[CTRL] Fw: Declaration of the Austrian antiracist movement

[Mrs. Jela Jovanovic, Secretary General]

-Caveat Lector-   <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
</A> -Cui Bono?-

-----Original Message-----
From: Johannes Schneider <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Declaration of the Austrian antiracist movement
>>
>this is a mail to our international friends who are concearned about what
is
>going on in Austria.
>if you agree with the content, please forward it to others.
>
>***************************************.
>
>WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT IS DONE TO HUMAN RIGHTS
>AND HUMAN DIGNITY IN OUR COUNTRY.
>
>We do not feel obliged to claim Austria's "innocence". The to-be government
>is in support of the majority of Austria's population.
>We have no reason to claim Haider is "just another" populist. He is not. He
>is a
>populist that operates with xenophobia, racism and the denial of the
>Holocaust.
>
>The major threat is not the increase of direct violence against minorities.
>The
>major threat is the signal that far right agitation and action is not only
>ok but
>earns you a place in government.
>As opportunism is one of the most prominent features of the "Austrian
>mentality", this is a severe political danger.
>
>We have reason to be afraid of
>* the final end of refugee or integration policies
>* increasing xenophobia, racism and even antisemitism, because Austia has
>never faced its past and now people have governmental legitimation for such
>attitudes
>* law and order policies instead of co-operative strategies to deal with
>crime
>and conflict
>* abolition of progressive women's policies (e.g. the post of the minister
>for
>women's affairs will be cancelled and replaced by an extended family
>ministery)
>* severe restrictions to freedom of art, especially where it puts a finger
>on the
>state of the Austrian society (already, in Carinthia, artists are faced
with
>political limitations to their work)
>* restrictions to the freedom of press, because subsidies for critical
media
>products will most certainly be cut down
>
>we don't know yet what to do about it.
>we need both your solidarity and your ongoing critisism.
>don't stop looking at our country.
>
>
>To the international community
>
>Declaration of the Austrian antiracist movement
>
>In this moment of Austrian history we are deeply concerned with the
>political
>developments in our country. For more than 10 years, many NGOs, initiatives
>and smaller parties have tried to change the austrian racist reality
without
>success.
>
>In the new millenium, Austria still is not a democracy but a national
>democracy. More than 10 % of our population is systematically denied all
>political rights and participation, often even for decades, they are kept
in
>the
>status of "foreigners". Even in the trade-unions, there are no equal voting
>rights for all workers and employees. This system, guaranteeing equality
not
>to human beeings but to citizens only, is unique in Europe. Since a
>democratic
>system has been imposed on Austria after World War II, not only the
>conservatives and the right wing, but also the governing social democrats
>fortified this system of nationalistic and racist segregation and
exclusion.
>This
>lack of balance in the political system led to the uprising of a party that
>is
>openly promoting a revision of Nazi history, using racism as an effective
>political tool due to the lack of a counterveilling power.
>
>Even the killing of Marcus Omofuma during his deportation on May 1st 1999
>did not lead to any antiracist measures. On the contrary, police action,
>especially against people with African background, increased drastically.
>Charles O., major activist, writer and poet from Nigeria, was even accused
>of
>being a drug-boss and imprisoned for 3 months, before he had to be released
>due to complete lack of evidence and major charges were dropped.
>Nevertheless these practices led to significant intimidation of the Black
>communities in their political campaigning.
>
>Under such unfair conditions of criminalisation and the lack of democratic
>rights, we welcome initiatives from the side of the international community
>that put pressure on Austrian representatives. Austria is facing a drastic
>swing
>to the right. With a right-conservative government things will even get
>worse
>for people discriminated on grounds of racism, including the Jewish
>minority,
>as well as for people discriminated on the grounds of sexual orientation,
>sexual
>identity or on the grounds of being physically handicaped.
>
>For some years now, Austria is known in the European Union for its attempts
>to radically alter the politics towards a demontage of the Geneva
Convention
>and the denial of asylum for refugees. Austria has become the home-base for
>right-wing policies, threatening emancipatory movements all over Europe.
>Therefore it is in the self-interest of all democratic powers in Europe to
>try to
>reverse the political currents in Austria. We want to encourage all
>international steps in this direction, hoping that the European Union at
>least
>has learned from history, while the official Austria has not.
>
>Under any government to come, Austria should finally change towards a fair
>democratic system which includes the right to vote for all permanent
>inhabitants, in which there is an anti-discrimination-law with respective
>enforcement, in which immigrants are not treated as enemies and in which
>human rights are really respected.
>
>
>Platform for a world without racism
>
>Vienna, 1.2.2000
>
>(Please distribute this declaration to your regional and national media as
>well
>as to politicians).

<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing!  These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.

Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html

http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Om