Welcome to the new issue of evil:austria!

So on for a new issue. This time it is a little shorter than the preceding ones (the translators will be happy about that...), but none the less very good ;-) And if we are talking about translations: You are now also able to read evil:austria in italian, if everything works out well, there will be even more translations available for this issue. You are able to find all translations and older versions on our homepage at http://www.raw.at in the section "newsletter". Of course it's also possible to receive more different translations (maybe you want to distribute them or you are just curious) of evil:austria by e-mail, just drop us a note.

For those who don't know what this is all about a few words of explanation:

evil:austria is our monthly newsletter which supplies info about the actual situation in Austria and the consequences of the new government. We have decided to produce this newsletter because we realized that the knowledge about the real situation in Austria, especially abroad, is very limited. The government has achieved its target that with the discussion about the "sanctions" of the European Union the daily madness in this country has vanished from the agenda of the international public. We want to avoid this resulting in a "normalization" of the right/right-extreme Austrian government. We also do this for egoistic reasons, because international monitoring prevents things from getting even worse at least for the moment. Therefore, it is very important to spread this Newsletter as far as possible, so that as many people as possible are informed about the situation in Austria. Thus: distribute it, distribute it, distribute it! Feel free to use this material for other publications, but please, send us a mail if you do so.

Send criticism and all remarks, if possible in German or English, to:

raw@raw.at

Have Fun!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ;begin content >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

****************************************************************
[1] Consulting the people (1)
****************************************************************
[2] Consulting the people (2)
****************************************************************
[3] International support for FPOe
****************************************************************
[4] Further tightening of foreigner laws to come
****************************************************************
[5] When Haider goes on a journey...
****************************************************************
[6] Further cutbacks in social welfare system
****************************************************************
[7] More rights for the military...
****************************************************************
[8] Coming to terms with the past - OEVP
****************************************************************
[9] Another dead person in police custody
****************************************************************
[10] Migrants attacked by skinheads
****************************************************************
[11] Right-wing extremism increasing
****************************************************************
[12] Protest marches and money
****************************************************************
[13] Chancellor against abortion
****************************************************************
[14] Racist justice in Austria
****************************************************************

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ;end content >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

****************************************************************
[1] Consulting the people (1)
****************************************************************

Just in case the EU-"sanctions" will not be called off by November,the Austrian government is planning a referendum. The Austrians shall, "ifpossible ", answer "yes" to six questions, in order to back up the government and its "fight against Brussels".
It is hard to see how this referendum could be used to put any pressure on EU. And there are also doubts whether realising the referendum is in agreement with the constitution. The government has indeed altered the questions slightly after massive criticism: The first question ("Shall the government, in the course of the upcoming reform of the EU-treaty, make sure with all appropriate means that the unjustified sanctions that the other member states of the EU have imposed upon Austria are being called off immediately") was reworded insofar as the obviously suggestive word "unjustified" was dropped.
Another important point is that all six questions can only be answered with a collective "yes" or "no". Therefore any person answering with "yes" automatically declares him/herself against human rights, democratic elections, equality among EU member states and the constitutional state.

****************************************************************
[2] Consulting the people (2)
****************************************************************

According to the magazine "Profil" (issue dd July 10), some people within FPOe also think about realising a referendum regarding the compensation of forced labourers. Andreas Moelzer, cultural adviser to Carinthian governor Joerg Haider, declared "this would be an interesting question, because morally we are not obliged in any way. But pragmatically, this won't be possible. We just have to pay anyway." Incidentally, Moelzer is the editor of the extreme right-wing weekly newspaper "Zur Zeit"...

