Far-right parties are boosting their influence across Europe amid anti-Islamic agendas and calls for tougher immigration laws. Such rhetoric has helped elect the Sweden Democrats to parliament for the first time. Now the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party is fueling nationalism in its campaign, hoping for resurgence this weekend. The "Bye Bye Mosque" game was released by the Freedom Party as part of its bid for election into regional government in Styria – Austria's second largest province – and the game’s message has hit a raw nerve. The aim is simple: take aim and shoot down as many new mosques as you can, as they rise relentlessly above Austria's Alpine skyline. If you are not quick enough, the country is Islamized. “We are defending our rights, our traditions and our culture. We do not want to be dissolved into Islam, nor do we want there to be parallel Islamic societies in our country,” states Dr. Gerhard Kurzmann, a Freedom Party Candidate. Within 24 hours, the game received more than 200,000 web hits. Within a week it was banned. The computer game may have been just a small part of a political campaign, but the reaction has been nothing short of a firestorm of outrage.
There are around 500,000 Muslims in Austria. Together with the Green Party, their community leaders sued the Freedom Party. “Islam is a reality. If we want to build mosques, we will build them anyway. I have a vision in the future where every town and city in Austria has a mosque with a minaret that people can see from the outside,” Annas Shakfeh, President of Islamic Religious Community of Austria, shared his wish. The judicial authorities upheld the complaint and ruled that the game went beyond acceptable discussion, forcing the Freedom Party to remove it from their website. “The numbers who played the game show that Islam is a very important issue,” Dr. Kurzmann revealed. “Thanks to us it was talked about in the first place. But the judicial system is meddling in politics, and stopping a free discussion.” Many say the ban has had the reverse effect. There is not even a single minaret in Styria, and less than 2 per cent of the population is Muslim. The Freedom Party failed to get a single seat at the last election.
Now it is expected to triple its vote, putting a dent in the ruling coalition of two centrist parties. This would be for “a little bit of a change in the whole system,” according to one voter, and because “they can position themselves as the resistance of the true Austrian people, which is being suppressed by the status quo,” in the view of another. If the Freedom Party performs well, it will follow in the footsteps of recent successes by far-right parties in Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands. It appears that no longer can the centrist parties ignore the voices of those alarmed by Islam and immigration, or they risk being penalized at the ballot box. Professor Anton Pelinka from the Department of Political Science at the Central European University in Budapest said that, apart from the growing general xenophobia, the surge in migration from poor Islamic countries to richer countries of Northern and North-West Europe has caused the traditionally leftist political movements to drift towards nationalist sentiments. However, Pelinka said the current nationalist trend in European politics should not be over-dramatized since the fringe nationalist movements were getting little, if any, support during elections. “I think that the democracies are strong enough to live through such a period of challenges by fringe parties from the far right,” – Anton Pelinka said.
RT.Com
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
FINNISH NEO-FASCIST AT MARTIAL ARTS SHOW IN POLAND
Niko Puhakka, a neo-fascist from Finland was allowed to fight at a martial arts show in Lodz, central Poland and show off his Nazi tattoos. During bouts organized by KSW, the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland, Puhakka showed off his a naked chest with the neo-Nazi organization Blood&Honour tattooed on his chest. The fascist organization, which calls for violence against “the enemies of the race”, is illegal in Poland. “It’s a scandal that a neo-Nazi was allowed to participate in the show,” Marcin Kornak from “Never Again” association which fights against racism, xenophobia and intolerance told Polish Radio. “Niko Puhakka is known for his neo-fascist views and for exposing his tattoos showing Celtic crosses, a racist symbol of “white power”. Yet, nobody, not even Polsat TV, which broadcast the show, asked him to cover them up,” said Kornak, adding that until recently Puhakka was sponsored by a clothing company which produces clothes with Nazi symbols.
The News
The News
The epidemic of hate crimes against the very vulnerable reveals a callousness at the heart of society
 |
| David Askew |
David Askew was a kind and trusting man who just wanted to enjoy his life. He smiled a lot, put other people first and, according to his elderly mother, was a true gentleman who never saw bad in anyone.
But for more than a decade, this sweet-natured character had to endure a daily gauntlet of hate as he went about his life in Hattersley, Greater Manchester.
It was like bear-baiting, said one neighbour, as local teenagers screamed abuse, broke windows and harassed Mr Askew for his money and cigarettes. Eventually, one long day in March, it went too far and he collapsed and died, tormented to a lonely death.
This week, one of those teenagers who drove him to his death was convicted on minor charges of harassment and sentenced to just 16 weeks in a young offenders' institution.
The 19-year-old lived just doors away, and had even gone on television to brag about how he was Mr Askew's 'protector'. But it is too easy just to shiver with disgust at this unpleasant youth, then turn the page.
For Mr Askew had learning difficulties. So he was different. He was weak. And now he is dead, the latest statistic in an epidemic of hate crime against the most vulnerable members of our society that should make us all pause for thought.
Every day, people with disabilities are attacked in their homes, spat on in the street and taunted in their towns. And every year, this torrent of abuse, bullying and torture ends with more and more names on the list of those who die in terrible circumstances simply because they are disabled.
Last year, a horrified nation was engulfed in outrage after the death of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter after years of abuse from neighbours.
Politicians, police chiefs and council officials all said 'never again', mouthing platitudes of concern once it emerged that she had complained to the authorities on 33 separate occasions. But little gets done to stop the tide of hatred and hostility.
Was the outrage synthetic or are we just a callous country when it comes to those less fortunate than ourselves, a brutal society with no sense of shame?
This week, a new report offered evidence of 68 violent deaths of disabled people - nearly one-third of them in the first seven months of this year alone - and more than 500 other potential disability hate crimes over the past three years alone.
Anne Novis, the report's author and a wheelchair user, has herself been attacked several times.
In the most recent case she was shopping near her home in Greenwich, South-East London, when a man suddenly rammed his face in hers, screamed that she should have been killed at birth and started beating her.
The details of many of the killings of disabled people in recent years are sickening. The issue was first raised two years ago in a pioneering report called Getting Away With Murder which highlighted how one disabled man was disembowelled and another murdered for a £5 bet.
A woman was urinated on and filmed as she lay dying in a doorway, while a fourth victim was made to wear a dog-collar, treated like a slave for years then forced off a railway viaduct.
And even as the Manchester teenager was sentenced on Monday for his role in Mr Askew's torment, a man was being charged just 30 miles away in Liverpool for the murder of Gary Skelly, a 53-year-old with learning difficulties who died from head injuries.
It is easy to blame a few vile yobs for these crimes. Too easy. Hate crime is merely the most extreme articulation of the prejudice that disabled people face each and every day.
They are the ultimate manifestation of a society that holds no place in its heart for people with disabilities, born out of fear for those who are different and a perverted idea of superiority. One killer even said: 'I'm not going to jail for that muppet,' underlining his disdain for his victim.
Are these attitudes surprising when a survey by the charity Scope found that a majority of Britons believe most people view those with disabilities as inferior?
Given this horrific finding, it is hardly surprising that people with disabilities find it so much harder to get jobs, are more likely to live in poverty and will be paid less and bullied more if they do find work.
Nor is it a shock to learn that nine out of ten people have never had a disabled person in their house for a social occasion and that four out of five people have never worked with someone who is disabled. Well, have you?
The truth is that disabled people are the ignored minority, left behind in the battle against bigotry. Racism and homophobia are, quite rightly, unacceptable these days
But it still seems fine for Barack Obama, the first black U.S. president, to make a bad taste joke about the Special Olympics on a popular talk show, for pop stars and Hollywood pin-ups to call each other 'retards' and for reality television shows like The X Factor to use people with learning difficulties as a prop to build their ratings.
When people with physical disabilities are figures of fun and mental incapacity is a term of abuse, is it any wonder that families turn away from my profoundly disabled daughter when she is out in the park?
And if those with learning difficulties are mocked by celebrities and excluded from society, is it any wonder that some inadequates treat them with fear and hostility? The drip-drip of desensitisation ultimately demeans us all.
These blinkered attitudes are reflected by the authorities when it comes to investigating hate crimes. The problem begins in school, where too many teachers tolerate the use of hateful words in the playground and fail to tackle attacks on disabled pupils.
For example, I've come across a story of a child having their wheelchair tampered with and another, who was epileptic, pushed over deliberately by a group of students who hoped it would give their victim a seizure - which they found amusing. In neither case were complaints taken seriously.
