Because of the Shavout holiday tomorrow, Bigotry Monitor is coming out one day earlier than usual this week.

Volume 2, Number 19
Thursday, May 16, 2002

BIGOTRY MONITOR
A Weekly Human Rights Newsletter on Antisemitism, Xenophobia, and Religious Persecution in the Former Communist World and Western Europe

EDITOR: CHARLES FENYVESI
(News and Editorial Policy within the sole discretion of the editor)

Published by UCSJ: Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union
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LUKASHENKO REGIME TAKES OVER MAGAZINES, NAMES ANTISEMITIC EDITORS. The Belarusian regime has taken yet another step to suppress civic freedoms and human rights, UCSJ's Minsk Bureau reported. The government of Alexander Lukashenko forced literary periodicals - the magazines "Polymia," "Maladosts," "Krynitsa," "Neman," and "Litaratura I Mastatstva" -- into a joint, government-controlled media holding and appointed as editors people subservient to the regime, some of them notorious antisemites. For example, Belarusian MP Sergey Kostyan, the new manager of the media holding, is neither a writer nor an editor. Together with Eduard Skobelev, an antisemitic writer, Kostyan is on the commission responsible for the registration of public organizations. He has also publicly supported the recent publication of the viciously antisemitic book "War According to the Laws of Meanness."

Kostyan has replaced all the editors. Retired radio reporter Nina Chaika is now the chief editor of the Russian language literary magazine "Neman." She was once the hostess of the chauvinistic radio program "The Sublime and the Earthly," in which Kostyan delivered neo-Nazi speeches. The program, run by a government-controlled radio station, frequently reported on "Jewish conspiracies," the blood libel, and the "Satanic essence" of Protestants. At the first meeting of the editorial board, Chaika declared that she intended to drive the "spirit of Zionism" out of the magazine. The new editor of "Polymia," Nikolai Metlitski, was identified in an earlier issue the magazine as a KGB agent. "Krynitsa" is now headed by Vyasheslav Dashkevich, infamous for his publications in the newspaper "Slavyansky Nabat" "unmasking" Zionism and democrats. Evgeny Novikov, known for his weekly programs on Belarusian TV that recall the cold war era, will be one of Kostyan's deputies. In one of the meetings with the magazine staffs, Kostyan and Novikov accused the writers of having "sold themselves to world imperialism and kissed the asses of the kike-masons."

The management of the Union of Writers did not approve the appointments. It had received an ultimatum either to give up control over its publications ("Litaratura i Mastatstva" and “Krynitsa") or lose government financing. The UCSJ report notes that government takeover is contrary to the Constitution that states: "The monopolization of the media by the state, public associations or individuals, as well as censorship, is not permitted."

ANTISEMITIC AND NAZI LITERATURE DISTRIBUTED AT MOSCOW'S VICTORY PARADE. Just as during May Day, antisemites used the mass celebrations of Victory Day in Moscow, May 9, to distribute hate-filled literature and chant antisemitic slogans, according to UCSJ's Moscow Bureau Director Aleksandr Brod. The police proved indifferent to these flagrant violations of the law banning incitement to communal violence. Dozens of antisemitic newspapers and books such as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and lesser known works with evocative titles like "Jewish Fascism" and "Kike Masons" were on sale or given to demonstrators for free. Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and other Nazi books were also distributed to demonstrators who were there to mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Some of the demonstrators chanted slogans such as "The Holocaust is a myth!" and "Zionism is fascism!"

RUSSIA'S PATRIARCH READY TO MEET THE POPE BUT PROSELYTIZING MUST STOP. Patriarch of Moscow and All-Russia Aleksiy II is "fully ready for a meeting" with Pope John Paul II, "but only after the churches achieve a common position on key issues," he told the newspaper "Izvestiya" in an interview published on May 13. The two churches "should discuss proselytism in all its forms, as well as ban the Uniate Church as a method for achieving unity, and not violate the jurisdiction of this or that church," the patriarch said. "In other words, the focus should be put on finding a final solution for the long-standing conflict between the Greek Catholics and members of the Orthodox Church in western Ukraine, where the Lviv, Ternopol, and Ivano-Frankivsk Orthodox dioceses were virtually destroyed. In addition to this, the Vatican should abandon its practice of proselytism among the traditionally Orthodox population of Russia and CIS countries." He concluded that "we have no reasons for concern about the sizeable growth of Catholicism's influence in Russia. We only seek mutual respect and constructive relations with the Catholic Church."

IS ISLAM OR CATHOLICISM MORE DANGEROUS FOR RUSSIA? On May 13, “Izvestiya” published a number of answers to the question it posed: “Which is more dangerous for Russia: conflict between the Orthodox and Catholics, or between the Orthodox and Muslims?” Sergei Shishkarev, vice chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma, answered in a way that was only partially evasive: “They are both dangerous when the conflict takes on extreme forms… As regards Muslims living on the territory of Russia, the situation is more or less under control. There is a threat from both sides, but to decide which is more dangerous is possible only in specific cases.”