****************************************************************
[3] International support for FPOe
****************************************************************

FPOe must have been quite happy to hear that they finally got international support for one of their plans. What a pity this support once again comes from Neonazis. The Swedish Nazi paper"Nationalsocialistik front" has praised FPOe Vice Mayor of Seekirchen, Helmut Naderer, for his refusal to contribute to the "reconciliation fund" for the compensation of former NS-forced labourers. Naderer instead also demanded a reconciliation by the allied powers. (see evil:austria 0700)

****************************************************************
[4] Further tightening of foreigner laws to come
****************************************************************

Austrian magazine "Format" has been passed on an internal paper of a group of officials from the Ministry of the Interior which plans massive aggravations of foreigner laws. The officials suggest, for instance, that young people of the second generation, i.e. persons born in Austria, may also be deported. This plan will also make possible to deport refugees whose asylum proceedings are not yet closed.
The regulations for deportation custody shall also become more rigid. The officials of the ministry plan to have prisoners on hunger strike nourished forcibly. Furthermore the foreigner police also wants to take minors into deportation custody.The interior ministry declares that those "ideas" are merely a collection and not the opinion of the minister. Of course, honestly.

****************************************************************
[5] When Haider goes on a journey...
****************************************************************

Even if Joergi Haider does not like to admit it: It hurts to arrive amongst Italian enemies when one has come to visit Italian friends. Somehow he imagined his journey to Italy to be completely different. He was looking forward to good food, but he did not exactly expect to have it thrown at him. And he was also annoyed by those stupid "radicals, left-wings, anarchists and old-communists" (quote Haider) who came to "greet" him in every single town of his tour. But being a real Fuehrer, he takes the bull by the horns with a brilliant historical comparison: In France he detects attempts to "direct Europe as its vanguard" and states: "This is the beginning of an undesirable development, as we know it from German and Italian fascism"

****************************************************************
[6] Further cutbacks in social welfare system
****************************************************************

An expert commission appointed by the government suggested to abolish subsidies for students (at the moment 2,000 to 3,000 Austrian Shillings per month/about 145 to 218 Euro) and to raise scholarships instead. They estimate savings of 6 billion Shillings (436.000.000 Euro) per year. This will be another step towards the abolishment of free access to universities. At least FPOe already approves of it.

****************************************************************
[7] More rights for the military...
****************************************************************

Early in July, the FPOe and OeVP government has passed a law concerning the authority of the armed forces (Militärbefugnisgesetz). This law entitles the army to rights, which were only available to the police before. For instance: they can carry out identity checks, search persons and houses if there is any property of the army nearby (e.g. military vehicles!!!). If necessary, these rights can also be enforced by force of arms.
The rights of the intelligence services (Heeresnachrichtendienst HnaA, Heeresabwehrdienst HAA and military police GK/G2) are fundamentally extended, too. Persons, apartments, etc. can be observed without judicial authorisation. The police can only observe within much stricter legal conditions. The agents are also allowed to have false identity papers, and they can observe relatives of soldiers. The FPOe-OeVP-government also "recommends" the observation of newspapers and authors who are critical of the army, the observation of political groups and anarchists. So the political course has been made clear now. Even the data protection regulations are by far not as strict as with the police (e.g. the right to be given access to records is missing).
This law would most likely also have been passed by the SPOe (the bill was already there). The difference between the old bill and the law which has been passed now, is that the data protection representative (who supervises observations, for instance) would have been appointed by parliament, and is now appointed by the minister for defence. The armed forces have already had far-reaching authorities within the state before (missions at the borders to get rid of refugees). But with this new law, the government now has the possibility to take action against political enemies with military force.

****************************************************************
[8] Coming to terms with the past - OEVP
****************************************************************

When the three "wise men" of EU scrutinize the nature of the FPOE, they should examine OEVP as well on this occasion, because antisemitism is not an FPOe "privilege" at all, even though they are the ones who make it socially acceptable.
Employer and OEVP-member Johannes Asamer told the magazine "Profil" that "the Jews would get hit on the head" in the context of the issue of forced labourers. One week later, the weekly paper "Format" interviewed him on this subject. This time, Asamer claimed to have been quoted out of context. He restored the context in the next sentence and said: "I said exactly that if the Jews make themselves unpopular in the entire world, they will get hit on the head again." According to this, the Jews have always been to blame for their own persecution.
A few sentences later he uses another classic line of argumentation of the"new right" by offsetting the victims of the October Revolution of 1917 against those of the Nazi crimes. And then, as a highlight, he reveals his "idendity": "The Russians don't have to pay because they won the war. WE (!!!) lost the war and have to pay."
The entire interview goes on in this manner. No statements were made on the part of OEVP. This is probably because they are always busy apologizing for FPOE.