As for those who have been murdered, their abuse normally begins with the kind of petty anti-social behaviour that was so familiar to Mr Askew.
But again and again, the police and local authorities fail to take seriously the minor offences that make life a daily misery for thousands of disabled people, and then the problem spirals out of control.
Indeed, officialdom too regularly behaves like judges in rape trials from days gone by who blamed the victim.
So what happens all too often is that headteachers tell pupils to toughen up, the police frequently shrug off complaints as being a fact of life for those with disabilities, while local authorities often make the victims move home, not their assailants.
The Home Office does not even bother publishing data on hate crimes against the disabled, unlike crimes against some other minorities.
Although one helpline has reported a near-doubling in the number of calls from disabled victims in the past year, there have only been 576 prosecutions over the past two years, compared with 11,264 for racial and religious crimes over the past year alone.
Tellingly, 31 per cent of those prosecuted for disability hate crimes were acquitted, compared with 13 per cent of those accused of other crimes.
And what makes these hate crimes worse is that they are often so-called 'mate' crimes - carried out by supposed friends, neighbours or trusted carers, taking advantage of the victim's vulnerability.
Again this week, a care home manager in Bristol was convicted of stealing nearly £70,000 from two pensioners with severe learning difficulties. The thief was not jailed, of course - the victims were only disabled people, after all.
Daily Mail
EDL march casts shadow on Leicester (UK)
Leicester City Council and city police have told people they can have their say on the demonstration which is scheduled for October 9 through a provided email address.
The extremist EDL which claims to be against “militant Islam” has been slammed by critics who say the league is consistent in resorting to violence and provocative chanting in its marches.
In the latest instance of such rallies, last month some 700 far-right EDL supporters staged a static demonstration in Bradford attacking both security forces and a nearby gathering of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) activists with stone, bottles and other missiles.
Leicester authorities have already started discussions to determine what measures they should put in place to handle an estimated 3,000 EDL fanatics who will descend on the city next month.
Reports say police have made sure at least 1,000 officers, some of them from 10 other forces, are on the streets to provide security to the public during the rally.
Chief executive of the city council Sheila Lock said "to ensure that we capture the views of as many people as possible, we have set up an e-mail address and would encourage people to use it".
She said the council will examine the views emailed to them while holding joint meetings with the senior police officials and community leaders to get help on how to deal with the trouble.
The city council and police have already indicated that they can follow Bradford's example and ask the Home Office for a ban on the EDL march due to threats to public order, though any such restriction will not prevent the right wing group to launch static demonstrations.
Meanwhile, two community groups in Leicester are keeping a close eye on the EDL's upcoming rally.
One of them which calls itself the Muslim Defense League has asked people's help to counter the EDL's march saying the group has been formed to “defend all races and religion” against EDL extremists.
"We are not a group that actively looks to engage the EDL in physical confrontation. If needs be we will defend Muslims and non-Muslims alike" the Muslim Defense League said on its website.
Also the Federation of Muslim Organizations, which is yet to decide whether to stage an anti-EDL rally, said it will “support any counter-demonstrations provided they are peaceful”.
Press Tv
The extremist EDL which claims to be against “militant Islam” has been slammed by critics who say the league is consistent in resorting to violence and provocative chanting in its marches.
In the latest instance of such rallies, last month some 700 far-right EDL supporters staged a static demonstration in Bradford attacking both security forces and a nearby gathering of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) activists with stone, bottles and other missiles.
Leicester authorities have already started discussions to determine what measures they should put in place to handle an estimated 3,000 EDL fanatics who will descend on the city next month.
Reports say police have made sure at least 1,000 officers, some of them from 10 other forces, are on the streets to provide security to the public during the rally.
Chief executive of the city council Sheila Lock said "to ensure that we capture the views of as many people as possible, we have set up an e-mail address and would encourage people to use it".
She said the council will examine the views emailed to them while holding joint meetings with the senior police officials and community leaders to get help on how to deal with the trouble.
The city council and police have already indicated that they can follow Bradford's example and ask the Home Office for a ban on the EDL march due to threats to public order, though any such restriction will not prevent the right wing group to launch static demonstrations.
Meanwhile, two community groups in Leicester are keeping a close eye on the EDL's upcoming rally.
One of them which calls itself the Muslim Defense League has asked people's help to counter the EDL's march saying the group has been formed to “defend all races and religion” against EDL extremists.
"We are not a group that actively looks to engage the EDL in physical confrontation. If needs be we will defend Muslims and non-Muslims alike" the Muslim Defense League said on its website.
Also the Federation of Muslim Organizations, which is yet to decide whether to stage an anti-EDL rally, said it will “support any counter-demonstrations provided they are peaceful”.
Press Tv
Muslim Council speaks out on need for demo (UK)
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is throwing its weight behind a national demonstration against racism on Saturday 6 November.
The protest has been called by groups including Unite Against Fascism. An MCB spokesperson told Socialist Worker, “Muslims have often been unfairly targeted by newspapers and depicted as alien.
“We regularly receive reports of violent attacks against individuals and Mosques. Islamophobia is not merely an affront to British Muslims but to the very values we stand for in this country. We must stamp out this hatred.”
•Leicester Unite Against Fascism sprung into action last Saturday to build for protests against the racist English Defence League (EDL).
The EDL plans a demo in the city on Saturday 9 October.
“We have been leafleting mosques, churches and football grounds—and getting a great response,” says a UAF activist.
•Liverpool Nazi Nick Griffin was confronted by hundreds of demonstrators when he tried to bring the British National Party’s message of hate to Liverpool last Saturday.
He was forced to beat a hasty retreat.
•Glasgow anti-fascists broke up a British National Party stall in the city centre last Saturday.
Socialist Worker
The protest has been called by groups including Unite Against Fascism. An MCB spokesperson told Socialist Worker, “Muslims have often been unfairly targeted by newspapers and depicted as alien.
“We regularly receive reports of violent attacks against individuals and Mosques. Islamophobia is not merely an affront to British Muslims but to the very values we stand for in this country. We must stamp out this hatred.”
•Leicester Unite Against Fascism sprung into action last Saturday to build for protests against the racist English Defence League (EDL).
The EDL plans a demo in the city on Saturday 9 October.
“We have been leafleting mosques, churches and football grounds—and getting a great response,” says a UAF activist.
•Liverpool Nazi Nick Griffin was confronted by hundreds of demonstrators when he tried to bring the British National Party’s message of hate to Liverpool last Saturday.
He was forced to beat a hasty retreat.
•Glasgow anti-fascists broke up a British National Party stall in the city centre last Saturday.
Socialist Worker
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
The rise of the far-right in the East
Along with many other prejudices, eastern Germany has had to contend with a reputation for neo-Nazism. It's not entirely unjustified, but right-wing extremism in the East has roots in economic hardship.
Right-wing violence was most dramatic in the first years of the newly unified Germany - and more and more often, they occurred in the former East Germany.
For three consecutive nights in August 1992, several hundred neo-Nazis - watched by up to 2,000 locals - attacked an apartment block for asylum seekers in the north-eastern town of Rostock. With the police unprepared and initially outnumbered, the violence continued unchecked until it culminated in an arson attack.
The Rostock riots quickly achieved international notoriety. Pictures of drunken, violent East Germans doing Hitler salutes were printed around the world. This was not the dawn of a new, hopeful country that had been celebrated less than two years before.
Authority vacuum
Neo-Nazi violence was not just a stain on the former East Germany. Over 100 of the 370 rioters arrested in Rostock had travelled from the former West, where there was a string of horrific attacks on Turkish immigrants in the early nineties.
But Rostock cemented the reputation of post-Wall eastern Germany as a new haven for neo-Nazism, and that reputation stuck. What characterized the Rostock riots as specifically East German was the powerlessness of the authorities.
For two or three years after the fall of the Wall, state institutions in the former German Democratic Republic were weakened by the period of transition. Police officers suddenly found themselves associated with a discredited regime. Dierk Borstel, a researcher into right-wing extremism at the University of Bielefeld, described the precarious circumstances in the early 1990s as linked to a lack of functioning insitutions.
"The police force was destabilized and the church had little influence anyway," Borstel told Deutsche Welle. "The eastern German trade unions and the PDS, the successor party to the former ruling communist SED, had little authority, and the trade unions and industry associations coming in from the West were all very weak in the east."
Worst of many worlds
These semi-anarchic conditions were fertile ground for far-right activists in the former East Germany, and their cause was further helped by the disappointment and poverty that spread in the East after reunification.
