Racism and Fascism - new material (17)
01 January 2011
Homes attacked in Luton after racist EDL march. Socialist Worker 5.2.11. This article reports on racist attacks, carried out by supporters of the English Defence League, shortly after their protest in Luton town centre. Two homes were attacked, their windows smashed and the word EDL painted on the front door. Article available at: http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=23803
“Roma, poltrone ai fascisti”, Emiliano Fittipaldi. L’Espresso 9.12.10. This article looks at the appointment of fascists by mayor Gianni Alemanno in Rome’s key public service bodies like the rubbish disposal company AMA and public administrations like the capital’s city council. They include fascist militants involved in the activities of far-right groups such as Terza Posizione, Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari, Forza Nuova and Avanguardia Nazionale in the past. People arrested for these activities have been appointed to important posts, like Stefano Andrini, who was convicted and handed a three year custodial sentence for attempted murder in relation to an attack on two left-wingers outside a cinema in central Rome in 1989, who is now the head of AMA’s environmental services. The author notes how “the mayor, it is well known, never leaves anyone behind”.
Court declares Fiore’s party “neo-nazi”, Alfio Bernabei. Searchlight no. 424, October 2010, pp. 26. Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, has ruled that it is legitimate to describe members and sympathisers of groups such as Roberto Fiore’s Forza Nueva as neo-fascists and neo-nazis. In the opinion of Fiore, a close associate of the BNP’s Nick Griffin, the description is born of “historical ignorance” and was defamatory and illegal.
Courier investigation uncovers troubling rates of racism in Fife. The Courier 8.2.11. An investigation in Scotland by The Courier newspaper, using statistics obtained under freedom of information legislation has revealed that between January 1 2009 and November 12 2010, almost 200 charges of racially aggravated conduct have been reported to local Fife courts. Figures covering the whole of Scotland reveal almost half of the victims of racially aggravated conduct are of Asian origin, with most from Pakistan. In cases where the ethnicity of the perpetrator was known, 96% were white.
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Fife/article/10578/courier-investigation-uncovers-troubling-rates-of-racism-in-fife.html
BNP: is this the beginning of the end? Sonia Gable. Searchlight no. 422 (August) 2010, pp. 4-10. Nick Griffin has maintained his grip on the leadership of the BNP in the face of a recent leadership challenge, but his position has been weakened by his hard-line tactics. The far-right party is also facing a financial crisis, with liabilities of at least £500,000.
The growing Islamaphobic international, Nick Lowles. Searchlight no. 423 (September) 2010, pp. 16-17. Article on the far-right English Defence League (EDL) and its links to likeminded groups across the world. The article covers the EDL’s anti-Islamic contacts in The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and the USA.
EDL forges link with terrorist. Hope not Hate website 17.2.11. This piece reports that Roberta Moore, leader of the EDL’s Jewish division, has announced on her Facebook page that the EDL would be working with the far-right American group the Jewish Task Force (JTF). “The leader of the JTF is Victor Vancier, also known by the Hebrew name Chaim Ben Pesach. Vancier was the national chairman of the Jewish Defence League, a right-wing group classified as a terrorist organisation by the FBI, but resigned in December 1978 after being imprisoned for bombing Egyptian targets in the US in an effort to stop the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula.” During the 1980s, Vancier was arrested in connection with six bombing incidents. He said in an audio file: “I wanted to be sure they [the EDL] were not the BNP, we would never work with Holocaust deniers or nazis. They wave Israeli flags, they support the Jewish people. They want Jewish members. We are happy to work with them to save England from the millions of Muslim invaders. We want to work as a united front.” Available at: http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/news/article/1816/EDL-forges-link-with-terrorist