Germany underestimated far-right terror for ‘too long’
Germany must admit that it underestimated the threat of far-right terror for too long, the president of the Bundestag told lawmakers on Thursday.
The country must do more to smash far-right networks, while also addressing the problem of Islamophobia in society, Wolfgang Schäuble told Germany’s lower legislature.
Read more: After attack, Hanau takes a stand against racism
Schäuble, addressing a parliamentary debate on the Hanau attacks, called for “sincerity from the state, which must admit to having underestimated the extreme right-wing danger for too long.”
“The decisive answer to this must be to uncover radical networks with all constitutional means and to smash right-wing extremist associations,” said Schäuble, adding that the state must “finally get better at consistently enforcing the law”.
The perpetrator of the Hanau attack killed nine people with foreign roots at both a cafe and a shisha bar in the city. Authorities judged the murders to have been racially-motivated.
Schäuble said that such crimes “do not happen in a vacuum” but in a “poisoned social climate in which resentment towards ‘otherness’ — and the most absurd conspiracy theories — are stoked.”
Minorities had been demonized to such an extent, Schäuble said, that hate campaigns — and even murder — were accompanied by “perverse applause on social networks.”
Read more: ‘Ferhat wanted to do something good for Hanau’
He also addressed the topic of Islamophobia. “Nothing justifies belittling, denigrating, persecuting, attacking people because of their origin or belief,” said Schäuble, while adding that people’s concern about immigration and social change needed to be taken seriously.
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Vigils across Germany after Hanau shooting
German president joins mourners
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right) and his wife Elke Büdenbender, along with Hesse State Premier Volker Bouffier, laid wreaths near one the crime scenes in Hanau.
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Vigils across Germany after Hanau shooting
Vigil in Hanau
People in Hanau hold up photos of some of the victims of the shooting. Tobias R. is believed to have shot dead nine people, many of non-German background, after publishing a racist “manifesto” on the internet
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Vigils across Germany after Hanau shooting
Mourning at the Brandenburg Gate
Hundreds of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to light candles for the victims of the Hanau attack.
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Vigils across Germany after Hanau shooting
Berlin Film Festival mourns
Berlinale guests observed a minute’s silence at the opening gala on Thursday evening.
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Vigils across Germany after Hanau shooting
Germany shows solidarity
People in the southern German city of Stuttgart hold up anti-racism placards, reading “Racism is no alternative” and “Hate is not an opinion.” Many believe that the taboo against racism in Germany’s political debate has softened in recent years, thanks to the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
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Vigils across Germany after Hanau shooting
Mourning in Munich
A man wears a Turkish flag at the vigil in Munich. Five of the victims of the Hanau attack were of Turkish origin.
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Vigils across Germany after Hanau shooting
‘Defending solidarity’
People in central Hamburg hold up a banner reading “defending solidarity”.
The killing spree in Hanau — near the city of Frankfurt — ended when the 43-year-old German gunman returned home, killing his mother before turning the pistol on himself. Thousands joined protests against far-right violence in the wake of the attacks, with many accusing the far-right Alternative for Germany, which holds 91 of 709 seats in Germany’s lower house, of having fueled resentment.
A memorial service for the victims was held on Wednesday, attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-underestimated-far-right-terror-for-too-long/a-52646334?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf