On last weekends Saturday yet another massive demonstration took place in Austria. Vienna's annual Ball of Academics, a get-together of members of reactionary fraternities, police and military officials, state functionaries and suchlike, was overshadowed this year by massive popular protests of thousands of people. Although the reaction campaigned beforehand to apriori legitimize police violence and to attune their troops to crack down hard on the protesters, they were forced to hold back in the end due to the massive number of participants. In the following, we document the report published on afainfoblatt.com:

Austria: Huge Demonstration against fascist „academic ball“ in Vienna

This year the demonstration against the fascist „academic ball“ had its 10th anniversary. Not only the jubilee, but also the new ÖVP/FPÖ government brought speciall conditions. Since two months Austria is governed by the most aggressive representatives of the capital. Attacks on fundamental democratic rights, further increase of exploitation and oppression inflame the rage of the people. Since two months more than 100.000 joined the protests against the new government.

Since the last huge demonstration the bourgeois media tries to attack the rebellious antifascism, even the ignite of pyrotechnic was presented as „big crime“. The police warned of „leftextremist demonstration tourists“, to justify their large contingent and a possible crack down on the demonstration.

The bourgeois propaganda against this demonstration could not intimidate the antifascists to show their justified rage. Never in this ten years, there were more people involved in this protest, more than 10.000 joined it.

We have to prepare for an long lasting antifascist struggle. The „Antifascist Action“ sticked out by an high grade of unity and an struggling expression. This leads to an good spirit in parts of the demonstration, which was hold up until the end. Especially the new slogans „Capital has many colors, let us fight against all of them“ and „Long live international Solidarity“ was shouted in huge parts of the demonstration.

The rebellious antifascists was not frightened, they appeared resolutely and in many parts of the demonstration there was ignited pyrotechnic, against the „panic“ of the media, which was a very good symbol for the self-confidence of the antifascist movement.

Under the new conditions the struggling antifascism got successfully defended. It was proven that a huge part of the antifascist forces have no illusion anymore in any bourgeois parties, but the antifascist movement needs perspective! This is the task which the most advanced forces in the rows of the struggling antifascist forces have to take up. This demonstration is a good basis for the following protests. We have to be prepared for an long lasting antifascist struggle. As long as the capital is not smashed down, exploitation and oppression will intensify. Only if we unite our forces and if we organise we can resist against the coming attacks and raise our struggle on a new stage!

Strengthen the ranges of struggling antifascism!
Death to fascism! Freedom to the people!
Down with the capital!