German High Court Gives Go-Ahead for Rally by Right-Wing Extremists
August 20, 2000 - 0:0
HAMBURG, Germany Germany's top court has given the go- ahead for a rally Sunday in Hamburg by right-wing extremists, overturning a ban by city officials.
But the high court, Germany's federal constitutional court, upheld bans on two other protest marches planned for the weekend in Hamburg, a spokesman for the court said Saturday. The ruling was made Friday evening.
In approving the rally at a square in the center of Hamburg, the court stipulated that participants must not wear uniforms, must not carry drums or banners or wear emblems of any kind.
In addition, speakers must not mention Rudolf Hess.
The rally and marches had been planned as part of a protest marking the 13th anniversary Thursday of the suicide of the convicted Nazi war criminal.
The ruling came only hours after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder issued an impassioned appeal to the nation to do everything necessary to eliminate right-wing violence that has been on the increase in recent months.
Speaking in Eisenhuettenstadt in eastern Germany, Schroeder said both the government and society as a whole must react "firmly and clearly" to right-wing violence.
"We will not allow a bunch of unruly people with shaved heads to ruin things in this country," Schroeder said.
"We cannot and may not accept that people are chased through the streets, beaten or murdered because of their language, their religion, or the color of their skin," Schroeder said.
Interior ministers of Germany's 16 states who met Federal Interior Minister Otto Schily in Duesseldorf on Friday agreed to step up security and coordinate efforts to combat right-wing violence.
Schily said federal border police will be drafted in to patrol known flashpoints of neo-Nazi violence. Patrols are to be stepped up at train stations and on trains, including commuter trains in metropolitan areas which have been the scene of attacks.
Schily also vowed the government will prevent provocative public rallies by right-wingers like one at Berlin's Brandenburg gate earlier this year that made headlines around the world.
Meanwhile, a leftist newspaper announced a front-page campaign to combat neo-Nazism.
Die Tageszeitung ran pictures and biographical profiles in its Saturday editions of 22 "prominent right-wing radicals" in Germany.
A major public broadcaster said it would devote air time to anti- rightist announcements. NDR television head Jobst Plog said the public service announcements would be aimed at "stimulating a discussion" of the threat of neo-Nazi activities in Germany.
(DPA)
But the high court, Germany's federal constitutional court, upheld bans on two other protest marches planned for the weekend in Hamburg, a spokesman for the court said Saturday. The ruling was made Friday evening.
In approving the rally at a square in the center of Hamburg, the court stipulated that participants must not wear uniforms, must not carry drums or banners or wear emblems of any kind.
In addition, speakers must not mention Rudolf Hess.
The rally and marches had been planned as part of a protest marking the 13th anniversary Thursday of the suicide of the convicted Nazi war criminal.
The ruling came only hours after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder issued an impassioned appeal to the nation to do everything necessary to eliminate right-wing violence that has been on the increase in recent months.
Speaking in Eisenhuettenstadt in eastern Germany, Schroeder said both the government and society as a whole must react "firmly and clearly" to right-wing violence.
"We will not allow a bunch of unruly people with shaved heads to ruin things in this country," Schroeder said.
"We cannot and may not accept that people are chased through the streets, beaten or murdered because of their language, their religion, or the color of their skin," Schroeder said.
Interior ministers of Germany's 16 states who met Federal Interior Minister Otto Schily in Duesseldorf on Friday agreed to step up security and coordinate efforts to combat right-wing violence.
Schily said federal border police will be drafted in to patrol known flashpoints of neo-Nazi violence. Patrols are to be stepped up at train stations and on trains, including commuter trains in metropolitan areas which have been the scene of attacks.
Schily also vowed the government will prevent provocative public rallies by right-wingers like one at Berlin's Brandenburg gate earlier this year that made headlines around the world.
Meanwhile, a leftist newspaper announced a front-page campaign to combat neo-Nazism.
Die Tageszeitung ran pictures and biographical profiles in its Saturday editions of 22 "prominent right-wing radicals" in Germany.
A major public broadcaster said it would devote air time to anti- rightist announcements. NDR television head Jobst Plog said the public service announcements would be aimed at "stimulating a discussion" of the threat of neo-Nazi activities in Germany.
(DPA)