Centre will study fascist and anti-Muslim attacks

A centre dedicated to studying the extreme far right and anti-Muslim attacks has been established by a university.

The Centre for Fascist, Anti-Fascist and Post-Fascist Studies, launched by Teesside University, will look at the historical developments of far-right politics.

Professor Nigel Copsey, along with his colleague, Dr Matthew Feldman, will open the centre at an event to commemorate National Holocaust Memorial Day later this month.

Speaking before the launch, Prof Copsey said recent developments in far-right politics led them to believe there could be more attacks like the one carried out by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway in 2011.

"Over the last year there is no evidence for increased support for the far right. The BNP are fragmented and split and there is growing disillusionment with the EDL," he said.

"All these developments mean we argue it could lead right-wing extremists to think of more extreme actions, like Breivik.

"I'm not saying this will definitely happen but, because of the developments in the far right, there's a vacuum and it raises the potential for more violent actions."

The centre will also look at the opposition to far-right groups and how successful anti-fascist protests are, as well as far-right anti-Muslim activity.

Dr Feldman said: "An important development in radical right activism this century is, without doubt, the turn from anti-Semitism toward anti-Muslim politics.

"One of the things we will be looking at is a quantifiable analysis of far right participation in anti-Muslim attacks."

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MCI puts a demand against a neo-Nazi concert in Valencia

Movement Against Intolerance has denounced in front of Valencia’s Prosecutor Office the neo-Nazi concert that would be held on Friday supported by ‘España 2000’, right-wing political party which is fighting to become prime neofascist reference in Spain.

The concert would be held in Valencia. One of the bands that would play is the Italian ‘Killer Sorpresa’. They spread neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic hatred in their songs. Just an example, one of their lyrics expresses that they would kill the Nobel Prize, Rita Levy-Moltacini, a well-known Sephardic lady.

We will keep you informed. 

Warn of Neo-Nazi Terrorism in Europe

A few months ago a classified internal document from the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) from Germany stated, "We must assume that there will be further xenophobic acts of violence by individuals or perpetrator groups in the form of bodily injury also resulting in death in some cases, arson attacks (against asylum seekers' homes, for example) and, in some isolated cases, also homicide."

Investigators pointed then to the attacks perpetrated in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik as an example of the possibilities.

This is absolutely true. Just a few days ago a 45-year-old academic researcher from Poland has been arrested on suspicion of planning to detonate explosives in a vehicle at the Parliament building during a budget debate.

The man's motives were described as "nationalistic, xenophobic and anti-Semitic" and he is also described by Polish officials as having been inspired and fascinated by Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway last year.

In Spain has happened something similar. In October, a young man from Mallorca planned to use explosives to blow up the University of Illes Balears. He was interested in Adolf Hitler and just a few months before had read the ‘Mein Kampf’; at home had made racist comments and shown repulse among Jews and black people. 

Intolerance in football...

Premier League clubs will be encouraged to operate whistle-blowing mechanisms to ensure racist incidents can be reported in confidence as part of a range of measures agreed by the Football Association to tackle discrimination.

After 18 months in which the issue of racism on and off the pitch has dominated headlines, the recommendations are the result of work carried out in the wake of a Downing Street summit convened by the prime minister in February following the John Terry and Luis Suárez incidents.

But, unfortunately, these kinds of incidents are very common in football. Italian club Lazio was fined $52,000 by UEFA following racist chanting by its supporters in September; the Serbian Football Association was fined $105,000 following an Under-21 match in which opposing players from the England team said they were racially abused. 

Just a few days ago, other case has emerged and the Football Association is investigating that a player was racially abused by spectators during an FA Cup second-round match and in other country, Russia, a fan group has written an open letter to the Russian club's officials, demanding that they refrain from signing black and gay players while maintaining 'We're not racists.'

The 'manifesto' was outlined in a direct letter to the Russian club’s officials, asking that Zenit refrain from signings any new players from outside of their neighbouring nations. The group demanded that only players from fellow Slav nations like Belarus and the Ukraine, along with Baltic and Scandinavian countries should be allowed to play for Zenit.

20 ANIVERSARY OF LUCRECIA PÉREZ ASSASINATION

PRESS RELEASE

20 ANIVERSARY OF LUCRECIA PÉREZ ASSASINATION

MCI ask Spanish government for more determination and  action in the struggle against racism.

Lucrecia Pérez was an afrodescendent migrant from Dominican Republic. Her murdered was the first racist motivated crime in the democratic Spain. It was overwhelmed condemned by majority of the people and public institutions. Today more than ever is needed to point out that social environment the make that crime possible are still there.

Economic crisis is having a deep impact in the increase of xenophobic prejudices against migrants, as it´s shown by officiatl statistics. Besides, organized extremismt groups are harassing minorities and feeding intolerance against migrants putting in danger the coexistence in the more complex diversity society as it is Spain nowadays.

Xenophoby has been strongly boosted by some succed of xenophobic political countries in several European countries such as Greek, Hungary, Holland, Germany and Austria among others. Democratic responses against them are not made in the proper way.

There are mulptiples factors that fooster xenophoby racism and related intolerance. These are some of the most important element of a compolex diagnosis:

·  Xenophoby and related intolerance are increasing. Migrants, roma, religious minorities are suffering this attitudes as it´s shown by official statistic data.

·  Internet is used almost without limitation to spread hatred and intolerance.

·  Xenophobic populism and neo-fascist activities are very well coordinated at European level.

·  Hate incidents and crimes are still going on.

Therefore, Movement against Intolerance ask to civil society to get active against this serious problem, Plus, MCI demands to Spanish Government more determination and decisive actions against racism and xenophobia.

Measures to be adopted:

·   To enforce article 510 of Penal Code to fight against hatred on the internet

·   To ban activities that promotes criminal intolerance

·   To ban political parties and organizations that promotes intolerance and hatred

·   To enforce and improve legislation against racism

·   Integral support to victims of hate crimes and their solidarity organizations

·   To create police unites specialize in fighting hate groups

·   To implement long term and wide actions plans against intolerance based on the concept of prevention. Tolerance and Human Rights must be spread.

Madrid

November 12, 2012

France against Homophobia...

As part of a broad raft of measures to help fight homophobia in France, the government has announced plans to include educating primary school children about homosexual relationships and same-sex parenting.

French Minister for Women’s Rights and spokesperson of the Government Najat Vallaud-Belkacem on Wednesday unveiled wide-ranging plans to fight homophobia in France that include teaching primary school children about issues affecting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people.

It seems like France has decided to be at the forefront against homophobia. 

Najat Vallaud Belkacem has presented on 31 October an extensive plan to fight against homophobia. She foresees France as being at the forefront of the promotion of LGBT rights in Europe.

At the international level, France will take part in an EU LGBT action plan that would draw new laws and policies to strengthen equality and non-discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in the EU. As well, French embassies will support LGBT rights organisations operating abroad.

International Day of Non-Violence...with violence.

The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.

The International Day is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including

through education and public awareness". The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence".

"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."

(Mahatma Gandhi

The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1927)

A very different thought than the Golden Dawn Party ideas.

A few weeks ago, about 40 burly men, led by Giorgos Germenis, a lawmaker with the right-wing Party, marched through a night market in the town of Rafina demanding that dark-skinned merchants showed permits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhJntEn4ddA&feature=player_embedded

Golden Dawn’s tactics are similar to ones it used before parliamentary elections in June. Preying on fears that immigrants are worsening crime rates and economic hardship, the group has been stepping up attacks against immigrants, many of whom are legal citizens, with the police frequently standing by.

The group recently opened an office in New York and an outpost in Australia as a mechanism to promote hatred.