"The expectation of East Germans after reunification was: 'We're going to get the security of the East plus the freedoms of the West,'" Borstel says. "The result was that they lost the securities and couldn't afford the freedoms."
Even though the skinhead neo-Nazi scene originated in western Europe, it already existed in East Germany before the fall of the Iron Curtain. It was often linked to certain football teams, and occasionally broke out in extreme violence, such as the attack of 30 skinheads on a concert in a church in central East Berlin in 1987.
The far-right movement in the East capitalized on what many describe as the GDR's denial of its own Nazi history. Olaf Sundermeyer, author of "In the NPD," a book about the development of Germany's populist far-right National Democratic Party, believes the GDR's distanced attitude to Hitler's Germany helped feed the neo-Nazi movement.
"Communist leaders in the GDR said, 'We are an anti-fascist state and we have no responsibility for history. There are no Nazis here.' Of course that wasn't true. There were former Nazis in both East and West Germany, but there was no denazification in East Germany - the Nazi history was not dealt with," he said.
Imbalance and injustice
East German society was never particularly multicultural, and the government's immigration policies showed a determination to keep the population monotone. Immigrant workers from other socialist countries like Mozambique were sent home if they got pregnant, or as soon as their allotted time ran out. The lack of a multicultural foundation is still reflected in eastern German society today.
"Eastern Germany has a lot fewer immigrants - and it has long been acknowledged that where there are no immigrants and no Jews, there is more racism and anti-Semitism," Borstel said.
Neo-Nazis were also able to win over some East Germans with familiar ideas. "National Socialism often starts out with the idea of socialism, and then that is combined with frustration, unemployment, lack of opportunity, and populations moving away." This is the opinion of a former neo-Nazi who wants to remain anonymous, working for Exit Deutschland, an organization that helps people leave the far-right scene.
There is a widespread feeling that the West left the East behind economically. In the last 20 years, unemployment in the former East has been consistently twice as high as in the West, and the emigration of young eastern Germans remains a problem. Statistical evidence shows that German far-right parties tend to prosper in times of economic depression, and the NPD has aimed its electoral resources aggressively at the most neglected districts.
The Exit Deutschland representative, who has counseled numerous former neo-Nazis, said that the frustration that comes from being left behind after watching friends leave your home town is a factor common to many of those who turn to right-wing extremism.
"Those who stay, for whatever reason - because they can't find a job anywhere else, for example - feel an enormous frustration. That is fertile ground for far-right groups - and for extremist groups in general," he said.
Sympathy for the Left
This growing eastern German sympathy with the far-right chimed in with a study completed in 2003, which found that 16 percent of Germans had an extreme right-wing world-view - that is, they expressed chauvinistic, anti-Semitic, social-Darwinist or xenophobic opinions, and tended to trivialize the Nazi regime. In the East, this world-view was found in 23 percent of the population, compared to 14 percent in the West.
This showed a marked change from the early 1990s, when a similar study found far-right-wing opinion more prevalent in the West. Statisticians have linked this switch to a decline in economic expectation. Whereas easterners were more optimistic about their economic prospects in the early 1990s, by the late 1990s, westerners had become more positive about the economy.
Behind this turnaround lay a real sense of betrayal. In a study written in 2005, political scientist Richard Stoess wrote, "That the eastern German people overtook their western compatriots in sympathy for right-wing extremism lay in the fact that their initial trust in the western system of democracy and market economy had turned into particularly bitter disappointment."
Neo-Nazis for the new century
As state authority began to re-assert itself in the East, the far-right developed more subtle ways to organize. "The structures have become smaller," said Borstel. "They no longer rely on large parties like the NPD, but rather local cells, which are more difficult for the state to break up. They have become anchored in local communities in a way I thought would never happen."
This assimilation was mirrored in the far-right political parties, which have spent the past decade making themselves electable in the East. Although the NPD have steadily lost ground in the former West, in the East they have gained a foothold in several state parliaments.
"The Big Bang was the state election of 2004 in Saxony, where the NPD first gained representation in an eastern German state parliament," said Sundermeyer. "Since then it has very gradually established itself as a 'normal' party."
The NPD was re-elected to the Saxony parliament in 2009, with 5.6 percent of the vote. The NPD's membership figures had risen from 4,000 in 1995 to 6,800 in 2009.
The NPD has achieved this success by aiming its messages at young people, especially via the Internet, and appealing to sentiments shared by the far-left - anti-Americanism, anti-Israel, anti-globalization. It has worked to pick up the youth protest vote, targeting sub-cultures with an anti-system stance.
By Ben Knight
dw-world
Right-wing violence was most dramatic in the first years of the newly unified Germany - and more and more often, they occurred in the former East Germany.
For three consecutive nights in August 1992, several hundred neo-Nazis - watched by up to 2,000 locals - attacked an apartment block for asylum seekers in the north-eastern town of Rostock. With the police unprepared and initially outnumbered, the violence continued unchecked until it culminated in an arson attack.
The Rostock riots quickly achieved international notoriety. Pictures of drunken, violent East Germans doing Hitler salutes were printed around the world. This was not the dawn of a new, hopeful country that had been celebrated less than two years before.
Authority vacuum
Neo-Nazi violence was not just a stain on the former East Germany. Over 100 of the 370 rioters arrested in Rostock had travelled from the former West, where there was a string of horrific attacks on Turkish immigrants in the early nineties.
But Rostock cemented the reputation of post-Wall eastern Germany as a new haven for neo-Nazism, and that reputation stuck. What characterized the Rostock riots as specifically East German was the powerlessness of the authorities.
For two or three years after the fall of the Wall, state institutions in the former German Democratic Republic were weakened by the period of transition. Police officers suddenly found themselves associated with a discredited regime. Dierk Borstel, a researcher into right-wing extremism at the University of Bielefeld, described the precarious circumstances in the early 1990s as linked to a lack of functioning insitutions.
"The police force was destabilized and the church had little influence anyway," Borstel told Deutsche Welle. "The eastern German trade unions and the PDS, the successor party to the former ruling communist SED, had little authority, and the trade unions and industry associations coming in from the West were all very weak in the east."
Worst of many worlds
These semi-anarchic conditions were fertile ground for far-right activists in the former East Germany, and their cause was further helped by the disappointment and poverty that spread in the East after reunification.
"The expectation of East Germans after reunification was: 'We're going to get the security of the East plus the freedoms of the West,'" Borstel says. "The result was that they lost the securities and couldn't afford the freedoms."
Even though the skinhead neo-Nazi scene originated in western Europe, it already existed in East Germany before the fall of the Iron Curtain. It was often linked to certain football teams, and occasionally broke out in extreme violence, such as the attack of 30 skinheads on a concert in a church in central East Berlin in 1987.
The far-right movement in the East capitalized on what many describe as the GDR's denial of its own Nazi history. Olaf Sundermeyer, author of "In the NPD," a book about the development of Germany's populist far-right National Democratic Party, believes the GDR's distanced attitude to Hitler's Germany helped feed the neo-Nazi movement.
"Communist leaders in the GDR said, 'We are an anti-fascist state and we have no responsibility for history. There are no Nazis here.' Of course that wasn't true. There were former Nazis in both East and West Germany, but there was no denazification in East Germany - the Nazi history was not dealt with," he said.
Imbalance and injustice
East German society was never particularly multicultural, and the government's immigration policies showed a determination to keep the population monotone. Immigrant workers from other socialist countries like Mozambique were sent home if they got pregnant, or as soon as their allotted time ran out. The lack of a multicultural foundation is still reflected in eastern German society today.
"Eastern Germany has a lot fewer immigrants - and it has long been acknowledged that where there are no immigrants and no Jews, there is more racism and anti-Semitism," Borstel said.
Neo-Nazis were also able to win over some East Germans with familiar ideas. "National Socialism often starts out with the idea of socialism, and then that is combined with frustration, unemployment, lack of opportunity, and populations moving away." This is the opinion of a former neo-Nazi who wants to remain anonymous, working for Exit Deutschland, an organization that helps people leave the far-right scene.
There is a widespread feeling that the West left the East behind economically. In the last 20 years, unemployment in the former East has been consistently twice as high as in the West, and the emigration of young eastern Germans remains a problem. Statistical evidence shows that German far-right parties tend to prosper in times of economic depression, and the NPD has aimed its electoral resources aggressively at the most neglected districts.
