Welcome to a new edition of evil:austria!

One thing will be made clear in this edition: the FPOe/OeVP government hands out state subsidies to their own favourites from the extreme right scene in a more and more impertinent way, while critical institutions are dried out financially. This is matched by increased attempts to "correct" Austrian history....

evil:austria is our monthly newsletter providing information about the situation in Austria (and regarding the consequences of FPOe/OeVP government). We decided to produce this newsletter since we realized that knowledge regarding the actual situation in Austria is not very widespread abroad. The government, after discussions about EU-"sanctions" against Austria were dropped, succeeded in removing the daily insanity from the attention of the international public. Meanwhile "sanctions" have been lifted, which almost all political groups here celebrated as a victory, and the "interest" taken in the development in Austria has decreased even more. The "normalisation" of the right-wing/right-extreme government continues, and therefore information about the aggravation of the situation in Austria is even more important. It is therefore highly desired that you spread this newsletter as widely as possible, so that as many people as possible get to know about the situation in Austria. So please spread, spread, spread this. Of course you may also use this material (also in excerpts) for magazines and papers, but we would be glad if you sent us a short mail in this case.

Any criticism and comments please send to (if possible, please write in German and English):

raw@raw.at

Have fun!

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[1] Where is Marcus Omofuma?
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[2] The extreme right's protest march
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[3] National "assistance"
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[4] Double standards
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[5] Politically motivated economizing
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[6] Racism in Austria
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[7] Racist police
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[8] Development of a Law (1): "Integration treaty"
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[9] Development of a Law (2): Organisation of Universities
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[10] A new contemporary hystory?
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[11] Trials against anti-WEF activists in Salzburg
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[12] Clash about Haider's journey to Iraq
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[13] Free(dom Party's) Porn for the Youth
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[1] Where is Marcus Omofuma?
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Marcus Omofuma died May 1st, 1999 during his deportation, in the plane between Vienna and Sofia. The three police officers accompanying him brought him aboard the plane tied up with tape and glued him to the seat - including at least his mouth and chest. According to the first and third post mortems (both times done by non-Austrian medics) Omofuma was slowly suffocated.

The three officers responsible are now on trial, at last - for 'torturing a prisoner with consequent death'. The way this trial went, the result will most probably be an acquittal: shortly before the trial started, Harald Ofner (legal spokesperson of FPOe in parliament) took over legal representation of one of the officers. Marcus Omofuma is accused of drug dealing during this process and is described as a kicking and biting wild man. Former Secretary of Interior Franz Loeschnak (SPOe), as a witness, described sealing a person's mouth with tape as an appropriate measure of self-defense by the officers. Several witnesses of the torture did not make an appearance before the court.

At the same time, there is a trial against police officers in Belgium who also effected the death of a deportee.

(source: http://www.no-racism.net/racismkills)

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[2] The extreme right's protest march
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For April 13, Austrian Neo-Nazis call for a protest march against the exhibition "Criminal Offences of Wehrmacht. Dimensions of a War for Annihilation 1941-1944" which critically inspects the role of German Wehrmacht during the annihilation war of the Nazis. This would be the first Neo-Nazi march in Vienna since many years and at the same time an expression of the increasing reorganization of the extreme right scene in Austria.

Organizing the march is the 'Kameradschaft Germania' which already last year got into the centre of public attention since they, on their website, proudly announced a dedication on a photo which they received from Joerg Haider.

Even as there is no direct support from FPOe circles for the protest march, the 'Germanen' can be sure of ideological support. FPOe head Ms. Susanne Riess-Passer said in an interview the exhibition offered 'a one-sided perspective of history'.

(sources: own research, http://derstandard.at)

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[3] National "assistance"
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An Austrian police officer who was suspected of torture in Kosovo was brought back to Austria quickly by the Foreign Secretary which prevents further investigations by UN authorities. The reasons given at first were disciplinary, then his health situation, and finally an alleged danger of suicide. The case only got public attention in Austria after "Washington Post" ran an article about the incident.

Then, after consultations with and on orders of Foreign Sec Ferrero-Waldner (OeVP), the Austrian ambassador to the UN wrote a letter to Kofi Annan. In this letter, the future participation of Austria in UN actions is being questioned if this case may not be investigated solely by Austrian legal institutions....

