Autonomous nationalists and national anarchists [sic]

16Feb10

Continuing an occassional series…

///Greece

Libcom report:

A local antiracist demo in Ampelokipoi, Athens, came under attack by fascist thugs, leading to the hospitalisation of one woman. More than 40 fascists have been detained. The attack marks a climax of fascist violence which has also led to the torching of Chania’s Synagogue. On Saturday 23 January an anti-racist demo of the Cultural Centre of Ambelokipoi in Athens was fiercely attacked by a fascist group of so-called “autonomous nationalists”. The demo was organised as a response to continuing disturbance of the functioning of the 50 year old Centre by fascist thugs who tried to burn it down last week.

See also Abravanel on the arson attack in Hania, a problematic statement on the arson attacks by an anti-racist group, an update by Abravanel including a denunciation of the hypocrisy of liberal Greece, and photos of the demo attack at Athens Indymedia.

///Russia:

From Paul Goble:

“Russky obraz” asserts that “it is not a fascist structure” and threatens to sue anyone who says otherwise, but it maintains close ties with “such openly Hitlerite and militant structures as Combat 18, United Brigade 88, and autonomous nationalists” that its claims in this regard must be treated skeptically, Nikitovich implies.
Until it was linked to the Tikhonov-Khasis case, few had heard of “Russky obraz.” But since this “its popularity among the Nazis has sharply risen.”

///Czech Republic

From CST, December:

A Czech neo-Nazi [Tomas Babka] has been convicted of incitement to racial hatred for comments he made about Jews, at a far right event he had organised in Plzen in March. The march was intended to be a protest “against Zionism”[…] The month before this took place, Babka had tried to organise a march in Plzen to “Protest against Zionism and Jewish influence in society”. This was banned by the authorities, and few people turned up. Both events were part of a new trend in the Czech Republic of younger, more violent neo-Nazis, who go by the name “Autonomous Nationalists”, adopting anti-Zionism and support for the Palestinians as part of their wider antisemitic agenda. They are also violently anti-Roma, as this report from Amnesty International describes. Babka has a record of activity with the Autonomous Nationalists.

Also in the Czech Republic is the Workers Party, a fascist group with a semi-leftist face. Prague Daily Monitor writes:

The Czech Workers’ Party (DS) is linked by “personal union” with the National Resistance that associates radical Czech neo-Nazis, lawyer Tomas Sokol said at the Supreme Administration Court (NAA) dealing with the government’s proposal to dissolve the DS Tuesday.[…]

The party also allegedly cooperates with the Autonomous Nationalists, National Corporativism and Resistance Woman Unity, a women’s analogy of the National Resistance. [DS chairman Tomas Vandas] said he does not know representatives of Autonomous Nationalists and that he has nothing in common with them, but admitted that he has appeared at their events.

///Germany:

CST continue:

Autonomous Nationalists originated in Germany, where, as these reports describe, they have brought a new level of far right violence to the streets. Their anti-Zionism reflects a conscious effort to mimic the look of their far left opponents. This is a description of a riot they sparked on May Day last year in Hamburg.

///Netherlands:

CST again:

They have also emerged in Holland, where, according to Searchlight:

The Autonomous Nationalists are a bunch of young people from groups like Blood&Honour, the Action Front, Combat18, the National Socialist Action (NSA) and Youth Storm who wear black clothes, baseball caps and Palestinian scarves in a direct copy of the dress code favoured by some on the radical left.

They also demonstrate in a so-called “black block” formation which, again, copies some elements of the far left and is supposedly a means of protecting themselves from police attack or assaults from opponents. It is noteworthy that this group now constitutes the main part of NVU demonstrations and brings it own banners and shouts its own slogans.

///More from Slack Bastard (including, most recently, on Andrew Yeoman of the Bay Area Anarchist Nationalists and on the Yarra National Anarchists).

Filed under: Antifa, Fascism and antisemitism, Fascists in the anti-globalization movement, Left-right convergence, national anarchism and autonomous nationalism   |  4 Comments
Tags: Ampelokipoi, antisemitism, Athens, autonomous nationalists, Chania, Crete, fascism, Greece, Hania, national anarchism, national anarchists, russia, Russky obraz, Tomas Babka, Tomas Vandas, Workers Party