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CRIME

Revenge attacks spark fear of extremist violence

A string of tit-for-tat attacks in Berlin between political extremists on the far-left and right, including an alleged knife attack on a young mother walking with her three children, has given rise to fears of surging ideological violence.

Revenge attacks spark fear of extremist violence
Photo: DPA

In the past week, violence between the two sides has escalated. There have been several attacks on neo-Nazis, including assaults on high-ranking members of the National Democratic Party (NPD) and also on the xenophobic pro Deutschland group. These were followed by arson attacks on leftist premises overnight Sunday.

Some of the violence has been targeted against election campaigns ahead of Berlin’s city election in September. Berlin Interior Minister Ehrhart Körting told daily Der Tagesspiegel’s Tuesday edition that he was concerned about the danger of things spinning out of control.

“I fear above all that extremists follow every action with an opposite action,” he said. “That applies also to periods without an election. These primitive people of the left-wing extremists and neo-Nazis think in terms of revenge, as both move at the same brutal level.”

The 22-year-old wife of a neo-Nazi man prominent in Rudow in Berlin’s southeast was attacked by three men on Monday night while walking with her two young daughters and one-year-old son, who was in a pram, Der Tagesspiegel reported.

The three men jumped from some bushes and attacked the woman, but fled when a car approached. She suffered mild injuries to her upper body that did not require medical treatment, police said.

The paper reported that the woman was the wife of a prominent neo-Nazi who had himself been the subject of recent attacks. Police are now seeking the three men on suspicion of causing dangerous bodily injury.

Because of the apparent political motive, they have handed the investigation over to LKA 5, the branch of the Berlin police that deals with political crime. It was thought that the attack had possibly come from left-wing extremists, given the previous attacks on the woman’s husband, though knife attacks by so-called antifascists are unusual. The assailants spoke German, the paper reported.

As to whether the woman might have made up the assault, an officer told Der Tagesspiegel: “The investigations are still at such an early stage that we can’t rule anything out.”

In the early hours of Monday, there were five firebomb attacks on left-wing premises and residences in Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Britz. One person was lightly injured in the arson attacks.

Over the week, the NPD’s Berlin state chairman Uwe Meenen was attacked by assailants with clubs. Also attacked was Torsten Meyer, a long-time member of the far-right Deutsche Volksunion (DVU) and who also represented the NPD on the local council of Lichtenberg in eastern Berlin.

Meyer is now regional chairman of the far-right pro Deutschland party. He was attacked on Sunday in the Karlshorst area near an election stand. A pensioner was lightly injured on Monday when masked attackers threw buckets of paint at a pro Deutschland election stand in Tempelhof.

Interior Minister Körting said that as long as such far-right parties including the NPD were not banned, police had a duty to protect their election campaign activities.

The Local/djw

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BERLIN

Disruption on roads in Berlin as farmers stage fresh protest

Farmers in Germany launched fresh protests in Berlin on Friday to call for the government to support agriculture, resulting in disruption across the city.

Disruption on roads in Berlin as farmers stage fresh protest

Berlin police said there were “considerable traffic disruptions” across the city and the outskirts and especially around Straße des 17. Juni, the government district and the Bundesrat .

Since Thursday morning, Straße des 17. Juni and other streets around the government district in Berlin-Tiergarten have been closed. There will also be closures on Leipziger Straße between Wilhelmstraße and Leipziger Platz through Friday.

A planned rally is due to take place from 12 noon to 5pm on Friday with tractors and lorries around Platz des 18. März, near Brandenburg Gate. 

The action is being held to protest the government’s agricultural policies.

It comes as relief measures – including reduced bureaucracy and tax relief for farmers – went to the Bundesrat on Friday to be voted on as part of the Growth Opportunities Act.

However, farmers are still pushing for their original demand of fully keeping the agricultural diesel subsidy.

READ ALSO: Analysis: Why are German farmers so angry?

Farmers in Germany have been staging similar protests against the policies of the government since the start of the year.

Where are protests taking place?

Here’s a look at the routes farmers are expected to take in Friday into Berlin where disruption will occur:

Frohnau: From the state border via B96 Berliner Straße, Roedernallee, Lindauer Allee, Residenzstraße, Markstraße, Schulstraße, Luxemburger Straße, Föhrer Straße, An der Putlitzbrücke, Stromstraße, Lessingstraße, Altonaer Straße and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Lichtenrade: From the state border via the B96 Kirchhainer Damm to Tempelhofer Damm and then via Mehringdamm, Hallesches Ufer, Reichpietschufer, Klingelhöferstraße, Hofjägerallee and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Mahlsdorf: From the state border via the B1/5 to Alexanderstraße and then via Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Unter den Linden, Wilhelmstraße, Dorotheenstraße, Scheidemannstraße, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee, Spreeweg and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Staaken: From the state border via B5 Heerstraße to Theodor-Heuss-Platz, Kaiserdamm, Ernst-Reuter-Platz, Straße des 17. Juni and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni.

As we’ve already. mentioned, there will also be road closures on Leipziger Straße between Wilhelmstraße and Leipziger Platz.

Farmers at the Straße des 17. Juni early morning on Friday in Berlin in a demo for better agricultural policy.

Farmers at the Straße des 17. Juni early morning on Friday in Berlin in a demo for better agricultural policy. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

A large police presence was in place around the federal ministries and parliamentary buildings.

“We are taking preparatory measures before the farmers’ rally so that parliamentary work can take place smoothly on Friday,” said a spokesperson for the Berlin police on Thursday. 

During previous demonstrations, tactics – such as throwing manure and blockade attempts – have been controversial. 

On one occasion in January more than a hundred farmers blocked a ferry port as Economics Minister Robert Habeck tried to return from a holiday with his wife on the North Friesian island of Hooge.

According to media reports, some of the protestors tried to storm the ferry that the Habeck and his wife were on, preventing the Green Party politician from disembarking and forcing police to intervene. 

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