Archive for the ‘Anti-Fascism’ Category
Socialist Party, (former Militant) in Total International Split over those who have “buckled to the pressures of ‘Identity Politics’.”
From Alf Garnett Rants Against Climate Change Demos to Split.
The Socialist Party, apart from the split in the PCS union, has apart from its hard-line pro-Brexit stand, and links with the likes of the Arron Banks national populist Trade unions against the EU’ has not campaign has not made the news these days.
Even the Alf Garnett rants have not won it a wider audience.
Rant against climate change demos by the hard-line pro-Brexit ‘Socialist’ Party,
“R’s insufficient programme and its rejection of politics inform its strategy…”
In reality, the manifesto leaves capitalism intact while seeking to remove its worst aspects. But this vague vision of an alternative society is utopian – and would not even mitigate the effects of climate change.
The idea of individual martyrdom is typical of a middle-class approach, and contrasts unfavourably with the democratic, collective traditions of working-class struggle.
Perhaps this latest row will get people’s attention note the bit, “further reflection of this capitulation is in shown in the Euro election where the main slogan of the Irish section’s candidate is “for a socialist feminist”.
“To all CWI members.
Declaration of a split from the CWI.
The Non Faction, Faction (NFF) last week circulated an open letter signed by a series of IEC members, (full and alternates) together with some visitors and translators who attended the IEC meeting in November 2018 together with some CWI members who were not present. In their statement the NFF rejected the decision of the International Secretariat to convene a meeting in November 2019 and appealed for the IS and the openly declared international faction to reconsider its position and commit to participating in an IEC meeting in August. Now they have taken the decision to convene a meeting of the IEC in august themselves. This action is part of the objective of the NFF to carry through a “regime change” in the leadership of the CWI. We entirely reject this action which is ithe declaration of a split from the CWI.
In the statement the NFF once again ignored the central political issues of difference which have clearly emerged in this debate. As we stated at the IEC in November 2018 there are clearly two main divergent trends developing in the CWI. This has been clarified during the course of six months of debate. It is clear that there is a decisive difference now on the crucial issues of orientation, perspective and programme.
“Socialist feminist” a major step backwards.
It is evident to us that some sections of the CWI have buckled to the pressures of ‘Identity Politics’. Others have gone even further and have or are in the process of capitulating to them. This was recently demonstrated in the debate in US in Chicago. Andy M (US NC) who led off and replied for the NFF – no US EC member was present – argued that the IS “did not understand the new world situation” and comrades argued that the womens movement was detonating the struggles of the working class. A further reflection of this capitulation is in shown in the Euro election where the main slogan of the Irish section’s candidate is “for a socialist feminist”.
This divergence is reflected by a turn away from systematic trade union work in a number of sections and abandonment of an orientation and emphasis on the centrality of the working class. This is clearly reflected in Greece and the non- Trotskyist approach of the section towards intervening in the environment movement and the approach taken towards the workers in gold mining industry.
There is a major divergence between the NFF and ourselves on the question of a systematic and consistent orientation and intervention to the working class and its organisations. We defend this orientation and in doing so up hold the historical foundations on which the CWI was build. The NFF are opposed to it and are moving away from it. This is not a secondary issue as the NFF allege. It is a crucial question on which there needs to be agreement in order to establish a “principled revolutionary unity”.
The leadership of the NFF evade serious debate on these crucial questions of divergence. In debate after debate they have alleged that the IS is conservative, out of touch and now represents “the old guard”.
They have tried to rally support on the basis of an emotional appeal for “unity” but evade explaining what the principled political basis of “revolutionary unity” is based on. The only thing that unites the leadership of the NFF is opposition to the IS. The failure to debate the political issues and only call for “revolutionary unity” without political agreement is the receipt for a split.
Throughout the debate the NFF have denied that it is a question of “regime change”. However, as Sascha S made clear in his recent statement this was explicitly posed by Eric B (Belgium) at the IEC meeting in November. Now other representatives of the NFF have also posed the same issue in recent debates. Paul C (representing the NFF in England and Wales) explicitly posed this in a debate in the eastern region. Now the removal of Peter T from the IS has been raised in a debate in the US and the representative of the NFF in the debate, Andy M, failed to comment on this.
Regime change
It has been revealed during the debate that some NFF members have been preparing the ground for a regime change for a number of years. From Austria comrades report that they were informed some IEC members were organising against the IS in 2016. Younger comrades in England and Wales were told by Danny B that they would have an important role to play “especially if there was a split in the CWI” at about the same time!
All comrades have the right to oppose the IS and argue for a different political approach. However, this should be done openly and honestly. This was not done by these comrades. This dishonest method has sunk to new depths during the course of the debate. All members of the CWI need to pose the question if there is to be regime change – which is the right of comrades to propose – what is the political basis to elect a new leadership? The only unifying stance of the NFF is to deny that substantial political differences exist and opposition to the International Secretariat. We have published our political platform. What is the political platform of the NFF if it carries through a regime change? Comrades will search in vain for a political platform they all defend. We are confronted with a non, faction, faction with non principled principles! A regime change of this character will destroy the CWI as a viable Trotskyist international organization which we are not prepared to accept.
The NFF demand that the COC resumes its functions. Yet this body is perceived by the NFF as an “alternative to the IS” which we reject. We reject the calling of the IEC in August by the NFF as an attempted coup or preparation for a coup against the current IS.
