As reported in the news feed last week, ten members plus seven other associates of the Austrian Identitaire movement (Identitäre Bewegung Österreich) have been charged with hate crimes. The article below from ORF Styria describes the legal action in more detail.
To a non-Austrian observer, the crackdown by the authorities may seem perplexing. A few months ago a new right-wing government took office in Austria — a coalition of the ÖVP (Österreichische Volkspartei, Austrian People’s Party) and the FPÖ (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, Austrian Freedom Party). The new government’s positions are very close to those of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — that is, they oppose mass migration, object to the diktats of Brussels, and call for stronger border control. So why would they go after the Identitarians?
The government’s actions are largely based on the policies of the FPÖ and its leader Heinz-Christian Strache. However, the FPÖ is the junior partner in the coalition, while the ÖVP is the senior partner. All indications are that Chancellor Sebastian “Boy” Kurz is a cynical opportunist with no discernible principles — he saw which way the political winds were blowing in Austria and trimmed his sails accordingly. It seems likely that the crackdown on the Identitaires is simply a move to nobble a potential rival power center.
So what does Mr. Strache think of all of this? Throughout his career his ideological positions have been very similar to those of the Identitaires. If his opinions — unlike those of his boss — are held sincerely, the blatant crackdown on the Identitaires must surely not sit well with him.
Many thanks to JLH for the translation:
Incitement: Ten Identitarians Accused
The State’s Attorney of Graz has charged ten leading members of the Identitarian Movement — also estimated by Security as right-extremist. They are accused of incitement and criminal association.
As early as April, there were house searches at the homes of Identitarian spokesman Martin Sellner and co-leader Patrick Lenart. Now the State’s Attorney of Graz has charged ten leading representatives of the Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ) as well as seven other sympathizers with incitement and criminal association and to an extent, criminal mischief and coercion.
According to the authorities, most of the accused had already participated in 2012 in founding the “Organization for Preservation and Furtherance of Cultural Identity.” Besides the registered members there are a number of actively supportive sympathizers.
The rightist-extreme group is financed to a great extent by member donations. “The members see European cultural identity threatened by multiculturalism, liberalism and Islamization. The IBÖ and its activists are striving for the strict separation of peoples living in Europe, and reject the cultural ‘mixing’ of ethnicities,” says the statement from state Security.
“Islam and Islamist Terror Made Equivalent”
Since the founding of the movement in Austria, its representatives have attempted “to spread their xenophobic ideology through provocative actions, comments on the internet, demonstrations, regular local meetings, posters, as well as the sale of propaganda material by way of an enterprise founded in 2016 solely for that purpose.”
In the process, the prosecution explained, the group also made use of the public’s steadily mounting fear of radical Islamist terror attacks, in oder to represent Islam and any Muslim or Muslim group as potential terrorists.
Since the beginning of 2016, the leading members of the group have succeeded with often spectacular actions to raise the group’s public profile.
A “flourishing enterprise” has been built with their mail-order sale of uniform-like vests, jackets, pants and buttons, posters and stickers with the group’s logos, as well as books and tapes.
According to the charges, the goal of redeeming society has produced for two of the accused not only a regular income, but also the financing of some of the actions that boost the revenue of their right-extremist undertaking.
“Provocative Actions”
Many of the group’s actions are discussed in the charges. In April, 2016, several of the accused persons and other unknowns put a banner saying “Islamization Kills” on the roof of the building containing the office of the Styrian Green Party.
One of the leading members poured fake blood over the banner and announced through a megaphone that he Greens and SPÖ [socialists] had imported terrorism to Europe and were responsible for it. There was blood on the hands of the Greens and SPÖ, and that was why there was blood on the roof of their party headquarters.
According to the prosecution, a propaganda film of this action was broadcast on the internet with further “highly Islam-hostile phases” for instance “Islamization and immigration are killing Europe. How many more terrorist attacks does it take for you to wake up? Defend yourself and become active. Come to the movement, the Identitarian Movement.”
Another disruptive action by the right-extremists listed in the charges was at the University of Klagenfurt. In July, 2016, several of the accused and others stormed a lecture hall during a lecture on asylum and immigration and unfurled at the podium banners with “Stop Immigration” and “Integration is a Lie.” They distributed leaflets titled “Integration is a Lie” and pantomimed a stoning. A video of this action was also made and shown on the internet.
In March, 2017, two of the accused and others broke into a locked cabinet in the stairwell of a Viennese home to get onto the roof, and fastened there a 5 by 6 meter (16’ by 20’) banner with the silhouette of Prince Eugene of Savoy[1] and “Erdogan — fetch your Turks home!”
