European Theater

Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia surge in Europe: survey

We have argued before: "Classical" anti-Semitism and contemporary anti-Arab racism (and Islamophobia) are genetically linked phenomena. The fallacy is that just because one exists, the other doesn't. On the contrary, the prominence of one should be seen as evidence that the other isn't far behind. Here's more evidence. From Reuters, Sept. 17:

Spain: world migrants say no to walls, yes to legalization

In a major gathering ignored by US mass media, thousands of migrants met in Spain from Sept. 11 to 14 to articulate a set of demands directed at governments across the world. Meeting at the Third World Social Forum on Migration, delegates represented organizations from more than 90 nations.

Spain: more Basque parties banned

Spain's supreme court ruled Sept. 18 to ban the Basque Communist Party (EHAK-PCTV) on the grounds that it is linked to the ETA armed separatist group and the successor party of the Batasuna, which was declared illegal in March 2003. A week earier, the court banned the Acción Nacionalista Vasca (ANV) party following a court order by the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, calling for "liquidation of everything related to that party." (ThinkSpain, Sept. 19; eitb24, Sept. 16)

Denmark: radical t-shirt peddlers convicted

A Danish appeals court Sept. 18 convicted six people of selling t-shirts to aid the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). A seventh defendant was acquitted. Most of the defendants were linked to a company, Fighters and Lovers, that made and sold shirts with the logos of both groups, which are on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations. Two defendants were sentenced to six months in prison and the other four received suspended sentences. (NYT, Sept. 19)

World Court to review Kosova's independence?

The UN General Committee, which sets the agenda for the General Assembly, voted unanimously Sept. 18 to approve a Serbian resolution calling for a review of Kosova's declared independence. The resolution, opposed by the US and UK, next goes before the General Assembly. If approved there, Kosova's independence would go before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Spanish Civil War "truth commission"?

Spanish Judge Balthasar Garzón has ordered government and religious authorities across Spain to turn over information about those killed at the hands of Francisco Franco's fascist forces following his 1936 military uprising. Garzón hopes to draw up a comprehensive list of victims in a bid to document human rights abuses outside of the theater of war. There is no official record of how many died on the Republican side during the three-year Civil War, which claimed the lives of some 500,000 Spaniards. More were killed for opposing Franco during his 36-year dictatorship. While the Franco regime honored its own dead, those of the losing side remained buried in unmarked graves across Spain.

Rome's mayor: Fascism wasn't so bad after all

Thank goodness Rome's Jews have got the cogliones to protest this! From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Sept. 8:

Roman Jews criticize mayor over Fascist remarks
Jewish leaders criticized Rome's right-wing mayor for declaring that Italy's Fascist-era anti-Semitic laws, not Fascism itself, constituted "absolute evil."

Poland signs US "missile shield" deal; Russia pledges "punishment"

The Polish government signed a deal Aug. 14 to host a 10 interceptor missiles at a site along Poland's Baltic Sea coast as a part of the US "missile shield" plan. The site, staffed by US forces, would complement a US radar installation to be based in the Czech Republic. Washington says those facilities, to be operational by 2013, would complete an anti-missile system already in place in the US, Greenland, and Britain. In return, Poland will receive "enhanced security cooperation"—most significantly, a separate missile defense system for its own armed forces. A US Patriot missile battery is to be relocated to Poland from Germany for this purpose, to be initially operated jointly with the US. (NYT, RFE/RL, Aug. 15)

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