From: Dierk Rossiwall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: friends and partners outside austria:;
Subject: austria - do you resist?
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 22:06:58 +0100
dear friends,
i'm sure you all have heard the news or read it in the papers - austria is
now governed by a conservative/rightwing coalition. while some
international surfacial reports are talking about a new hitler on the rise
- it is not. but joerg haider indeed IS a rightwing populist following very
questionable goals and being proud of it. 30% of the population have voted
for him, but about 50% oppose him strongly and especially in the cities the
anger of his party being part of the new government can be seen in daily
protests.
i want you to know that of course neither me nor my surrounding has voted
for haider's party nor do we support his ideas in any way. on the contrary:
enclosed (part a) you can find a concept made by people i know who i
support and participate with. any help is welcome, so is yours. in austria
liberal minds HAVE to make a statement these days, and so do i.
i encourage you NOT to stop communicating or even stop working with us in
the future, because that most likely is the conservatives' wish: less
"noise" more "traditional values". for me there is room enough for both to
make life worth living, and that's why i will continue MY work because i
care for what YOU represent (please read the statement of 2 austrian
artists going in the same direction at the end of this long mail.)
thanks for understanding our situation. if you have any questions - just
ask!
dj roswell 47/dierk rossiwall/vienna/austria
a)
Underground Resistance - do you resist?
contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Regarding the delicate and grave developments of the last weeks indeed it
is time to react against Austria's newly formed
"Conservative/Rightwing"-coalition government by any legal and effective
means necessary.
Predictable actions taken from side of the EC as well as intense
international reactions symbolize the start signal for us to accept the
challenge against a government we have not voted for.
We will resist
- against Austria being endangered in its cultural and social possibilities
- against Austria's international isolation and being treated of second
importance
- against Austria being represented by politicians by no means there
capable of
- against the proposal of ministers spreading racist thoughts
- against politicians obviously only aiming for their personal career while
risking austria's good reputation
- against politicians spreading inappropriate statements and giving the
impression of talking in the name of every Austrian Citizen
- against peaceful demonstrators being labeled as members of militant
leftwing organizations
- against the recklessness of racist and xenophobic statements being
tolerated even more
Underground Resistance is an alliance of differing people challenged by
Austria's political situation, willing to make a contribution to legal
civil disobediance and thus creating an essential counter-public to the
meanwhile "Official Austria" within the following range of actions:
1) Internal/External Information & Distribution
As a platform for information we will pass on with comments every action
taken by the government and its politicians to the national and
international media. Along that we will operate a database with
background-information on the happenings of the last weeks and those to
come.
2) Civil & Digital Resistance
Using legal means only we will impair and narrow the actors', political
parties' and institutions' platforms of communication. Further, we will
take our right to freedom of opinion and civil disobediance to its juristic
peak.
3) Cultural & Social Resistance
Counter-strategies will be developed for stopping the imminent narrowing of
the cultural and social spectre in Austria. We will cooperate with all
institutions affected by this new political constellation.
4) Marketing & PR
Marketing- and PR-specialists will use every legal mean to position
"Underground Resistance" as antipole to the political parties' and the
government's own marketing strategies (We believe Mike Banks of
"Underground Resistance"-records/Detroit will not take offense at us using
this tag).
5) Direct Action & Organization
As well-aimed answers to actions of the new government we will organize
events and unexpected actions of broad public efficacy, not forgetting on
the entertainment-side of things. This group will also coordinate meetings
and actions throughout Austria.
Our initiative is mainly addressed to people and institutions who haven't
been politically active so far and who like us are now searching for a
platform for reactions.
It is NOT addressed to people belonging to a political movement and who
intend to belong there further on.
And it is NOT addressed to showmanship.
It IS addressed to people
- who work fast, precise and result oriented
- who are equipped with the required infra-structure and training
- who are ready to get active at least 4 hours per week
It is especially addressed to
- lawyers specialized in media law
- tax consultants
- web designers
- programmers
- ISP providers
- graphic designers
- PR specialists
- marketing specialists
- translators (all EC-languages, slovene, czech, hungarian, russian,...)
All replies will be treated strictly confidental. Please spread this mail
to as many people of your trust as possible.
Do You Resist ?- mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
b)
austrian avantgarde photographer/filmmaker lisl ponger and artist/filmmaker
tim sharp have written the following statement:
"MORAL OUTRAGE AND POLITICAL ACTION
That there are grounds for the above is beyond
dispute.
That the situation was predictable is beyond dispute.
So, what can be done by those living outside of
Austria?
As an artist I can only appeal for action, but a
complete intellectual and artistic boycott of this
country removes support from the large majority of us
who do not want this government and would like to see
the FPÖ disappear from the political stage.
Simultaneously it restricts the possibilities of any
other action in the future. It cannot and should not
be business as usual, but those artists and
intellectuals who work in areas which are of political
relevance to the situation should maintain contact
with Austria and / or exhibit and work here. There is
work enough and it is extremely important to be able
to set up temporary focal points for action and
reflection. These points help people to keep a
European perspective (or engender one) and help also
to overcome the purely national vision. There is no
space and no need for nationalistic cultural
chauvinism. South Africa is not Europe, by which I
mean that pressure can be exerted by actions against
specific companies, artists, sportsmen and political
and other organisations who support or do not condemn
the FPÖ and its racist politics - they all have home
pages, e-mail addresses and and and. What we need is
moral outrage and imaginative intervention. That
depends on who you are and what is in your power to do
and organise. The man on the street may consider
postponing his holiday in Austria. You might write
letters to political figures. You may want partial
boycotts but please, artists have a differentiated
response to almost everything and above ordinary dose
of creative potential. If you want to change things
engage. Do not disengage.
On the other hand it is time for Austrian artists to
consider seriously how and where their
work is presented, and ask themselves whether the
presentation can be construed as representing Austria.
It is time to develop and display a consciousness of
the politics of art and the art of politics. "
Tim Sharp / Lisl Ponger
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