Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Upsurge in Russian race killings marks run-up to Hitler's birthday (The Independent)

Brutta bestia 'sto neonazismo russo...
Am.
 Upsurge in Russian race killings marks run-up to Hitler's birthday 
 By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
 Published: 18 April 2006
 Russia is struggling to contain an upsurge in racist murders and 
attacks as skinheads in the country prepare to mark Adolf Hitler's 
birthday.
 The past week alone has seen a slew of race-hate crimes perpetrated 
despite condemnation from politicians and threats of heavier jail 
sentences. Four Roma have been murdered and one Vietnamese man killed, 
and there have been at least seven "punishment beatings" of foreigners.
Anti-racism activists are warning that Russia's estimated 60,000 
skinheads appear to be attacking their victims with increasing impunity 
and that the problem has spun out of control.
The authorities are braced for 20 April, the anniversary of Hitler's 
birth, when there is usually a peak in skinhead activity. Though the 
media are publicising the attacks, few public figures seem willing to 
admit how serious the problem is. Many refuse to believe that their 
country, which did more than any other to defeat fascism during the 
Second World War, has become such a potent breeding ground for neo-Nazis 
60 years later.
On Sunday two Roma brothers, aged 26 and 27, were shot dead by a man who 
burst into their home in the Pskov region, about 400 miles north-west of 
Moscow. In the same arealast September a Roma was abducted and murdered. 
Leaflets were distributed calling for violence against the Roma, whom 
locals accuse of drug trafficking.
Last week 15 skinheads attacked a Roma encampment in southern Russia 
near the city of Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad. Armed with 
metal poles, they killed a 42-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman and 
seriously injured a 14-year-old girl and an 80-year-old woman.
Nine skinheads, aged from 15 to 19, have been arrested in connection 
with the attack. Some of them have confessed to the crime, admitting it 
was motivated by nationalist sentiment while others have said they acted 
as a result of drunken hooliganism.
A Vietnamese market trader, 50-year-old Chan Ngok Binh, was recently 
beaten to death by a group of schoolchildren armed with wooden batsin 
the Voronezh region, 300 miles south of Moscow. The man was attacked 
yards from his home and died of his wounds on 10 April. Three 
schoolchildren have been arrested and police are searching for another 
four.
On 7 April in St Petersburg, 28-year-old Lamzar Samba, a Senegalese 
student, was shot dead as he left a nightclub. The murder weapon, a 
pump-action shotgun, had a swastika stencilled on it along with the word 
"skinheads". Though police arrested a man they have since let him go for 
lack of evidence.
There is also a steady stream of non-fatal assaults that helps to create 
a climate of fear. On Saturday night two Mongolian students were beaten 
up in St Petersburg by 10 local football fans. On Friday night an Afghan 
man in St Petersburg suffered a similar fate and on Thursday, in the 
Siberian city of Chita, Chinese construction workers were attacked by 
local skinheads.
The authorities have promised to get tough but have yet to take any 
measures. The government has suggested introducing jail terms for racist 
attacks of up to three years and wants to fine people who produce, 
distribute or use Nazi paraphernalia and propaganda.

