Dresden - Nazi Free! A city puts its foot down against neo-nazis

On 13 February 2010 more than 10,000 protesters gathered in Dresden (D), determined to stop the annual biggest neo-nazi march in Europe.
The civil society alliance 'Dresden - Nazi Free', a broad initiative of the antifascist movement 'No Pasaran!', successfully stopped about 5,000 neo-nazis with an enclosing blockade strategy.

Finally, in 2010 antifascists succeeded to stop the annual neo-nazi march in Dresden that is organised under the guise of commemorating the victims of the air raids against the city of Dresden, 13-15 February 1945.
The 'Nazi Free' alliance - including different NGOs, political parties, labor unions, artists and individuals - called to blockade strategically important streets around Dresden's Neustadt train station, the gathering point of the neo-nazi manifestation. Despite the strong ambitions of the authorities to hinder the antifascist mobilizations under the slogan 'Blockade Together' already beforehand, thousands of anti-fascists came into Dresden's Neustadt to block all possible routes of the neo-nazi march with peaceful sit-ins. The police tried several times to clear the anti-fascist blockades, but their efforts failed and so the police ultimately was forced to cancel the neo-nazi march.

The aim of the protesters was to prevent the annual 'mourning march' of thousands of neo-nazis in Dresden and to discourage them from planning future marches. 'It was not easy - there were people injured in nazi attacks and it was horribly cold, but it was worth it' stated the Alliance spokeswoman.

Beside the 'Dresden - Nazi Free' alliance a second initiative, 'Remember - Remind - Act' under the patronage of Dresden's mayor Helma Orosz, called for a human chain as a symbolic wall around the city centre of Dresden to set a sign against right-wing extremism. Ms Orosz openly condemned the neo-nazi thugs and their misuse of the commemoration date for their revisionist propaganda, describing the allied bombardment as a 'bombing Holocaust'.

It was the diversity of protest actions that mobilized so many people from a broad spectrum of society, which was crucial to the success of stopping the neo-nazis.

More information:

http://www.euronews.net/newswires/157187-german-neo-nazis-mark-wwii-raid-in-dresden
http://jta.org/news/article/2010/02/14/1010617/neo-nazi-march-blocked-in-dresden
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5245414,00.html
http://www.demotix.com/news/250733/neo-nazis-dresden-during-65th-anniversary-world-war-ii-bombing

Alliance 'Dresden - Nazi Free': http://www.dresden-nazifrei.com
Initiative 'Remember - Remind - Act': http://www.13februar.dresden.de

Greece: Initial steps to improve refugee policy, police conduct and minority rights, says Commisioner for Human Rights

Strasbourg, 11.02.2010 – The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, concluded yesterday a three-day visit to Greece during which he held discussions with a number of authorities including the Vice-President of the Government, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Citizen Protection. He also met with national, international and non-governmental organizations.

The Commissioner welcomed the willingness of the Greek government to tackle long-standing, structural problems in the field of asylum and police misconduct. “If implemented rigorously, systematically and in conformity with international standards, the planned changes have the potential of coping successfully with serious human rights challenges in Greece”, Commissioner Hammarberg said.

The Commissioner noted with deep concern that asylum seekers in Greece continue to face enormous difficulties trying to gain access to the asylum procedure, and do not always enjoy basic safeguards such as interpretation and legal aid. He welcomed the current plans to proceed with an overhaul of the system and move towards a fair, accessible and swift asylum procedure. This includes in particular the establishment of an independent asylum agency and screening centers at entry points. During the visit, the Commissioner stressed that asylum and immigration are issues that can only be tackled effectively by a concerted effort at European level and that solidarity by other EU countries must therefore be increased.

The Commissioner was pleased to note the ongoing reform of nationality legislation, which aims to facilitate acquisition of Greek citizenship, inter alia, by children born in Greece to non-Greek parents. The reform will also grant long term residents the right to vote in local elections. “In this way, Greece will move towards greater compliance with European standards, and benefit from enhanced participation of people of migrant background to society”, Commissioner Hammarberg stated.