“Objectives: Stoking Hatred and Contempt”
The objective of these actions and publicity-driven propaganda for the leading members of the right extremist group, says the Graz prosecutor, is “to stoke hatred against Islamic religious society and especially Turkish citizens, and degrade and make these groups contemptible to the public.” And that corresponds to the charge of incitement. The authorities are proceeding on the assumption that the IBÖ is a criminal organization set up so that its members commit incitement and malicious mischief.
The relevant sentence for the activities of the criminal enterprise is up to three years imprisonment.
Note:
| 1. | Successful commander of the armies of the Holy Roman Empire; his fame was secured by his victory over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Zenta in 1697. |
This is a shocking and disappointing move by the Austrian government.
Part of the explanation is already mentioned in the article, that it could be fear of the FPÖ for political competitors. However, this is not really convincing, as the Identitarian Movement is not a political party, and has not expresssed any desire yet to become one. The FPÖ and the IM could therefore work together well as complementary partners.
It can also be a cowardly attempt to appease the corrupt mafiosi bureaucrats in Brussels and the traitor government in Berlin, who may threaten with economic sanctions otherwise. Berlin and Brussels are already threatening the Visegrad countries with similar moves, and this probably makes the Austrians, who are used to living in a prosperous well-fare state, more uneasy than f.ex. the Poles and the Hungarians, who have been more used to living in hardship due to having been subjected to communism for decades.
Finally, it can also be regarded as a standard manifestation of a political tradition typical for the German speaking countries after WW II.
An ideological mirror-image of this were the so-called “Berufsverbote” (professional prohibitions) in Western-Germany in the 1970’s, which tried to ban citizens with communist sympathies from public functions (like f.ex. a teacher in a public school or a police officer). The surprising element was, that these measures were inititated by the most left-winged government Western-Germany ever had until then, under the socialist chancellor Willy Brandt.
In political debates, until 1990 it used to be paramount for left-winged politicians to mark that they were “not communist”, as it is nowadays considered obligatory for conservative politicians, even the most moderate ones, to declare and emphasize that they are “not nationalist”.
The fear of taking a political stance which is considered “extreme” has been deeply embedded in the collective psyche in the Germany and Austria after 1945, and the best way to prove that one is still close enough to the “safe” political centre, is by marking that one of “not one of ‘them’ “, meaning ones ideological “relatives”who are (perceived as) just a bit more radical than one self.
The fact that it’s the left that’s ruling nowadays, with positions that are extreme by any sane measure, should make the Western Europeans, and especially the guilt-ridden Germans and Austrians, become aware that the only way to restore the healthy balance in society is by letting go the fear of taking posoitions which might be considered “extreme”. They will have to become aware of the fact, that the Identitarians are by no means “extreme”, but only exercising the basic human right on being free and safe in ones’ own homeland.
If you don’t exist as a people then you don’t have a homeland to protect. There are an alarmingly high number of politicians who hold this to be true in regards German identity (or any other western heritage).
Apparently it’s okay to invoke such identity when referencing WWII, collective responsibility, even to those not born at the time, but otherwise you have Merkel and the German Green party claiming that Germans don’t exist, that it’s just historic happenstance that the current German people live where they do.
Obviously there are plenty of genocidal screwballs just like this in Austria too.
I think the situation not necessary the result of an Austrian government crackdown. When political powers switch, their people are staying behind. Especially the left are excellent at laying subversive eggs into positions. The USA no different. Trump won the election more than a year ago, but the State Department still picking fights with the Hungarian government and sending money to the Marxists left lead by the Soros NGO’s. Let’s see the example of the travel ban by Trump and how activists judges torpedoed his lawful process… I think something similar happening here. The Marxists NWO forces have sleeper agents everywhere!
»not necessary the result of an Austrian government crackdown«
I too suppose that’s the point. A state attorney does not need an order by the government to start some prosecution. You call this “deep state”, right?
There is an eleborate article by Martin Sellner (German) on the case; full of optimism:
https://sezession.de/58538/warum-ich-mich-ueber-meine-hausdurchsuchung-freue
Exactly!
This is a political action by means of austrian deep state and its ties to overnational organizations. What went wrong, in my opinion, has to do with UK and the speaker corner story. On different side, look to what happened when UK said to expel Russian diplomats (skripal spies story), despite we already are in the post-brexit era, most of the countries of Europe did just the same action and expelled the Russian diplomats. So there is this over-national power, that comes from there, to the rest of Europe, and they (UK) do not even need to stay within the Schengen zone, or in the Monetary Union, or in the ECB, to give orders to their subsidiary states. What happened 2 months ago in Slovenia was even worse, because the supreme court, made the democratic elected prime minister (Cerar) to resign. There are international organizations with superpowers on the institutional deep state of many European countries, especially in the court/legal system.
