AUSTRIA: Thousands of anti-fascist demonstrators marched through Vienna late yesterday to mark the end of the second World War in Europe, escorted by some 2,000 riot police deployed to prevent feared clashes with rival far-right rallies.
There was no immediate sign of unrest as the chanting left wing protesters made their way around the edge of a no-go area sealed by police in the Austrian capital's historic centre.
Organisers said some 6,000 anti-fascists had joined the rally, while police said they estimated around 2,500 protesters were at the left wing protest commemorating the surrender of Nazi Germany after the second World War.
The rally began in a party atmosphere with demonstrators forming a human chain around Vienna University, but became more tense as marchers neared the city centre.
The chanting leftist marchers, escorted by police in full riot gear, moved in a huge column waving banners with slogans such as "anti-fascist left against poverty, racism and suppression" and joining in loud chants including "Get rid of the Nazi scum".
Among the marchers were a number of masked protesters, seen as the most hardline left-wingers who police fear could be prepared for violence.
In another part of the city, groups of Germanic-styled student groups accused of neo-Nazi sympathies gathered for a solemn memorial service commemorating fallen soldiers.
The "fraternities", many of whose members are initiated in a fencing bout and sport the scars gained in these fights with pride, have been supported, notably by the far-right Freedom Party leader Mr Jörg Haider.
They were later addressed by Mr Wolfgang Jung, a deputy from the Freedom Party which rules Vienna in coalition with the conservative People's Party.
Mr Jung earlier told a magazine interview that yesterday, marking the end of the war in Europe, "is a day of utter defeat for me".
The mayor of Vienna, Mr Michael Häupl, a Social Democrat, later declared his opposition to "these Nazis, former and new, who want to turn a day of joy into a day of grief".
Political leaders appealed for calm. "Today's day of celebration and joy should take place in dignity and peace," said the opposition Social Democrat leader, Mr Alfred Gusenbauer.
Even before the rallies began, leftist students faced off with far-righters at a noisy gathering at the city's main university building, where they disfigured a statue seen as a Nazi symbol.
The bust of the mythological Germanic hero Siegfried had his nose hacked off by a masked protester, while chanting leftists condemned the "fascist monument".