1994 ARA News Bulletin
Number Two - January/February/March 1994
1) Zundel's Gotta Go!! The Trials
On November 24, 1993, four prominent organizers for the
Heritage Front appeared in court on two separate hate crime
charges; Elisse Hategan stood trial on hate-literature charges
while Gary Schipper, Ken Barker, and
Wolfgang Droege were tried on
contempt charges for their refusal to cease broadcasting hate on
the
Heritage Front "Anti-Immigration Hotline".
These trials marked
the first hate-crimes cases in Toronto since those of neo-
Nazi/holocaust denier,
Ernst Zundel; court cases which failed to
make any inroads against his propaganda machine and instead
provided him with a platform of debate.
While the courts made it
look as if they were making efforts against neo-Nazi propagandists
with these four 'minor' examples, the biggest hatemonger of all,
Zundel, was still operating with impunity only a few blocks away.
ARA's Response
ARA was not about to allow these trials to proceed without a
'watchful anti-racist presence', but the importance of defining
Ernst Zundel as a necessary target was well understood.
Keeping
these variables in mind, ARA called for a rally at city hall to
prevent any possible show of fascist support for the
Heritage Front
members in court.
From there, the demonstration would march to
Zundel's production and distribution hatequarters at 206 Carlton
Street. On the day, as anticipated there were no sign of the nazis
at the courthouse so about 150 anti-racists proceeded to the
targeted location.
The Police Counter-Response
Upon reaching
Zundel's plastic-wrapped hatequarters, it was
evident that the police sought to criminalize ARA demonstrators.
Over 300 officers on foot including the Public Order Unit,
Emergency Task Force, and upwards of twenty undercover cops were
on the scene, surrounding the entire crowd of anti-racists.
Following a few speeches and several paint and egg assaults on
Zundel's house, the police moved in, brutalizing protestors and
breaking up the crowd. Several ARA activists and supporters were
arrested, including a reporter from a community radio station.
Clearly, such an unprovoked assault was a display of 'revenge
tactics' on behalf of the cops who were pathetically outnumbered
and outwitted at the June 11 ARA demo at Gary Schipper's house.
Another point of interest was that
Zundel's own security was
absent, in contrast to June 11 when fifty-odd boneheads were on the
scene brandishing baseball bats. This time around,
Zundel somehow
got rewarded with a massive show of police protection for which
Metro spent an estimated $200,000!! This gives some idea as to how
far the Canadian state will go to defend and harbour this nazi
propagandist.
Shutting
Zundel Down Once and For All!
Zundel is a key spider in the web of international fascism,
his role being that of supplying a massive amount of nazi-
propaganda to the neo-nazi movement at home and abroad,
particularly to Germany where it is illegal to print and produce
such material.
ARA has set the groundwork for a renewed campaign
against
Zundel. This campaign will require the support and
involvement of the entire community, as well as international anti-
fascists, in a broad and diverse movement encompassing a variety
of tactics, and clearly not based solely on decisions by the
state's courts.
For those who are concerned about the rise of
fascism in Europe and its implications in Canada, the best kind of
solidarity we can offer at the present time is working to shut
Zundel down. No platform and zero tolerance!
To find out more about the campaign against Ernst
Zundel, write to
ARA for an info-package (see back cover) and further information
on how to get involved!
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
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