Germany still “can’t see the right eye”

When Tobias Rathjen attacked two shishavers, Gokhan Gultekin, Sedat Gurbuz, Said Nesar Hashemi, Mercedes Kierpacz, Hamza Kurtovic, Vili Viorel Paun, Fatih Saracoglu, Ferhat Unvar, and Kaloyan Velkov (9) were killed. I was injured. February 19, 2020, the town of Hanau, Germany. The perpetrator then returned home and killed his mother and himself.

The attack was racially motivated. The family of the first nine victims emigrated to Germany and lived there for generations. Rathjen published a “manifest” on the Internet a few months before the attack, calling for a genocide and sharing an ambiguous conspiracy theory. He also sent a letter to the German authorities to clarify his intentions.

“The attack shook Hanau. Many were traumatized and some were trapped in their homes. It’s a devastating fact, but it feels safe in the country where we were born and raised. I didn’t. TRT World..

“I don’t think it’s going to go away easily because the anxiety still remains and the racist spirit behind the attack still remains,” she added.

Gokhan Gultekin’s brother, Cetin Gultekin, expressed the same concern, adding that the situation worsened even if the Turkish community fought in protest of racism.

“In the two years since the attack, firearm licenses have increased by 35%. They are armed enough to call on racists to steal guns. How can they feel safe?” Asks a question in a statement TRT World..

The rise of the far right

The attack in Hanau was not a one-off incident in Germany. In 2019, two other right-wing extremist attacks, the assassination of Walterlubke and the anti-Semitic Hale synagogue attack, preceded it.

The assassination of Lubke was associated with his refugee support, as neo-Nazi militant Stephen Ernst confessed to killing him. The Halle Orchestra’s attack was carried out by Stephen Barriette, who originally planned to attack the city’s synagogue during Yom Kippur but failed, instead firing at passers-by and killing two people. Baylet was inspired by the Christchurch attack.

Still, the attacks on non-German civilians were nothing new. From 2000 to 2007, the Far Right National Socialist Underground (NSU) group targeted Turkish immigrants and killed 10 people, 8 of whom were of Turkish descent. However, German police and intelligence agencies did not believe that neo-Nazi motives could be behind the murder and ignored the country’s far-right threat.

“We have been blind to the right eye for too long,” said Horst Seehofer, the former Minister of Interior of the country. recognized November 2021 ten years after police discovered the far-right ideology behind the murder.

The assassination of Lubke proved that the Halle and Hanau orchestras, as well as the right-wing extremists’ attacks were widespread in Germany, did not go anywhere. Racism and the far right agenda.

Last year, before the first anniversary of the Hanau attack, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the attack was ForeseeableCiting a 2020 report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the number of German right-wing extremists is estimated to be more than 33,000, and more than 13,000 of these people are believed to be prone to violence. I added that.

German police recorded 23,604 crimes related to the far-right agenda in 2020, surpassing the previous record of 23,555 crimes in 2016, when refugee influx peaked.

BfV also found that the far right of the country became more radical during the pandemic as the radical agenda found a new platform for prosperity with protests against the coronavirus.

Was Hanau’s attack a turning point?

In a sense, Hanau’s attack was a call for awakening in Germany. In the aftermath of the attack, in March 2020, they tracked and addressed all forms of hostility to specific groups of society, the Cabinet Committee for the Fight against Racism and Right-Wing Radicalism. Established a federal government committee called.

In December 2020, the Government adopted a series of recommendations by the Commission outlining a total of 89 measures to combat right-wing extremism and racism. This includes stricter laws and punishments, support and protection of victims, improved national structure and enhanced security efforts. Raise awareness, educate people, and strengthen cooperation within state stakeholders and between state and civil society.

A budget of approximately € 1 billion was also created to fund the battle from 2021 to 2024, with an additional € 150 million added in 2021. The funds are reportedly used for research and prevention efforts, and support for civil society.

In addition, in March 2021, the country’s domestic intelligence agency classified the alternative for Germany (AfD) right-wing party as suspected “radical” and put it under surveillance. The party has long been accused of spreading propaganda and hatred, creating an environment that allows right-wing extremism and racism to flourish.

The state against right-wing extremists at both individual and group levels to prevent the spread of racist discourse and discourage action on the far-right agenda while introducing new and improved measures. The crackdown continued.

Far-right racist groups and those who have been found to be involved in crime Prosecution Imprisoned, the far-right group has been banned or dismantled, and their rally has been cancelled.

Another hopeful development is Nancy Phaser, the country’s new interior minister, who has defined the fight against racism and right-wing extremism as a top priority, with an action plan unfolded on January 12. I announced that I am.

“We will do everything we can to stop the extremism process, dismantle the right-wing extremist network, and systematically steal extremist weapons,” the ministry said. Quotation marks As she said in her first policy speech as Minister of Interior. Phaser is supposed to work in Germany, where “everyone can live freely and without fear.”

In the last few weeks Germany has also targeted messaging apps telegram Because it is popular among right-wing extremists. A few days before Faeser flagged the app, more than 60 channels were shut down and threatened to shut down if they didn’t cooperate.

German law argues that social media platforms are obliged to remove content that is considered illegal by the state, such as killing threats and malicious language that the app is reportedly hotbed.

Very recently the government decided to make March 11 Official day to commemorate the victims of terrorism.

Nevertheless, for some, the threat remains high, as they have not observed a decline in the far-right racist treatments they receive in their daily lives.

“Even first grade children face racism every day. It’s hard to say that Hanau’s attack has led to a turning point, because racism is still going on. It’s as big as an attack. “It hasn’t surfaced,” says Yilmaz-Ilkhan. TRT WorldShe added that she did not believe that racism would be separated from Germany.

Prosecutor Closed Investigation of the Hanau attack two months ago after concluding that the perpetrator worked alone. Relatives of the victim requested an investigation into Rasgen’s father, who was suspected of assisting the perpetrator, but the investigation found no evidence of murder accessories.

However, Cetin Gultekin recently claimed that the perpetrator’s father was harassing the victim’s family. Gartekin said his father had sent 25 letters to the prosecutor, claiming his son was a real victim, and planned to take revenge on him. No action has been taken, even though authorities are aware of the situation.

The victim’s family also did not investigate him before the attack, despite being diagnosed with a mental illness, why the perpetrator had a firearm license, and even though police knew him. I’m asking for an answer as to why.

“Two years after the attack, our lives did not improve. We lost nine people, but that didn’t seem to be a problem. The effects of the measures taken by the government were not observed and the problem was. It got worse, “says Gultekin.

Yilmaz-Ilkhan states that non-German communities still had to live with racism and fear. “We wanted more change both in Hanau and across the country, but nothing really happened,” Yilmaz-Ilkhan adds.

Source: TRTWorld and distributors