As regards police misconduct, the Commissioner welcomed current plans to establish an office to deal with police complaints. He appreciated the openness of the Minister of Citizen Protection to draw on the expertise of other European countries and the guidance of the Commissioner himself, reflected notably in his Opinion concerning determination of complaints against the police.

Finally, as concerns the protection of the human rights of minorities, Commissioner Hammarberg stressed that the Greek authorities need “to show greater receptiveness to diversity in their society and to take further measures that would allow minority groups to express their identity on the basis of self identification”. To this end, full and effective implementation of the relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities are particularly important measures.

Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
Communication Unit
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 35 38
Fax:+33 (0)3 90 21 50 53

The case of Alicjia Tysiac

Women’s rights activists, reproductive rights activists and activists for the separation of Church and State in Europe are invited to support Alicjia Tysiac against Catholic fundamentalists in Poland, by sending letters of support (Amicus Curiae) to the Polish Court of Appeal in Katowice, where a first audience has been scheduled for February 19.

 

The facts:


Alicjia Tysiac won litigation against Poland after a long struggle, when the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) decided that Poland had not respected its own laws by denying her an abortion for health reasons. As a consequence this working class woman has since to live with a severe handicap (becoming almost blind). Since the Court published the verdict, Alicjia has become the target of a terrible defamation campaign. From pulpits and through Catholic media, Alicjia is called a “potential child murderer” who sued her country for hindering her to kill her own child. Photos and the names of her children were published in a diocesan weekly that opened its pages for a hate debate. She and the European Court of Human Rights have been compared to nazi criminals., etc.. In the past exacerbating Polish Catholic fundamentalists about a justice system that does not pronounce the sentences they wish to hear has had lethal consequences.
She sued the editor of Gosc Niedzielny, the Silesian diocesan weekly, and its owner, the archdioceses for defamation and won. On September 23, the court condemned the wekkly to publish formal excuses to Alicjia Tysiac and pay her a compensation of Euro 10 000. But the bishops decided to appeal.
An appeal process will deal with formal errors.

An analysis of the arguments of the bishops (they have published them on the internet and are seeking support) by Alicjia’ lawyers show the following strategy:

1.     The ECRH sentence is not relevant for Polish jurisprudence as not published in Polish (the ECHR only publishes its verdicts in French and English)

2.     Freedom of expression allows to comment sentences of the ECHR

3.     The Concordat has legal preeminence as an international treaty, and article 20 of the Concordat would be violated by the verdict of the local tribunal

4.     The young woman judge at the local Court misinterpreted the ECHR verdict. She is anyhow decried as totally incompetent

5.     The sentence of the local Court did not take into account that the Polish public opinion condemns Alicjia and the ECHR verdict

6.     EU institutions have no say concerning Churches as the relationship with these depends on the national State (principle of subsidiarity)

The main arguments of Alicjias lawyers are:

1.     Poland signed the European Convention of Human Rights and is consequently submitted to the jurisdiction and jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.

2.     It is unacceptable to instrumentalise the Shoah for opposing abortion

3.     It is unacceptable to compare the ECHR with nazi criminals.

4.     A Court needs to make decisions independently from public opinion.

5.     Freedom of expression has limits, in particular when the one attacking is a very powerful institution and the one attacked a weak individual.


Monika Karbowska, French-Polish feminists prepared a synthesis of the 80 pages of Alicjias lawyers. If you wish to receive it (in Polish, French or Spanish), please do not hesitate to request it.

This case is emblematic for the struggle of religious fundamentalism against the separation of religion and politics. Alicjia’s victory at the local tribunal was a huge victory. For the first time the Polish hierarchy was condemned to publicly apologize to a woman for not respecting her decision to have an abortion, in conformity with the laws of her country.

A victory of Alicjia’s at the Katowice Court of appeal would go further. Not only would it be a victory for women’s reproductive rights in Poland and in Europe but also and above all it would be a victory of the Lay
State over the ultraconservative Catholic hierarchy in Poland. It would show that the European Court of Human Rights is a guardian of the universality of Human Rights in Europe against the privileges of a powerful faith based institution.

The support received by Alicjia for the trial at the local Court was very helpful. It showed that the international community was watching. Of particular importance was the letter of support addressed by the progressive
European Catholics (European Network Church on the Move). It allowed for Polish media and the public opinion to learn that Catholics in other European countries disagree with the bishops on women’s rights.

