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This Thursday, 18 September 2014, marks one year since the murder of the Greek rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, at the hands of thugs from the Nazi party, Golden Dawn. The massive protests sparked by his murder forced the Greek government to take action against the Nazis, but today, a year later, we can see that the danger has not disappeared.

It is clear that the fascist threat exists in various forms throughout Europe. In France, the National Front is a leading political force. Even in Sweden, the disguised fascist party, the “Swedish Democrats”, won 12.9% in the recent parliamentary elections.

We know that the fascist organizations collaborate with each other; leaders of the Catalan fascist party, Plataforma per Catalunya, and the Nazi centre “Tramuntana” have notorious links with the Greeks Nazis.

We demand that the European Union, and the new European Commission, do everything in their power to prevent the advance of fascism. At least, they should not fuel the growth of the far right. Speeches and measures that criminalise immigrants —in effect, copying the fascists— don’t reduce their support, but rather give them credibility they do not deserve. In this regard, we are very concerned that Dimitris Avramopoulos —a member of a party that has applied extreme racist policies in Greece, provoking criticisms by Amnesty International— has been proposed as the new European Commissioner for Immigration. We call on the European Parliament to reject his appointment.

As for us, as a united movement which involves very significant sectors of Catalan society, we declare our commitment to continue the fight against the far right. We will do so within Catalunya and, increasingly, we will do so in collaboration with our sister movements across Europe.

So, on this sad anniversary, we send our solidarity to KEERFA, the united antifascist movement of Greece, and to all the people across Europe who mobilise around our shared call: “Fascism, never again!”

Unitat Contra el Feixisme i el Racisme
Barcelona, 18 ​​September 2014

[Original en català] · [Versión en castellano] · [In English]

We are shocked and disgusted by the absolution yesterday on technicalities of 18 members of a neo Nazi group in Valencia, on trial for illegal association, possession of prohibited weapons and possession of firearms.

Those on trial included two soldiers, a councillor for the fascist party España 2000 and the self-confessed murderer of the young Valencian antifascist, Guillem Agulló, in April 1993 (the murderer served only 4 years in prison).

The Nazis were absolved when the Court ruled out all the evidence obtained as a result of a telephone tap carried out by the paramilitary police force, the Guardia Civil. Incredibly, the other key pieces of evidence, the arms seized from the Nazis, were destroyed by the very same Guardia Civil before the start of the trial.

We echo the words of Toni Gisbert, of People’s Action Against Impunity, the social movement which worked hard for a conviction:

“The elimination of the phone taps might mean the exclusion of evidence but it can’t exclude the truth. And the truth is that it has been shown that there was an organized Nazi group with a violent ideology and attitude, and that they possessed banned weapons… And we ask ourselves: doesn’t the Court consider to be an offence the possession of prohibited weapons, nor the organisation of a Nazi group nor the existence of a group with a violent ideology and attitude? What message is the Court giving to society?”

As, Gisbert says, this comes in a European context “in which there is a growing social concern regarding the emergence of fascism and populism… But the possession of arms and the creation of fascist groups are not crimes in the Spanish state.”

It is worrying that the same Court acquitted the Nazi group Armagedon in 2005.

We send our solidarity to all the family and friends of the many victims of fascism in Valencia, as well as to People’s Action Against Impunity.

Unidad Contra el Fascismo y el Racismo,
Barcelona 31 July 2014

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Press statement by Unitat Contra el Feixisme i el Racisme on the crisis in Plataforma per Catalunya

[En català] [En castellano]

Unitat Contra el Feixisme i el Racisme (UCFR, Unity Against Fascism and Racism), the network of 400 social, cultural, trade union and political organisations in Catalunya, celebrates the removal of Josep Anglada as president of the fascist party Plataforma per Catalunya (PxC).

In 2010, when UCFR was established, some people saw the electoral growth of PxC as something inevitable, and believed that the best strategy was not to speak of the party nor of its leader, Josep Anglada, arguing that to do so was to give it publicity. UCFR, however, did not share this approach and has always acted according to the principle that to deal with the problem it was essential to face up to it openly, making clear the danger it represents. For that reason, UCFR has denounced —with a quarter of a million leaflets; thousands of posters and stickers; dozens of public events; and numerous street protests— the fascist nature of this party.

This constant work by the activists of UCFR, as well as by the entities that make it up, in the different neighbourhoods, towns and counties of Catalunya, has weakened and divided PxC. Over recent years, this fascist party has experienced one defeat after another. In November 2011, PxC failed in its attempt to enter the Spanish Congress. In November 2012, they remained outside the Parliament of Catalonia, with a significant loss of votes compared to the previous Catalan elections. And all this happened in a European context where the extreme right increased their representation in several neighbouring countries.

These losses have contributed to the loss of sympathisers, members and councillors. Since the last elections, PxC has lost fifteen of the 67 council seats obtained in May 2011. Last summer, Josep Anglada suffered a humiliating defeat in his home town when the City Council of Vic passed a resolution, promoted by the local UCFR group, which denied PxC the use of municipal facilities. And just a week ago, the then international secretary, Enric Ravello, left the party.

