AUSTRIA | Vienna 'far-right' ball condemned in mass protests

About 6,000 people took part in the protests in central Vienna, police said

Thousands of people have taken part in marches in Vienna against an annual ball that was expected to be attended by foreign far-right leaders.

The protesters are opposed to Austria's opposition Freedom Party (FPOe) holding its so-called Academics Ball in the city's imperial Hofburg palace.

Several people have been arrested after outbreaks of violence, police say.

The ball has in past years attracted far-right figures such as French National Front leader Marine le Pen.

Police say around 6,000 people took to the streets to rally against Friday's event.

Some protestors smashed shop windows and threw bottles, and several people were injured, police say.

Large parts of Vienna's old city had been cordoned off to prevent clashes between demonstrators and ball guests.

Journalists criticised police for declaring parts of the demonstration area off-limits for the media

Natascha Strobl, a spokeswoman for the campaign group Offensive Gegen Rechts (Offensive Against the Right) told AFP news agency that the demonstration was "about halting the biggest gathering of Europe's extreme right elite".

The far-right FPOe is the third-biggest party in Austria, winning 21% of the vote in September's elections.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Johann Gudenus, leader of the Vienna branch of the FPOe, condemned violence towards the ball's attendees, calling it "the fascism of the 21st Century".

The organisation Jetzt Zeichen Setzen! (Take a Stand Now), which campaigns for remembrance of victims of Nazism, published an open letter this month against the ball signed by six Holocaust survivors.

"As survivors of the Nazi era, we are stunned that the Hofburg, which belongs to the republic, is still opening its doors to representatives of extreme-right organisations from Austria and Europe," it said.

The Academics Ball effectively replaces the controversial WKR Ball which ran as part of Vienna's annual ball season until two years ago. It was traditionally organised by student fraternities, which include far-right members from across Europe.

UN cultural body Unesco dropped the ball from a list of Austrian cultural traditions in 2012 over concerns about its links to far-right politics.

The ball attracted extra criticism that year as it took place on the same date as Holocaust Remembrance Day. However, organisers said the ball was always held on the last Friday in January.

http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/international/article/1697/vienna-far-right-ball-condemned-in-mass-protests

  Good on them!

We must all stand up against these far right Nazi   (S)

The Nazis did have some brilliant ideas though and technology progressed in so many areas.

How sad that some people support these THUGGISH protesters , lets hope there are 6,000 arrests.

Just a few!

....No wonder they don't like being called what they are!

NAZIS

NAZI SCUM OFF OUR STREETS!!!!!

    

They are obviously so disillusioned with life and the system that they need to associate with some structure.

Just a few.

  

 ::zomb:: ::zomb:: ::zomb::

Warren Moon wrote:They are obviously so disillusioned with life and the system that they need to associate with some structure.

We get a lot of that here in the U.S. too with the far-right movements, the Ron Paul fanaticism, etc. Some people just need an easy solution to a complicated problem. I suspect it's why people join cults as well.

...Of course, none of this is ever reported!

Catman wrote:...Of course, none of this is ever reported!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25890188

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/thousands-join-protests-in-vienna-against-austrian-ball-for-farright-9084916.html

http://rt.com/in-motion/austria-antifa-protest-ball-172/

... and more ...

Google is your friend.

Warren Moon wrote:
The Nazis did have some brilliant ideas though and technology progressed in so many areas.

 :::hitler: 

DON'T keep us all in suspense, Warren !!!

GIVE US some real world examples of your brilliant ideas and technological progress ?

HERE'S a free kick: Volkswagens, Phosgene gas, the V2 rocket-propelled bombs, "Racial superiority" through Eugenics and selective breeding..  

::smthg::

ALLAKAKA wrote:
Just a few.

  

I'VE been pointing out for the last few years that such Nationalist Islamist groups as the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda, the Taliban, Mujihadeen and a few of their associated gangs and off-shoots are actually reactionary and extremely conservative Right-Wing associations, more akin to the Euro' neo-Nazis, American and African racist extremists...

AND just about as far away from the misleading "left wing"/"socialist"/"communist" tags that the Murdoch Press and other war-mongering journo's like to hang on them, unless you prefer to draw the "political spectrum" as a circle, bringing the two extremes closer together..

AND which makes it very strange to me, to be seeing several marginal sub-groups of self-declared European and British "liberals" and Chardonnay "socialists" standing side-by-goosestepping-side with the various fascists and nazis in supporting their Muslim brothers !   

"LIBERTINE" or "Liberationist" and such other RW_Conservative labels would much better reflect their true political and social leanings..