 Brutta bestia 'sto neonazismo russo...
sei incazzato che non ti hanno invitato a far parte del branco lord haw
hawmalric? hai rinnovato la tessera del BNP?
http://www.yre.org.uk/stop.html
Stop the Nazi BNP!
The threat of fascism
- questions and answers about the Nazis in the 1930s and today
Tower Hamlets
- how the BNP were stopped in the 90s
Youth against Racism in Europe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
Introduction
How Hitler came to power
questions and answers about the Nazis in the 1930s and today
A brief history of the BNP
Tower Hamlets
how the BNP was stopped in the 1990s
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
The local elections of May 2002 saw the best ever vote for the neo-Nazi
British National Party. 
As well as winning three council seats in Burnley they came close to
winning over ten more: in Burnley, Oldham, Stoke and other parts of the
country.
At the same time, figures released by the police showed a 10% rise in
racist attacks in the last year, including an increase of 13% in the
number of racist assaults and woundings reported to the police.
Far-right gains across Europe . . .
Votes for far-right parties have increased in France, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and other countries across Europe.
The neo-Nazi Vlaams Blok (Flemish Bloc) in Belgium won 9.9% of the vote in
national elections in 1999 and became the largest political force on
Anwerp Council in 2000.
Far-right parties have been in government coalitions in Austria since
February 2000 and Italy since 2001. In April 2002 the Front National got
through to the second round of the French presidential election with 17%
of the vote - their highest ever - in the first round of elections.
 . . provoke mass demonstrations
However these far-right successes have been met with big protests. Mass
demonstrations rocked Vienna after the FPO was invited to join the
Austrian government; the largest attracted 300,000. This year in France,
well over a million people demonstrated against the FN on May Day.
The FN was only able to mobilise 10,000 people on a demonstration in their
support – a tenth of what Le Pen had said they would get and small by
comparison to the mass demos against them – and their vote in the
parliamentary elections on 9th June dropped to 11% from 18% in the second
round of the presidential election in May. They didn’t win a single seat
in parliament.
Mass movement needed in Britain
Mass protests like these, combined with mass campaigns of education to
expose the far-right’s real agenda and linked to a strategy that takes up
social and economic problems (like unemployment, low pay, cuts and
privatisation in public services), can halt the rise of the neo-Nazis and
broader far-right movements.
This pamphlet shows why building a movement against the BNP is so
important today. It explains why neo-Nazi, or neo-fascist groups like the
BNP are a threat; how their heroes, the Nazi Party in Germany, managed to
seize power in the 1930s and what we can learn from that today. The
article about Tower Hamlets explains how the BNP were defeated in Britain
in the 1990s with a determined mass campaign.
The threat of fascism
Fascism (what today’s neo-Nazi groups aim to build) was a mass movement,
mainly based on the middle classes. It aimed at smashing democratic
rights, particularly working class organisations, and protecting the power
of big business. Fascist regimes came to power in Italy in 1922, in
Germany in 1933 and in other European countries afterwards.
They built up support by a combination of radical (left-wing sounding)
rhetoric and playing on prejudices that were already widespread in
society. In Germany anti-Jewish (anti-Semitic) prejudice was high before
the Nazi Party ever came on the scene, whereas in Italy it wasn’t nearly
so strong.
Mussolini and his Fascist Party in Italy therefore didn’t use
anti-Semitism until very late, when they were relying on Hitler for
support during the second world war.
In contrast Hitler and the Nazis in Germany consciously promoted
anti-Semitism from the beginning, with tragic consequences.
Today the BNP are using racism and prejudice against Muslims and against
asylum-seekers to try to gain support because these prejudices have been
increasing amongst a layer of people in Britain. The government, careerist
politicians and the media bear much of the responsibility for spreading
and encouraging Islamophobia and prejudices against asylum-seekers.
New Labour encourages racism
Just a week before the May local elections, Home Secretary David Blunkett
was still helping to legitimise racist ideas by saying that asylum-seeker
children were "swamping" local schools.
This was after years of inflammatory language against refugees and the
scapegoating of refugees and asylum-seekers by New Labour, the Tories, the
Liberal Democrats and the media. All of this helped open the door to the
BNP.
How do the BNP get support?
Most BNP voters cast their vote in despair, as a protest against the main
parties. There was undoubtedly a racist vote too in some areas. However
the main reason some people have started to look towards groups like the
BNP is because they feel betrayed by the mainstream parties, who all act
the same.
Hopes that Labour would improve public services and conditions for working
class people have been betrayed. New Labour have continued to follow Tory
policies to help their big business allies. They have attacked public
services more viciously than the Tories, signing contracts to subsidise
private companies’ profits in return for them running parts of the NHS or
education.
The privatisation rip-off
Since New Labour were elected in 1997 private companies have been promised
£96 billion tax-payers’ money by New Labour in return for investing £16
billion in privatisation schemes. Where will the money come from? No
doubt, further cuts in services.
Just one of New Labour’s actions - cutting corporation tax to the biggest
companies when they were first elected in 1997 - has given £10-14 billion
from the government to big business every year.
New Labour’s anti-working class policies
At the same time New Labour have scrapped free university education, set
the minimum wage at poverty levels and excluded young people from it. They
are trying to force unemployed and disabled people off benefits into
insecure, low-paid jobs with virtually no rights.
They have done virtually nothing to stop the jobs haemorrhage from
previous industrial heartlands, or invest in new jobs to help give those
communities a chance.
Collapse in support for traditional parties
No wonder many people are looking for an alternative. However it would be
wrong to view the increased votes for the BNP as a general shift to the
right by voters in England. The votes of many socialist organisations and
candidates standing against cuts in services and privatisation increased
substantially in the local elections, showing that many people are looking
for a positive alternative to the mainstream parties.
Police protect the Nazis
Despite the role that the BNP and neo-Nazi National Front (NF) play in
whipping up racism and encouraging tensions and violence in local
communities, the police on virtually every occasion act to protect the BNP
and NF and harass and threaten anti-racists protesting against them.
During the last year and a half the police have helped ban a number of
anti-racist events, particularly in Oldham and Burnley, attempting to
prevent a movement against the BNP from developing. The free run this gave
to the BNP was a major factor in allowing them to gain so many votes this
year.
We believe the neo-Nazi movement – in Britain the NF and the BNP – should
not be allowed to abuse our democratic rights in order to try to destroy
them. Rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, trade union
membership etc were won through struggle, not given to us by the
government.
To allow these rights to be used by neo-Nazis is giving them the chance to
take away the rights of the people that the BNP target - Black and Asian
communities, Jewish people, gay men and lesbians, disabled people, trade
unionists, socialists and others - to live and walk the streets in peace.
Mass campaign needed
We believe neo-Nazi organisations must be driven out of our communities
and prevented from organising: not by relying on the police or authorities
but by mass movements against them involving local people, trade unions,
community groups and the anti-racist movement.
The main task the campaign against the BNP faces now is to prevent them
getting any more members elected to council seats in Burnley or elsewhere,
and to defend the communities under threat from them where they have
councillors or a local base.
Through this campaign, if it is properly organised, we can begin to
marginalise and isolate the BNP and do our best to prevent their
councillors from being re-elected.
The article about how the BNP were defeated during the 1990s in Tower
Hamlets explains how YRE has organised similar campaigns in the past and
the importance of:
Campaigns of education and explanation that can expose the BNP’s real
neo-Nazi agenda and roots. 
Mass demonstrations, properly organised and stewarded, which can play an
enormous role in mobilising people against racism and the BNP, boosting
their confidence and beginning to marginalise and isolate the BNP. 
Linking the campaign against the BNP to campaigning against cuts in
services, privatisation and for better workplace rights can help win
people away from the dead-end of fascism the BNP put forward to a positive
and united alternative: jobs, homes & services – not racism. 
Jobs, homes & services – not racism
YRE knows that unity is strength. By uniting, against the neo-Nazis,
bosses and career politicians who are attacking our rights, young people
and trade unionists can secure a future free from racism, poverty and
exploitation.
Naomi Byron
YRE secretary, July 2002
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Youth against Racism in Europe has:
co-organised the two main demonstrations that shut down the BNP’s HQ in
Welling (one of 8,000 in May 1993 and the other of 50,000 in September
1993). 
helped close down the BNP’s "paper sale" on Brick Lane in Tower Hamlets,
their only regular public activity in Britain. 
produced the Anti-Racist Education Pack, used by schools, youth clubs and
trade unions (eg UNISON bought a copy for every branch). 
helped set up Show Racism The Red Card, which uses the high profile of
footballers to bring an anti-racist message to young people. 
worked with the trade unions against racism on a local, regional and
national level. 
co-organised a conference on fighting racism in the North West in Oldham
last year with the North West Region Black Members’ Committee. 
 
