Unknown Gunmen attack Turkey's new BDP party HQ

The headquarters of Turkey's Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) was attacked by unidentified gunmen late on Friday.
In a statement made after the attack that took place at around 2130 hours, the deputy chairperson of BDP, Gulten Kisanak, said that "we condemn those who have perpetrated the attack, those who tolerate such attacks and those who encourage such attacks."
Kisanak said that the BDP headquarters was attacked by armed assailants on Friday night.
According to Kisanak, more than 15 bullets were fired on the BDP headquarters.

Our headquarters was empty at the time of the attack. Had there been individuals in the building, many of them could have been killed, Kisanak said.
If a political party gets attacked frequently and if the (Turkish) government, Prime Minister, Interior Minister, those responsible for security in the country and political parties do not condemn such attacks, then we have to express that we are being seriously discriminated against, Kisanak underlined.

If an official has not phoned us to express sadness over the armed attack and not assured us that the shooting will be investigated and those responsible for the attack would be brought to justice, then we do have the right to stress that we are being discriminated against, Kisanak noted.
Had the armed attack taken place against any other political party (in Turkey), would the reaction have been the same? We have not witnessed a similar reaction (by Turkish officials). On the other hand, we expect and request identical reactions as of tomorrow (Saturday), Kisanak said.
Those who have organized Friday's attack should not expect any results. We will continue to exist in all corners of Turkey. We will always support tranquility, peace and brotherhood. No one should attempt to scare and discourage us. We are a political party that knows how to take an attitude against such attacks, Kisanak said.

Asked by a reporter if they had received any threats in the past few days, Kisanak said that "we have not received any threats in the past few days. However, we have been attacked for the fifth time in the past one year".
In response to an other question, Kisanak underscored that the bullets were sprayed on party rooms whose lights were already turned off at the time of the attack.

The way the attack was conducted shows that it was a very organized one and it was implemented to not kill but rather to threaten and cause fear, Kisanak also said.
Meanwhile, Sirri Sakik, a deputy of the BDP from eastern province of Mus, argued that "the assailants (who attacked BDP on Friday night) were arrested but were released later".
World Bulletin

Ultra-nationalist Serb facing war crimes charged with court contempt

The Yugoslavian tribunal has charged Vojislav Seselj with contempt of court for revealing details about protected witnesses related to his war crimes trial.

The Yugoslavian war crimes tribunal has charged Serbian nationalist Vojislav Seselj with contempt of court for revealing details about protected witnesses related to his war crimes trial.
Seslj was convicted of the same charge last year, and the new indictment means Seselj could be jailed for up to seven years if found guilty, regardless of the outcome of his war crimes trial.
Seselj, leader of Serbia's ultra-nationalist Radical Party, was the first suspect charged with contempt of court while on trial for war crimes at the Hague-based tribunal and was sentenced last July to 15 months imprisonment.
He has appealed that ruling, however, which related to information over three protected witnesses.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said on Friday it had again charged Seselj with contempt for disclosing information on 11 protected witnesses in violation of court orders in a book he authored.
"The tribunal regards the integrity of witnesses and confidential materials as essential elements in the rule of law," the ICTY said in a statement.
In the latest contempt of court indictment, Seselj is accused of revealing the names, occupations and places of residence of 11 protected witnesses.
The disclosures are not at this stage expected to impact his war crimes trial, but judges will have a chance to comment on the matter next week.

The trial of Seselj, charged with inciting violence against Bosnians and Croatians in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s, resumed last month after a year's delay with witnesses giving testimony behind closed doors to protect their identity.
The trial had been suspended after prosecutors said the case had been compromised by threats against a witness.
Seselj has pleaded not guilty to 15 counts for crimes between 1991 and at least 1993, including torture, murder and forced deportation of non-Serbs by his party's militia.
The latest contempt of court indictment against Seselj comes after a confidential decision by appeals judges in December overturning an earlier decision which found there were insufficient grounds to prosecute him.
A date for an initial plea hearing has not yet been set.
WorldBulletin

'Neo-Nazi' party allowed to distribute CDs outside schools (Germany)

German authorities have decided to step aside as the National Democratic Party of Germany, a radical far-right political group that is often described as ‘neo-Nazi’, distributes CDs outside of schools, a report said Saturday.
Germany authorities have said they will not prevent the neo-Nazi NPD party from distributing CDs outside schools with interviews and music by members of its party, a report said Saturday.