The Exit Deutschland representative, who has counseled numerous former neo-Nazis, said that the frustration that comes from being left behind after watching friends leave your home town is a factor common to many of those who turn to right-wing extremism.
"Those who stay, for whatever reason - because they can't find a job anywhere else, for example - feel an enormous frustration. That is fertile ground for far-right groups - and for extremist groups in general," he said.
Sympathy for the Left
This growing eastern German sympathy with the far-right chimed in with a study completed in 2003, which found that 16 percent of Germans had an extreme right-wing world-view - that is, they expressed chauvinistic, anti-Semitic, social-Darwinist or xenophobic opinions, and tended to trivialize the Nazi regime. In the East, this world-view was found in 23 percent of the population, compared to 14 percent in the West.
This showed a marked change from the early 1990s, when a similar study found far-right-wing opinion more prevalent in the West. Statisticians have linked this switch to a decline in economic expectation. Whereas easterners were more optimistic about their economic prospects in the early 1990s, by the late 1990s, westerners had become more positive about the economy.
Behind this turnaround lay a real sense of betrayal. In a study written in 2005, political scientist Richard Stoess wrote, "That the eastern German people overtook their western compatriots in sympathy for right-wing extremism lay in the fact that their initial trust in the western system of democracy and market economy had turned into particularly bitter disappointment."
Neo-Nazis for the new century
As state authority began to re-assert itself in the East, the far-right developed more subtle ways to organize. "The structures have become smaller," said Borstel. "They no longer rely on large parties like the NPD, but rather local cells, which are more difficult for the state to break up. They have become anchored in local communities in a way I thought would never happen."
This assimilation was mirrored in the far-right political parties, which have spent the past decade making themselves electable in the East. Although the NPD have steadily lost ground in the former West, in the East they have gained a foothold in several state parliaments.
"The Big Bang was the state election of 2004 in Saxony, where the NPD first gained representation in an eastern German state parliament," said Sundermeyer. "Since then it has very gradually established itself as a 'normal' party."
The NPD was re-elected to the Saxony parliament in 2009, with 5.6 percent of the vote. The NPD's membership figures had risen from 4,000 in 1995 to 6,800 in 2009.
The NPD has achieved this success by aiming its messages at young people, especially via the Internet, and appealing to sentiments shared by the far-left - anti-Americanism, anti-Israel, anti-globalization. It has worked to pick up the youth protest vote, targeting sub-cultures with an anti-system stance.
By Ben Knight
dw-world
FINLAND'S FAR-RIGHT SEES HOPE IN SWEDISH VOTE
Finland's anti-immigrant True Finns party sees the rise of a far-right party in neighbouring Sweden as a sign it will also score gains in the next elections, a top party official told AFP Monday. "It appears that it will go just as badly for left-wing parties here," deputy party chairman and member of parliament Pentti Oinonen said. He said his party expects to double or triple the number of parliamentary seats in elections next April, aiming for at least 15 of the 200 seats. Like the far-right, anti-immigrant Swedish Democrats, Finland's True Finns are also campaigning for much tighter immigration policies, although the party rejects what they describe as overtly racist rhetoric in the Swedish party's campaign. Only 2.7 percent of Finland's 5.4 million inhabitants are foreign nationals and the country counts few naturalised foreigners compared to other Nordic countries. Nonetheless, Oinonen said he believed immigration would rise to become a top election topic. "We take in unreasonable numbers of immigrants, their benefits need to be cut, the family reunification policy is flawed, it's all gotten out of control," he said. Socio-economically, The True Finns Party is fairly centre-left, but some of its members have drawn fire for adopting xenophobic, anti-EU and anti-gay rhetoric, despite chairman Timo Soini's efforts to downplay his party's former extremist image. The True Finns' popular support has surged over the past few years, and with opinion polls in August handing it 10.7-percent voter support, it is running in fourth place.
AFP
AFP
THOUSANDS PROTEST SWEDEN'S RISING FAR-RIGHT
Thousands of people gathered in a central Stockholm square Monday evening to protest against a far-right party that has been voted into parliament, waving banners and shouting “No to racism!” “It is very important to show that the big majority of the Swedish population is against the right-wing extremists like the Sweden Democrats,” Per Branevig, 33, told AFP, adding that he had voted for the Social Democrats in Sunday’s election. “It has been a big shock for me that they got so many votes,” he said of the far-right party that secured 5.7% of the vote. At around 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) some 6,000 people, some waving banners stating “Yes to togetherness, No to racism” and “No racists in parliament,” gathered in Stockholm’s Sergels Torg, according to a police estimate. The peaceful gathering was spontaneously organized by a 17-year-old girl from the Stockholm suburb of Sollentuna, Felicia Margineanu, who was so disappointed by the election results she posted a protest call on her Facebook page, the Expressen daily reported.
Sweden’s ruling centre-right coalition won the most votes on Sunday but fell short of a majority, as the far right Sweden Democrats nearly doubled their result from the last election and entered parliament for the first time, landing it in a key position in the house. “We don’t like those racists in the Riksdag. Being here shows the government that we care, that we don’t want them [the Sweden Democrats] in parliament,” said 18-year-old Younes Sedik, wearing a black T-shirt with orange lettering stating "I’m a Muslim. Don’t panic!” Standing near banners pointing out that “9,043,222 Swedes did not vote for the Sweden Democrats yesterday,” and that “94.3% of the people are not racists,” 21-year-old Thomas Zebuehr said he was “really unhappy” the far-right passed the four-percent barrier for entering parliament. “I’m not sure what should be done, but something has to be done,” he told AFP. A spontaneous demonstration against the Sweden Democrats also gathered in Sweden’s second largest city Gothenburg Monday evening, with up to 1,000 people participating, the TT news agency reported. Another large demonstration is planned to be held in Stockholm on October 4.
AFP
Sweden’s ruling centre-right coalition won the most votes on Sunday but fell short of a majority, as the far right Sweden Democrats nearly doubled their result from the last election and entered parliament for the first time, landing it in a key position in the house. “We don’t like those racists in the Riksdag. Being here shows the government that we care, that we don’t want them [the Sweden Democrats] in parliament,” said 18-year-old Younes Sedik, wearing a black T-shirt with orange lettering stating "I’m a Muslim. Don’t panic!” Standing near banners pointing out that “9,043,222 Swedes did not vote for the Sweden Democrats yesterday,” and that “94.3% of the people are not racists,” 21-year-old Thomas Zebuehr said he was “really unhappy” the far-right passed the four-percent barrier for entering parliament. “I’m not sure what should be done, but something has to be done,” he told AFP. A spontaneous demonstration against the Sweden Democrats also gathered in Sweden’s second largest city Gothenburg Monday evening, with up to 1,000 people participating, the TT news agency reported. Another large demonstration is planned to be held in Stockholm on October 4.
AFP
Court pays for makeup in Pasco neo-Nazi's retrial (USA)
The requested funds included, as they typically do, the costs of traveling to take witness depositions — airfare, hotels, rental cars.
But in this case, the expenses go beyond the typical. Other costs the judge approved are a makeup artist to cover up the tattoos on Ditullio's face, neck and hands each day of the trial; and three life-sized cardboard cutouts to portray the height and build of some key figures in the case.
Cost of the makeup artist: $125 a day for up to three weeks.
Cardboard cutouts: $2,175.
"In our country we appoint attorneys" for poor defendants, said Circuit Judge Thomas McGrady, in approving the use of public funds for other defense costs. "Certainly we should have the same due process whether they're indigent or not."
Pasco authorities say that on March 23, 2006, Ditullio donned a gas mask and broke into a neighbor's New Port Richey home, where he stabbed a woman in the face and neck, then attacked a teenager. Patricia Wells was slashed in the face and hands but recovered. Kristofer King, who was 17, died.
Ditullio was a recruit in a small neo-Nazi clan that outfitted a single-wide mobile home like a heavily guarded compound. Wells told authorities that the neo-Nazis harassed her for weeks before the stabbing. She had a black friend who sometimes visited her home, and her son is gay. Authorities think King might have been mistaken for Wells' son.
Ditullio went to trial last December, but the case ended with a jury deadlocked at 10-2 for acquittal. Ditullio, now 24, was facing the death penalty, as he will again when his retrial begins Sept. 27.
He took the stand in his own defense last year, saying that he spent hours that day doing yard work, then came inside and drank something given to him by the other members that was laced with tranquilizers. Outside, he said, he saw Shawn Plott, another member of the group, carrying a bundled-up sweatshirt and looking like "he had seen a ghost."