The NFF claims that the IEC majority represents the majority of the CWI. We do not accept this. As we have explained the IEC as currently composed is not representative of the CWI. Its composition is weighed towards the smaller groups like Cyprus, Poland, or Australia with 1 full member whose active membership is less than some branches in other sections! Or Russia with 25 members and 2 full IEC members and not a single full timer. Greece with 302 members has 4 IEC members the same as England and Wales with 2000 members. 3 sections – Cyprus, Australia and Russia – have a total of 66 members and 4 IEC members!
Against the background of a political and theoretical abandonment of Trotskyism by the NFF leadership we cannot agree to participate in or recognise the August IEC which is aimed at enacting a regime change which will mean the destruction of the Trotskyist principles the CWI was founded upon. We have defended and will continue to defend the Trotskyist methods and principles on which the CWI was founded and continue to build it on those methods in the coming period. We therefore appeal to the comrades not to participate in this meeting called by the NFF on a non-principled political basis, which in reality is a split from the CWI.
Those participating in this are placing themselves outside the CWI and in a rival organization. We appeal to comrades to support the international conference called by the international faction ‘In Defence of a workers’ and Trotskyist CWI’ and the programme and platforms which we have defended. This is the road to build a powerful Trotskyist international based on the working class and the methods of the CWI.”
“Against the background of a political and theoretical abandonment of Trotskyism by the NFF “
Harsh words….
They appear to have split on the basis of some of their sections having some kind of of way of relating to mass politics.
That is, against the Millies’ standard practice of refusing to work with anybody on an an equal basis as opposed to the normal practice of this funny sect, which thinks, bizarrely, that it is a leading force for socialism (let alone ‘Trotskyism).
Their criticisms of ‘identity politics’, lety aline their hostility to Climate Change demos, have the odour of another age: what they mean is working with other people on the left.
They have done that, “we are in charge” stuff since the anti-Poll Tax movement and the ant-racist campaign, and, one could list their hollow fronts at length.
It looked ridiculous, from a groupuscule of aged dogmatists, in the past and now….
One would suggest that the weakness of their politics has been cruelly exposed over Brexit, which they stridently backed, even to the extent of supporting the Arron banks linked right-wing Trade Unionists against the EU.
They publicly supported the hard right Brexit project, the extent of being key members of the NO to EU Yes to Democracy front of the labour aristocrats of the CPB and the RMT
The right-wing trajectory of the anti-European Union Taafe group continues...
Galloway and the Far-Right.
Galloway with Friend.
Galloway’s old mates, John Rees, Lindsey German not to mention his former bag-man, Kevin Ovenden have been quite as mice about their leader’s turn to the far right.
All his best mate Rees can find to say is this;
The left needs to stop retreating over the use of the term Zionism
Written by John Rees
The Red-Brown front continues….
George Galloway goes Red-Brown and backs Farage’s Brexit Party.
Galloway Goes Red-Brown.
The Red-Brown alliance develops, George Galloway is to back Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party for the Euro-elections.
Following the lead of former rivals, the ex-Revolutionary Communist Party/Spiked/Institute of Ideas now supporters of National Populism,..(1)
Yesterday Galloway has tweeted his backing for Farage added, (1)
The Herald had just reported,
Socialist George Galloway under fire for backing Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in EU elections
He also predicted that Farage’s party would win “at least 50% of the vote”, saying: “Count on it. The working class in the north are on the move.”
When being criticised for supporting Farage he told one critic: “So Farage is Hitler? How stupid can you get.”
In response to criticism Galloway has tweeted,
The seriousness of this much-welcomed support can be seen here:
We confidently predict that this red-brown alliance will receive more support.
As Jim says,
It appears he is not on his own. Chelley Ryan is a Corbyn cultist and a prolific tweeter and Facebook poster who has also posted for Red Labour and writes for the Morning Star. She has tweeted in support of the Brexit Party.
There have been others on social media.
Is this just Stalinist fraying at the edges or is there more to it?
UPDATE: from far-right Daily Express.
Brexit REBELLION: Left-wingers follow Galloway to back Nigel Farage’s surging Brexit Party
THE Labour EU elections list is so remain heavy left-wing Brexiteers are throwing their lot in with Nigel Farage, including George Galloway.
Fellow left-wing Brexiteers also promised to vote for their former political enemy Nigel Farage.
Simon Middleton said: “I totally agree with you Mr Galloway. Next month’s elections are about Brexit, pure and simple.
“I am from a Socialist background and I will be voting for Nigel Farage aand the new Brexit Party “
George Galloway Retweeted.
******
- Perhaps this tiff is forgiven now….”In an article in The Australian newspaper, 15th January 2009, ‘Critics of Israel giving voice to anti-Semitism’, I stated that George Galloway, British MP for the Respect party, had called for a boycott of ‘Israel’s shops’ and that this meant that he was calling in practice for a boycott of Jewish shops. This was incorrect and I now understand that he was calling for a boycott of ‘Israel’ shops which is a mobile retailer operating in shopping malls and who sell Israeli goods and was not referring to ‘Israel’s shops’. I apologise to Mr Galloway for the mistake, and I withdraw the suggestion made in my article that he was showing or encouraging anti-Semitism in calling for this boycott.
Frank Furedi, 9 February 2009″.
Labour Against the Witch-hunt Faces New Crisis over “member’s support for Holocaust denier.”
The “procedure that Peter faced has been wholly unfair..” Tony Greenstein. January 2019
Last November in the Weekly Worker, a leading force in Labour Against the Witch-hunt, ‘Carla Robert’ of Labour Party Marxists wrote,
Similarly ridiculous is the case of Edinburgh Labour Party member Peter Gregson, who is currently “under investigation”. We will not be surprised if Gregson is also either told to undergo the JLM’s pro-Zionism training and/or referred to the NCC.
