Identitarian movement Austria

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The Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ) is a right-wing extremist group of the New Right founded in 2012 , which is the Austrian branch of the Identitarian Movement .

history

Rally of the Identitarian Movement Austria 2013

The Identitarian Movement Austria was founded in 2012 as the group “Vienna's Identitarian Direction” (WIR) by Alexander Markovics , which in the same year merged with the “ Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Identity”. The movement first appeared in public on September 30, 2012 when activists masked in monkey and pig masks surrounded participants in an Afro-Haitian dance workshop in Vienna organized by Caritas and terrified them. In 2013, IBÖ activists occupied the Vienna Votive Church, which was occupied by refugees, and distributed leaflets with the slogan “Asyl yes. Abuse no ”. The movement was first demonstrated in Vienna in May 2014. In April 2016, the storming of the stage of the Audimax of the University of Vienna during the performance of the play Die Schutzbefohlenen by an ensemble consisting mainly of refugees first caused a stir, and a little later the unveiling of a banner on the Vienna Burgtheater in which the same play was performed. In 2016, a district court sentenced ten activists under civil law for disrupting property for the disruptive action in the Audimax, where fake blood was splashed and slogans were shouted.

In October 2016, the identities were represented at the Defenders of Europe congress.

In the Defend Europe campaign , in which European identities chartered the ship C Star in 2017 to prevent refugees from reaching Europe in the Mediterranean, the IBÖ director Martin Sellner and a former employee of the FPÖ politician Christian Höbart were on board.

Again in connection with the Audimax disruption, activists of the Identitarians were acquitted of the charge of preventing a meeting by a district court in March 2018 , Sellner also of the charge of bodily harm. In April 2018, the Graz public prosecutor's office investigated suspicion of the formation of a criminal organization and hate speech and had several house searches carried out on identities. In July 2018, 17 accused members of the Austrian Identitarian Movement - including its head Martin Sellner - were acquitted in the Graz regional court of the charges of membership in a criminal organization and hate speech in dubio pro reo . An assault on the rector of the University of Klagenfurt , Oliver Vitouch , which was also dealt with , had to be renegotiated by order of the Higher Regional Court. In July 2019, an identity officer was sentenced (not legally binding) to six months in prison.

In March 2019 it became known that the attacker in the Christchurch terrorist attacks had donated around 1,500 euros to the head of IBÖ Martin Sellner. Therefore, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution carried out his house searches. Sellner filed a complaint against these measures, which the Graz Higher Regional Court granted on December 3, 2019. Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ( ÖVP ) had the legal possibility of dissolving the organization examined. As a result of the increased media attention, numerous links between the identities and the FPÖ became known. Vice Chancellor and FPÖ party chairman Heinz-Christian Strache then swore at a state party congress in early March 2019 that the party should strictly separate itself from the identity movement.

For members of the Identitarians in the armed forces "blocking notes and dismissal" became effective, ie the ban for certain functions in the army and the release of militiamen from the militia function.

As a result of the FPÖ's efforts to isolate itself, the IBÖ lost its two infrastructural centers. In Linz , the lease for their center in Villa Hagen , which belongs to a student association close to the FPÖ, was terminated in April ; in June 2019, the lease for the IBÖ center in Graz , which was located in an apartment of the FPÖ councilor Heinrich Sickl, ended .

On July 27, 2019, the Styrian identities opened a house in Eichkögl that a pensioner had offered them for a symbolic one-euro rent. The Identitarians want to give lectures and train young activists in the new headquarters.

Program

On its website, the Identitarian Movement Austria presents itself as a patriotic NGO that works across party lines to preserve cultural identity . She sees multiculturalism ("multiculturalism") as a threat to the diversity of the various traditions , cultures and peoples . She therefore calls for immigration restrictions , family-friendly policies to counteract the birth deficit and prevent the people from becoming extinct, and the promotion of local traditions and customs .

Critics refer to the IBÖ as a right-wing extremist organization that, in the tradition of historical fascism, sees itself as a “fighting league of defensive / soldier men”. She would place “the people ” as an “organic community” above the individual and see it threatened with disintegration. The threat comes from the cultural domination of "corrosive" liberalism , egalitarian thinking and multiculturalism. A “re-education” after 1945 and the change in values initiated by the 1968 movement are responsible for the “ national immunodeficiency” in Europe . The ideal would be a world with neatly separated peoples without cultural mixing. Traditional right-wing extremist ideologems try to clothe the movement in historically unencumbered terms: instead of racist or xenophobic , the term “identitarian” is used, instead of deportation “remigration”, instead of apartheidethnopluralism ”, instead of foreign infiltrationmajor exchange ”.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (BVT) has been reporting on the right-wing extremist character of the IBÖ in its reports on the protection of the constitution since 2014.

strategy

Initially, the movement was noticed through disruptive actions against events identified as “left” and “multicultural”. In addition, there was the distribution of leaflets , spraying campaigns, information tables and the posting of posters in public spaces (e.g. at motorway flyovers). Demonstrations and rallies have been held increasingly since 2015 . A broad impact is sought through press work and professional use of social media .

