Haider Visit Infuriates Anti-nazi Protesters
Anti-Nazi demonstrators yesterday protested outside a central London hotel where Austria's far right politician Jorg Haider hosted a tourism conference to launch an airline route between Britain and his powerbase in Carinthia. Demands by a Labour MEP that Mr Haider be banned, on grounds...
Anti-Nazi demonstrators yesterday protested outside a central London hotel where Austria's far right politician Jorg Haider hosted a tourism conference to launch an airline route between Britain and his powerbase in Carinthia.
Demands by a Labour MEP that Mr Haider be banned, on grounds that his xenophobic views and description of Waffen SS veterans as being of "good character" would damage race relations, had earlier been dismissed by the Home Office.
But Ryanair, the budget airline which will run the service between London Stansted and Klagenfurt, the provincial capital of Carinthia in southern Austria, shunned the conference at the Royal Horseguards hotel, Westminster.
Mr Haider stood down from leadership of the far right Freedom Party (FPO) two years ago in the face of European diplomatic protest about his inclusion in the Austrian government. However, he remains the governor of Carinthia.
After the FPO's electoral breakthrough in early 2000 Britain backed other EU states in objecting to Mr Haider's role. Robin Cook, then foreign secretary, expressed "deep distaste" over Mr Haider's role in government. Ambassadorial ties were downgraded.
The EU's sanctions were lifted in September that year after a report concluded that the new coalition was committed to "European values".
Yesterday the Labour MEP Glyn Ford appealed to David Blunkett, the home secretary, to stop Mr Haider arriving in Britain. "Jorg Haider's extreme views are a potential danger to public order and public security. We must exercise our legal right to make him stay at home. Letting Haider in sends a signal to the resurgent far right in Europe that they will be given a place at the table."
Mr Ford, a treasurer of the Anti-Nazi League, added: "Haider's call for a foreigner free Austria flies in the face of the fundamental principles on which the EU is founded."
The Anti-Nazi League, which organised the demonstration, described Mr Haider as a "virulent racist" who "advocates apartheid in Austria's schools".
The Foreign Office said it had no plans to ban Mr Haider from Britain.
Demands by a Labour MEP that Mr Haider be banned, on grounds that his xenophobic views and description of Waffen SS veterans as being of "good character" would damage race relations, had earlier been dismissed by the Home Office.
But Ryanair, the budget airline which will run the service between London Stansted and Klagenfurt, the provincial capital of Carinthia in southern Austria, shunned the conference at the Royal Horseguards hotel, Westminster.
Mr Haider stood down from leadership of the far right Freedom Party (FPO) two years ago in the face of European diplomatic protest about his inclusion in the Austrian government. However, he remains the governor of Carinthia.
After the FPO's electoral breakthrough in early 2000 Britain backed other EU states in objecting to Mr Haider's role. Robin Cook, then foreign secretary, expressed "deep distaste" over Mr Haider's role in government. Ambassadorial ties were downgraded.
The EU's sanctions were lifted in September that year after a report concluded that the new coalition was committed to "European values".
Yesterday the Labour MEP Glyn Ford appealed to David Blunkett, the home secretary, to stop Mr Haider arriving in Britain. "Jorg Haider's extreme views are a potential danger to public order and public security. We must exercise our legal right to make him stay at home. Letting Haider in sends a signal to the resurgent far right in Europe that they will be given a place at the table."
Mr Ford, a treasurer of the Anti-Nazi League, added: "Haider's call for a foreigner free Austria flies in the face of the fundamental principles on which the EU is founded."
The Anti-Nazi League, which organised the demonstration, described Mr Haider as a "virulent racist" who "advocates apartheid in Austria's schools".
The Foreign Office said it had no plans to ban Mr Haider from Britain.
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