When he took the stand, the jury then saw a made-up Ditullio — no sign of his tattoos of barbed wire along his face, no swastika and the words "f--- you" weren't visible on his neck.
A judge then also allowed court money to be spent on the makeup artist, and the trial judge, Circuit Judge Michael Andrews, approved the request.
Bjorn Brunvand, Ditullio's attorney, argued that the tattoos were so offensive that they — instead of the evidence — could sway jurors toward a guilty verdict.
The tattoos "have nothing to do with the facts of the case," Brunvand said last year.
The judge's ruling upset King's mother, Charlene Bricken.
"This is part of who he is. This is what the jury should see," Bricken said before last year's trial. "And if the jury is afraid, they should be."
Petersburg times
Monday, 20 September 2010
Race Rap After Rally (Scotland, UK)
A man has been held by cops after police swooped on a suspected gathering of far-right extremists.
The 39-year-old was arrested for an alleged racial breach of the peace following the operation in Glasgow's George Square on Saturday.
A 14-year-old boy has also been reported.
The swoop is thought to have been sparked by reports of a Scottish Defence League meeting.
The Sun
The 39-year-old was arrested for an alleged racial breach of the peace following the operation in Glasgow's George Square on Saturday.
A 14-year-old boy has also been reported.
The swoop is thought to have been sparked by reports of a Scottish Defence League meeting.
The Sun
Anti-Islamic pastor to pay police bill (USA)
The pastor who threatened to burn copies of the Koran on the ninth anniversary of 9/11 has been hit with a bill for more than $180,000 (£115,000) by the city of Gainesville, Florida, for the disruption his stunt caused.
It took local police more than a month to prepare security plans for the community near the church run by Terry Jones, who never ultimately went through with the burning.
Mr Jones, who has a congregation of 50, said that the church had not been informed that it might be billed for the operation. "If we had known this in advance, then we would have refused security," he told CNN.
The Independant
It took local police more than a month to prepare security plans for the community near the church run by Terry Jones, who never ultimately went through with the burning.
Mr Jones, who has a congregation of 50, said that the church had not been informed that it might be billed for the operation. "If we had known this in advance, then we would have refused security," he told CNN.
The Independant
SWEDISH CENTRE-RIGHT WINS VOTE, LOSES MAJORITY
Fredrik Reinfeldt became Sweden's first sitting centre-right prime minister to win re-election, but was deprived of a majority by the first-time entry into parliament of an anti-immigrant party. Analysts had said before Sunday's election that a hung parliament, with Reinfeldt's centre-right Alliance coalition having no overall majority, would unsettle investors and the Swedish crown weakened in early trading on Monday. "An uncertain parliamentary situation is always negative for a currency, but the market pretty quickly goes back to focusing on other things," Handelsbanken analyst Claes Mahlen said. "I don't think the view of Sweden will change dramatically." A preliminary count showed Reinfeldt's coalition winning 172 seats in the 349-member parliament and the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats 20 seats. The Social Democrat-led centre-left opposition was set to secure 157.
"If this outcome stands we will have a scenario that most Swedish voters wanted to avoid -- that is that we have a xenophobic party holding the balance of power," said Ulf Bjereld, a political scientist at Gothenburg University. Swedish newspapers said the election marked a dramatic shift for a nation known for its tolerance and liberal policies. "It is Monday morning and time for Swedes to find a new self-image," wrote daily Svenska Dagbladet. "A centre-right government without a majority, a wrecked Social Democracy and a party with roots in far-right extremism holding the balance of power." Daily Dagens Nyheter zeroed in on the political difficulties generated by the government falling short of a majority. "Tough situation awaits", ran a banner headline. The Swedish crown slid to about 9.2495 against the euro EURSEK= from 9.2246 at the close of the Swedish market on Friday. It dipped to 7.0761 per dollar SEK= from 7.0653.
Reinfeldt, who campaigned on a promise of more tax cuts and reforms to trim the welfare state, has said he was prepared to lead a minority government but repeated on Sunday he would first approach the opposition Green Party for support. "We have said that the biggest bloc should rule and that is the Alliance," he told supporters at an election night party, rejecting any cooperation with the far-right Sweden Democrats. But the reception from the Green Party was cool. "In the current situation we have continued red-green cooperation," said joint Green Party leader Maria Wetterstrand, referring to the alliance with the opposition Social Democrats. Reinfeldt benefited from one of Europe's strongest economic recoveries to become the first sitting centre-right prime minister to win re-election in a country that was ruled for much of the last century by the Social Democrats. In the election, voters were choosing between Reinfeldt's model of a leaner welfare state with more income tax cuts and privatisations, and an opposition platform that wanted the rich to pay more to fund schools, hospitals and care for the elderly. The Social Democrats had their worst election in almost 100 years, with voters apparently backing the welfare reforms and tax cuts pushed through by the Alliance of Reinfeldt's Moderate Party, the Liberals, Centre and Christian Democrats.
Far-right success
The big news of the night was the entry into parliament of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats. The rise in support for the far-right party has come after it moved away from its skinhead roots and mirrors increases in backing for similar parties elsewhere in Europe. The Sweden Democrats deny they are racist but both main blocs have ruled out working with them. "Today we have written political history together, I think that's fantastic," Sweden Democrat leaderJimmie Akesson told chanting supporters. Analysts say the party has found support among the unemployed, whose numbers have risen during the global economic crisis. It has a strong base in the south of Sweden, where the number of immigrants is higher than the national average. Umea University expert Svante Ersson said Sweden Democrat voters were often young men who felt ignored by society. "They don't necessarily have to be xenophobic -- it could be a way to make a statement against the establishment," said Ersson.
The Sweden Democrats have been inspired by the success of the People's Party in neighbouring Denmark that provides vital parliamentary support for the government there. The party wants to curtail immigration and criticises Muslims and Islam as un-Swedish. Immigrants account for 14 percent of Sweden's population, just above the 12.4 percent average for northern Europe, according to United Nations figures. Jan Haggstrom, chief economist at Handelsbanken, said that even a minority Reinfeldt government could manage well and he saw little chance that the centre-left opposition would link up with the Sweden Democrats on key parliamentary issues. "We have such strong public finances. It would take something really spectacular for people to start worrying ... and start selling Swedish government paper," he said. Sweden has been among the most welcoming of European Union countries to immigrants seeking asylum or refugee status, taking in people after the Balkan wars of the 1990s and becoming a favourite destination for Iraqis after the U.S. invasion.
Reuters
"If this outcome stands we will have a scenario that most Swedish voters wanted to avoid -- that is that we have a xenophobic party holding the balance of power," said Ulf Bjereld, a political scientist at Gothenburg University. Swedish newspapers said the election marked a dramatic shift for a nation known for its tolerance and liberal policies. "It is Monday morning and time for Swedes to find a new self-image," wrote daily Svenska Dagbladet. "A centre-right government without a majority, a wrecked Social Democracy and a party with roots in far-right extremism holding the balance of power." Daily Dagens Nyheter zeroed in on the political difficulties generated by the government falling short of a majority. "Tough situation awaits", ran a banner headline. The Swedish crown slid to about 9.2495 against the euro EURSEK= from 9.2246 at the close of the Swedish market on Friday. It dipped to 7.0761 per dollar SEK= from 7.0653.
Reinfeldt, who campaigned on a promise of more tax cuts and reforms to trim the welfare state, has said he was prepared to lead a minority government but repeated on Sunday he would first approach the opposition Green Party for support. "We have said that the biggest bloc should rule and that is the Alliance," he told supporters at an election night party, rejecting any cooperation with the far-right Sweden Democrats. But the reception from the Green Party was cool. "In the current situation we have continued red-green cooperation," said joint Green Party leader Maria Wetterstrand, referring to the alliance with the opposition Social Democrats. Reinfeldt benefited from one of Europe's strongest economic recoveries to become the first sitting centre-right prime minister to win re-election in a country that was ruled for much of the last century by the Social Democrats. In the election, voters were choosing between Reinfeldt's model of a leaner welfare state with more income tax cuts and privatisations, and an opposition platform that wanted the rich to pay more to fund schools, hospitals and care for the elderly. The Social Democrats had their worst election in almost 100 years, with voters apparently backing the welfare reforms and tax cuts pushed through by the Alliance of Reinfeldt's Moderate Party, the Liberals, Centre and Christian Democrats.