More outspoken was Alexei Zotov, a priest in the Moscow Patriarchate described as dealing with the armed forces and law enforcement agencies: “Danger is presented not by a church or a confession but by expansion.” Discussing history, Zotov denied any religious conflict between the Orthodox and Muslims over the centuries. He gave the reason: “We have not felt any expansion on the part of Muslims into traditional territory of the Russian Orthodox Church. But here the Roman Catholic Church is trying to create its dioceses in Ukraine and Siberia.” Then Zotov ventured back into history and offered a parable: “Once emissaries from the Vatican offered to Ivan the Terrible victory in the wars that Rus was conducting in exchange for conversion to Catholicism. The tsar answered: ‘You were baptized by the apostle Peter, but we by his older brother Andrew. Thus Rus will maintain the Orthodox faith and thereby be victorious.’"

MOSCOW SKINHEADS JOIN SOCCER FANS' VICTORY PARADE, THEN RIOT. On May 12 some 40 young people joined the victory parade in downtown Moscow of the soccer team TSKA after it won the Russia cup, according to Moscow's NTV. But after marching together for several hundred yards, the group described as skinheads began throwing stones at MacDonald's, smashed kiosks, and beat up passersby. Assisted by the soccer fans, the police scattered the young men, arresting 18 of them.

ANTI-ROMA RIOT IN BUCHAREST. On May 8, a group made up of nearly 200 fans of the local soccer team Steaua shouted racist slogans and attacked people of Roma ethnicity (Gypsies) in downtown Bucharest, according to the Bucharest-based Roma Resource Center for Social Intervention and Studies quoted by the Romanian news agency Divers. According to the Roma organization's program coordinator, Ciprian Necula, Steaua fans targeted Roma with obscene shouts, as well as slogans such as "Out with Gypsies from Romania!" The fans also beat Roma people, "entering their houses, destroying doors, and breaking windows."

FAR RIGHT DENOUNCES EU, CAUCASIAN IMMIGRANTS, AND JEWS. Far-right Lithuanian politicians spoke out against European integration, according to the Lithuanian daily "Lietuvos Zinios" of May 10. Several speakers at meeting that took place on the Europe Day called for disbanding the parliament and electing a "patriotically-minded dictator." "I will take off your head! The nation will lynch you!" Visvaldas Mazonas of the far-right Lithuanian Patriots' Union told Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, whose ministry organized the meeting and who called on the people assembled on Independence Square not to fear the European Union (EU). Mazonas said he was angry that state officials are negotiating the accession to the EU without what he called the mandate of the nation. Another far-rightist, Justinas Burba, agreed and protested that Lithuania was accepting people from Caucasus "with open arms just to be able to enter the EU." He added that he was also against "restitution of land to Jews."

ROMA THREATEN TO LEAVE LITHUANIA. Lithuanian Roma have announced they will leave Lithuania for Russia as they can no longer bear poverty and ethnic discrimination and are planning to leave for Russia, where they hope to receive support from President Vladimir Putin, "Lietuvos Zinios" reported on May 13. The daily did not comment on the unrealistic nature of Putin’s support but cited MPs who believe the announcement a political provocation coinciding this week’s Reykjavik NATO meeting, where Lithuania expects a positive reception to its application for membership. According to Baltic Television, the group consists of more than 200 Roma who call themselves the Lower Gypsy Community of Vilnius. Founded in 1946 by immigrants from what is now called Moldova, the community charges that while nearly all the males had jobs during the Soviet era, now nobody would give them work. Deputy head of the Lithuanian Gypsy Society, Nikolajus Kasparovicius, told Baltic Television, that Gypsies looking for employment "are sent to an organization which needs workers but as soon as they see you are a Gypsy, they throw you out."

* * * QUOTE OF THE WEEK * * * "Opinions that were seen as far-right ten years ago are now voiced in the middle of the political spectrum," says Philipp Sonderegger, spokesman for the Austrian anti-racist group Mitmensch, discussing immigration.

VARIETIES OF THE RIGHT-WING EXPERIENCE
Almost Overnight, Immigration Has Turned into the Number One Issue in EU

In the Netherlands, the victorious center-right Christian Democrats may or may not be able to enter into a coalition with the three-month-old party known as Pim Fortuyn List, after its slain far-right leader, which won the second place in the May 15 elections. Fortuyn is credited with what the mass-circulation Dutch daily “Telegraaf” headlined as a "Monster Victory" for the Christian Democrats (43 parliamentary seats out of 150), followed by Fortuyn’s party (26 seats)."Dutch politics has been totally turned on its head," the paper said. The Dutch shift to the right is unmistakable, as is the defeat of the old left, and it follows a trend established over the past twelve months in Italy, Denmark, Portugal, and France. The surprise vote getter is the far right, now accorded in the press the ambiguous adjective “populist.” Some of that far right has disturbingly familiar faces and resumes, as in France, and some of it is new and puzzling, as in the Netherlands where its “martyr” Fortuyn has been characterized as “anti-immigration,” “openly gay,” “anti-Islam,” “former Marxist,” “nonconformist,” as well as “shaven-headed” and “charismatic.” The press attributes his posthumous success to his attacks on the Dutch political elite now put down by commentators as “consensus-obsessed” and “well-meaning but dull.”

