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21 Dec, 2012 07:54

'Neo-Nazism on the rise in EU' – top Russian FM official

The eurozone’s deep economic crisis has radicalized Europe, sparking a rising wave of Neo-Nazism across the union, Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights told RT.

“More and more young people fall under the influence of right-wing and extremist ideas in Europe. Neo-Nazism in on the rise – not only in the Baltic states, but also some other European states, which is a challenge especially in the prevailing economic conditions when quite a number of people cannot find jobs and don’t have access to proper education,” Dolgov told RT.The comment came after Dolgov brought Russia’s report on human rights issues in the EU to Brussels. The document posits a sharp increase in xenophobia, racism, nationalism and neo-Nazism across the continent. European human rights organizations accepted the 73-page document “with understanding.”Dolgov said the worsening situation was partially due to the eurozone economic crisis and the political turmoil it has created. “The crisis is quite tough and we can witness it in almost all the EU countries. It has delivered a huge blow to the social level the Europeans have got used to. There is huge political dissatisfaction. We can see numerous demonstrations. And police at times act in a very tough way, including disproportionate use of force,” Dolgov told RT, referring to violent demonstrations and subsequent harsh crackdowns in crisis-stricken countries such as Greece or Spain.Societies become radicalized under such pressure, Dolgov explained: Anti-immigrant websites are created in Belgium; a faction in the Hungarian parliament proposes identifying tags for the country’s Jewish minority; Anders Breivik kills 77 people, most of them teenagers, in the Netherlands in a vow to “keep Norwegian ethnic purity clean.”“Hopefully, EU governments and integrated institutions will finally be more effective in tackling those issues. So far, they have not been,” Dolgov said. He also expressed concern over declines in press freedom in Europe: “When European societies disclose facts of intrusion into private lives and manipulation of media, it is worrying,” Dolgov told RT, referring to ‘Murdochgate’ in the UK and a recent scandal in Germany in which a spokesperson of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats, was forced to resign over allegations he had tried to manipulate TV coverage of his party’s competitors.Dolgov cited Reporters without Borders’ annual rating of mass media freedom for 2011 and 2012, which saw Switzerland drop 10 points, descending to 12th place. Lithuania dropped to 30th place, Hungary to 40th, Latvia to 50th and Italy to 61st. Every EU nation has witnessed a decline in press freedom, Dolgov said. Dolgov also marked a worrying general tendency of Western countries attempting to force their own values on other nations, in disregard of whether such values are suitable for different peoples or cultures.“Some of our partners, especially some Western countries, try very persistently to plant new liberal values into internationally recognized human rights. Those values may not be accepted by all societies, culturally, socially or historically,” he said. “Such values are not to be imposed on others, because this may provoke only further international problems. We only support a dialogue – intercultural, interreligious, interethnic.”

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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