Noua Dreapta
Encyclopedia
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
organization in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, founded in 2000.
Beliefs
The group's beliefs include militant nationalismNationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and strong Orthodox Christian
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
religious convictions. Noua Dreaptă's web site indicates opposition to sexual minorities
Sexual minority
A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. The term was coined most likely in the late 1960s under the influence of Lars Ullerstam's ground breaking book "The Erotic Minorities: A Swedish View" which came...
, Roma, abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, NATO, religious groups other than the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, race-mixing, territorial autonomy for Romania's ethnic Hungarian minority, and immoderate cultural import (including some American culture, manele music
Manele
Manele is a music style from Romania, generally associated with the Romani minority, though not exclusively....
, and the celebration of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
). They claim to be against both Marxism and capitalism, proposing a concept of "social justice" economics, following the third position
Third Position
Third Position is a revolutionary nationalist political ideology that emphasizes its opposition to both communism and capitalism. Advocates of Third Position politics typically present themselves as "beyond left and right", instead claiming to syncretize radical ideas from both ends of the...
ist ideology.
The members of Noua Dreaptă revere the leader of the Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
in the 1930s, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or The Legion of the Archangel Michael , an ultra-nationalist and violently antisemitic organization active throughout most of the interwar period...
. Noua Dreaptă members refer to him as "Căpitanul" ("The Captain"), which is what Codreanu's supporters called him during his lifetime.
Goals and actions
The stated ultimate political aim of Noua Dreaptă is to restore Greater RomaniaGreater Romania
The Greater Romania generally refers to the territory of Romania in the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the largest geographical extent of Romania up to that time and its largest peacetime extent ever ; more precisely, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of...
, which represented Romania at its greatest geographic expanse before World War II. The group also states it is strongly opposed to the principles of representative democracy
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
, which it sees as an "inadequate" form of government. Some individual members are monarchists.
Noua Dreaptă is not registered as a political party and thereffore can not run in elections. Membership score is undocumented, but can range between 1000 and 2000.
Some members have also engaged in violence. Incidents have been specifically reported involving physical attacks by Noua Dreaptă members against Mormons and gays.
Among other actions, the organization attempts to attract supporters through publicity campaigns aimed against what it sees as foreign and without any connections with the Romanian traditional heritage (and therefore negative) cultural influences - such as Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
.
Affiliations
Noua Dreaptă is part of the European National FrontEuropean National Front
European National Front is a coordinating structure of European Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Sometimes members of the ENF also use anti-capitalist rhetoric...
, an umbrella group of far-right nationalist organizations, many of which can be characterized as Fascist. The Noua Dreaptă web site includes a column of "links of interest" to numerous extreme nationalist organizations throughout Europe, including the following:
- FalangeFalangeThe Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
(Spain) - National Democratic Party of GermanyNational Democratic Party of GermanyThe National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
(Germany) - Forza Nuova (Italy)
- Patriotic AlliancePatriotic AlliancePatriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
(Greece) - National Renovator PartyNational Renovator PartyThe National Renovator Party , or PNR, is a Portuguese nationalist political party. Its motto is Nation and Labor and one of its objectives is the promotion of a Portuguese nationalist spirit. It believes that nationalism is putting the interests of the nation above sectarian interests...
(Portugal) - Renouveau FrançaisRenouveau françaisRenouveau français is a French far-right nationalist political party affiliated with the European National Front, founded in November 2005....
(France) - Srpski Obraz (Serbia)
- Nationale Alliantie (The Netherlands)
- Slovenska Pospolitost (Slovakia)
- Miscarea National Crestina Moldova (Moldova)
- Mouvement Nation (Belgium)
- National Rebirth of PolandNarodowe Odrodzenie PolskiNational Rebirth of Poland , abbreviated to NOP, is a nationalist and national-revolutionary political party in Poland registered by the District Court in Warsaw and National Electoral Commission. The party has no seats in the Polish parliament...
(Poland) - Bulgarian National Alliance (Bulgaria)
- Fiamma TricoloreFiamma TricoloreThe Tricolour Flame Social Movement , normally just Tricolour Flame, is a neo-fascist Italian political party.-History:...
