Racism & fascism - new material (30)
01 March 2001
Afrikaner in Wien. Wir sind nicht gefährlich, wir sind in Gefahr [Africans in Vienna. We are not dangerous, we are in danger], Heinz Fronek, asylkoordination, no 1/2001 pp4?10.
This article highlights the extent of police and other institutionalised racism black people have to face in Austria. African asylum seekers have been accused by police and politicians of running a drugs racket in Vienna (see below), accompanied by brutal police raids on asylum seekers homes, with little evidence to support the accusations. Fronek lays out a “chronology of humiliation”, stressing discrimination in the labour market, the danger of homelessness and institutionalised racism. Available from: asylkoordination, Schottengasse 3a, A?1010 Vienna
AfrikanerInnen wehren sich [Africans defend themselves], Herbert Langthaler, asylkoordination, no 1/2001 pp18?22.
Over the last three years, as part of “Operation Spring”, the African community in Vienna has been subect to violent police raids followed by prosecutions, based on the flimsiest evidence due to an official crackdown on drugs. This article outlines one of the more controversial responses by African community organisations (Association for Democracy in Africa - ADA), which is an attempt to “build a bridge” between the police and the black community through common seminars and anti?racist programmes. Although some people have found positive experiences through these programmes, ADA has also been criticised from within the community for its approach to combating institutionalised racism. Available from: asylkoordination, Schottengasse 3a, A?1010 Vienna
Context XXI. Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Wehrdienstverweigerung, Gewaltfreiheit und
Flüchtlingsbetreuung (Working Group on conscientious objection, freedom from violence and refugee support) No 1/2001, ISSN 1028-2319, pp30, 35 ATS (5DM).
Focuses on racism and anti-Semitism in Austria, and includes an interview with Austrian resident African journalist Charles Ofoedu about the criminalisation of the African Community in Vienna and the work of the migrant organisation die bunten which has worked for migrants' rights in Austria for the last five years. Other articles focus on anti-Semitism in the Austrian Freedom Party FPÖ and in the media, and the history of Jews in Vienna after the holocaust. Available from: Context XXI, Schottengasse 3 A/1/59, A-1010 Wien, Austria, Tel: 0043(0)1-535-1106, Fax: 0043(0)1-532-7416, contextXXI@mediaweb.at, http://contextXXI.mediaweb.at.
The starting line and the incorporation of the racial equality directive into the national laws of the EU member states and accession states, Isabelle Chopin & Jan Niessen. Commission for Racial Equality & Migration Policy Group (Belmont Press, Brussels & London) March 2001, pp59.
Includes two essays, “The further development of European anti-discrimination policies” (Jan Niessen) and “Meeting the challenge? A comparison between the EU Racial Equality Directive and the Starting Line” (Mark Bell).
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, Sadiq Khan. Legal Action April 2001, pp23-24.
Khan discusses the Race Relations (Amendment) Act and its implications for public bodies. He considers “Public authority”, “Exemptions from extended duty to public authorities”, “Positive duty on public authorities”, “Criminal investigation and proceedings” and “Immigration and asylum appeals”.
Stephen Lawrence inquiry. Home Secretary's Action Plan: Second Annual Report on progress. Home Office, February 2001, pp44.
This report presents the second audit of the Macpherson report's recommendations following the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence - a “programme [that] lies at the heart of effective policing.” It notes that HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) “found universal understanding of the new simplified definition of a racist incident proposed by the Inquiry” but also that “there was some resistance to embracing the rationale for recording racist incidents”. “Further wo