Welcome to a new edition of evil:austria!

This issue of evil:austria is dominated by information about the 'informer scandal' which, since the beginning of October, haunts the FPOe und puts Joerg Haider's nerves to a severe test. Apart from that, the FPOe this month changed two of their ministers, thus having used up half of their government team since February. What a pity that there's always new ones following...

As always, here is an explanation what this newsletter is and why we are producing it:

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] Haider in Vienna
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[2] Commemoration event forbidden
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[3] Court sentence for national-socialist activity
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[4] A rank-and-file local politician of FPOe
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[5] Schmid 1
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[6] Minister gone 1
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[7] Minister gone 2, or: Schmid 2, or: personnel difficulties within FPOe 1
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[8] Censorship or: FPOe always eager to sue
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[9] Scandal regarding party financing
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[10] The informers' scandal - an introduction
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[11] Minister of Justice Herr Boehmdorfer
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[12] The 'rank-and-file' party member
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[13] Hilmar Kabas & Co or: personnel difficulties within FPOe 2
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[14] Salzburg or: personnel difficulties within FPOe 3
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[15] The "ultimate strike-back"
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[1] Haider in Vienna
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On October 19, FPOe had an inofficial start of its election campaign for Vienna: In Vienna conference centre, Haider spoke in front of approx. 800 supporters with an average age of about 70 years (with massive protests outside), using a well-known vocabulary: he mentioned a "consistent elimination" of foreigners, and said Vienna "deserved to be freed from the Left (...)", and "Since I've been governing Carinthia, no left persons dares to go out and demonstrate seriously". He continued in this manner, with his supporters rejoicing.

Following this event, several younger FPOe-supporters set into practice what Haider preaches: they attacked six persons who had protested against this event earlier that night and were on their way home. With the comments "There's talking inside, but there'll be action here outside", and "we'll carry out what Haider can't do himself", they beat these six persons; a journalist had a knife pointed at him. Result: two persons seriously injured, one slightly injured, all of them opponents of Haider....

It is to be expected that the election campaign of FPOe in Vienna will again display an unparalled racism. Still one may toss coins regarding who will be the leading Vienna candidate: Hilmar Kabas most probably won't be, as his involvement in the 'informer scandal' should prevent him from running for office.

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[2] Commemoration event forbidden
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A commemoration event was planned for November 1 in a cemetary in Salzburg for the Salzburg Jews, Roma and Sinti, the forced labourers, conscientious objectors, victims of euthanasia, and people from Salzburg resistance, murdered by the Nazis. This event was banned by the Federal Management of Police because "the purpose of this event is against the criminal laws" and that the event did not correspond to popular traditions. The police also wrote the event was "a political manifestation against the appearance of former members of armed SS on the cemetary".

This means that it must apparently correspond to popular traditions when former members of SS commemorate their dead, and this also does not happen to be against any criminal laws! Commemorating those murdered by the Nazis, on the other hand, insults "the feelings of reverence and the religious feelings of many (...) other visitors of he cemetary", as the police write. Even a quiet protest which planned to wear yellow stars made of paper has been banned by authorities, since certain visitors of the cemetary feel this was "deriding the fallen soldiers of both world wars". Austria honours the Nazis and bans commemorating their victims.

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[3] Court sentence for national-socialist activity
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Robert Duerr, staff member of right-wing extreme magazine "Sieg" [victory] keeps good contacts to German NPD [National Democrats], and is said to have had repeated appearances as an orator at NPD events; he is a founding member of "Partei Neue Ordnung" [Party New Order] as well as of "Community of Farmers". He was also active for FPOe, and in 1987 was a candidate for FPOe. He has now been sentenced under the law that banned national-socialist activity. Duer calls the law banning fascism a "law to protect crooks and criminals".

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[4] A rank-and-file FPOe local politician
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Wolfgang Haberler, FPOe chairperson for a Vienna district, has been ratted on by two former FPOe functionaries: they say he took part in a summer solstice party in 1994 where he sang the 'Horst-Wessel-Song' which is illegal under the law banning fascism. In 1993, he proudly posed in the trenches of Croatian right-wing extremists, and inquired intensely where he could purchase sniper's rifles. He also allowed a group of youths to use the local FPOe premises; this group went under the name "Sturmgruppe Ost" [storm-group East] and produced posters which read "Austria was German, is German, and will stay German". In 1988, he published an article in right-wing extreme paper "Der Voelkerfreund" [Friend of the Peoples] in which he commented the "Saint Germain dictate", i.e. the 1919 Saint Germain peace treaty. Two years ago he contented that the government, by its foreigners' politics, meant to change Austrians "lock, stock, and barrel".