By no coincidence whatsoever Labour Against the Witch-hunt publicly declared,
LAW Statement: Lift suspension of Peter Gregson from GMB, stop investigation
Labour Against the Witchhunt calls on Labour’s NEC to reject the allegations of anti-Semitism against Peter Gregson, condemns his suspension by the GMB trade union and calls for the immediate restoration of his full membership rights.
But, spotters of LAW’s tortured inner workings will have noticed at the time,
Although Peter’s petition is a good idea, challenging Labour’s NEC to revoke its adoption of the IHRA definition, we cannot support it. Firstly, we disagree with some of its wording – eg, before it adopted the full IHRA definition on September 4, Labour did not allow “full freedom of speech on Israel”. On the contrary, the witch-hunt was in full flow long before that. Secondly, some of the formulations in Peter’s supporting documents internalise the racism of Zionist ideology, failing to distinguish clearly between the Zionist movement and the Jewish population, and attributing a non-existent collective political identity to “the Jews”, eg, “the Jews have so much leverage here [in the UK]”.
LAW leading light Tony Greenstein wrote in January,
Although Labour Against the Witchhunt didn’t support Peter’s petition because of problems with its wording we recognise that it represents a significant opposition in the Labour Party to the attempt to curtail if not abolish freedom of speech.
Of course the corrupt and racist GMB has never had freedom of speech. The regional barons ruled without opposition. The union exists primarily for the benefit of its highly paid officials not its membership. However even Roache and co. will have difficulty defending this particularly iniquitous decision. If Peter’s expulsion is not revoked then GMB members should join another, genuine trade union.
Shop Steward Expelled for ‘anti-Semitism’ by a Racist and Corrupt Trade Union
In March Labour Party Marxists (another hat for LAW to wear) were saying:
It goes without saying that, while Gregson is not anti-Semitic, he can certainly be criticised for his eccentric politics – in the words of Jewish Voice for Labour, he is a “loose cannon”. For example, he admits that his initiative can be described as a “death-wish” petition, in that it is “sticking two fingers up to the NEC” by “brazenly breaking the IHRA rule”. He adds: “It is important now for more of us to come out and openly breach the IHRA, whilst never being anti-Semitic in the true sense of the word.”
Such brazen defiance is a matter of tactics, of course, but it must be said that in current circumstances it is not exactly a wise move. Firstly, the forces opposing the witch-hunt are extremely weak and are hardly in a good position to mount a successful challenge of this sort. Secondly, the “death-wish” petition does the right’s work for it by identifying hundreds of Labour members as easy targets.
Gregson also makes himself a target through his inappropriate choice of words. For instance, he has claimed that “Jews” in Britain have “leverage” because of what he describes as a general feeling of guilt over the holocaust. When this clumsy phrasing was criticised by JVL – surely it is the Zionists, not undifferentiated “Jews”, who would try to turn any such sentiment to their advantage? – he was not prepared to admit his error or change his wording. His response is: “… we suffer in the UK from holocaust guilt. Thus, all Jews have leverage, whether they want it or not, because all Jews were victims.”
However, we must not let this hold us back from defending him.He is a victim of a rightwing witch-hunt, aimed at defeating the left and regaining control of the party for the Blairites.
Now…
Emails reveal row within Labour Against The Witchhunt over member’s support for Holocaust denier
Pete Gregson insisted denier Nick Kollerstrom was ‘Holocaust sceptic’, and was condemned by fellow LAW member Tony Greenstein
Labour Against The Witchhunt (LAW) – which was launched to defend Labour activists accused of antisemitism – has been rocked by a bitter rift over one of its member’s open support for a Holocaust denier.
Tony Greenstein, LAW’s vice-chair, who was himself expelled from Labour over his use of the word “Zio” and for mocking the phrase Final Solution, has clashed with another of the group’s supporters .
Peter Gregson – who has been backed by LAW since being expelled by the GMB union over alleged antisemitism – had urged Mr Greenstein and his allies to support a petition he started, which included links to an article by Ian Fantom of the conspiracy theory Keep Talking group.
In that article, Mr Fathom writes approvingly of Dr Nick Kollerstrom – author of The Auschwitz ‘Gas Chamber’ Illusion.
But in emails sent to LAW’s leading members – including expelled Labour activist Jackie Walker, her partner Graham Bash and Tina Werkman – Mr Greenstein initially attempts to persuade Mr Gregson to “cut links” with the Mr Fanthom and Mr Kollerstrom, saying the association “would be incredibly damaging” for LAW.
He writes: “I must ask you to remove all references to Ian Fantom’s article from your petition update which directs people to Kollerstrom’s holocaust denial article on the website of the well-known Holocaust denial site CODOH.”
In his March 22 email, Mr Greenstein also refers to wording in Mr Gregson’s petition saying: “It is bad enough that you yourself used the word ‘exaggerate’ in terms of the Holocaust.”
…
He writes on March 23 that Mr Greenstein is “exhibiting the kind of shrill neurosis for which the left is rightly famed. And is why of course so many in the left are doomed to obscurity, for they slam the door hard shut at every opportunity.”
Mr Fantom has previously shared conspiracy theories blaming Israel for 9/11. But Mr Gregson writes of him: “I have spent time with Ian Fantom. I believe he is OK. I do not have a problem with his politics.”
In his own furious response, Mr Greenstein writes back at 2.54 am, setting out detailed evidence of Mr Fantom’s support for Mr Kollerstrom, noting that the article Mr Gregson links to says Mr Kollertrom “had been targeted in a witch-hunt”.
“You can call me whatever you want but I am not going to have holocaust denial being debated or legitimised under the guise of ‘free speech’,” Mr Greenstein writes.
