20 000 against the new Austrian government!
After the continous nightly demonstrations of several thousands of people against the new Austrian government consisting of the conservative (OeVP) and the extreme right freedom (FPOe) parties, today more than 20 000 people gathered in the streets. Starting from one of the main railway stations the protestants marched through the city and the demonstration ended at around 7 pm at the Place of the 12th of February close to the Karl-Marx- Hof.
The council house Karl-Marx-Hof was one of the centers of armed resistance that started on the 12th of February 1934 against the Austro-facists. The "Schutzbund", a run-up armed organization of the socialist party, fought against the "Heimwehr", the armed organization of the Austro-facists. The Austrian army and the "Heimwehr" put down the rebellion and therefore the Karl-Marx- Hof and other council houses where the members of the "Schutzbund" tried to retreat were bombarded and partially destroyed. The conservative OeVP stands in the tradition of the Austro-facists and today they still profess that the Austro-facists fought against the Nazis. (The federal chancellor of those days, Dollfuss, was later murdered by a group of illegal Austrian Nazis). In reality, the Austro-facists actually smoothened the way for the Nazis by prohibiting political parties and unions, by establishing the corporative state, by imposing military law, by dissolving the parliament and so on.
Today the demonstration was accompanied by a sound-truck on that famous Austrian DJs played music under the slogan "Sound- Politicization". In front of the parliament an event called "Hip- Hop against black/blue" (in Austria black is the political colour of the conservative OeVP, and blue of the right-wing freedom party - FPOe) started at 7 pm and still continues. In the following days the daily protests will go on, and bike-demonstrations and other highly imaginative events are planned.
By the way, the building of the community of industrialists in Vienna was briefly occupied yesterday.
