Ban big bangers to stop terror panic: Green MP
A Green party MP has suggested that powerful bangers should be banned this New Year so that nobody confuses them with a terrorist bomb attack.
"It would make sense to have a ban on large fireworks with three to ten times the power of normal bangers," Hans-Christian Ströbele, 76, told Redaktions Netzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Many people are on edge after the terror attacks in Paris and ongoing terror alerts in Germany, such as recent police raids in Berlin and the cancellation of the Germany-Netherlands friendly, he added.
Over-loud New Year's Eve fireworks could spark panic among worried people, Ströbele said.
New Year's Eve is the biggest night on the calendar for fireworks in Germany, with Berlin transformed into a near-'warzone' in one video that went viral last year.
DON'T MISS: 'Warzone' Berlin New Year video goes viral
"People don't know what it is that booms so awfully," he explained.
Ströbele also called for low-noise zones to be extended.
But the MP's call was quickly rejected by the Federation of the Pyrotechnic Industry (VPI).
German and EU laws already specify a maximum noise level for bangers, VPI president Klaus Gotzen told the Saarbrücker Zeitung.
"The bangers Herr Ströbele means are not licensed in Germany and are illegal," he said.
Many of the loudest and most dangerous fireworks on sale around New Year are manufactured in Poland and smuggled into Germany, where they are sold on the black or grey market.
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"It would make sense to have a ban on large fireworks with three to ten times the power of normal bangers," Hans-Christian Ströbele, 76, told Redaktions Netzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Many people are on edge after the terror attacks in Paris and ongoing terror alerts in Germany, such as recent police raids in Berlin and the cancellation of the Germany-Netherlands friendly, he added.
Over-loud New Year's Eve fireworks could spark panic among worried people, Ströbele said.
New Year's Eve is the biggest night on the calendar for fireworks in Germany, with Berlin transformed into a near-'warzone' in one video that went viral last year.
DON'T MISS: 'Warzone' Berlin New Year video goes viral
"People don't know what it is that booms so awfully," he explained.
Ströbele also called for low-noise zones to be extended.
But the MP's call was quickly rejected by the Federation of the Pyrotechnic Industry (VPI).
German and EU laws already specify a maximum noise level for bangers, VPI president Klaus Gotzen told the Saarbrücker Zeitung.
"The bangers Herr Ströbele means are not licensed in Germany and are illegal," he said.
Many of the loudest and most dangerous fireworks on sale around New Year are manufactured in Poland and smuggled into Germany, where they are sold on the black or grey market.
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