“It’s like debating the rights and wrongs of murdering 50 Muslims in New Zealand last week, or perhaps that too didn’t happen?
“I am removing you from the LAW Facebook and will leave it to the LAW Steering Committee as to whether you are removed from LAW membership too.”
In a further message on April 3 – still copying in much of the LAW leadership – Mr Gregson writes: “Tony is stating he will seek to damage my reputation by making LAW shun me if I do not do as he asks. If that is not a threat, then I’m a chinaman.”
No response to this article has yet been seen.
Informed sources suggest that since he began, earlier this year, being published by the racist Islamic Qatar dictatorship’s Al Jazeera Greenstein has become more careful with his ‘robust’ language.
We still expect some broadside…
On the up, a couple of days ago Labour Against the Witchhunt, was celebrating Ken Livingstone’s decision to join their campaign.
“Former London mayor is announced as Labour Against The Witchhunt’s honorary president”
Étienne Chouard, Alain Soral, The Far-right, Political Confusionism and the Gilets Jaunes.
Face au fascisme on ne pense plus; il ne faut plus penser – c’est tabou. L’antifascisme est une forme plus évoluée, plus subtile que l’antisémitisme, mais pas moins contre-révolutionnaire. Il crée une attitude de réflexe et de haine.”
Faced with Fascism, one stops thinking; one mustn’t think any more – it’s taboo. Antifascism is the more evolved form, subtler than anti-semitism, but no less counter-revolutionary. It creates a reflexive attitude of hatred.
Groupes radicaux pour l’abolition de l’argent et de l’État
From, Précieuses pépites. Étienne Chouard.
(citations of his cherished nuggets, 1031 pages long, from the Situationists, James Madison, Gandhi, Pastor Neimöller, Edmund Burke, George Orwell……)
Alain Soral has been condemned to a year in gaol for Holocaust denial. As the would-be sorcerer’s apprentice of a Red-Brown alliance, his balance-sheet has until recent years largely been a negative one. The most public initiative, the ‘anti-Zionist’ electoral list he helped organise with Dieudeonné, with the support of a few former leftists, and Tehran inclined Islamists, was a failure.
Égalité et Réconciliation¸ trumpeting the cause of workers and peoples, with right-wing national values, against globalist elites, appeared submerged in the malestrom of populism. As part of a “conspi” turn it could be said that Soral, who never fails to inject anti-semitism into the public domain, helped set out some markers, but little more. His site has had a small, if real, (according to reports) echo amongst the anti-gay marriage and anti-‘genre theory’ movement, which combined the traditional far-right, Catholic ‘ultras’ and some conservative Muslims. To escape from this impasse Soral has recently tried to engage – before his imprisonment has temporarily cut this short – with the Gilets Jaunes…with more success, if still limited.
It is the fashion in some quarters to look at the Gilets Jaunes through rose-tinted spectacles. After all, what could be more heartening than to discover, as perhaps prophesied by Jean-Claude Michéa, the work of those “en bas” in revolt against the neoliberal elite. The left which has, since, apparently the Dreyfus Affair, sought to integrate the left into a world ruled by finance is shaking. Woven in the by those who have been “solidaires depuis toujours”, acting through the heart of their “idenitité populaire la plus spécifique”, the French People have arisen…. (Notre Ennemi le capital. 2017)
No doubt there are worthy projects to wrestle inside the Gilets Jaunes movement, and fight for leftism and below within it. Reports, though not those broadcast by the professionals of tinting roses, the SWP, if their most recent General assembly (not universally recognised) indicate that they have decided to not offer any recommendation to vote for the coming European elections. A victory of sorts, though one finds it hard to imagine the good faith of any leftist sitting in a room with those who argued for supporting for a variety of hard-right lists – as happened..
Instead we have Étienne Chouard, a teacher, whose Mother worked for the – some might say – elitist Tel Quel literary and theoretical journal of Philippe Solars, known for its 1960s structuralism, ultra-Maoist phase, and violent ‘anti-totalitarian’ turn in the 1970s. He says he is “a seeker of the original cause of social injustices”. The blogs he runs, such as Plan C, and his own personal site, advance the cause of “une Constitution Citoyenne, écrite par et pour les citoyens.”
Chouard is popular amongst the Gilets Jaunes – significant enough to be cited at length in the media, the latest appearance being in Saturday’s Le Monde (13.4.19). His audience on social networks is astronomical. He is probably the best known promoter of one of the Gilets Jaunes central demands, direct democracy through the idea of government by referendum. “référendum d’initiative populaire”. A one-time leftist, who dabbled in anarchism and the ultra-left, and who claims inspiration from Cornelius Castoriadis he has expressed sympathy for Nigel Farage, yet voted Mélenchon in the last Presidential elections. The life-long grass-roots activist has now declared that he will back François Asselineau, a hard-right Frexit (French Brexit) campaigner who runs the small UPR. It is also opposed to NATO. Le Monde notes he is far from alone amongst the Gilets Jaunes in backing this far-right party.. (12.4.19. Gilets jaunes » : François Asselineau et le « Frexit » font recette sur les ronds-points) that the UPR is known for promoting “conspiracy” ideas. (1)
Chouard is the ideal type of “ confusionism”, melding together the far-right ideas with leftism. But this rhetoric does not stop at issues such as the European Union. As the reader of (one can believe this, see above) over 3,500 books on philosophy, politics and stuff, he has views on many areas. His freethinking has led him to express opinions doubting the official version of 9/11, and to express interest in the conspi site, Réseau Voltaire. Chouard has also had ties, notable ties, with Alain Soral over the years. His notorious description of Soral as a “resistant” did not go down well. He has stood back, preferring the calmer waters of the UPR, for his own red-brown alliance, from aligning himself with the sulphurous holocaust denier.
