All democrats need to stand together in face of neo-fascist violence
Date
25 Oct 2018
Sections
Justice & Home Affairs
The European Parliament today backed a resolution aimed at curbing the rise of neo-fascist violence in Europe. The vote comes after a worrying rise of violence and terrorist attacks from far right groups and individuals.
S&D Group leader Udo Bullmann said:
“Over the last 10 years, there has been a large increase in the number of attacks from extreme nationalists in Europe. They have occurred across many different European countries, ranging from intimidation of minorities and LGBTI people, to the murder of UK Labour MP Jo Cox, or the horrors of the Utøya massacre in Norway. These are just a few examples and today we honour all victims of neo-fascist violence and say that enough is enough.
“Yesterday, we saw an attempt from the leader of the right-wing ECR Group in this Parliament to rewrite history and label Nazism a left-wing ideology. At best, this shows a complete ignorance of European history, at worst it is a cynical attempt to deflect from the renewed growth of extreme nationalism in Europe. The fact that Syed Kamall has today received support from the far-right ENF Group shows how dangerous promoting these false narratives is. In the 1930s and 1940s, millions of Social Democrats across Europe stood against fascism and many paid with their lives. We will not let their memories be tarnished and we will continue the fight against fascism or Nazism whenever it rears its ugly head.”
Soraya Post, the S&D Group MEP responsible for the resolution said:
”Finally, the European Parliament is standing up against the growing hate in Europe. Neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups advocate for the use of violence and spread hate against ethnic and religious minorities, migrants, LGBTI-people, feminists and political opponents. These organizations are not acceptable in a democratic society. Everyone should have the right to participate and feel safe in a today's Europe. Our history has showed us what these kind of organizations are capable of - we cannot let this happen again. EU member states must act and ban neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups that incite violence against others. This is vital to safeguard the EU’s democratic values.
“We are also seeing increasingly vitriolic and hate filled language coming from far-right politicians and news outlets. They attempt to push the boundaries of what is acceptable further and further, then plead innocence when their words inspire violent actions from their supporters. We must work together to end this climate of hostility and hate.”