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[5] Schmid 1
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Minister of Infrastructure Michael Schmid (FPOe) - also responsible for traffic - should be the one to know traffic regulations. Nothing doing, however: while driving his car, he took out his cellphone and made a telephone call, without using a handsfree set, and this is illegal in Austria. What's worse: he did so while being filmed for an interview - and this, if anything, falls under the category of 'pretty stupid'. Schmid reported himself to the police.

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[6] Minister gone 1
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Ex-Minister for Justice Krueger (FPOe) had such a short term in office that he qualifies for the Guiness Book, and now also Minister for Social Affairs Sickl (FPOe) had to resign. Her successor is Herr Haupt, a vet, and a member of a right-wing students' fraternity... Haupt thus will also be Minister for Wymyn's Affairs. In an interview, his wife was asked whether Herr Haupt helps with the household chores, and she answered, he did not have time to help, but he would buy her household appliances....:
wymyn's politics a la Austrian!

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[7] Exit Minister 2, or: Schmid 2, or: FPOe personnel crisis 1
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The ministers Krueger (FPOe) and Sickl (FPOe) have been dismissed due to internal pressure within the party, Minster of Infrastructure Schmid stepped down voluntarily. Because his "batteries are empty", and because he is fed up with all the infighting within the party after FPOe's defeat in elections in the Austrian federal state of Styria. His successor has not as yet been decided upon; Hubert Gorbach (FPOe) got mentioned, but is not favoured by the "rank-and-file party member" Joerg Haider. But it is a fact that FPOe is running short of potential ministers.

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[8] Censorship or: FPOe always eager to sue
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A letter to the editors of a student magazine (circulation 200 copies) read: "I took part in the demos against this fucking government right from the beginning". Four FPOe ministers, Minister of Justice Boehmdorfer, Vice Chancellor Ms Riess-Passer, (meanwhile ex) Minister of Social Affairs Sickl as well as (again ex) Minister for Infrastructur Schmid suspected a criminal offence and felt insulted, so insulted indeed they sued the magazine. The four ministers demanded appropriate recompensation from the student magazine! A judge dismissed the charges - the ministers were not satisfied and appealed for a review at another court where the matter was handled by FPOe sympathizer Ernest Maurer (cf evil:austria 0700), who duly announced that the case was worthy to be pursued. Therefore the process has taken place, and due to lack of money, the representative of the student magazine appeared without lawyer and had to settle for a compromise. The magazine paid ATS 18,000 as they wouldn't have been able to pay for legal fees additionally.

The only comment we've got: fucking government!

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[9] Scandal regarding party financing
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Apparently FPOe feels that the scandal about obtaining information illegally is not all there is to life, so the latest scandal is about party financing/donations: this time, FPOe Minister of Justice Boehmdorfer didn't give a fig about the law, to be precise about the law regulating donations to political parties. This law says that generous donours giving more than ATS 150,000 (i.e. EURO 11,000) have to be listed with names.
The reason for all this commotion is an envelop containing - according to an employee with Boehmdorfer's legal chambers - "huge piles of 5,000 Shilling notes" (totalling ATS 5 million = EURO 350,000). The amount was presented to Joerg Haider as a donation to the party by the late Herr Turnauer, owner of company Constantia-Iso Holding AG and FPOe supporter.
The amount was then taken to Boehmdorfer's chambers to have it safely stashed. Boehmdorfer and the colleagues in his chambers do not comment otherwise than being compelled to keep silent according to their duties as lawyers. The party's accounting does not make mention of this marginal sum of EURO 350,000.

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[10] The informers' scandal - an introduction
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We were not all that surprised to learn that police officers passed on information to FPOe which they had taken out of police computers on the party's demand - after all, it has been well known for years that the flow of information between police and FPOe worked very well. FPOe also time and again tried, during the recent years, to use these information to defame political adversaries. FPOe politicians, and also the daily paper "KronenZeitung", repeatedly presented material they only could have obtained out of police computers. So this does not come as a surprise for politically aware persons. The extent nevertheless *is* surprising, as apparently an internal network within the police force was built up for this purpose - which will nicely match the law rebuilding a criminal organisation ;-)))))
The entire scandal also shows what FPOe thinks of data protection and democracy. Still it remains to be seen whether this can damage the party in the long run...