Far-right success
The big news of the night was the entry into parliament of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats. The rise in support for the far-right party has come after it moved away from its skinhead roots and mirrors increases in backing for similar parties elsewhere in Europe. The Sweden Democrats deny they are racist but both main blocs have ruled out working with them. "Today we have written political history together, I think that's fantastic," Sweden Democrat leaderJimmie Akesson told chanting supporters. Analysts say the party has found support among the unemployed, whose numbers have risen during the global economic crisis. It has a strong base in the south of Sweden, where the number of immigrants is higher than the national average. Umea University expert Svante Ersson said Sweden Democrat voters were often young men who felt ignored by society. "They don't necessarily have to be xenophobic -- it could be a way to make a statement against the establishment," said Ersson.
The Sweden Democrats have been inspired by the success of the People's Party in neighbouring Denmark that provides vital parliamentary support for the government there. The party wants to curtail immigration and criticises Muslims and Islam as un-Swedish. Immigrants account for 14 percent of Sweden's population, just above the 12.4 percent average for northern Europe, according to United Nations figures. Jan Haggstrom, chief economist at Handelsbanken, said that even a minority Reinfeldt government could manage well and he saw little chance that the centre-left opposition would link up with the Sweden Democrats on key parliamentary issues. "We have such strong public finances. It would take something really spectacular for people to start worrying ... and start selling Swedish government paper," he said. Sweden has been among the most welcoming of European Union countries to immigrants seeking asylum or refugee status, taking in people after the Balkan wars of the 1990s and becoming a favourite destination for Iraqis after the U.S. invasion.
Reuters
Increase in Dutch antisemitism
The Dutch Jewish community suffered almost double the number of antisemitic incidents in 2009 than in 2008. Experts said this increase might only be “the tip of the iceberg”.
Police said the 209 cases of antisemitism were documented in the Netherlands last year, representing a 48 per cent rise year-on-year and accounting for nearly a tenth of all discriminatory incidents in the Netherlands.
During Israel’s Gaza offensive in January 2009, 98 attacks were documented, including nine physical assaults.
Other incidents in 2009 included vandals damaging synagogues and spraying graffiti on Jewish monuments.
The Jewish community in the Netherlands numbers around 30,000, less than 0.3 per cent of the country’s population.
Earlier this week the Dutch Foreign Ministry withdrew an invitation to the leaders of Israeli council because some of those involved were representatives of West Bank settlements.
In June police in Amsterdam outlined proposals to post “decoy Jews” – police disguised in Orthodox clothing – around the city in order to catch potential racist attackers.
The Jewish Chronicle
Police said the 209 cases of antisemitism were documented in the Netherlands last year, representing a 48 per cent rise year-on-year and accounting for nearly a tenth of all discriminatory incidents in the Netherlands.
During Israel’s Gaza offensive in January 2009, 98 attacks were documented, including nine physical assaults.
Other incidents in 2009 included vandals damaging synagogues and spraying graffiti on Jewish monuments.
The Jewish community in the Netherlands numbers around 30,000, less than 0.3 per cent of the country’s population.
Earlier this week the Dutch Foreign Ministry withdrew an invitation to the leaders of Israeli council because some of those involved were representatives of West Bank settlements.
In June police in Amsterdam outlined proposals to post “decoy Jews” – police disguised in Orthodox clothing – around the city in order to catch potential racist attackers.
The Jewish Chronicle
EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS GROUPS THREATEN TO TAKE FRANCE TO COURT
Roma groups protested at France's expulsion policy and threatened to take Paris to the European court Saturday, as another top EU official took aim at President Nicolas Sarkozy. In Bulgaria, a dozen Roma organisations delivered a joint letter, addressed to Sarkozy, to the French embassy in Sofia. "The people you are throwing out have not committed any crime: if that was the case, they would have been arrested and charged," they wrote. Some 150 Roma chanted "Europe is with us" and carried banners saying, "Sarkozy is legalising racism," "Poor doesn't mean criminal, No to deportation" and "Liberty, equality, fraternity", referring to the French national motto. On Thursday, Sarkozy vowed to continue dismantling illegal Gypsy and traveller camps in France despite a barrage of criticism and reported clashes with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso at a heated EU summit in Brussels. In Spain Saturday the local wing of Union Romani, an international Prague-based Roma rights organisation, vowed to take France to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg. "We express our sorrow and our deception because European leaders at the summit did not have the necessary courage to put the French president in his place," the group said in a statement. It condemned the French interior ministry's August 5 leaked memo -- which revealed that Roma were being targeted for expulsion -- as "a racist, anti-constitutional, anti-European, inhuman measure with clear Nazi connotations." The group said the ECJ's 27 judges "will decide a verdict which, we do not doubt, will make an example of and will condemn the French government."
The summit came two days after the EU's top justice official Viviane Reding, angered by the leaked memo which apppeared to contradict Paris's assurances, called the expulsions a "disgrace" and threatened legal action. "This is a situation I had thought Europe would not have to witness again after the Second World War," she said, in turn arousing Sarkozy's ire. EU Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor hit out at the French leader again in an interview to be published Monday. "People are trying here cheaply and obviously to boost their popularity at the expense of a particularly vulnerable group," Andor told the Austrian weekly Profil. However he conceded Sarkozy's case that EU members in general had done too little for the minority group, and said the bloc will hold a conference in the Romanian capital Bucharest next month to discuss aid initiatives for Roma. The meeting aims to address the EU's existing "comprehensive support programme" for Roma and gypsies and encourage member states like Romania and Bulgaria to benefit from these subsidies, he said. Meanwhile, a French opinion poll found 71 percent of respondents believed that France's international image had been tarnished after the dismantling of Roma gypsy camps and expulsions to Romania and Bulgaria, on top of the French football team's exit from the World Cup in disgrace.
AFP
The summit came two days after the EU's top justice official Viviane Reding, angered by the leaked memo which apppeared to contradict Paris's assurances, called the expulsions a "disgrace" and threatened legal action. "This is a situation I had thought Europe would not have to witness again after the Second World War," she said, in turn arousing Sarkozy's ire. EU Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor hit out at the French leader again in an interview to be published Monday. "People are trying here cheaply and obviously to boost their popularity at the expense of a particularly vulnerable group," Andor told the Austrian weekly Profil. However he conceded Sarkozy's case that EU members in general had done too little for the minority group, and said the bloc will hold a conference in the Romanian capital Bucharest next month to discuss aid initiatives for Roma. The meeting aims to address the EU's existing "comprehensive support programme" for Roma and gypsies and encourage member states like Romania and Bulgaria to benefit from these subsidies, he said. Meanwhile, a French opinion poll found 71 percent of respondents believed that France's international image had been tarnished after the dismantling of Roma gypsy camps and expulsions to Romania and Bulgaria, on top of the French football team's exit from the World Cup in disgrace.
AFP
Aberdeen anti-Traveller website branded racist (UK)
A website set up by angry critics of Travellers in Aberdeen was today slammed by a human rights group for using racist language.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has reported a page on a social networking site to MSPs, claiming offensive comments about Aberdeen Travellers have been made.
The website – Stop Travellers Wrecking Aberdeen – was set up by Brian Falconer in reaction to a number of camps across Aberdeen – and 20 people have joined the group
Evening Express
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has reported a page on a social networking site to MSPs, claiming offensive comments about Aberdeen Travellers have been made.
The website – Stop Travellers Wrecking Aberdeen – was set up by Brian Falconer in reaction to a number of camps across Aberdeen – and 20 people have joined the group
Evening Express
Jailed, the racist thug who launched brutal attack over a cigarette (UK)
A thug who beat a man who refused to give him a cigarette has been jailed.
Ian Shore, 22, repeatedly punched Huran Yalvac – minutes after his cousin Karl Martin racially abused the Turkish victim.
Shore, of Milnrow Road, Rochdale, is already serving a 20-week jail term after skipping bail following the incident.
He was ordered, at Manchester Crown court, to spend an additional ten months behind bars after admitting racially aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm.
Martin, 21, of York Street, Rochdale, admitted racially aggravated harassment for his part in the incident.
He was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, plus 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £350 costs.
Bob Sastry, prosecuting, said Mr Yalvac had been on Drake Street, in the centre of Rochdale, at 1am on July 12, when he was approached by Martin and Shore.
After Shore barged into the victim, he and Martin demanded a cigarette. When the victim said he could not give him one, Martin said: "We’ll smash your face in if you don’t." Martin then swore at Mr Yalvac, subjecting him to racial abuse, before Shore punched him – continuing the attack after his victim fell to the ground.