A strategy paper that has been made public describes how the boundaries of “what can be said in society” should be pushed. Campaigns should activate the hard core of the movement and give the “neutral part” of the population a “good show”. The “hostile part”, which is located among the SPÖ and Green voters , should be avoided as long as they are “not opponents”. When the ground is prepared, a “final campaign” and a “citizens' parliament” should be set up in the course of an “event (terrorist attack, mass rape, murder)”.

structure

According to the documentation archive of the Austrian resistance, the Identitarian Movement Austria has regional subgroups in Vienna, Lower Austria , Upper Austria , Salzburg , Styria , Carinthia and Tyrol . Its federal director is Martin Sellner, the club chairman is Patrick Lenart .

Documents confiscated from Lenart in 2018 give an insight into how the identities in Vienna should be structured. Accordingly, the movement sees itself as a political elite and has an authoritarian hierarchical structure. The top of the movement is formed by so-called " hoplites ", the head of the movement is the "first hoplite". The "hoplites" must undertake to align their entire life with the Identitarian Movement and must not strive for a civil life. One level below are the so-called “ Spartians ”, the “fists of the IB ”, who must be under thirty years of age. At the base are the "sympathizers" who can be members of the friends' association but have no rights or obligations in the movement. Older sympathizers should form their own block and organize events. Regular boxing or “demo training” is mandatory for members . Demonstrations are batons carried for self-defense purposes.

Members and networking

According to a report by BVT from 2018, the association had around 550 members at the time, of which 364 could be clearly identified. 528 membership numbers were determined. Among the members were 32 legally convicted criminals, 16 of them were convicted of violent crimes, 6 of violations of the Prohibition Act. Of the clearly identified members, 75 legally owned a firearm. There was a gun ban against ten members. According to an "incident report" prepared in 2018, which the Graz public prosecutor had requested from the BVT, "numerous" politicians and employees of the FPÖ are members of the Austrian Identitarian Movement , according to Taz .

The IBÖ denies the existence of a member list or a formal membership; there are only a “handful” of regular members in the sponsoring association, plus around 300 activists who take to the streets for the movement's ideals and none of whom has a criminal record. Almost 20,000 people are to be reached with regular mailings and circulars. The IBÖ describes media reports about an alleged list of members as a "politically motivated character assassination campaign".

The IBÖ is well networked with groups of the Identitarian Movement in other countries, and actions have been carried out repeatedly in Austria and other countries. Identities from different countries met at so-called “summer universities” in France or “academies” at Götz Kubitschek . International contacts exist a. also to the neo-fascist CasaPound Italia , the Institute for State Policy , the Pegida Dresden or to publications such as the Blue Narcissus .

Many of the leading representatives of the IBÖ are members of the German fraternities . There were numerous points of contact with the FPÖ at least until April 2019. Even in four ministries led by the FPÖ at the time, there were employees who had made contact with the IBÖ or expressions of sympathy for the IBÖ. According to the human rights organization SOS Mitmensch , the years of support from FPÖ politicians and party-affiliated media are said to have been partly responsible for the IBÖ's broad impact. There are also contacts to the FPÖ apron organizations Ring Freedom Youth Austria and Ring Freedom Students . The political scientist Astrid Bötticher describes the IBÖ as the "extra-parliamentary arm of the [...] FPÖ".

financing

Financial situation of the movement in total up to 2017 (in euros, lower limit)

According to the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation , which had received insight into the BVT investigation files, the financial support for Identitarian Movement is to be donated to several accounts for the associations Association for the preservation and promotion of cultural identity , Association for sustainable international understanding and youth work and Association for lively culture and tradition . Additional money was made through a company that sells promotional items.

In March 2018, the total income should have been just under 709,000 euros. The movement gradually closed its accounts in Austria and relocated them abroad. In May 2019, the dissolution of the Association for Lively Culture and Customs was initiated for administrative reasons. The Upper Austrian Provincial Administrative Court rejected an objection, claiming that the association was only used to process donations to the IBÖ. The Graz Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating 22 people from the IBÖ's environment on suspicion of tax evasion, as it questions the charitable nature of the identity associations.

According to their own statements, around 500 regular sponsors support the movement with monthly contributions. In addition, around 600 individual donations were received in 2018.