****************************************************************
[9] Another dead person in police custody
****************************************************************

A heroin addict hung himself in the police station Vienna-Simmering on June 24th. As usual, the police only gave scarce information weeks after the incident. The 24 year old man had been questioned by the criminal investigation department only a few hours before his death. During this interrogation, the prisoner had already urgently asked to see a doctor. The cops passed this on to the safety guards who remained passive. Therefore, no doctor came, and the prisoner hung himself. Two safety guards are already investigated for "torturing or neglecting a prisoner". But this was not mentioned in the statements of Viennese police headquarters.The guards are still on duty in spite of the investigations.
This is the third dead person in a Viennese prison within three months. Richard Ibekwe was found dead in a place of detention in Erdberg. Three days later, Slovakian Lubomir K. died in the police station in Vienna-Landstrasse. In both cases, the police claims the prisoners died of drugs. If this is true, the responsible officials acted negligently as no medical examinations were made. These are, however, compulsory for arrests with suspicion of drug crimes.
So life in an Austrian prison is not worth much.

****************************************************************
[10] Migrants attacked by skinheads
****************************************************************

3 year old Tutanch is treated in hospital since the 21st of July. The son of Sudanese Anthony Maw Stevenson was knocked down and kicked in the stomach repeatedly during an attack by Nazi skinheads. His father, president of the organisation "Humanitarian help for Africa", received injuries to jawbone, knee, ribs and head.
This happened in the park in front of Vienna's city hall in the Inner City. Three skins yelled: "We are the new Nazis - we don't want any Negroes! Heil Hitler!" Even though this occured near a populated crossroads, nobody came to their aid - that's the way it is in Austria. On the other side of the road, another Black African was attacked by Neo-Nazis. The Nazi group scattered and Stevenson followed one of his attackers to the nearby Federal Chancellery, but the skinheads had ganged up again there, joined by two more youths armed with baseball bats. Again, the group attacked Stevenson and his son. This time somebody came to their aid, so the skins fled. As a precaution measure, one of them went to the police himself to give them his version of the story, but he was reported immediately. According to the police, the culprits are looked for in the right-wing extremist scene. By the same police that stirs up the paranoia of alleged drug dealers among a population which is susceptible to racism anyway. And there is FPOe which demands "Stop foreign infiltration". And Nazis who put this into action. Welcome to Austria.

****************************************************************
[11] Right-wing extremism increasing
****************************************************************

The number of reports regarding rightwing extremist crimes increased for as much as 48% during the first six months in 2000. This means an increase from 157 reports during the same time in 1999 to 232 this year. Offences against the law against National Socialism saw an increase from 80 to 119. The Ministry of the Interior does not see this increase to be caused by a climate favourable for Nazis in this country, no, quite on the contrary, the increase was said to be due to a greater extent of awareness among population and executive forces: people tended to ignore less and report
more.

****************************************************************
[12] Protest marches and money
****************************************************************

On principle, we don't do this, but we are going to allow an exception to the rule here and present an excerpt from "Kronen-Zeitung", a tabloid with definite tendencies to the right:

"What a mad result of the meanwhile 139(!) anti-government demonstrations in Vienna: they already cost taxpayers some 82 million Austrian Shillings, and there were 59 injured policemen, some of whom received severe injuries! And the rioters? They continue to march every Thursday..."
(Neue Kronen Zeitung, 14.7.00)

:-))))))))))))))))))))))

****************************************************************
[13] Chancellor against abortion
****************************************************************