Despite the jolly film (judging from its trailer…) J’veux du soleil, by François Ruffin, there seems, as yet little indication of the français de souche amongst the Gilets Jaunes, reaching out to minorities, the “urban nomadic proletariat”. But he doubtless found somebody prepared to listen to Michéa when it comes to official left and liberal anti-fascism.
(1) See also COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE : ÉTIENNE CHOUARD ANNONCE PUBLIQUEMENT QU’IL VOTERA POUR LA LISTE DE L’UPR AUX ÉLECTIONS EUROPÉENNES )
“François Asselineau‘s ‘souverainiste‘ platform has two main targets, the European Union and the United States.[32] He insists that France should leave the Eurozone,[33] the European Union, and NATO.[32] According to Asselineau, the EU and NATO “as seen from Washington…are the political and military side of the same coin, that of the enthrallment of the European continent to their ‘buffer zone’ so as to surround and contain the Russian continental power”.[33] He says the process leading to European unification was launched solely upon orders from the American government.”
You can guess his views on Assange and Brexit….
Alain Soral, Red Brown National Populist, sentenced to one year in prison for Holocaust denial.
Alain Soral sentenced to one year in prison for Holocaust denial
le Monde.
The prosecution had required six months of imprisonment against the far right essayist, and 15,000 euros fine against his lawyer, Damien Viguier.
The right-wing essayist Alain Soral was sentenced on Monday, April 15, to one year in prison for Holocaust denial.
Mr. Soral, 60, was tried in Paris for challenging the existence of the Holocaust and published on his website contentious conclusions of his lawyer in another case. His counsel, Damien Viguier, was sentenced to 5,000 euros fine for complicity, because of the content of these conclusions.
The prosecution had demanded six months in prison against Mr. Soral, and 15,000 euros fine against Damien Viguier.
..
In 2016, the site of Alain Soral, Equality and Reconciliation, had published a drawing representing, on a “one” titled “Chutzpah Hebdo” , the face of Charlie Chaplin in front of the Star of David, with, written in a bubble, the question “Shoah where are you? ” Shoah où t’es ? , Referring to a controversial first page of Charlie Hebdo after the attacks in Brussels , ” Dad where are you? » « Papa où t’es ? ».
More:
French far-right activist Alain Soral jailed for Holocaust denial.
Radio France International.
Multiple convictions over a contested image
The conviction concerns an image published on Soral’s website Egalité et Réconciliation (Equality and Reconciliation) in 2016 in which a fictional newspaper called “Chutzpah Hebdo” bears a caption reading “disoriented historians”.
Before a Star of David, a likeness of Charlie Chaplin surrounded by a shoe, a wig, a bar of soap and a lampshade asks “Holocaust, where are you?”
The image was a reference to a controversial cover of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo depicting a young man asking “Daddy, where are you?” surrounded by dismembered body parts, published in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels of 22 March 2016.
A court ruled the image on Soral’s site to be an instance of Holocaust denial and fined Soral 10,000 euros with the possibility of imprisonment in case of non-payment.
Monday’s conviction and sentence concerned a text by Viguier that Soral published on the same site in November 2017
In the text, Viguier says the shoes and wig were a “reference to memorial sites and sites of pilgrimage” that were “brought together to stir readers’ imaginations.”
Concerning the wig, Viguier wrote “haircuts occur in all places of concentration for reasons of hygiene,” and said claims that Nazis made soap from human fat and lampshades from human skin were “war propaganda”.
Viguier posted a message on Soral’s website saying they would both appeal the court’s decision.
This sentence may seem harsh but Soral has many previous convictions.(1)
His rabid anti-semitism is only one aspect of a political stand which goes from support for the Syrian regime, the Venezuelan government, hostility to “communitarian” identitarian gay, feminist politics, alliance with the Front National, a Liste Antisioniste (anti-Zionist),
Claiming links with the French Communist Party, the PCF, in the late 1980s and early 1980s (which they deny, and, although he has shown a membership card it is hard to prove any activity), Soral came to the public scene through the manifesto, Vers un front national . This followed his anti-EU campaigning against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.
In some respects this could be considered a template for new red-brown (rouges-bruns) alliances which have more recently marked European politics, above all, over the question of the European Union.
The Manifesto was signed by Jean-Paul Cruse a former member of the Mao-spontex Gauche prolétarienne, and appeared in one time ‘counter-cultural’ paper ‘Idiot international’ founded by Jean-Edern Hallier. It proposed ‘authoritarian politics needed to rebuild the country, to assemble the forces of civilisation against the market, and to advance the cause of the Nations. against Zionism and the stock market. The « front » aimed to group together « the Gaullist hard-liner, Pasqua, Socialist ‘patriot’ Chevènement, communists and ultra-nationalists.
Soral has been closely associated with the French comedian and fellow Holocaust denier, Dieudonné.
His web site Égalité et Réconciliation offers a red-brown perspective, trumpeting the rooted population against the elite, and combining the “working class” left with the values of the right (Gauche du travail et droite des valeurs ). It intends to continue the perspective of the pre-Great War Cercle Proudhon, which united a minority of radical, but patriotic trade unionists with the radical far right maurrassien current.
It is marked by conspiracy theories of all kinds, centring around ‘Zionism’.
