May 17, 2012
Published: 1 Jan 10 14:01 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20100101-24301.html
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has declared his intention to continue having the Bavarian Left party observed by Germany's constitutional protection office.
DDP/DPA/The Local (news@thelocal.de)
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Chancellor Angela Merkel fired her environment minister on Wednesday afternoon, kicking out Norbert Röttgen who led her conservative party to a historic loss in the country’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia on Sunday. READ (7 COMMENTS) »
Some parts of Germany will be better suited for cross country skis than swim suits over the Thursday bank holiday and long weekend, the German Weather Service (DWD) said on Wednesday. READ (1 COMMENT) »
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will soon have an extra €930 in her pocket each month, after the country's cabinet decided on Wednesday to award themselves their first pay rise for over a decade. READ (1 COMMENT) »
Germany’s financial centre was in lock-down on Wednesday, with Frankfurt police advising those bankers insisting on turning up to work early not to wear suits – as police moved in to clear a protest camp in the centre of the city. READ (7 COMMENTS) »
A teenager who killed an old woman by stabbing her 40 times with a knife was wearing a terrifying horror-film style rubber mask during the attack – and then hid it before calling the emergency services, German police say. READ (1 COMMENT) »
Düsseldorf football fans invaded their own team’s field on Tuesday evening, disrupting the match which their team was about to win. Their opponents only played to the end on police advice to prevent a blood bath, it emerged later. READ (6 COMMENTS) »
German left-wing extremists have claimed responsibility for an arson attack against the man they hold responsible for impovershing the Greek people. The attackers burned his wife’s car and threw paint and stones at his house. READ (7 COMMENTS) »
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed their desire to keep the eurozone together on Tuesday evening in key talks just hours after France's new leader was inaugurated. READ (4 COMMENTS) »
See all ads | Join the Marketplace
1223 jobs available
728 new jobs this week
0 new jobs today
More news from Sweden at thelocal.se
More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch
More news from France at thelocal.fr
More news from Norway at thelocal.no
Dating
Looking for your own blonde bombshell? Or is the strong, silent type more your
style? Find a German sweetheart here.
Weather
"After clouds comes clear weather," say the Germans. But what about after that? Find out in The Local's weather
section.
Blog
German stuff that's distracting us today.
Noticeboard
Whether you want to buy, sell, hire, announce or promote something, here's the place to do it - completely free of
charge.
Discuss
Debate the news, ask for advice, make friends - or just let off steam.
Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss
Your comments about this article:
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Finally someone has said this.
I am so sick and disgusted of hearing people (especially the media) whip everyone into a frenzy about evil right wingers and demand that any right wing ideas be banned, while at the same time completely ignoring blatantly extremist ideas that are just as, if not more, destructive as the former simply because it is coming from the left. The hypocrisy is staggering, and it's about time that it is starting to be realized.
What I witnessed in Strasbourg in April of last year was police provocation on a mass scale against a legitimate ant-war protest which was already agreed with the police, although on very restricted terms as to route and movements. I witnessed police throwing tear gas bombs at a very peaceful gathering of people at the Pont Vauban who were not part of any demonstration. I was surprised to see German police vehicles as part of French convoys in the City of Strasbourg as part of a completely oppressive action against a popular protest. 14,000 German police blocked off the border crossing at the Rhine Bridge and other crossings into Strasbourg, contrary to EU laws allowing free movement of citizens between member states.
Protest, civil disobedience, direct action, is part of democracy even if some smug middle class bourgoisie find it inconvenient or alarming. In 1906, in a house in Manchester, England, a group of women came together and formed the Women's Social and Political Union. The organisers were Emiline Pankhurst and her daughters, Christabel, Sylvia and Adelle. Shortly afterwards, Christabel Pankhurst and a friend, Annie Reilly, attended a crowded meeting at Manchester Free Trade Hall and challenged one of the speakers, Liberal Party MP, Winston Churchill, on his party's policy on votes for women. When Churchill failed to answer they unfurled a large banner with their slogan VOTES FOR WOMEN!. Police were called and they were removed from the hall. Christabel Pankhurst spat at and assaulted the Police officer who was manhandling her out of the hall and repeated the assault in the street outside. Both were arrested and jailed. Protests began immediately and the two were released a week later. At the same venue, Manchester Free Trade Hall, thousands gathered to welcome the two women and demonstrate support. Thus began the English Suffragette movement which eventually led to the greatest advance in European democracy for centuries; Votes for Women!
Those who enjoy those rights now should remember the sacrifices made to obtain them from intransigient and reluctant Governments and think of the need now to defend those rights against abridgement by Governments of the same mentality as Mr Hermann.