Syndicate: Fwd: re_act austria

["Arthur Bueno" <abueno@v2.nl>]

>Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 12:33:24 +0100
>From: bit@sil.at (Sabine Bitter, Helmut Weber)
>Subject: re_act austria




>some further arguments concerning robert flecks call for boycotting
austria:
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>
>As Austrian artists and cultural workers we strictly reject the current
>Austrian government. This government stands for an escalation of the
>politics of simplification, populistic agitation, growth of media
>monopolies and racist xenophobia which have increasingly governed everyday
>political life during the last year - unfortunately not soley in Austria
>(in this sense Austria is both symptomatic and particular).
>
>Since the OEVP enabled the FPOE to participate in the government --a party
>which has to be attributed neofascist tendencies --  for the first time we
>find ourselves confronted with a situation in which the government has to
>secure their position in front of the population by massive police
>protection: a population which makes their resistance public against this
>government by demonstrations and other various forms of social protest.
>
>In this context we are compelled to strongly reject the cynisism of Robert
>Fleck's current statement in which he attempts to conflate national
>socialism and the situation in Austria today --  an irresponsible and
>inconsiderate reaction in front of historical facts which minimizes the
>historical actualities of the period of national socialism and distorts the
>form of neo-racism and nationalism of the current situation. Robert Fleck
>draws a completely distorted image of the situation of artists, using the
>same kind of populistic language that we should now be particularly wary of
>and fight actively.
>
>Apart from that, who empowered Mr. Fleck to be the speaker in the name of
>all Austrian artists? How can he consider himself as "one of the last
>internationally active Austrian  art critics"?
>
>The call to boycott Austrian artists and institutions is irresponsible,
>contraproductive and is equal to an incapacitation and generalization of
>actually active artists. The galleries, theatres and museums of Austria
>should now become a site for intensified social protest (from artists from
>every country)  and not abandoned as contaminated sites. To abandon these
>cultural sites plays into the FPOE's isolationist and anti-cultural
>rhetoric;
>particularly at this moment, a renewed role for art as a materialization of
>social protest is called for, not a more passive boycotting.
>
>His arguments speak more of his insolence or arrogance and exaggerated
>self-esteem, leaving the international art community (being always eager
>for scandals) with panicked questions (going as far as: May I still be in
>touch with you or should I make an "official statement" by boycotting our
>personal contact?). And, even worse, his distorting statements tempt us to
>draw  the conclusion that he might play consciously/unconsciously into the
>hands of the persons now in power. Analysis and  effective action against
>the actually existing neo-racism within globalization and newly configured
>retrograde nationalism within Austria are needed, not mere reaction drawing
>predictable parallels which obscure actual social relations. Especially
>concerning this aspect we are eager to hear some clarifying re-positioning
>from Mr. Fleck.
>
>Overall, we rely on the solidarity and participation of our colleagues to
>secure the possibility for us (and them) to continue acting on an
>international platform --and to use that platform to effectively express
>our resistance.
>
>Sabine Bitter, Jeff Derksen, Barbara Holub, Ortrun Lanzner, Ruth Schnell,
>Guenther Selichar, Helmut Weber
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>
>http://www.lot.at/boycott.html
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>
>more links:
>http://www.t0.or.at/gettoattack
>http://www.popo.at
>http://www.servus.at/kanal/gegenschwarzblau
>http://betazine.org/
>http://www.futurelinks.at/haiderwatch/
>http://www.sos-mitmensch.at/
>http://www.demokratische-offensive.at/
>http://o5.or.at/
>http://www.aktion-zivilcourage.at/quickframe.html
>
>

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