Soral has had links with the ‘Union des organisations islamiques de France (UOIF), and individual ‘anti-Zionist’ Muslims, Camel Bechikh, and ‘Albert Ali alias Abdelaali Baghezza, ancien responsable des Jeunes Musulmans de France amongst others. He has also had ties with far-right Catholic traditionalists.
Backing for Arab nationalism is long-standing, and continues with support for the Syrian regime.
It is hard to keep up with all the details of this ‘red-brown’ alliance, which can be seen via the above links.
Recently Égalité et Réconciliation has been an enthusiast for the Gilets Jaunes.
….
(1)
- Le , la cour d’appel de Paris a confirmé le jugement du par lequel Alain Soral était condamné à une amende de 3 000 € pour incitation à la haine raciale à la suite de propos tenus dans le cadre de l’émission Complément d’enquête sur France 2, le . Entre autres propos de la même veine, celui-ci affirmait : « la formation qualifiante pour exister dans les médias aujourd’hui, c’est d’être sioniste : si t’es antisioniste, si t’es judéo-critique ou quoi que ce soit tu dégages […] »123.
- Le , Alain Soral est condamné en première instance à 2 500 euros d’amende, un euro symbolique de dommages et intérêts, 3 000 euros au titre des frais de justice, ainsi qu’à la publication, à ses frais, du jugement dans deux journaux, pour diffamation envers le maire socialiste de Paris Bertrand Delanoë, après avoir porté à son encontre des accusations d’enrichissement illégal et de pédophilie, dans une vidéo datée du sur le site d’Égalité et Réconciliation124. Cette condamnation est confirmée et alourdie en appel, le , avec 2 000 euros de dommages et intérêts et 5 000 euros au titre des frais de justice125.
- Le , le juge des référés de Bobigny, saisi par la LICRA, ordonne l’interdiction et le retrait des ventes « dans un délai d’un mois » de l’Anthologie des propos contre les juifs, le judaïsme et le sionisme, de Paul-Éric Blanrue et la censure partielle de quatre ouvrages réédités par Kontre Kulture : La France juive d’Édouard Drumont, Le Salut par les Juifs de Léon Bloy, Le Juif international d’Henry Ford et La Controverse de Sion de Douglas Reed. La maison d’édition et Alain Soral sont également condamnés à verser, « à titre de provision », 8 000 euros à la LICRA, ainsi qu’à payer une partie des frais de justice126. La LICRA a également demandé la réparation du préjudice subi pour incitation à la haine raciale et à l’antisémitisme par l’édition du livre Anthologie des propos contre les juifs, le judaïsme et le sionisme. Dans un délibéré daté du , le TGI annule cette condamnation127. Néanmoins, la condamnation d’Alain Soral est à nouveau confirmée définitivement en appel128 et l’ouvrage de Paul-Éric Blanrue figure sur le site de la maison d’édition avec la mention « interdit à la vente à partir du 13 décembre »129.
- En , l’Union des étudiants juifs de France a déposé plainte contre Alain Soral pour une quenelle réalisée devant le mémorial de la Shoah, à Berlin, qu’il avait ensuite diffusée dans une vidéo en 130. Le , Alain Soral est condamné par le tribunal correctionnel de Paris à verser 100 jours-amendes d’un montant unitaire de 100 euros pour injures à caractère racial, soit 10 000 euros d’amende, ainsi que 14 001 euros de dommages-intérêts au profit des sept associations qui s’étaient constituées parties civiles131. Le , la cour d’appel de Paris réduit la peine à 5 000 euros d’amende et 15 000 euros de dommages et intérêts aux sept associations parties civiles, auxquels s’ajoutent 500 euros à chaque fois pour les frais de justice d’appel132.
- Le , Alain Soral est condamné à 2 000 euros d’amende, 2 000 euros de dommages et intérêts et 3 000 euros de frais de justice, pour diffamation envers le vice-président du Front national Louis Aliot, après l’avoir qualifié de « con du mois », de « suceur de sionistes », de « saloperie » et de « crétin », dans une vidéo publiée le sur le site d’Égalité et Réconciliation. Le directeur de la publication de ce site a également été condamné à 1 500 euros d’amende avec sursis133. Ayant fait appel, Soral est à nouveau condamné à verser 2 000 euros à Louis Aliot134.
- Le , Alain Soral est condamné à 6 000 euros d’amende, 3 000 euros de dommages et intérêts et 2 000 euros de frais de justice, pour provocation à « la haine, la discrimination ou la violence » à l’égard du journaliste juif Frédéric Haziza et de la communauté juive. Il avait, en , publié une vidéo dans laquelle il estimait que Frédéric Haziza faisait « un boulot de censeur tribaliste » et dénonçait « une arrogance, une domination et une malhonnêteté communautaire ». Le tribunal a estimé qu’Alain Soral, « mû par sa vindicte personnelle à l’encontre de Frédéric Haziza, (…) passant du particulier au général et radicalisant ses propos, s’est exprimé dans des termes qui, à l’évidence, visent non pas les seuls juifs sionistes, mais bien les juifs dans leur ensemble »135. Le tribunal a également ordonné à Alain Soral de supprimer les propos concernant Frédéric Haziza de la vidéo dans un délai de huit jours, sous astreinte de 1 000 euros par jour. Il a en outre été condamné à verser un euro de dommages et intérêts et 1 000 euros de frais de justice à la Ligue des droits de l’homme et à l’association « J’accuse », les parties civiles de la Licra, d’SOS Racisme et de l’UEJF ayant été déclarées irrecevables pour des raisons de procédure136,137. Le , la cour d’appel de Paris confirme la condamnation d’Alain Soral à 6 000 euros d’amende pour provocation à la haine envers Frédéric Haziza et les juifs, et lui ordonne de supprimer les propos concernant Frédéric Haziza d’une vidéo circulant sur internet138.