(Italy) - Bloc IdentitaireBloc identitaireThe Bloc Identitaire is a French nationalist political group. It was founded in 2003 by some former members of Unité Radicale and several other nationalist sympathizers, including Fabrice Robert, former Unité Radicale member, former elected representative of the National Front and also former...
(France) - Russkii Obraz (Russia)
- Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Austria)
Noua Dreaptă is also reported to have ties to the following political groups:
- Eurasian Youth UnionEurasian Youth UnionEurasian Youth Union is a Russian political organization, the youth wing of the Eurasia Party headed by Aleksandr Dugin. The organization has branches in several countries...
(Russia) - England FirstInternational Third PositionInternational Third Position ' was a neo-fascist organization formed by the breakaway faction of the neofascist British National Front and Italian neofascists led by Roberto Fiore....
- Nacionālā Spēka SavienībaNational Power UnityNacionālā Spēka SavienībaCurrent Leader:Viktors BirzeFounded:June 26, 2003Headquarters:A. Pumpura 10- 315 kab.Liepāja, LatviaPolitical ideology:Nationalism...
(Latvia) - Jednota Slovenskej Mládeže (Slovakia)
Extremist reputation
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
, which roughly paralleled the Fascist and Nazi movements in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, respectively. The group's symbol, for example — the Celtic cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
(usually drawn on a green background) — is reminiscent of the insignia of the Iron Guard.
Noua Dreaptă has aligned itself with organizations elsewhere in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with strongly anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
views, although it has not focused its efforts against Romania's currently small Jewish community
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
. Rather, the group has concentrated its rhetoric and efforts against the ethnic Hungarians, Roma, sexual minorities
Sexual minority
A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. The term was coined most likely in the late 1960s under the influence of Lars Ullerstam's ground breaking book "The Erotic Minorities: A Swedish View" which came...
and minority religious faiths.
It's anti-democratic and anti-constitutional views and statements made them a permanent target of surveillance by the Directorate for the Defense of the Constitution, a department of the domestic intelligence service.
Political rallies
In May 2006, dozens of Noua Dreaptă members were arrested by police after trying to violently disrupt the GayFestGayFest
GayFest is the annual gay pride festival of Bucharest, Romania, which first took place in 2004 and now occurs in May-June of each year, lasting for nearly a week. It is organised by the non-profit organisation ACCEPT, the country's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organisation...
pride parade in Bucharest. Police also used tear gas to disperse counterprotesters led by individuals identified as Noua Dreaptă members.
On 15 March 2008, on the National Day of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Noua Dreaptă organized an anti-Hungarian rally in Cluj-Napoca — an action which, after group members attacked and beat an ethnic Hungarian celebrator, led UDMR leader Marko Bela to criticize Cluj's mayor Emil Boc
Emil Boc
Emil Boc is the Prime Minister of Romania, having served since December 2008. In June 2004, he was elected Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the largest city in Transylvania. Boc is also the president of the Democratic Liberal Party, who designated him as Prime Minister in 2008. On October 13, 2009, his...
for approving it. In addition, two ethnic Hungarian members of the Romanian Parliament demanded the banning of Noua Dreaptă on the grounds that it continues Iron Guard's spirit.
See also
- AntiziganismAntiziganismAntiziganism or Anti-Romanyism is hostility, prejudice or racism directed at the Romani people, also known as Gypsies.As an endogamous culture with a tendency to practise self-segregation, the Romanis have generally resisted assimilation with the indigenous communities of whichever countries they...
- Iron GuardIron GuardThe Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
- European National FrontEuropean National FrontEuropean National Front is a coordinating structure of European Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Sometimes members of the ENF also use anti-capitalist rhetoric...
- Bessarabia Romanian LandBessarabia Romanian LandBessarabia, Romanian Land is the name of a campaign which promotes unification between Romania and Moldova.-Campaign:The campaign consists of:...
Trivia
- The organization's leader has his own rock group, Brigada de Asalt (The Assault Brigade), which specializes in ultranationalist and far right Romanian legionnaire-oriented songs.