Mr Yalvac was left badly bruised and the men were arrested at the scene.
Hiranya Narayan, defending Shore, said: "I am not intending to submit drink as an excuse, it is not – it is an explanation.
"He unusually was in drink that day. He has not abused alcohol since."
John Marsh, defending Martin, who has a previous conviction for racially abusing an Asian man, said he was also drunk after the pub crawl with Shore.
Mr Marsh said Martin’s background should influence him not to be racist – he had worked in Ghana and had a number of African friends.
Mr Marsh said: "He is very ashamed of his behaviour."
Sentencing the pair, Judge Andrew Blake said: "You both took part in what was a very unpleasant incident, it occurred because you were both drunk and you decided, for reasons best known to yourselves, to approach this man who you obviously thought was Asian.
"The request for a cigarette was simply an excuse to cause trouble."
Manchester Evening News
Ian Shore, 22, repeatedly punched Huran Yalvac – minutes after his cousin Karl Martin racially abused the Turkish victim.
Shore, of Milnrow Road, Rochdale, is already serving a 20-week jail term after skipping bail following the incident.
He was ordered, at Manchester Crown court, to spend an additional ten months behind bars after admitting racially aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm.
Martin, 21, of York Street, Rochdale, admitted racially aggravated harassment for his part in the incident.
He was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, plus 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £350 costs.
Bob Sastry, prosecuting, said Mr Yalvac had been on Drake Street, in the centre of Rochdale, at 1am on July 12, when he was approached by Martin and Shore.
After Shore barged into the victim, he and Martin demanded a cigarette. When the victim said he could not give him one, Martin said: "We’ll smash your face in if you don’t." Martin then swore at Mr Yalvac, subjecting him to racial abuse, before Shore punched him – continuing the attack after his victim fell to the ground.
Mr Yalvac was left badly bruised and the men were arrested at the scene.
Hiranya Narayan, defending Shore, said: "I am not intending to submit drink as an excuse, it is not – it is an explanation.
"He unusually was in drink that day. He has not abused alcohol since."
John Marsh, defending Martin, who has a previous conviction for racially abusing an Asian man, said he was also drunk after the pub crawl with Shore.
Mr Marsh said Martin’s background should influence him not to be racist – he had worked in Ghana and had a number of African friends.
Mr Marsh said: "He is very ashamed of his behaviour."
Sentencing the pair, Judge Andrew Blake said: "You both took part in what was a very unpleasant incident, it occurred because you were both drunk and you decided, for reasons best known to yourselves, to approach this man who you obviously thought was Asian.
"The request for a cigarette was simply an excuse to cause trouble."
Manchester Evening News
Yobs plaguing alleyway with noise and racist abuse (UK)
Racist yobs who have terrorised a neighbourhood for two years may be shut out of a Shipley alleyway under a £5,000 Council scheme.
Fed-up residents of Livingstone Close, Wrose, have had to endure abuse from gangs of up to 40 youths roaming the streets every night.
The residents have reported the thugs, who they say are mainly from the Swain House area of Bradford, carrying metal bars, baseball bats, sticks and even an air rifle.
One resident, who did not wish to be named, told the Telegraph & Argus he had been racially abused and another has been assaulted by the gang ‘ringleader’.
The youths have been drinking under age, urinating in gardens and throwing litter, stones and, during the winter, snowballs at homes.
Now Bradford Council is set to close the alleyway by putting up locked gates between Kings Road and Livingstone Close, in a bid to drive away the young trouble-makers.
The scheme will cost £5,000 in total, a meeting of the Shipley Area Committee heard.
Sergeant Khalid Khan, of Shipley Neighbourhood Police, told members the yobs used the ginnel to reach Claremont Fields, off Kings Drive.
He said: “We have had reports of 30 to 40 of them coming down and causing problems, not just for the residents of Livingstone Close but in Kings Drive, which is predominantly elderly residents.
“We have spoken to them but they have been absolutely petrified to even report incidents.”
Sgt Khan said police patrols were spending more than two thirds of each night guarding the area, which has seen “large-scale fights” during the past two years.
Increasing patrols has had a “profound impact” on anti-social behaviour elsewhere, said Sgt Khan. “It is having an impact not only on the residents but on our resources as well,” he said.
Danny Jackson, Bradford Council’s rights of way officer, said the Council could permanently close the alleyway but had decided against the move because it was also used legitimately as a right of way.
Security gates blocking off the alleyway could only be put in place if it could be shown that the path was a serious crime hot spot.
He told the meeting of the committee: “It does not seem to meet the criteria. We need to show high levels of serious crime are directly related to the path.”
Councillor Vanda Greenwood (Lab, Windhill and Wrose) said: “I beg to differ. There are some very, very serious issues, particularly racist problems.”
Members of the committee voted in favour of putting in lockable gates at each end of the alleyway subject to finding funding for the scheme.
Telegraph and Argus
Fed-up residents of Livingstone Close, Wrose, have had to endure abuse from gangs of up to 40 youths roaming the streets every night.
The residents have reported the thugs, who they say are mainly from the Swain House area of Bradford, carrying metal bars, baseball bats, sticks and even an air rifle.
One resident, who did not wish to be named, told the Telegraph & Argus he had been racially abused and another has been assaulted by the gang ‘ringleader’.
The youths have been drinking under age, urinating in gardens and throwing litter, stones and, during the winter, snowballs at homes.
Now Bradford Council is set to close the alleyway by putting up locked gates between Kings Road and Livingstone Close, in a bid to drive away the young trouble-makers.
The scheme will cost £5,000 in total, a meeting of the Shipley Area Committee heard.
Sergeant Khalid Khan, of Shipley Neighbourhood Police, told members the yobs used the ginnel to reach Claremont Fields, off Kings Drive.
He said: “We have had reports of 30 to 40 of them coming down and causing problems, not just for the residents of Livingstone Close but in Kings Drive, which is predominantly elderly residents.
“We have spoken to them but they have been absolutely petrified to even report incidents.”
Sgt Khan said police patrols were spending more than two thirds of each night guarding the area, which has seen “large-scale fights” during the past two years.
Increasing patrols has had a “profound impact” on anti-social behaviour elsewhere, said Sgt Khan. “It is having an impact not only on the residents but on our resources as well,” he said.
Danny Jackson, Bradford Council’s rights of way officer, said the Council could permanently close the alleyway but had decided against the move because it was also used legitimately as a right of way.
Security gates blocking off the alleyway could only be put in place if it could be shown that the path was a serious crime hot spot.
He told the meeting of the committee: “It does not seem to meet the criteria. We need to show high levels of serious crime are directly related to the path.”
Councillor Vanda Greenwood (Lab, Windhill and Wrose) said: “I beg to differ. There are some very, very serious issues, particularly racist problems.”
Members of the committee voted in favour of putting in lockable gates at each end of the alleyway subject to finding funding for the scheme.
Telegraph and Argus
Swastika race thugs target Burnley shop (UK)
Racist thugs targeted an elderly woman by spraying a swastika on her shop and torching a car.
But 77-year-old widow Sakina Bili Ali, who runs Warsi Foodstore off-licence, in Leyland Road, Burnley, said she would not be forced out of her home or shop.
Shocked neighbours have expressed their disgust at the attack and describe the victim as 'an absolutely lovely neighbour'.
Mrs Ali's son's car, which was parked outside the shop, was torched at 4.45am on Saturday.
A swastika was sprayed on the shop wall in de-icer, along with the initials J.B.
Police believe the person responsible may have unsuccessfully tried to set the symbol alight.
Mrs Ali, who has worked at the shop for 30 years and lives in the upstairs flat, said: “I’m upset by what has happened.
“But I can forget about the spray now it has vanished. I’m not scared by it.
"I have been here a long time and nothing has ever happened before.
“I don’t understand why it has happened. It is a close neighbourhood here and everyone that comes in is friendly and I’ve had no trouble with anyone.
“But If they come back then maybe it is just my time. I’m not scared of death.”
She said that she was asleep when the incident took place and had not heard anything until police and fire arrived.
Mrs Ali said: "My daughter came banging on the door saying the car had been set on fire.
“I’ve asked all the neighbours but nobody seems to have heard or seen anything out of the ordinary.”
The rear doors of the car have been badly burned in the attack and police said there was extensive damage to the vehicle's interior.
Neighbours said they had been left disgusted.
Mother-of-four, Natalie King who lives across from the shop, moved from Manchester only a year ago to be nearer to the countryside.
She said that the incident has made her consider moving house.
