German police arrest members of far-right group after state ban

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Admin

Raids on properties linked to Reichsbürger movement follow Hanau terror attack

German police have raided properties in 10 states across Germany and arrested members of a far-right group after it was banned by the government.

The United German Peoples and Tribes organisation belongs to the broader Reichsbürger or Citizens of the Reich movement, which rejects the authority of the modern German state and is driven by conspiracy theories. It is armed and considered extremely dangerous, the police said.

The Hanau terror attack shows the need for honesty about racism in Germany | Mithu Sanyal

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Admin

Angela Merkel using the word ‘racist’ to describe the murders was a quantum leap, but I dont trust others in her party

I have to admit that when I heard the news my first thought was: “I hope the perpetrator wasn’t a migrant.” The press would surely go at us hammer and tongs again, warning about the danger posed by immigration in general and Muslims in particular. There would be endless articles and talk shows discussing the threat. My second thought was: “Thank God it is a white guy.”

On 19 February, Tobias Rathjen went into two shisha bars in the town of Hanau, near Frankfurt, shooting people he described as “foreign”. In his “manifesto”, if you can call such a rambling text a manifesto, he stated he wanted to cleanse Germany from … us. Two weeks on from the carnage in Hanau, I wonder how I could have felt relieved.

On Hanau’s streets, shocked migrants fear causes of the attack run deep

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Admin

Political pledges of action to deal with far-right terrorism are met with scepticism

Days after terror struck in the heart of its community, something like normality returned to the streets and cafes of Hanau yesterday. On Freigerichtstrasse on the eastern side of town, people once again gathered in one of the multifunction spaces that act as sports bars, betting shops and shisha stores, to have a smoke or a hot drink with friends.

“Am I scared? I guess it is scary,” said the Romanian woman who runs the venue. “But more importantly, would you like a cup of tea?”

Hanau attack part of pattern of white supremacist violence flowing from US

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Admin

Experts in global extremism say gunman’s comments on his website paralleled several recent conspiracies popular with American far-right

The mass shootings targeting two bars in the German town of Hanau appear to be the latest in a series of global attacks motivated by white nationalist ideology, experts said.

The 43-year-old German man identified by authorities as the gunman also appeared to be obsessed with America, and with American conspiracy theories, according to online video and documents German police are investigating in connection with the attack.