The removal of the fascist from Vic as President of the party that he founded is also a consequence of this ongoing and permanent situation of decline. A decline that has been caused in large part by the growing contradictions between the public message and the reality of the party, something that UCFR has continued to highlight; as well as by the public and media perceptions of the fascist nature of this party and of its president and best known leader. A perception to which the joint work carried out by UCFR, as well as other organisations, has contributed greatly.

However, the removal of Anglada is only one step, and not even the most important one, towards the eradication of fascism from our country. The leaders of PxC who brought down Anglada are potentially as or more dangerous than the fascist from Vic. In UCFR we believe it is too early to know whether the new leadership of PxC will manage to stop the haemorrhage of members and councillors, and achieve real control over the party, or whether PxC will tear itself apart as a result of the infighting that has already been going on for a long time.

In UCFR we are fully aware that the fascist threat has not disappeared, and for that reason it will be necessary to strengthen the work of our local groups and create new ones where PxC continues to be active. But we will also be ready to respond quickly and effectively in areas where the fascists take to the streets with graffiti, demonstrations or attacks.

Next May, different populist, xenophobic and extreme right candidatures will stand in the European elections. For this reason, in coordination with other European organizations, we are calling for demonstrations across the continent on 22 March. In Barcelona, we will demonstrate with the slogan “Let’s unite against fascism and racism”, and various local events will be held around that date.

We have shown that with united mobilisation we can break fascism. For that reason we commit ourselves to carry on. Fascism must be fought!

They shall not pass! No passaran!

Unitat Contra el Feixisme i el Racisme
Barcelona, 9 February 2014

[Original en català] · [Versión en castellano]
It is clear that the crisis is bringing a growth of the extreme right in Europe, especially with the National Front in France and, even worse, with Golden Dawn in Greece.

In Catalonia, this danger is also present. But here we can celebrate the success of Unity Against Fascism and Racism (UCFR). This broad movement contributed to the fact that the far right party, Plataforma per Catalunya (PxC) —which supports Golden Dawn— did not get any seats in the parliamentary elections last November. This was admitted by Josep Anglada himself, a historic Francoist and currently leader of PxC, with his insults and threats against UCFR.

The appearance of a Nazi centre in the Barcelona neighbourhood of Clot has worsened the situation. It disguises itself as a leisure centre for young people, but we know that it was set up by members of PxC, together with other more open Nazis and fascists. We know that since it appeared, there has been an increase of Nazi stickers and graffiti in the neighbourhood. Following the successful thousand strong neighbours’ demonstration against the Nazi centre, called by the local UCFR group, there have been attacks against left and progressive groups’ premises in the area.

The fascists accuse UCFR of being a “violent organisation”. In fact, as can be seen from its website, UCFR is made up of hundreds of diverse bodies, ranging from an association of relatives of victims of the Nazi camps to the entire trade union movement. It may seem strange that the fascists attack in this way the Scouting organisations or the federations of esplais (leisure youth movements); the federations of NGOs involved in solidarity or charity work; the Jewish Film Festival of Barcelona and the Roma (“Gypsy”) associations… all of whom form part of UCFR. But the explanation is obvious if one recalls that the Nazis banned all independent youth leisure activities, imposing the Hitler Youth; and that they dissolved all NGOs into a single Nazi organization. And as we know, the Jewish and Roma populations, among others, ended in the death camps.

With their attacks, the fascists show what they really represent.

They don’t only attack UCFR in general; they also personally attack some of their activists. It is very significant to see against whom they direct their hatred.

One is known as a gay activist. The fascists have used horrible homophobic insults against him.

The other special target of the fascists’ hatred is a person of Amazigh (Berber) origin.

By attacking these individuals, maybe they think they can isolate their victims. They may think that everyone else will say “well I don’t agree with these individuals on this or that point”, or “it’s their own fault”. That won’t happen. UCFR is a plural movement, with people of different views. But where we agree is in opposing fascism and racism, and when they attack these individuals, and UCFR in general, because they have worked for a united social movement against the extreme right, they attack each and every one of us.

The bailout of Spain makes it more urgent than ever to stop the far right. The country that has seen most cuts is Greece, and is no coincidence that this country has seen the fastest increase in a Nazi party.

Many years ago, Pastor Niemöller, victim of the Nazis, said:

First they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the communists,
    and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
    and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
    and there was no one left to speak out for me.

We do not want to return to the horrors of the past. We have to say enough is enough. Enough of the spread of fascism and the normalisation of racism. And enough of the far right’s attacks on Unity Against Fascism and Racism and its activists. We will not accept an attack on a person for being LGBT or North African, nor for being a woman, a Muslim, Jewish, Roma, a trade unionist, a socialist, an independentist… Anyone could be their next target. We publicly declare our support for UCFR and for its people, who are also our people. We too are against fascism and racism.

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