rise of far-right xenophobic and racist parties that represent an escalating peril to ethnic and religious minorities across Europe, including Jews and Muslims. Members of the Coordinating Committee of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders, including top communal leaders from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the US, announced plans for a series of public events in European capitals, on 9 May (Europe Day). The leaders expressed deep concern about the emergence into the political mainstream of extremist parties in many European countries and declared that it was “totally unacceptable” that several of these parties had been accepted by governing coalitions as tacit partners where they are allowed to help shape the agenda.
Contending that “Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and racism must never be allowed to become respectable,” the leaders expressed disquiet over recent pronouncements by European statesmen including President Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Cameron of Britain, characterizing multiculturalism as a failure; comments that have been cited by far-right parties as evidence that they are winning the battle for public opinion in Europe. Promising to press European decision-makers not to co-operate in any way with extremist parties, the Jewish and Muslim leaders vowed: “We will not allow ourselves to be separated, but will stand together to fight bigotry against Muslims, Jews and other minorities. An attack on any of us is an attack on all of us.” Citing studies which show that anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are both growing rapidly in countries across Europe, the communal leaders affirmed that “Jews and Muslims are equal stakeholders in Europe, not expendable guests, and must therefore enjoy the same rights as everybody else. Appeasing those that sow the seeds of hatred and division is not only morally wrong, but will have disastrous consequences for Europe if allowed to continue.”
The first meeting of the Coordinating Committee was initiated by the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), the World Council for Muslim Inter-Faith Relations (WCMIR), and the World Jewish Congress (WJC), and is a follow up to the first annual Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish leaders, which was launched in Brussels last December - see www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/events/10. At the time, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy received the group and endorsed its aims.
WCMIR’s European chair, British Imam Abduljalil Sajid, declared: “Islamophobia and anti-Semitism represent the sharp end of racism in Europe, so Jews and Muslims must fight them together, and prevent anyone from turning us into scapegoats. At the same time, Europeans of all backgrounds should come together to defend basic European and universal values of democracy, pluralism and mutual acceptance.”
FFEU President and WJC Vice President Rabbi Marc Schneier, who successfully initiated similar activities between Muslims and Jews in America together with the Islamic Society of North America, declared: “Although much of the venom of extremist and populist parties is directed these days against Muslims, it should not be forgotten that several of the far-right parties, including the National Front in France, have histories replete with anti-Semitism. On 9 May, we will gather in Paris and elsewhere to say that the rise of such parties across Europe is menacing to both of our communities, as well as to basic democratic values of pluralism and tolerance. If Europe wants to remain true to its ethical and spiritual foundations, it must embrace people from different cultures, religions and ways of life. If not, it will not only fail as a concept, it will lose its soul.”
World Jewsih Congress
Prominent Muslim and Jewish leaders from across Europe gathered in Paris have pledged to stand together against the rise of far-right xenophobic and racist parties that represent an escalating peril to ethnic and religious minorities across Europe, including Jews and Muslims. Members of the Coordinating Committee of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders, including top communal leaders from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the US, announced plans for a series of public events in European capitals, on 9 May (Europe Day). The leaders expressed deep concern about the emergence into the political mainstream of extremist parties in many European countries and declared that it was “totally unacceptable” that several of these parties had been accepted by governing coalitions as tacit partners where they are allowed to help shape the agenda.
Contending that “Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and racism must never be allowed to become respectable,” the leaders expressed disquiet over recent pronouncements by European statesmen including President Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Cameron of Britain, characterizing multiculturalism as a failure; comments that have been cited by far-right parties as evidence that they are winning the battle for public opinion in Europe. Promising to press European decision-makers not to co-operate in any way with extremist parties, the Jewish and Muslim leaders vowed: “We will not allow ourselves to be separated, but will stand together to fight bigotry against Muslims, Jews and other minorities. An attack on any of us is an attack on all of us.” Citing studies which show that anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are both growing rapidly in countries across Europe, the communal leaders affirmed that “Jews and Muslims are equal stakeholders in Europe, not expendable guests, and must therefore enjoy the same rights as everybody else. Appeasing those that sow the seeds of hatred and division is not only morally wrong, but will have disastrous consequences for Europe if allowed to continue.”
The first meeting of the Coordinating Committee was initiated by the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), the World Council for Muslim Inter-Faith Relations (WCMIR), and the World Jewish Congress (WJC), and is a follow up to the first annual Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish leaders, which was launched in Brussels last December - see www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/events/10. At the time, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy received the group and endorsed its aims.
WCMIR’s European chair, British Imam Abduljalil Sajid, declared: “Islamophobia and anti-Semitism represent the sharp end of racism in Europe, so Jews and Muslims must fight them together, and prevent anyone from turning us into scapegoats. At the same time, Europeans of all backgrounds should come together to defend basic European and universal values of democracy, pluralism and mutual acceptance.”
FFEU President and WJC Vice President Rabbi Marc Schneier, who successfully initiated similar activities between Muslims and Jews in America together with the Islamic Society of North America, declared: “Although much of the venom of extremist and populist parties is directed these days against Muslims, it should not be forgotten that several of the far-right parties, including the National Front in France, have histories replete with anti-Semitism. On 9 May, we will gather in Paris and elsewhere to say that the rise of such parties across Europe is menacing to both of our communities, as well as to basic democratic values of pluralism and tolerance. If Europe wants to remain true to its ethical and spiritual foundations, it must embrace people from different cultures, religions and ways of life. If not, it will not only fail as a concept, it will lose its soul.”
World Jewsih Congress
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)