Amicus Curiae letters (letters of the Friends of the Court) should be addressed:

MENTIONING Gosc Niedzielny vs. Alicjia Tysiac

Via snail mail to:

Sad Apelacyjny
Al.W.Korfantego 117/119
40-156
Katowice
Poland

An electronic copy of your letter should be sent by February 10 to Elfriede Harth (e.harth@yahoo.com) to be included in a file to be handed out to journalists at a press conference organized by the Committee of Support on February 19.

Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee holds talks in Greece

Strasbourg, 21.01.2010 - A delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has just returned from two days of talks in Athens, Greece (18-19 January 2010).

The main objective of the talks was to gauge the commitment of the Greek authorities to combating impunity within the police, to improving the conditions of detention of irregular migrants and to addressing long-standing problems in the prison system. In this context, the delegation was keen to learn about the measures already taken or being considered by the new Government to tackle the problems found by the CPT in the course of its visits in recent years. The talks were carried out in a spirit of openness and all parties expressed their desire to improve cooperation.

In the course of the visit, the delegation had meetings with the Minister of Citizen’s Protection, Mihalis Chrysochoidis, the Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dimitrios Droutsas, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, Aspostolos Katsifaras, and the Deputy Minister of Citizen’s Protection, Spyros Vougias. Further, it met the Secretary Generals of the Ministries of Citizen’s Protection, Foreign Affairs and Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, as well as the Special Secretary for Correctional Policy and the Chief of Police, and other senior officials. The delegation also met the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Ioannis Tentes and the Ombudsman, Yorgos Kaminis.

The CPT’s delegation was composed of Mauro Palma, President of the CPT, Mario Felice, the Head of the delegation which carried out the CPT’s 2009 visit, and Hugh Chetwynd, Head of Division in the CPT's Secretariat.

More information on the CPT

Roma women urge European governments to respect their human rights

Athens, 12.01.2010 – The increased and alarming human rights violations against Romani women and ways of ensuring full enjoyment of their rights topped the agenda of a two-day conference of Roma women, which ended today in Athens.

In a final declaration of the conference, the participants unanimously called on European governments to uphold their obligations and ensure that Romani women enjoy their fundamental rights, to put an end to a climate of impunity around atrocious abuses of their rights, to take unequivocal measures to punish perpetrators and compensate Romani women victims.

Romani women also urged the governments of European countries, where forced sterilisation is an ongoing practice, to take active measures to compensate the victims, sanction perpetrators and initiate state medical reform in the area of patients’ rights.

The conference’s conclusions stressed the need to prevent de facto segregation in housing and education, while promoting the principles of equality and integration.

Participants also encouraged Roma activists and human rights communities to actively engage with Roma communities to raise awareness on their human rights and facilitate access to public services and law enforcement mechanisms.

The declaration invites the governments to take steps to monitor and evaluate the situation of Romani women at national level through developing specific methodologies for data collection based on gender and ethnicity as a basis for targeted and comprehensive measures including all areas of life.

Finally, participating Roma women discussed the negative perceptions of Roma women in the media and called on international organizations to support Roma journalism in order to facilitate a learning process with mainstream journalists about Romani women’s realities and promote an objective journalism.

The conclusions of the conference, organized by the Council of Europe, the Greek Ministry of Interior, Decentralization and E-Government, the Greek Inter-Municipal Rom Network (ROM Network) and the International Roma Women’s Network (IRWN),will be available on the Council of Europe website shortly.

Finland will host the next conference of Roma women in 2011.

a poem...

REFUGEE

So I have a new name – refugee.
Strange that a name should take away from me
My past, my personality and hope.
Strange refuge this.
So many seem to share this name – refugee
Yet we share so many differences.
I find no comfort in my new name.
I long to share my past, restore my pride,
To show, I too, in time, will offer more
Than I have borrowed.
For now the comfort that I seek
Resides in the old yet new name
I would choose – friend.

Rubimbo Bungwe, from Zimbabwe, 2002

 

you can read more poems here

Everything is OK

Everything is OK is a collaborative art project aimed at provoking people to more critically consider the status quo.




more info here