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Bomb scare sparks calls for video surveillance

Published: 21 Dec 12 11:12 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20121221-46913.html

Following last week's discovery of a faulty bomb at Bonn's central railway station, a new opinion poll on Friday showed that four out of five Germans want more surveillance cameras in train stations and other public places.

Just 18 percent of Germans were against tougher video surveillance, according to the survey by Infratest dimap, released by broadcaster ARD.

Last Monday, a blue sports bag left on a platform in Bonn's main station was found to contain an improvised explosive device. The detonation device was reportedly triggered but did not go off.

Prosecutors believe Islamist extremists were behind the botched attempt.

The train platform was not under full surveillance, and despite the presence of video cameras, no footage of the bag drop-off was recorded.

The only images available of the suspects themselves were taken at a nearby McDonald's restaurant.

The case has ignited a fierce debate among German policy-makers - with politicians from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, the Christian Democratic Union, calling for more video surveillance.

The centre-left Social Democrats, as well as the Greens and the Left Party, oppose the CDU stance.

Earlier this week, Green Party parliamentary leader Renate Künast told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich should instead push for better cooperation between the various offices and targeted efforts to prevent future attacks.

"We need effective security authorities, not blanket surveillance," she said.

DPA/The Local/arp

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

12:12 December 21, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles
The only thing Orson Wells got wrong was the year.
14:17 December 21, 2012 by mobaisch
now i understand the reason of the scare :D
14:47 December 21, 2012 by zeddriver
@ Berlin fuer alles

You're not wrong.

If you give up your liberties for a little security. You will soon have neither liberty nor security.
15:46 December 21, 2012 by truth is treason
@ Berlin fuer Alles.

It is George Orwell that wrong 1984.

Same as mobaisch, this is going to be used for increase surveillance.

There are more Cameras in London that is in the whole of Germany, France and Belgium. My wife was mugged in the UK railway station platform with 5 Security cameras, It was not caught. Only 2 of the 5 worked and this where at the turnstiles as you enter and leave. Only the revenue raising Cameras worked the others were out of order for 8 months. The article said the bag drop off was not caught on Camera, maybe there was a camera but it was not working.

Looking for this survey done by Infratest dimap at I could not find it. Does it exsist?

I guess we will get more False attacks till they watch us all the time and have us weaponless

Look for Operation Gladio.

Orwells' 1984 is fiction not an instruction manual.
17:27 December 21, 2012 by The-ex-pat
Germany should be careful for what it wishes, there is one CCTV camera per 14 heads in the UK...................................!
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