The XIV congress of FIR is shocked by the the denial of entry visas to veterans of the antifascist struggle from Albania and the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to participate in the congress.

While politicians proclaim the “Europe without boarders” reality is no match. This is the false political signal.

We are fighting for a united Europe based upon the traditions of the struggles against fascism promoting social rights and liberty for all people living here.

The 14th congress of the International Federation of the Resistance Fighters
(FIR) which took place in Athens October 19-20, 2007

• Reemphasizes that the sole foundation for the preservation of peace and
  security worldwide is compliance with the principles of the United Nations
  Charter, the Declarations of Human Rights and the fundamental rights.
• Deplores regional conflicts in conjunction with foreign interventions
  experienced by the international community which explicitly violate the
  aforementioned principles and which do not realise the decisions of the
  Security Council of the United Nations.
• Calls upon the FIR member organisations to urge their respective governments
  to efficiently support efforts to overcome regional conflicts and continuing
  problems – among others problems in Cyprus – by implementation of the decisions
  of the United Nations Security Council for peaceful solutions based upon
  appreciation of international laws and the primacy of human rights and
  fundamental rights.
• Requests the Secretary of the Executive Committee of FIR to urge the United
  Nations to exercise pressure on the respective opponents to accept United
  Nations decisions to be the only way towards a peaceful solution.
• Worried by the persistence of the crisis over Cyprus endagering
  international security, and the circumstances that decisions of the United
  Nations regarding Cyprus have not yet been implemented, and by the lack of
  progress in past negotiations, keeping in mind the necessity to solve the
  Cyprus problems peacefully without any further delay, the Congress requests an
  urgent restart of efficient and substantial negotiations under the auspices of
  the United Nations and the European Union in order to achieve a basically
  acceptable agreement as soon as possible based upon the fundamental legal
  rights of all inhabitants.

The international federation of the resistance fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-fascists, the umbrella organisation of federations of former resistance fighters, partisans, members of the anti-Hitler coalition, persecutes of the Nazi-regime and anti-fascists of today’s generations from over twenty European countries and Israel, appeals from their XIV congress held in October 2007 in Athens to all democratic parliamentary parties of the European Parliament to create positive examples for their attitude against neo-fascism, racism, anti-semitism and xenophobia and to support all antifascist initiatives and proposals for action.

Over and above we call upon the European Parliament to create the legal foundation to discontinue to finance groups of the extreme right in the European Parliament with European tax payers money and to immediately suppress activities of these groups.

62 years after the military victory over fascism in Germany and in whole Europe we see a political ambivalent development.

There are positive tendencies

• that political groups get more influence which stand for that conflicts not only inside Europe are increasingly solved by peaceful decisions,
• that politically diversified peoples movements for democracy and freedom, against racism and neo-fascism are active,
• that criticism at the antisocial consequences of globalisation is supported by wide groups in the society and found many styles of peaceful protest.

In addition we see on the other hand dangers,

that European governments orients on a “fortress Europe” instead of opening liberty for all citizens and try to strengthen their military position in the world.
We experience the increasing attempts of the US-administration to reach a military and political hegemonial position all over the world.
The problem of the Serbian province Kosovo and Metohia should be settled only by dialogue. A solution of the status must be adopted by the UN Security Council.
Not alone in Europe the regulations for liberalisation of economic relations should be more important than social rights of the people. Humans will be social excluded and thus put the fertile soil of extremely right populism and xenophobia.
Although the neo-liberal European “Constitution” failed because of the resistance of the people, conservative politicians – using totalitarism-doctrines and anti-communism – are trying to open the door on the political right side.
And the commemoration of the antifascist fight of people and armies is blamed in various countries of Europe. A visible indication of that tendency was the destruction of the memorial in the centre of the city Tallinn to commemorate the soviet liberators. In addition in other parts of Europe antifascist memorials are attacked physically or ideologically. Such attacks are reported from Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Ukraine and other countries. Antifascist memorials and places should be placed under protection of international law.
Real problems are Holocaust-denying and falsification of history of antifascist fight. Neo-fascist groups try to rehabilitate SS-murders and rewrite history. Some officials and governments doing also such rewriting because they call the SS “fighters for liberty” and criminalizing antifascist resistance fighters.

Such a Europe, such a world does not correspond to the goals, which we feel obligated in the tradition of anti-fascism.

“Creating a new world of peace and freedom” means for us

building up democratic and social justice conditions, where all people have sufficient supply and a real part of the richness of the society and the security of employability under social conditions and chances of social inclusion for all people living here – independently of nationality, sex and religion.
to commemorate the role of the people for liberation from fascism and give this knowledge to today’s generations. This includes the acceptance of the social rights of victims and fighters against fascism in various structures of the Anti-Hitler-Coalition.
the protection of all humans against racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. All activities, groups and parties, supporting neo-fascist and racist positions, must be outlawed and banned.

Fundamentally it means also that military options in foreign policy are against the vital interests of all humans. FIR as “peace ambassador of the United Nations” occurs again and again for non-military conflict solutions. Particularly the aggravation of conflicts by the program of the US-administration for an anti-missile-system in Poland and the Czech Republic contradict all beginnings of a peaceful foreign policy in Europe.

In this sense we see – also 62 years after liberation from fascism and war – the necessity to fight for the complete destruction of Nazism at its roots and creation of a new world of peace and liberty.