The one issue that unites the far right of the European Union is its opposition to immigration, and the soaring popularity of that cause is forcing a reappraisal in centrist and right-of-center parties.

Since the first round of the French presidential election on April 21, governments across Western Europe have been looking for ways to curb immigration from Asia and Africa. At the same time and almost overnight, intellectuals and newspaper commentators are abandoning the European equivalent of political correctness and publicly link "the surge" in violent crime to "the stampede" of immigrants and "the collapse of national values." In contrast to the call for "diversity of cultures," in vogue only a few weeks ago, people from all walks of life and from the broad center of political opinion demand “the integration" of minorities and politicians advise immigrants already settled to absorb the language and the culture of their host countries.

In France, center-right Jacques Chirac, though reelected president with the greatest margin in the history of the republic, has taken the top plank from the platform of his opponent, far-rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen, and declared that fighting crime is the top priority of his new administration. On May 10, Philippe Bernard observed in "Le Monde" that since the first round of the presidential election on April 21 that eliminated then Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, "the left has lived in a nightmare" of having refused to acknowledge the linkage between "the obsession with security" and the issue of immigration. The article suggested that "the shock of April 21" ought to convince the new government to give its top priorities to policies designed to integrate immigrant communities into French national life and to fight their ghettoization.

In Madrid, center-right Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has promised that he will block new immigration, and he is widely reported to believe that strong new measures to seal off the border to illegal immigration from North Africa will prevent the feared rise of a Spanish Le Pen. In Austria, the rightist coalition that includes anti-immigration Joerg Haider's far-right party though not Haider himself, is about to institute measures that are designed to halt the influx of newcomers. In Germany, which is the not-too-happy host to the largest immigrant population on the continent -- about 7 million -- candid discussion of "foreigners in our midst who do not belong here" is no longer the preserve of the far right. For instance, on May 14 in the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung," Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger criticized Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a Social Democrat, for refusing to acknowledge that "it is above all immigration, the failure of integration, and crime that are driving people into the arms of the far right." He concluded his opinion piece by saying that Schroeder's failure is not a positive contribution to European democracy.

The discovery of Al Qaeda networks operating among immigrant communities in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Britain has added another disturbing element to the debate over immigration and the approach of law enforcement authorities to extremist groups among immigrants.

In "The Christian Science Monitor" of May 15, staff correspondent Peter Ford wrote that Yiannis Kolodos, a university student in Athens, "speaks for millions of Europeans when he blames immigrants for taking jobs from Greeks and making the streets of his city unsafe at night. Kolodos used to vote Socialist, but now he finds the mainstream parties unable to "bring themselves to admit that immigration is the main cause of our problems." People like him, who have turned to the extreme nationalist Hellenic Front "are not Nazis or fascists," he says. "They just have problems and they think that immigration has something to do with them."

One answer is a coalition government, first suggested by canny Austrian conservatives when they invited Haider's brash Freedom Party to join them two years ago, instead of their erstwhile partner, the Socialists. After the initial shock wore off and Haider remained a distant presence in the provinces, even critics are acknowledging that the experiment is working out and Freedom Party cabinet members have "matured." In Italy, it was Gianfranco Fini's post-fascist National Alliance that seemed to have redeemed itself in a right-wing coalition government. (In Hungary, however, the center-right Fidesz ruled out the inclusion of the far-right MIEP of Istvan Csurka during the election campaign. While MIEP failed to get parliamentary representation, Fidesz lost out to the former communists last month.)

The current Dutch predicament suggests that crafting coalitions with the new far right may not be easy. In an unusually personalized dispatch from The Hague, Agence France Presse discounts the odds for Fortuyn’s party joining the Christian Democrats because its leaders are “a disparate band of the politically inexperienced” and lists its “highest profile members” as “a successful African immigrant, a pig farmer, and a former Miss Netherlands who has since left the party after complaining of sexual harassment at the hands of her male colleagues.”

There may be no Europe-wide recipe for dealing with immigration or with far rightists, partly because the far right differs from country to country, and their racist, xenophobic, and antisemitic components differ. We may be on the cusp of a realignment of forces and ideologies, as traditional mainstream parties of the continent are busy updating their uniformly colorless profiles and hasten to design new programs to deal with a problem for which the voters demand a solution rather than avoidance and denial. For the human rights community, the task will be to define the point where the legitimate protection of a national culture and national security turns into xenophobia.
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