The youth protection office said the disc by the National Democratic Party of Germany, the country's most radical far-right party which touts an anti-immigrant agenda, just contained political opinions, the report in the Suddeutsche Zeitung said.
The office therefore found no basis on which to ban the disc, the report quoted director Elke Monsen-Engberding as saying.
According to the NPD the original demand to ban the distribution of the CDs came from the north east state of Lower Saxony.
On its website, the NPD welcomed the decision.
The party could "continue to try to transmit its ideas to young people, schoolchildren and first-time voters", NPD member Claus Cremer said.
NPD legal affairs minister Frank Schwerdt, who has served two prison sentences for inciting racial hatred and distributing Nazi propaganda, also appeared on the website celebrating the decision.
In November last year, German authorities banned the sale of homegrown hard rock group Rammstein's new album to fans under 18, for what it deemed explicit sadomasochist lyric

France24

Who Owns the BNP ? ? ?

A great article has appeared on the anti-fascist web site Searchlight, the number one source for any anti-fascist news in the UK.

Recently some of the BNP financial dealing have been leaked online. Well the searchlight team has meticulously gone through these figures and believe that the BNP may well be owned by the Northern Ireland anti-abortion campaigner Jim Dawson who has several convictions and links to the loyalist murderer Michael Stone.

Interesting the plot thickens, is this man merely the finance or is he a puppet master.

Hmm
Anyway please click below for the full story.
Searchlight

Two Kaluga (Russia) Police Officers Face Extremism Charges

Two police officers in Kaluga, Russia face extremism charges, according to a January 28, 2010 report by the Regnum news agency. According top prosecutors, on  September 27, 2009 police detained two citizens of

Uzbekistan on administrative charges. The two officers then allegedly assaulted the Uzbeks out of racist motives.

Prosecution of police officers under hate crimes or extremism statutes is extremely rare in Russia, despite widespread reports of racial profiling and police violence against minorities. The officers then allegedly forced

other detainees to assault the Uzbeks, threatening to hurt them if they didn't. The officers also face charges of "exceeding official authority"--the closest equivalent to a torture statute in the Russian

Criminal Code. If convicted on all counts, the officers face up to 15 years in prison.

UCSJ

ANTI-RACISM DEMONSTRATION HELD IN PRAGUE (Czech Rep.)

Roughly 100 people attended the March against Racism and Neo-Nazism in Prague Thursday afternoon. The quiet march ended outside the Faculty of Law of Charles University in the Jewish Quarter from where the participants went home. Tens of police patrolled the event. The participants met at Prague's namesti Miru square. After speeches they marched through Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square shouting slogans such as Stop to Nazism! The march was staged by the group Facebook Against Racial Bias. Activists said the march wanted to "actively intervene against the growing ultra right as the public and the government are ignoring the serious problem." The march also wanted to remember victims of World War Two. Facebook Against Racial Bias is a group of five young people who are not from any party.


Prague Monitor

FRENCH ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS DOUBLE IN 2009

Anti-Semitic crimes in France coinciding with the Gaza war drove the number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2009 to nearly double over the previous year, according to a new report. The Jewish Community Protection Service counted 832 anti-Semitic acts committed in France last year, compared to 474 in 2008, according to a report made public Thursday. Some 42 percent of the incidents, 354, took place in January, during Israel's military operation in Gaza. By February, the number of monthly anti-Semitic acts was down to 62 and by the summer, the number had dropped below those of 2008 for the most part. The Protection Service said that 43 percent of the anti-Semitic incidents in 2009 involved written statements such as graffiti, 28 percent spoken comments and threats, 10 percent violence, 9 percent vandalism, 2 percent arson or attempt at arson, and 8 percent distributed printed material. Thousands joined in pro-Palestinian protests across France during the Gaza war in late December 2008 and January 2009. Several of those protests turned riotous, and many anti-Semitic crimes were reported in connection with the marches.

JTA