On the occasion of the recent entry of the far-right party Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) in the Greek Parliament after the May 6 elections, prominent politicians and intellectuals from across Europe have signed an open letter warning of the rise in neo-Nazi groups in the continent. The open letter appeared in different dailies, such as the British The Guardian, the Polish Gazeta, the French Le Monde and the Greek Kathimerini.
The signatories underline the importance of raising awareness amidst the people of Europe in view of the current conditions nurturing the rise of far-right parties in power.
According to the letter, the austerity policies adopted by European countries in the past years have paved the way for the rise of extreme right parties, while Europe’s post WWII social welfare system must be reinvigorated with the “pursuit for democracy, social progress, and the promotion of equality, together with the protection of those citizens who – even more so in times of crisis – are the target of racial and social violence.”
Listing a series of different phenomena reviving the Nazi ideology lately, such as the rise of extreme right FPÖ Party in Austria, the first ex-Waffen SS parade in Latvia and the activity of the Hungarian Guard Movement, which is responsible for attacking and terrorizing Roma and Jewish people in the country, the open letter criticizes the cultural propaganda against the “Islamization of Europe,” which is only favoring the spreading of racist ideals and behaviors.
“We refuse to accept that, whether in Greece or elsewhere in Europe, Jewish, immigrant, Muslim, Roma or black people may fear for their lives because of who they are. We invite all citizens, political parties, unions, civil society, intellectuals and artists to fight the extreme right by promoting and bringing to life the European dream,” reads the letter.
The letter was signed by Benjamin Abtan, president of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM); Dario Fo, Literature Nobel Prize; Jovan Dijvak, general defender of besieged Sarajevo; Svetlana Gannushkina, Memorial leader in Russia; Anthoy Giddens, sociologist; Amos Gitai, director; Bete et Serge Klarsfeld, president of the “Fils et filles de deportes juifs de France”; Bernard Kouchner, former French minister of foreign affairs; Bernard-Henri Levy, philosopher, writer; Adam Michnik, historian, essayist, journalist, former member of Solidarnosc; Amelie Nothomb, writer; Dominique Sopo, president of SOS Racisme; Oliviero Toscani, photographer; Elie Wiesel, Peace Nobel Prize, writer; AB Yehoshua, writer, essayist.
To read the whole letter or sign the petition, visit http://weareallgreekjews.eu/
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