Web links

literature

  • Natascha Strobl , Julian Bruns, Kathrin Glösel: The Identitarians. Handbook on the youth movement of the New Right in Europe. 3rd updated edition, Unrast Verlag, Münster 2017, ISBN 978-3-89771-224-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (ed.): Verfassungsschutzbericht 2016 . Vienna 2017, p. 42–46 ( report online on the BVT website (PDF; 3.81 MB)).
  2. a b c d e Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ). In: doew.at . March 2018, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  3. a b Kathrin Glösel: Everything there is to know about the “Identitarian Movement”. In: kontrast.at . March 29, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  4. Christine Eckes: Spread of the "Identitarian Movement" in Europe and its ideological basic features . In: Exit Germany (ed.): Journal Exit Germany. Journal for deradicalization and democratic culture . tape 4 , 2016, ISSN  2196-8136 , p. 109 ( article available on Simon Fraser University website ).
  5. Martin Gantner: Racist attack on Caritas action. In: kurier.at . October 1, 2012, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  6. Michaela Reibenwein, Oliver Scheiber: Right activists occupied the Votive Church. In: kurier.at . February 10, 2013, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  7. a b Activities - Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ). In: doew.at . Retrieved April 12, 2019 .
  8. ^ Colette M. Schmidt: "Identitarians" march through Vienna, arrests and injured. In: derstandard.at . May 17, 2014, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  9. Maria Sterkl: play stormed: Protection of the Constitution investigating identitarian. In: derstandard.at . April 15, 2016, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  10. ^ Protest against Jelinek play: "Identitaries" climbed onto the Burgtheater. In: derstandard.at . April 27, 2016, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  11. Audimax disruptive action: Identities convicted of disrupting property. In: kurier.at . November 30, 2016, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  12. Werner Reisinger: A congress of "completely normal people". In: wienerzeitung.at . November 1, 2016, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  13. Christoph Zotter: Mediterranean route: The cynical PR campaign of the identities. In: profil.at . September 20, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2019 .
  14. Identitarians in the Mediterranean: ex-employees of FPÖ mandatar Höbart on board. In: derstandard.at . July 27, 2017, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  15. ^ Identity trial: all defendants acquitted. In: kurier.at . March 15, 2018, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  16. Colette M. Schmidt: Public prosecutor's office carries out house searches of identities. In: derstandard.at . April 27, 2018, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  17. Manfred Seeh: Identitarians: Reasons for acquittal. In: diepresse.com . July 26, 2018, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  18. ^ Court: Identity supporters sentenced to imprisonment. In: steiermark.orf.at . July 12, 2019, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  19. Christchurch assassin donated to identities: Government calls for clarification. In: kurier.at . March 26, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  20. Birgit Seiser: According to the court, house searches near Sellner were illegal. In: kurier.at . December 14, 2019, accessed December 16, 2019 .
  21. Government is considering dissolution - Identitarians see “helpless attempt”. In: diepresse.com . March 27, 2019, accessed April 14, 2019 .
  22. Colette M. Schmidt, Fabian Schmid, Stefanie Ruep, Markus Rohrhofer, Steffen Arora: The interweaving of freedom and identity is closer than previously known. In: derstandard.at . April 3, 2019, accessed April 14, 2019 .
  23. ^ Daniela Kittner: Strache differentiates the FPÖ from identities. In: kurier.at . April 6, 2019, accessed April 14, 2019 .
  24. Andreas Puschautz: After a phone call from Kurz-Kunasek: Another lock in the army for identities. In: kurier.at . April 4, 2019, accessed April 14, 2019 .
  25. Identitarians fly out of Villa Hagen. In: diepresse.com . April 8, 2019, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  26. Jan Michael Marchart: Identitarians fly out of their headquarters. In: wienerzeitung.at . June 21, 2019, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  27. Identities open headquarters in Eichkögl. In: orf.at . July 30, 2019, accessed July 30, 2019.
  28. Our way - Identitarian movement. In: identitaere-bewegung.at. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
  29. a b SOS Mitmensch-Dossier on FPÖ & “Identitarians”: At least 48 interrelationships and points of contact. In: sosmitmensch.at . April 9, 2019, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  30. a b Fabian Schmid, Colette M. Schmidt: Deeper insight into the structure of right-wing extremist identities. In: derstandard.at . April 12, 2019, accessed April 13, 2019 .
  31. a b BVT researched 364 members of the right-wing extremist identities. In: orf.at . April 11, 2019, accessed on April 12, 2019 (information on financial resources is given in the linked and only temporarily available ZIB article ).
  32. Ralf Leonhard: Identitarians in the FPÖ exposed. In: taz.de . April 12, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019.
  33. a b Clarification on the alleged "member list" of the BVT. In: identitaere-bewegung.at. April 11, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  34. a b Contacts (selection) - Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ). In: doew.at . Retrieved July 12, 2019 .
  35. News from the far right: "Identitarian" boys. In: doew.at . September 2016, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  36. Astrid Bötticher: Correction - words from Berlin. In: doew.at . 2019, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  37. BAT investigations: Identities generated 700,000 euros in income. In: kurier.at . April 11, 2019, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  38. ^ The court confirms the dissolution of the Identitarian Association. In: ooe.orf.at . July 9, 2019, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  39. ^ "Scheinverein" der Identitarians: Administrative court confirms dissolution. In: nachrichten.at . July 9, 2019, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  40. Markus Staudinger, Philipp Hirsch: Police want to dissolve identity association in Linz for the first time. In: nachrichten.at . May 8, 2019, accessed May 20, 2019 .