Natalie said: “She is quiet but lovely and everyone get on with her.
“It has really upset my children and made them frightened.
“I thought that we were moving to a family area but there is just trouble here.
"After this weekend I think we will be looking to move house.”
Neighbour Kurt Stephens said: “I come to the shop every day.
"She is an absolutely lovely neighbour. I hope they catch whoever did this.”
Colin Smith, who lives opposite to the shop, said he had found the family 'really nice and helpful' in his short time living in the area.
He said: "I’m surprised that it seems to be a racist attack.
"I know it isn’t the best area of Burnley but people seem to get on quite well.”
Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident and urging anyone that may know anything to get in touch.
Detective Sergeant Chris Scott from Burnley CID said: "This is a frightening incident and obviously upsetting for the family.
“We are exploring every avenue but at the moment there seems to be a racist motive."
Call police on 01282 425001 with information
Burnley Citizen
But 77-year-old widow Sakina Bili Ali, who runs Warsi Foodstore off-licence, in Leyland Road, Burnley, said she would not be forced out of her home or shop.
Shocked neighbours have expressed their disgust at the attack and describe the victim as 'an absolutely lovely neighbour'.
Mrs Ali's son's car, which was parked outside the shop, was torched at 4.45am on Saturday.
A swastika was sprayed on the shop wall in de-icer, along with the initials J.B.
Police believe the person responsible may have unsuccessfully tried to set the symbol alight.
Mrs Ali, who has worked at the shop for 30 years and lives in the upstairs flat, said: “I’m upset by what has happened.
“But I can forget about the spray now it has vanished. I’m not scared by it.
"I have been here a long time and nothing has ever happened before.
“I don’t understand why it has happened. It is a close neighbourhood here and everyone that comes in is friendly and I’ve had no trouble with anyone.
“But If they come back then maybe it is just my time. I’m not scared of death.”
She said that she was asleep when the incident took place and had not heard anything until police and fire arrived.
Mrs Ali said: "My daughter came banging on the door saying the car had been set on fire.
“I’ve asked all the neighbours but nobody seems to have heard or seen anything out of the ordinary.”
The rear doors of the car have been badly burned in the attack and police said there was extensive damage to the vehicle's interior.
Neighbours said they had been left disgusted.
Mother-of-four, Natalie King who lives across from the shop, moved from Manchester only a year ago to be nearer to the countryside.
She said that the incident has made her consider moving house.
Natalie said: “She is quiet but lovely and everyone get on with her.
“It has really upset my children and made them frightened.
“I thought that we were moving to a family area but there is just trouble here.
"After this weekend I think we will be looking to move house.”
Neighbour Kurt Stephens said: “I come to the shop every day.
"She is an absolutely lovely neighbour. I hope they catch whoever did this.”
Colin Smith, who lives opposite to the shop, said he had found the family 'really nice and helpful' in his short time living in the area.
He said: "I’m surprised that it seems to be a racist attack.
"I know it isn’t the best area of Burnley but people seem to get on quite well.”
Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident and urging anyone that may know anything to get in touch.
Detective Sergeant Chris Scott from Burnley CID said: "This is a frightening incident and obviously upsetting for the family.
“We are exploring every avenue but at the moment there seems to be a racist motive."
Call police on 01282 425001 with information
Burnley Citizen
20 graves vandalised in second racist attack on Leeds cemetery (UK)
Vandals have struck at a Leeds cemetry for the second time in an attack police believe to be racially motivated.
In the latest incident, more than 20 graves were damaged at Harehills Cemetery.
The incidents are believed to have taken place overnight between Friday and Saturday in an area of the cemetery predominantly used by Muslim families.
The damage includes broken name plaques and headstones.
Chief Inspector Melanie Jones of West Yorkshire Police said: "This incident has caused a great deal of distress to a number of people in the local community and an investigation into the damage has been launched.
"Over the weekend we have worked alongside community leaders to identify and contact the next of kin of those whose graves have been affected by this mindless act of vandalism.
"We have also undertaken a full forensic examination of the scene, including a number of discarded items that were found in the area, as well as analysing local CCTV.
"At this stage the incident is being treated as a racially motivated crime and we are determined to catch those responsible.
"I would ask that anybody who was in the area of the cemetery on Friday evening and witnessed anything suspicious to contact us.
"This incident undermines much of the work both ourselves and Leeds City Council have undertaken during the last year to improve security at the cemetery with increased patrols by neighbourhood wardens and police officers.
"I would like to reassure local people that everything is being done to find those responsible and bring them to justice."
Similar incidents were recorded in March and though an arrest had been made, police were unable to bring a prosecution.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
Yorkshire Post
In the latest incident, more than 20 graves were damaged at Harehills Cemetery.
The incidents are believed to have taken place overnight between Friday and Saturday in an area of the cemetery predominantly used by Muslim families.
The damage includes broken name plaques and headstones.
Chief Inspector Melanie Jones of West Yorkshire Police said: "This incident has caused a great deal of distress to a number of people in the local community and an investigation into the damage has been launched.
"Over the weekend we have worked alongside community leaders to identify and contact the next of kin of those whose graves have been affected by this mindless act of vandalism.
"We have also undertaken a full forensic examination of the scene, including a number of discarded items that were found in the area, as well as analysing local CCTV.
"At this stage the incident is being treated as a racially motivated crime and we are determined to catch those responsible.
"I would ask that anybody who was in the area of the cemetery on Friday evening and witnessed anything suspicious to contact us.
"This incident undermines much of the work both ourselves and Leeds City Council have undertaken during the last year to improve security at the cemetery with increased patrols by neighbourhood wardens and police officers.
"I would like to reassure local people that everything is being done to find those responsible and bring them to justice."
Similar incidents were recorded in March and though an arrest had been made, police were unable to bring a prosecution.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
Yorkshire Post
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Hacker attack wreaks havoc on Sweden Democrat website
The website of the far-right Sweden Democrats was hacked on Saturday, one day before the party is expected to be voted into the Riksdag in Sweden’s September 19th general elections.
"We have had hacker attacks over the past 24 hours. We have no idea where it is coming from," Sweden Democrats spokesman Erik Almqvist told AFP, adding that the party expected to get its website running again soon.
When AFP viewed the site early Saturday afternoon, only a digitalised picture made up of numerals to look like a piece of birthday cake with a lit candle was visible.
Below the picture, a short text read: "Anyway, this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there's Science to do," as Ellen McLain's "Still Alive" played in the background.
"I think it is a shame. Our political opponents should take the debate with us if they disagree with us," Almqvist said, insisting the attack "doesn't do any good for democracy."
The hacker attack came on the eve of general elections, with polls hinting the Sweden Democrats for the first time will win more than the four percent needed to enter parliament.
The far-right party, which won just 2.9 percent of the vote in the 2006 elections, has been seen winning as much as 7.5 percent on Sunday, although three polls published Saturday handed it between 3.8 and 5.9 percent of voter intentions.
The surveys meanwhile showed the centre-right government's lead over the left-wing opposition shrinking slightly but still winning a narrow majority in parliament.
If neither side wins a clear majority, however, the Sweden Democrats could, even with just a handful of seats, play kingmaker and could even make it so difficult to govern that new elections would need to be called, observers say.
The Local Sweden
"We have had hacker attacks over the past 24 hours. We have no idea where it is coming from," Sweden Democrats spokesman Erik Almqvist told AFP, adding that the party expected to get its website running again soon.
When AFP viewed the site early Saturday afternoon, only a digitalised picture made up of numerals to look like a piece of birthday cake with a lit candle was visible.
Below the picture, a short text read: "Anyway, this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there's Science to do," as Ellen McLain's "Still Alive" played in the background.
"I think it is a shame. Our political opponents should take the debate with us if they disagree with us," Almqvist said, insisting the attack "doesn't do any good for democracy."
The hacker attack came on the eve of general elections, with polls hinting the Sweden Democrats for the first time will win more than the four percent needed to enter parliament.
The far-right party, which won just 2.9 percent of the vote in the 2006 elections, has been seen winning as much as 7.5 percent on Sunday, although three polls published Saturday handed it between 3.8 and 5.9 percent of voter intentions.
The surveys meanwhile showed the centre-right government's lead over the left-wing opposition shrinking slightly but still winning a narrow majority in parliament.
If neither side wins a clear majority, however, the Sweden Democrats could, even with just a handful of seats, play kingmaker and could even make it so difficult to govern that new elections would need to be called, observers say.
The Local Sweden
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