Battling the Right New German Program against Neo-Nazis
The news on the right-extremist front in Germany has not been good lately. A rising number of attacks, increasing numbers of youths attracted to neo-Nazi groups , and success for the far right at the polls have all raised concerns.
In response, the government in Berlin this week stepped up its fight against right-wing extremism by launching a campaign for diversity this week which will be funded with €19 million. The program, named somewhat clumsily the "Youth for Diversity, Tolerance, Democracy -- Against Right-Wing Extremism, Racism and Anti-Semitism," is meant to send a "clear signal to extremists who want to undermine the values of our society", says Gerd Hoofe, a senior official in the federal ministry for family.
The program will initially fund projects run by 24 local councils and eight independent foundations but will take in another 66 applicants over the next weeks. It is an extension of the government's "Youth for Tolerance and Democracy" program, which ended last November. Its goal is to prevent right-wing extremism through local action and the promotion of cultural diversity.
The rise of right-wing extremism is a serious problem in Germany. Figures for racially-motivated crime for the first 11 months of 2006 -- 11,000 offences including 700 violent crimes -- represented a five-year high. Some parts of East Germany run the risk of becoming right-wing "parallel societies", warns Wolfgang Böhmer, interior minister of the country's most vulnerable state Saxony-Anhalt in former East Germany.
Saxony-Anhalt was badly affected by right-wing extremism last year: In January a black boy was tortured by racists, in June neo-Nazis burned the American flag and the diary of Anne Frank, and in October youths forced a student to walk around with a sign reading: "In this town I'm the biggest swine / because of the Jewish friends of mine."
In a related development, Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries on Monday announced that Germany, which took over the rotating European Union presidency on Jan. 1, would use its position to seek a common European policy to deal with right-wing extremism.
"What worries us," Zypries told Bild Zeitung, "is the increase in cross border activities among right-wing radicals and trouble makers within Europe. That's why we will use our EU presidency to finally establish common standards in the fight against right-wing extremism."
Previous German attempts to establish a Europe-wide ban on the use of the swastika -- illegal in Germany but allowed in a handful of European countries -- have often been blocked by Italy. The new government in Rome, said Zypries, has signalled its willingness to cooperate.
mkp/reuters