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[11] Minister of Justice Herr Boehmdorfer
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Minster of Justice Boehmdorfer got involved in the information scandal in several ways:
1) Boehmdorfer quoted secret police material while working as a lawyer and also presented photos taken by the police. Even if he did not incite any person to steal data, he still may be sued for violation of data protection laws.
2) The Minster of Justice claims that Joerg Haider was "above all doubt" in this scandal. As Haider's lawyer, he may say this. But as a Minister of Justice, he is intolerable!
3) The legal chambers Boehmdorfer used to work for is representing the FPOe Police Union AUF in this case (all the officers suspended are members of this AUF Union), as well as the Vienna local manager Michael Kreissl. Especially active is Boehmdorfer's legal confidant Michael Rami. He also happens to have sued the artist Andre Heller and political scientist Anton Pelinka because of insulting comments.

In short: we've got a public prosecutor - who must obey Dieter Boehmdorfer's orders - investigating against suspected AUF police officers who are represented by a confidant of Boehmdorfer's. The parliament has meanwhile rejected the third impeachment against Boehmdorfer with the votes of OeVP and FPOe, he is under criticism by judges, but Chancellor Schuessel (OeVP) comments: "I have confidence in the independent Minister of Justice who does not belong to any political party." All demands for Boehmdorfer leaving office are being ignored!

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[12] The 'rank-and-file' party member
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[Translator's comment: when Haider stepped down as FPOe chairperson, he announced all he was going to be in future was a 'rank-and-file party member'.]

Joerg Haider's public appearances at this point in time are degenerating to verbal chaos: so he claims, for example, there was no evidence against him and other FPOe functionaries, according to him all this is just a red-green inflammatory campaign against his "consistent foreigners' politics", the entire scandal "originated in the sick brains of some journalists" and anyway, one was going to "restore order" now.

- No evidence on information passed on? Apart from the fact that Haider has been bragging about being in a position to obtain "police information any time", he gave written proof of this in 1997, complete with his signature.

Haider's letter to the former Home Secretary Schloegl, which has been kept under lock and key up to now, contains the sentence: "Excerpts from police computers in High Austria, Styria, and Salzburg, which were put at my disposal, give clear proof of this." He was not willing to name his informers, as he says in the letter, since he was not prepared to "have the courageous officials .. turned into culprits now." Haider blocked all investigation into this case at that time. It remains to be seen how he thinks of doing the same now, as at least five of his "courageous officials" come up with evidence against him. His bodyguard Binder had his house raided, and Haider himself has been interrogated by the police unit for business delinquency.

We shall see whether Haider is right in saying: "We will also be able to deal with this riffraff."

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[13] Hilmar Kabas & Co or: personnel difficulties within FPOe 2
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The Vienna chairperson of FPOe has been severely incriminated, evidence shows: he is said to have paid a police officer between ATS 10,000-15,000 (EURO 750-1100) per month for information "useable politically and in the media". His friend, Vienna FPOe secretary (and former chairperson of FPOe union AUF) Michael Kreissl is said to have personally obtained documents and organised the cash flow. The public prosecutor's office have applied for the abolition of the parliamentary immunity of both Kabas and Kreissl. This means the Vienna FPOe faces tough problems, as there is an election campaign coming up and Kabas will most probably not be able to keep his head above water for a long time. This means that there is an FPOe personnel problem in Vienna, too.

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[14] Salzburg or: personnel difficulties within FPOe 3
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Also in Salzburg, the information scandal causes personnel difficulties for FPOe: Helmut Naderer, vice chairperson of FPOe, police officer, representative in parliament and vice mayor of the village of Seekirchen, is also suspected of having passed on data illegally.
Naderer made himself a name when he demanded that the town of Seekirchen should not participate in funds to recompensate forced NS-labour (cf evil:austria 0700).
Salzburg FPOe federal chairperson Karl Schnell apparently also made use of illegally obtained data for political purpose (e.g. data from social welfare offices). Applications to abolish the parliamentary immunity of both persons are pending at the moment. In Salzburg, at least 50 illegal data inquiries have been proved.

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[15] The "ultimate strike-back"
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Recently Peter Westenthaler announced the "ultimate strike-back". He supplied the public prosecutor's office with written evidence that the former president of state police Kessler, under the former SPOe Home Secretary Einem, who was especially hated by FPOe, tried to place officers belonging to state police close to Haider (under the pretence that German terrorists tried to kill Haider). The ultimate strike-back soon turned out to be ridiculous, since Kessler happens not to have been president of state police during the time of Einem, but under his predecessor Loeschnak
(SPOe). Haider, incidentially, always used to call Loeschnak "our man in the government"!
We recommend Peter Westenthaler to try and find new employment in satirical political cabaret!

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EPILOGUE
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NO PEACE WITH AUSTRIA!!!