- Le , le tribunal correctionnel de Paris a également condamné Alain Soral à 4 000 euros d’amende pour diffamation publique en raison de l’orientation sexuelle à l’encontre de Pierre Bergé, en raison de propos tenus dans son livre Dialogues désaccordés, coécrit avec Éric Naulleau. Outre l’amende, le tribunal correctionnel a condamné Alain Soral à verser à Pierre Bergé 10 000 euros de dommages et intérêts, solidairement avec l’éditeur du livre, Hugues Robert de Saint Vincent139. Le , la cour d’appel de Paris condamne Alain Soral à verser 17 000 euros à Pierre Bergé et demande la suppression du passage le concernant des exemplaires commercialisés ; l’éditeur préfère retirer l’ouvrage de la vente140.
- Le , le tribunal correctionnel de Paris condamne Alain Soral à verser 60 jours-amendes de 50 euros — soit 3 000 euros —, sous peine d’emprisonnement, pour avoir lancé fin 2013 un appel aux dons sur Internet afin de payer la condamnation dont il avait écopé pour des propos diffamatoires à l’encontre de Bertrand Delanoë. Entre juillet 2013 (avant son appel aux dons) et mars 2014, les enquêteurs ont pu déterminer qu’Alain Soral et son association Égalité et Réconciliation ont encaissé au total plus de 350 000 euros141.
- Le , le tribunal correctionnel de Paris condamne Alain Soral, en tant que directeur de la publication du site d’Égalité & Réconciliation, à 5 000 euros d’amende pour injures et injures antisémites, en raison de commentaires publiés sur le site par des internautes s’en prenant au journaliste Frédéric Haziza. Il doit également verser 3 000 euros de dommages et intérêts, 2 000 euros pour les frais de justice, un euro de dommages et intérêts à la LICRA et 1 000 euros pour les frais de justice142.
- Le , le tribunal correctionnel de Paris condamne Alain Soral à 10 000 euros d’amende pour injure raciale à l’encontre de Frédéric Haziza à la suite d’un texte publié sur son site internet. Il doit également lui verser 5 000 euros de dommages et intérêts et 3 000 euros pour les frais de justice, ainsi qu’1 euro de dommages et intérêts et 1 000 euros de frais de justice à quatre associations de lutte contre le racisme. Il est par ailleurs déclaré coupable du délit de provocation à la discrimination religieuse pour d’autres passages du texte ainsi que le commentaire d’un internaute143.
- Le , Alain Soral en tant que responsables de site est condamné144 car il a relayé un article d’Hicham Hamza, auteur du blog conspirationniste (ou complotiste)145,146,147 Panamza.com, qui est condamné en diffamation pour avoir traité Caroline Fourest de « désinformatrice » sur la base d’une séquence de son film Les Obsédés du complot. Sur son blog, il avait accusé Caroline Fourest d’avoir tronqué le sous-titrage d’un dialogue dans son reportage sur les réseaux complotistes mais la cour a admis l’explication de la journaliste qui indiquait que la mauvaise retranscription relevait « d’une erreur de sa monteuse lors du montage du documentaire » « en raison des propos « confus » et « inaudibles »148 ».
- En juin 2016, il écope de six mois de prison avec sursis pour « apologie de crimes de guerre et contre l’humanité » pour des propos visant Serge et Beate Klarsfeld ; il doit également verser 5 000 euros de dommages et intérêts à chacun des époux, ainsi que 2 000 euros à la LICRA149.
- Le , Salim Laïbi, chirurgien-dentiste, polémiste, a déposé plainte avec constitution de partie civile contre Alain Soral auprès du TGI de Marseille, pour diffamation à la suite du post Facebook de Alain Soral : « On ne l’entend plus le dentiste obèse ! Il n’appelle plus au djihad anti-Gaulois. C’est pourtant sa ligne depuis des mois ». Selon le quotidien La Provence, Alain Soral refusera de se rendre aux convocations du juge d’instruction malgré un mandat d’amener. Il est également absent à l’audition du au TGI de Marseille, où son avocat, Me Drici Lahcen, affirme « que son client n’a pas dépassé les limites de la liberté d’expression »150 et que ce n’était pas sa page Facebook. Le , Alain Soral est condamné par le tribunal correctionnel de Marseille pour diffamation publique à une amende pénale de 2 000 euros151.
- Le , Binti Bangoura, une top modèle et chanteuse française d’origine africaine, dépose plainte contre Alain Soral152,153. Alain Soral est convoqué le devant le tribunal de Paris, sur citation directe, pour « injures raciales », « menaces », « harcèlement » et « envois réitérés de messages malveillants »154. En novembre 2016, il est condamné à 120 jours-amende de 50 euros (une peine transformée en emprisonnement si la totalité de l’amende n’est pas acquittée) et à verser 8 000 euros à la jeune femme (dommages-intérêts et frais de justice)155,156.
- Le , Alain Soral est condamné à trois mois de prison ferme pour contestation de crime contre l’humanité et injure raciale, par le tribunal correctionnel de Paris, pour avoir publié sur son site — à la suite des attentats de Bruxelles — un dessin jugé négationniste157. La sentence est confirmée en novembre 2017 par la cour d’appel de Paris158.
- Le , il est condamné à 6 000 euros d’amende pour avoir publié et mis en vente sur le site d’Égalité & Réconciliation une affiche jugée négationniste, diffamatoire et incitant à la haine envers les Juifs ; il est également condamné à verser solidairement 2 000 euros à la Licra, partie civile et à l’origine de la plainte dans ce dossier159.
