KK-Forum,
fikk nettopp noe interessant fra FAIR. Et par utklipp:
"Indeed, xenophobia and racism are far from being exclusively Austrian
problems. "Neo-fascism and neo-Nazism are gaining ground in many countries,
especially in Europe," says Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, special rapporteur of
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (InterPress Service, 9/20/98).
Of particular concern, a U.N. study warns, is the "increase in the power of
the extreme right-wing parties," which are thriving in "an economic and
social climate characterized by fear and despair." Among the key factors
fueling the far right, the study notes, are "the combined effects of
globalization, identity crises and social exclusion."
og
"As economic globalization has accelerated, producing definite categories of
winners and losers, so, too, has the momentum of neo-fascist and right-wing
extremist organizations. If anything, European integration is likely to
promote the continued growth of extreme right-wing parties. Thus far,
however, the press has shed little light on this insidious dynamic."
Det hele legges ut her nedenfor.
Knut Rognes
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Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 10:05:26 -0500
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Sender: "media analysis, critiques and news reports"
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From: FAIR-L <FAIR-L@FAIR.ORG>
Subject: [FAIR-L] MEDIA ADVISORY: Media Downplay Haider's Fascist Ties
To: FAIR-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
FAIR-L
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and news reports
FAIR MEDIA ADVISORY
U.S. Media Downplay Fascist Ties of Austria's Haider:
Haider's pro-Nazi "gaffes" are no aberration
February 4, 2000
Jorg Haider's Freedom Party's rise to power as a partner in the Austrian
government has gotten a lot of coverage in the U.S. media, but there has
been little recognition of it as symptomatic of a resurgence of the extreme
right in Europe, and of the implications this may have for European
integration.
When the Freedom Party won nearly a third of the vote in Austria's national
elections last October, it generated front-page coverage in most European
newspapers. The Times of London (10/4/99) warned that "Haider's result has
thrown [Austrian] politics into turmoil, frightened investors and brought
closer to power the largest and most radical far right party in Europe."
By contrast, the Freedom Party's electoral breakthrough elicited little more
than a shrug from mainstream U.S. media, as typified by a Seattle
Post-Intelligencer editorial (10/12/99) headlined: "Europe Has Little to
Fear From This Goose-Stepping Austrian." The New York Times also downplayed
the results of the Austrian election, referring to "the seemingly
unstoppable rise of Jorg Haider" in an article (12/6/99) by Alison Smale: "A
Rightist Leader Stirs Tepid Dissent, and Assent."
The bland U.S. reportage represented another victory of sorts for Haider,
the charismatic, Porsche-driving populist, who undertook a trans-Atlantic,
post-election charm campaign to shore up his image, which had been tarnished
by several pro-Nazi "gaffes": Haider had praised Nazi SS veterans as "men of
character," and he called Winston Churchill the twentieth century's greatest
war criminal. He also said that all soldiers in World War II, regardless of
which side they were on, had fought for peace and freedom.
Asked about such comments, Haider "made a stunning apology" at a meeting
with editors of the Washington Post, which subsequently reported (11/10/99):
"Repentance, moderation and tolerance should be encouraged, provided they
are part of an evolution anchored in sincerity and not spin." While Haider's
belated apology is certainly newsworthy, U.S. media have thus far neglected
to disclose pertinent facts that seriously call into question his latest PR
maneuvers.
True, Haider does not conform to the stereotype of a Hollywood Nazi. But a
brown stain hovers over the Freedom Party, thanks in part to Haider's
decision to retain as his advisor on cultural affairs Andreas Molzer, a
fascist ideologue who until recently was publisher of the Vienna weekly Zur
Zeit. This virulent racist newspaper-which Molzer published for several
years while advising Haider-ran articles raving about "the dogma of the 6
million murdered Jews" and the "epoch-making economic and political
successes of the great social revolutionary," a reference to Adolf Hitler
(Searchlight, 11/98, 11/99).
Far from being "gaffes," as news media often refer to his apparent verbal
missteps, Haider's penchant for expressing pro-Nazi sympathies was
intrinsic to his calculated attempt to build political support by catering
to deep-rooted prejudice in Austrian society. For additional evidence that
Haider is being disingenuous when he speaks of banishing the brown shadows,
one need look no further than his nomination of Thomas Prinzhorn to stand as
the Freedom Party's top candidate in last year's parliamentary poll. A few
days before the vote, Prinzhorn hysterically accused the Austrian government
of giving free hormone treatments to male immigrants to boost their
birthrate. But this remark didn't stop Prinzhorn from being chosen recently
as co-speaker of the Austrian parliament (Searchlight, 11/99).
As Professor Mark Mazower writes in the Manchester Guardian Weekly
(10/20/99), if Haider himself "steers clear of overt racism, it is no doubt
partly because... things are better said in code." Added Mazower: "The shock
value of Haider's views on history strike me as less worrying than his
xenophobic approach to the present. His success may move the threshold of
what is acceptable in European politics."
Indeed, xenophobia and racism are far from being exclusively Austrian
problems. "Neo-fascism and neo-Nazism are gaining ground in many countries,
especially in Europe," says Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, special rapporteur of
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (InterPress Service, 9/20/98).
Of particular concern, a U.N. study warns, is the "increase in the power of
the extreme right-wing parties," which are thriving in "an economic and
social climate characterized by fear and despair." Among the key factors
fueling the far right, the study notes, are "the combined effects of
globalization, identity crises and social exclusion."
Even so, there is a tendency among North American news analysts to minimize
the danger by asserting that the European Union (EU) will automatically act
as a buffer against the nefarious schemes of the far right. Supporters of
the EU have long argued that economic integration is a necessary step toward
creating a political union, which will end forever the outbursts of crazed
nationalism that have ravaged the continent in the past. But this notion may
prove to be wishful thinking. Riding the crest of a populist backlash
against globalization, neo-fascist demagogues have gained support by
exploiting justifiable qualms about measures like the adoption of the
"euro," which inevitably limit the capacity of national governments to
regulate their economies and redress high unemployment by adjusting their
own currencies and interest rates.
As economic globalization has accelerated, producing definite categories of
winners and losers, so, too, has the momentum of neo-fascist and right-wing
extremist organizations. If anything, European integration is likely to
promote the continued growth of extreme right-wing parties. Thus far,
however, the press has shed little light on this insidious dynamic.
(This advisory is based on an article by FAIR co-founder Martin A. Lee,
which will appear in the next issue of FAIR's magazine, Extra!.)
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