Xenophobia Threatening Peace in Eastern Germany, Govt. Warns
Growing xenophobia and rightwing extremism could threaten peace in eastern Germany, the government warned Wednesday, voicing fears over the impact of a series of attacks against refugees in the region.
In a report urging mainstream society to take a stronger stand against anti-migrant actions, it pointed to the worrying trend that the lines between popular protests and far-right agitation were blurring in many demonstrations against asylum seekers.
"Rightwing extremism in all forms poses a very serious threat to the societal and economic development" of eastern Germany, said Iris Gleicke, who is the government's point person for national unity.
"Determined action from the government, the states, communes and civil societies is necessary to ensure peace in eastern Germany," she told reporters as she presented the latest report examining progress since German reunification in 1990.
The annual report had in previous years been largely focused on industrial regeneration for the region, which has lagged behind the west economically, and experienced a wave of depopulation as mostly younger people left for the west for jobs.
But rising xenophobia has emerged as a key concern this year, as anger over the arrival of around a million asylum seekers in Germany in 2015 is running high in many eastern states such as Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
It has also fueled a surge in support for the rightwing populist AfD party, which has run an anti-migrant and Islamophobic campaign.
Eastern states have been required to take in relatively few numbers of new arrivals compared to western states, under a quota system calculated by the size of the state's population and income.
But instances where asylum seeker accommodation was set on fire and assaults against refugees have shot up dramatically in the region, noted Gleicke.
"I am disturbed by this rising far-right and xenophobic violence. It is more than an alarm bell if the attacks and violence are backed by or quietly accepted by mainstream society," she said, adding that the incidents had sparked outrage worldwide.
- Economic toll -
It is not only up to churches or politicians to take a stand against such violence, she said.
"I really mean it that mainstream society must also do its part. It's definitely uncomfortable. I know what it is to have to fight against neo-Nazis. But I expect companies too to give greater support to civil society on this front," she said.
Beyond the potential toll domestically, the violence has tarnished the region's reputation abroad, hurting prospects not just for tourism but also for investment.
Gleicke noted that in recent trips to the United States and Japan where she sought to promote eastern Germany as a location for business start-ups, she was asked "what is the situation when an engineer, who is of color, wants to come?".
"It's extremely clear that a place that is not open to the world or which is not open to immigration will be disadvantaged economically," she said.
Former communist eastern Germany has been the scene of several ugly incidents in which far-right extremists have targeted asylum seekers.
Clashes broke out last week between dozens of asylum seekers and far-right extremists in the eastern city of Bautzen, forcing police to call in reinforcements to quell the violence.
In February, a cheering crowd was seen outside a burning asylum shelter in the same town, clapping and shouting: "Good, that's up in flames."
That same weekend, a video emerged of far-right thugs intimidating refugees -- including crying children -- and preventing them from getting off a bus to get into another shelter in the eastern town of Clausnitz.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/216836 |