Ignjatović: The political right in power opens doors for the extreme right
I absolutely agree with Independent Body of the European commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) analysis. Europe has missed the opportunity to see what would have been seen as a growing threat. The political right in power, which wasn’t taking care of the problems, has opened the door to the extreme right, but also for the other political options which haven’t offered an alternative to all the negative aspects of militarism, neoliberal economy, the growing social, ecological and other problems, as stated by Tanja Ignjatović, the program coordinator of the Autonomous Women’s Center, for Danas, commenting on the latest ECRI report which indicates that ‘’there is an alarming trend of an increased influence of the ultranationalist and xenophobic politics across Europe’’.
Our interlocutor stated that the ‘’inability of the authorities to find the appropriate and long-lasting solutions for peace, the migrant crisis, terrorist attacks has strengthened the extremist reply’’.
Dissatisfaction, fear and poverty make people turn more easily against one another, blaming others for everything. We had this on countless occasions throughout history. We are witnesses to that type of politics in our own recent history.
The creation of enemies is current today as well-they are turning us against the Albanians, the Bosnians, the Croatians and the Montenegrins…there is no public condemnation of the hate speech – on the contrary, it is present every day in the words of the highest officials. Uncorroborated information about the immigrants’ crimes is being spread. People patrols are allowed to intimidate and threaten the immigrants, they record and distribute, while there is no urgent reaction by the authorities. We have seen the same picture when ‘’Srbska Čast’’ (SerBian Honor) entered a Roma settlement to ‘’enforce the law’’. We rarely hear what measures were taken and what the consequences of that type of behavior are, Ignjatović conveys.
The interlocutor of Danas emphasizes that social networks can make the connecting of individual extremists easier.
- The speed of information transfer and the fascination with the extreme make the incitement of hatred, spreading conspiracy theories, creating an atmosphere of vulnerability and fear with people easier, which retroactively increases hate against others. I would also like to remind of the increasing presence of the ultra-conservative movement strongly targeting the concept of human rights, especially women’s rights. Serbia too was warned in the report by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination of the growing anti-gender, misogynist speech, as well as of the violation of the freedom of speech, gathering and safety of the female activists for human rights, threats and the attacks which remain unsanctioned, emphasizes Ignjatović.
As conveyed by the Beta agency, the ECRI report points at the hate speech in social media, widely spread anti-Semitism and hatred aimed towards Muslims as more and more hostile surrounding for non-government organizations that work with sensitive groups.
- Europe is facing a shocking reality: anti-Semite, anti-Muslim and other racist hate crimes are growing at an alarming rate, and the latest example is the extremist attack in Hanau in Germany where nine people were killed and several injured.
Horrible acts like these are often encouraged by poisonous words and conspiracy theories spreading across social media and the Internet, said the General Secretary of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić. She emphasized that the spreading of the racist rhetoric of the racist extremists must stop, which ‘’hits the very heart of democracy’’ and that the countries which are the members of the CE must work together in the fight against the rising threat of the political right, including the cooperation with ECRI and the implementation of their recommendations.
The ECRI report specifies that the targets of the years-long prejudice of discrimination, xenophobic rhetoric and violence are the Muslims, the Jews, the Roma and the Afro-Americans. Xenophobic nationalism still portrays Islam as a religion strange to the national culture and the identity of many member countries, while the anti-Muslim rhetoric makes the Muslims who carry the symbols of their faith much more sensitive, while other forms of discrimination are making the situation worse, especially for female Muslims.
It is indicated that there has been an increase of extreme violence against the Jews and Jewish institutions, and the racism against the black community and social marginalization of the Roma are identified as challenges as well. When the equality of the LGBTQ population is concerned, many countries have taken further action in that direction, while others have gone in the opposite direction and the LGBTQ persons are still facing harassment, threats and violence, as stated in the report.
M. Stojanović
Foto EPA PETER STEFFEN
The growth in popularity of the ultranationalist parties
ECRI reports that the popularity of the ultranationalist parties has grown in some countries, which can be seen in the elections for the European parliament and several national parliaments, but merely stating the increased number of votes won at the parliamentary elections will not suffice. ECRI reports that there is a noticeable increase of the number of major political parties which adopt restrictive policies toward migration and integration which were formerly connected to the parties of the political right.