We are campaigning for:
the trade unions to immediately organise a national demonstration against
the BNP in the North West, calling for jobs, homes & services – not
racism. 
support for any action by Burnley Council trade unions to isolate &
withdraw co-operation from the BNP councillors. 
democratically-organised and accountable community defence campaigns
against racist attacks and fascist violence. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 The threat of fascism
Ehm, Serghei, il problema urgente oggi e' in *Russia*, capish? 
Non si ha notizia di morti a catena altrove per motivi *razzisti*...
Am.

 Ehm, Serghei, il problema urgente oggi e' in *Russia*, capish? 
ehi BUF-fone russofobo ma da quando nella tua isoletta non ci sono piu'
razzisti come te eh?
PS: BUF = British_Union_of_Fascists 
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5 per mille all'Associazione di amicizia Italia-Cuba cod.fis. 96233920584


 Anwerp Council in 2000.
Whoever wrote this crap is a moron. Vlaams Blok is a far-right party,
yes, but that doesn't automatically equate with Neo-Nazi. Djeezus...
Now, I don't vote for the Vlaams Blok (which doesn't exist anymore btw,
they morphed into Vlaams Belang and have toned down a bit) for various
reasons, but they're certainly not a Neo-Nazi party. Still, while they
make a few good points which the regular parties should absorb into
their agendas, much of what they say is downright ignorant.