(source: http://derstandard.at)

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[4] Double standards
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Those applying for state subsidies should make sure they belong to the same political camp as those who decide about sums. In the case at hands, Social Minister Herbert Haupt (FPOe). The Association of German-Nation Middle School Organisations - who feels obliged to keeping up German cultural values as well as compulsory fighting with swords - has been equipped with funds: besides a basic sum of EURO 14,534, they will receive additional funds for eight more projects of about the same amount. Apart from this, two Carinthian villages - with FPOe mayors - received generously.

The Association "Mauthausen Aktiv" whose aim is to keep up memories of the holocaust, on the other hand, applied for EURO 8,7220 and will receive only half of this amount.

(source: http://derstandard.at)

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[5] Politically motivated economizing
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The Documentation Archives of Austrian Resistance documents extreme right activities in Austria. Among them is FPOe who has been trying for several years now to silence the Archives and now attempts to realize this from the perspective of a governing party.

TV interviews and reports in state owned TV about the Archives drastically dropped since the new government came in, and subsidies have been cut. Additional expense due to legal changes regarding Civil Service personnel (Civil Service is an alternative to the military draft) create a financially dangerous situation for the Archives. Due to this situation, the exhibition service had to be cut and exhibitions are only open upon demand.

(source: http://www.doew.at)

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[6] Racism in Austria
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The association ZARA (Civil Courage and Anti-Racism) now published the "Report on Racism 2001" which takes up cases of every-day racism in Austria. The reports have been gathered by 13 NGO organizations.

Here's one example: "Mr O. and two friends, all of them Austrian citizens of Nigerian origin, go for a drink to the "Irish Pub" in a Vienna neighbourhood. When they order drinks, nobody reacts and they are not served. When questioned, a waitress informs them that she is not allowed to serve them upon orders by her boss. The other visitors think this is funny and recommend to change to a different neighbourhood in town. Mr O. demands to talk to the boss who confirms that he won't 'serve people like you'. Mr O. is deeply hurt but leaves the place because he does not want to get into trouble. (...)"

Many reports concentrate on racist or anti-semitic graffiti like "Kill Negroes", "Negroe dealers back to Africa", "Against these Jewish pigs", "Turkish pigs - yeccchh - out with them - lice and wogs" who are getting more and more numerous in Vienna...

The complete report, in German and English, can be seen at:
http://www.zara.or.at/01_03.html

(source: http://www.zara.or.at)

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[7] Racist police
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On March 15, 2002, a police car stopped 25-year-old Kambowa Mutombo from Congo. The man, who is presently doing a practical training for "Radio Africa International, was walking down the street. The officers demanded to see his documents. Mr Mutombo showed his asylum seeker's card and his provisional stay permit which showed he was a refugee. Then the officers demanded to see his passport. But as a refugee, he does not have one.

So one of the officers shouted: "Don't be a stupid n***er!" Mutombo replied: "I am not stupid, I am not a n***gger!" Suddenly "they threw me to the ground, kicked me in the back with their feet, and handcuffed me", Mutombo reports. Then several police cars appeared who took the man to a police station with the comment: "You have a big problem now". His hands were still handcuffed behind his back. "One officer then pulled down my trousers. I sat in front of all the officers, stark naked. They treated me like and animal and laughed at me."

Only three hours later, Mutombo was released and told "You can go home". The reason given was there had been "a confusion".

(source: http://www.falter.at)

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[8] Development of a Law (1): "Integration treaty"
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After a longer media preparation, the government now presented a draft of their so-called "integration treaty". The most important points: forced assimilation and the availability of cheap workers without rights. Among the measures planned are compulsory language courses, 50% of the cost of which has to be paid by the individual migrants. If such a course is not completed successfully, the "treaty" provides sanctions from fines to deportation. A reform of regulations regarding stay and work permits, overdue since long, is not effected of course. Instead, companies will in future be able to choose between a "key workforce" (minimum wages: 1,962 before tax) and seasonal workers - who, according to this "treaty", will be found in almost all branches, also those who are not explicitly seasonal businesses).