Some questions:
1. In what way is this tied to Speakers’ Corner? The connection isn’t clear.
2. Don’t you think these international organizations within the institutional deep state are already known and named? [For instance, the EU is a superstate, and the UN is a globalist wanna-be actor. Whether or not EUrabia is still functioning is hard to say, but London-“abia” is alive and well.]
3. What was the ostensible reason for Slovenia’s Supreme Court decision to remove the elected president? Did he commit a crime of state? What does Slovenia’s Constitution about the forced abdication of an elected leader? Is there an order of succession?
I’d be interested in your opinion.
1) In the speaker corner story, MArtin Sellner, tried to go there and meet Tommy Robinson to report the message of identitarian movement, but he was framed at London airport. Then he was granted a deny to enter (for life?) in the kingdomstan. But he was not the only one, because we also have a journalist Lauren Southern and activist Tore Rasmussen for example.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lauren-southern-far-right-canada-racist-calais-detain-uk-ban-enter-visa-a8254116.html
https://sputniknews.com/viral/201805081064239667-norway-uk-entry-wrong-values/
The airport police cannot deny entry on their own to anybody who is not a criminal runaway, (they are not even allowed to waist time reading what an activist or a journalist think); they let enter also convicted criminals and jihadis if there are no formal burocratic documents/laws which forbid them to enter the country. (I mean they are mere executors of orders). All these entry denials (to these activists) are coordinated and issued by the interior minster of UK, or its offices and subsidiaries (I mean secret-services and 007-james-bond agents). It is the (holed?) UK anti-terrosim police.
These offices, need papers to say someone is a terrorist. So they can act (ask for prosecution) by the international rules and regulations, laws and legal treaties, and call the international police, to have one prosecuted or even framed in another country.
https://www.interpol.int/
This is just an example, I am not saying that they used the Interpol to prosecute these activists or that they have to follow the exact same way I described. I am just saying that one country, like UK and Austria, have some ties in their respective legal systems and they can in some cases interact, and start prosecuting someone, on the call of foreign office of the interior minister or anti-terrosim police.
2) yes deep state organizations, are in most cases well known: one example is the army, the police, the judiciary legal system, the supreme court, the Tax Office, and so many others, who has a real and effective power and can interfere with the democratically elected powers and also between themselves (like CIA against the FBI and so on). Many of this deep state agencies, have important ties to overnational organizations and authorities, as the EU, the UN, the ECB, the IMF, NATO and so on.
3) In the Carer case, Slovenia prime minister resignation, it was not a direct coup from the supreme court. It is more complex than that. Carer resigned by its own decision, after the verdict of the Slovenia supreme court on a referendum. The supreme court cancelled the result of the referendum in their judgement. Carer felt he was nationally isolated (that referendum was tied to his career) and despite the recent win in the Slovenia election, he chose to step back and resign. Carer was not seen too very well by the eurocrats (Juncker for example) who usually openly say when they dislike someone as a warning to him. They can make pressure by the law, rules and regulations of the EU to any state. In fact, in the EU there is another important court, which is above all, Strasbourg court –
http://www.echr.coe.int.
I personally do not think that the Slovenia supreme court is truly independent as it is not that of other EU countries for example. It is not necessary, that the Strasbourg court is officially called to make the subsidiary court to act.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/slovenia-premier-surprisingly-resigns-months-ahead-of-elections
“All indications are that Chancellor Sebastian “Boy” Kurz is a cynical opportunist with no discernible principles ”
Hafta say he ALWAYS looked too damn smooth to me.
Nasty place, Europe. Nasty, nasty place. And as demographic realities make themselves felt, it will become even nastier. Btw, the new mayor of Leeds, UK, is muslim.
Only recourse now is war, or slavery and submission, I’m afraid. If the Europeans choose war, when will it start? Will it be localised, so that EU armies (full of Muslim recruits) will be able to crush the resistance? Will the resistance appeal to Russia for arms and perhaps outright intervention? Worrying times. My suspicion is that Syria and Yugoslavia will be the way this plays out, rather than Ireland. It really is too bad. Europe used to be so clean, orderly and cultured. Ever since Freud enabled massive de-Christianisation on a grand scale, Europe has been sliding toward the abyss…very sad.
Freud?? Wrong villain. He never supplied the superstructure for the erection of murderous tyrannies.
Sigmund’s erections were of another, more humane order.
Why not single out Einstein. His theories eventually led to nuclear armaments.
…which horrified him, but he was not to blame.
It’s ironic (but fortunate) that the Nazis were late in pursuing nuclear weapons research because it stemmed from the theories of a Jew.
I enjoyed “Siegmund’s erections”!
Yes, I enjoyed that pun. Thank you for noticing.
It’s so easy to bash Freud but almost impossible to imagine modern-day intellectual or religious ot legal theorizing without reference to his ideas re the unconscious. Was he always right? Nope. But he was a giant and we must stand on his shoulders to see further than he did.