- Le , il est condamné à six mois de prison avec sursis et 10 000 euros d’amende pour avoir publié des caricatures antisémites sur le site d’Égalité & Réconciliation160.
- Le , il est condamné à deux peines d’emprisonnement avec sursis pour provocation à la haine, après la diffusion de deux dessins jugés antisémites sur le site d’Égalité & Réconciliation161.
- Le , il est condamné à un an de prison ferme pour injure et provocation à la haine raciale, par le tribunal correctionnel de Bobigny162,163.
- Le , il est condamné par la Cour d’appel de Paris à trois mois d’emprisonnement avec sursis et 5 000 euros d’amende, pour avoir indiqué de faux directeurs de la publication sur le site d’Égalité et Réconciliation. Cette condamnation est confirmée en cassation le 22 janvier 2019164.
- Le , il est condamné à un an de prison ferme avec mandat d’arret pour négationnisme de la Shoah. Son avocat, Damien Viguier, est condamné à 5 000 euros d’amende dans la même affa
Shamima Begum: accused of responsibilities to face up to, she has rights.
Was Begum a member of the Isis all-female Al-Khansaa Brigade, who enforced women’s dress rules?
This has caught the headlines.
Shamima Begum: IS bride ‘given legal aid’ for citizenship fight
BBC.
Legal aid has been granted for Shamima Begum – who joined the Islamic State group aged 15 – to fight the decision to revoke her UK citizenship.
The 19-year-old, who left east London in 2015, was stripped of her citizenship in February, after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp.
Her family has previously said it planned to challenge the decision.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Legal Aid Agency’s decision to assist Ms Begum made him “very uncomfortable”.
Legal aid is financial assistance provided by the taxpayer to those unable to afford legal representation themselves, whether they are accused of a crime or a victim who seeks the help of a lawyer through the court process.
It is means-tested and availability has been cut back significantly in recent years.
This Blog agrees with this statement:
The I’ . Florence Sneed reports, nevertheless has also reported on this:
Shamima Begum: Isis bride ‘was discipline enforcer for group’s morality police’
Shamima Begum, who left London aged 15 to join Isis, served in the terror group’s “morality police” to help enforce strict rules among female members, according to reports.
Ms Begum is said to have been allowed to carry a Kalashnikov rifle and earned a reputation for being a strict “enforcer” on issues such as women’s clothing.
The teenager, who is now 19, previously said she was “just a housewife” after being tracked down to a Syrian refugee camp earlier this year.
But sources have said she had a paid role as an enforcer of discipline in which she likely ordered the imprisonment and lashing of women in Raqqa, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
It reported that Ms Begum is also thought to have been actively trying to recruit other women across Europe during her time in city.
Other reports suggest the teenager – who has since been stripped of her British citizenship – went as far as preparing suicide vests and sewing them on to would-be bombers.
The Independent added this detail,
One activist quoted by the newspaper said Begum had been seen holding an automatic weapon and shouting at Syrian women in the city of Raqqa for wearing brightly coloured shoes.
“Members of our group from Raqqa knew her well,” said Aghiad al-Kheder, an activist from Deir ez-Zor who founded an anti-Isis collective that published information about Isis crimes from sources on the ground.
This leads to the following report, (Independent)
Isis: British women led by Aqsa Mahmood ‘running sharia police unit for Islamic State in Syria’
The ICSR says it monitors 25 British female jihadists who have left their lives in the UK to support Isis.
The brigade’s women are reportedly paid a monthly salary of 25,000 Syrian Pounds (roughly £100), says TRAC, for duties that are not involved with acts of terror – instead insurgency operations.
They are not the only all-female brigade, either, with another – Umm Al-Rayan – also created around the same time.
Security services believe that it is likely that the women will know the true identity of ‘Jihadi John’, the Isis fighter believed to be the person responsible for the beheading of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
According to Syria Deeply, the al-Khansaa brigade has also been tasked with cracking down on civilian women who fail to abide by the ultra-strict brand of sharia law implemented by Isis, including that women be fully covered in public and be chaperoned by a male.
An Isis official in Raqqa reportedly said: “We have established the brigade to raise awareness of our religion among women, and to punish women who do not abide by the law.
“There are only women in this brigade, and we have given them their own facilities to prevent the mixture of men and women.”
These are serious charges which Begum must face up to.
It will be interesting to hear the response from this quarter.
Shamima Begum said that at the time she had accepted Isis’s line that the Manchester bombing was justified as form of retaliation. But she went on to say that it wasn’t “fair” on the women and children killed in Mancheser.
And she suggested there was an equivalence between the Manchester bombing and the mass murder by the West in the Middle East.
Certainly it is utterly hypocritical to hear denunciations of violence from those who backed mass slaughter in Iraq and Afghanistan, urged on the devastation of Libya and support the bombing and starving of Yemen.
The West is responsible for the horrors of Isis. Had it not been for its imperialist wars in the Middle East, there would have been no Isis for Shamima Begum and her school friends to join.
…
Many liberals fall into the trap of seeing a division between “good” and “bad Muslims”—such as Shamima Begum who deserve to feel the full force of the law. But any Muslim that dares to question British foreign policy is considered to be a “bad Muslim” by the British state.
Begum, if the case against her is proved, was an active participant in genocide.
There is no doubt whatsoever about the nature of the mass killings carried our by Daesh.
Only the politically confused can try to excuse the genociders of ISIS and aided by the Islamic Morality Police by pointing to the crimes of Western powers.
Only hypocrites and liars can throw responsibility for their crimes onto ‘the West’.