Unlimited stay permits will de facto be abolished. Instead, migrants will have to prove a good state of health in future. Severe illness apparently is going to be installed as new reason for deportation. Last not least, an increase of police authorizations is provided: in future, security forces will be allowed to enter rooms in search of a foreign resident even if deportation has not been ordered, just upon suspecting that the person may stay at that place.

(source: http://www.no-racism.net/ANAR/integrationsvertrag)

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[9] Development of a Law (2): Organisation of Universities
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Austria, too, is organising the restructuring of universities into places of neo-liberal small-scale education. After introducing students' fees last year, the autonomy of universities is the issue this year. The most important part of the law is giving back almost all decisions to the professors; in cases of doubt, officials from the Ministery can be asked for advice. Besides undermining the existing students' unions, the law also plans to shorten the first part of the course of studies [now 5 terms/2.5 years].

The so-called financial autonomy of universities is nothing but a substantial reduction of state subsidies for universities. To make up for this, individual universities in future may "autonomously" decide the amount of students' fees they charge.

All in all, the new Law for Organising Universities (which is supposed to be valid from autumn 2002) is meant to achieve: development of elite universities, increasing barriers against social mobility, cutting back the numbers of students, production of non-critical 'automatons of knowledge', removal of those fields not attractive and not fit for economy, re-installation of social elites.

(source: http://www.oeh.ac.at)

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[10] A new contemporary hystory?
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For some time already, there have been attempts to establish a museum of contemporary hystory in Austria. While a place still has not been found, a first project was initiated by the government: "50 years of Austrian state treaty" (1955-2005). The persons for this workgroup have already been decided upon: Wilhelm Brauneder (member of FPOe and author in extreme right publications), Stefan Karner (the chancellor's hystorian), Manfred Rauchensteiner (a military hystorian close to OeVP), and Kurt Scholz (SPOe). One wonders about the way in which hystory will be written when four persons are trying hard to spice the previous hystory with extreme right interpretations. None of these person is a contemporary hystorian anyway...

(source: http://derstandard.at)

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[11] Trials against anti-WEF activists in Salzburg
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After police announced as much as 113 persons being charged as a consequence of the anti-WEF protests in Salzburg last July, the first trials will take place now. Interestingly, already during the first process against an activist from Rosenheim/Germany, the prosecutor's witnesses failed to make an appearance. As a result of this, the activist was acquitted. Two more trials against two persons from Vienna did not have a result as of yet.

The government of the federal state of Salzburg intends to pass a ban against masks during protests. Salzburg parliament demanded that the Austrian federal government should effect such a ban.

(source: http://at.indymedia.org)

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[12] Clash about Haider's journey to Iraq
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In the parliament of the federal state of Carinthia, the opposition, with the help of OeVP, managed to effect a parliamentary committee of inquiry which will deal with Carinthian Prime Minister Joerg Haider's journey to Iraq (cf. evil:austria 0202). The previous sessions took place without the committee's FPOe members' participating, since they believe the committee is "against the constitution and null and void", in accordance with a private expert opinion by a constitutional expert. The committee has got several aspects to investigate, e.g. the unclear identity of a fourth person participating in the journey and payment for the plane tickets from Damascus to Baghdad by the Iraqi embassy. Another aspect of investigation will be the "special tariff" for the private jet leased at about 50% of the usual tariff. Joerg Haider continues to insist that he went to Iraq as a private person for humynitarian reasons and not in his capacity as a Prime Minister of Carinthia, and that he is prepared to visit Iraq any time.

The amount of humynitarian aid delivered was relatively modest, at about EURO 10,000 - although the noble donors have not even paid the Austrian Red Cross as of yet.

(source: http://derstandard.at)

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[13] Free(dom Party's) Porn for the Youth
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A very special idea of caring about the youth has been displayed by a website of the Circle of Freedom Party Youth Carinthia until recently. It offered a banner promising visitors "hardcore sex with randy girls".

This offer, however, will not be all that cheap for the FPOe youths: to use this service, one must install a 0190-dialer which makes telephone bills soar tremendously.

But is there really a stout supporter of the Freedom Party who won't be prepared to put up with minor inconveniencies like astronomical phone bills for a service recommended by their party.....

(source: http://derstandard.at)

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EPILOGUE
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NO PEACE WITH AUSTRIA!!!