A letter dated May 2, 2000 signed by Chancellor Schuessel comforts a pro-lifer: "We respect life unrestrictedly and are against abortion on principle," Schuessel wrote. "The basis for credible politics is the protection of life, and an according change of law is envisaged by OeVP...".
After having abolished the wymyn's ministry (and founding a sports ministry instead), christian-right-conservative OeVP now attacks the wymyn's right to self-determination! They are targetting the abortion law much fought for during the 70ies, which will allow abortions up to the
12th week of pregnancy.
OeVP speaks about an "unfortunate wording", FPOe General Secretary Theresia Zierler believes one can "also talk about the abortion law in autumn". Andreas Kohl (OeVP) and Peter Westenthaler (FPOe), however, announced the law was not going to be discussed. All in all it is a fact that pro-lifers (who, e.g., continue to harrass wymyn entering and leaving an abortion clinic in Vienna) receive support by Chancellor Schuessel. The present situation is difficult as is: not many hospitals will do abortions anyway, and especially in rural areas the situation is very difficult. Anything creating facilities for wymyn is targetted: Health Secretary Waneck (FPOe) announced that the so-called abortion pill 'Mifegyne' may only be given to patients in hospitals but may not be prescribed by gynaecologists. This means a continuation of long travels and a multitude of problems for many wymyn.
Another interesting detail: OeVP has facilitated artificial insemination which is now funded by the National Health system - on the other hand, they do their utmost to make things as difficult as possible for pregnant wymyn who do not want to have a child, as abortions will not be paid for under the Health Service, but have to be paid for by the wymyn.

****************************************************************
[14] Racist justice in Austria
****************************************************************

My name is J. A., born in Sudan on December 19th 1960. I came to this country (Austria) on October 1st 1998 and asked for asylum. I was arrested on the 27th May 1999 with so many other black people and I was accused of being a member of a black criminal organisation (John is talking about the "Operation Spring", a large-scale racist-motivated "drug raid" in which more than 100 black people were arrested). I was sentenced to five years of prison without any evidence against me. I was not found with drugs or anything criminal. Yet I was given five years. In my court they brought three witnesses against me and these are people I've never seen in my life. The first witness, Regina Jarjue, said she had seen me in this Chinese restaurant, but she also said that I have never given any drugs to her. The other witness, Christian Rabl, said he doesn't know me and that he has never seen me at all. The last witness, Mathias Helmer, said that he knows me and when he was asked when he got to know me he answered from June 1998 to October 1998. This cannot be possible because I was in prison in Germany from February 1998 to October the 1st 1998. In passing my judgement the judge said that he is finding me guilty because I have sold drugs from inside prison in Germany. Before my day to court I was called to the investigating judge who told me that they have received a message from Germany saying I was in prison from Feb. to Oct. 1999 which I accepted as true. How comes they accuse me now of doing what I did not do? I was not found guilty of organised criminality, yet I was arrested and given five years. In court I was asked if I was among the people who demonstrated against the killing of Marcus Omofuma and I said yes (On May 1st 1999 Marcus Omofuma was killed by police officers during his deportation from Austria to Nigeria). I was asked by the judge to explain the reason why I was among the demonstrators. I cannot answer this and I don't know the reason why a demonstration should be among the things I am being judged of. Even after he passed my verdict the judge asked me to make a confessionalstatement and to testify against other people, and if I would do that he would reduce my sentence. How can I do this? Do I have to testify against people I don't know anything about to get my sentence reduced? Was I given five years because I failed to talk against others? Is this justice? Is this human rights? It is all mockery!
I was not given a fair trial, I was asked to answer what they wanted but they never allowed me to talk. I will never accept this sentence because it was framed I hope the world will look into my file, I wish the world would at least have a look onto the evidence against me and see everything that happened to me. I was given five years out of wickedness, and mostly because of the colour of my skin. Please, I ask all the people concerned about human rights to come to my help. Let the world know that this is not a case against drug dealers. How long are they going to cover all this mistreatment with drugs. 80% of all the people arrested during this Operation Spring have nothing whatsoever to do with drugs. I am not a drug dealer and I will never testify against innocent people to save myself. I hope you will intervene in my case and all these cases against innocent black people and bring justice to whom justice is due.

****************************************************************
EPILOGUE
****************************************************************

If you do not to want to receive any further newsletters from us, please send us a short e-mail. Please make certain that you receive the newsletter from us directly. Otherwise please ask the people who forwarded our newsletter to you ;-))))))
But it also works the other way round (and we're much happier with this sort of mail). Any person who would like to receive our newsletter directly from us, just send a mail saying please add me to your mailing list. (Once again: we would be grateful if you wrote in English or German!).

See you again next month,

NO PEACE WITH AUSTRIA!!!