CHEMNITZ, Germany (AP) — Police in eastern Germany brought an early close to an anti-migration march on Saturday that activists hoped would launch a nationwide movement to challenge the political establishment, with the fatal stabbing of a German citizen as the catalyst.
A trio of nationalist groups held separate rallies in the city of Chemnitz over the August 26th slaying for which a Syrian and an Iraqi citizen were arrested. The two largest groups also organized their first joint march, a display of unity meant to build on other protests since the killing.
Saxony state police cited security concerns for halting the march after more than an hour, producing shouts and whistles from demonstrators as officers moved in to clear the streets but no violence or vandalism as the crowd dispersed.
The progress of the protest march had been interrupted several times before then as counter-protesters blocked the route and the sizeable police contingent on hand rushed to keep them and the marchers apart.
Saxony police estimated the event had 4,500 participants and 4,000 counter-protesters.
Police, at times, were unable to control the earlier protests and clashes.
Leaders of the two groups that combined forces on Saturday night cultivated a different image for the “mourning march,” wearing dark suits and carrying white roses.
However, the mood at the event bringing together previously isolated clusters of nationalists — from lawmakers to Hitler-saluting skinheads — darkened as the sun set. People from both ends of the political spectrum could be seen drinking beer and shouting slurs at police.
The tension in the air reflected the polarization over Germany’s ongoing effort to come to terms with an influx of more than 1 million refugees and migrants seeking jobs since 2015.
The right blames Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow in hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers from countries like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan for multiple problems. Some argued before the killing in Chemnitz that migrants are responsible for an increase in serious crimes, especially attacks on women.
The anti-migrant sentiment has been particularly strong in Saxony state, traditional strongholds of groups that sought to inspire a nationwide movement on Saturday night: the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or PEGIDA, and the populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD), which has won seats in federal and state parliaments with an anti-migration platform.
German Justice Minister Katarina Barley said Saturday that authorities should investigate the networks spearheading the week’s protests.
“We do not tolerate that right-wing extremists infiltrate our society,” Barley told weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag. “It’s about finding out who’s behind the mobilization of far-right criminals.”
The protests were sparked by a fatal stabbing early Sunday morning of a 35-year-old German man, Daniel Hillig. Two asylum-seekers, a 22-year-old Iraqi and a 23-year-old Syrian, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, known for his anti-migration stance, said Saturday that he understood why “the people in Chemnitz and elsewhere are upset about the brutal killing” but added “there’s no excuse for violence,” Funke Media Group reported.
“We need a strong state and we have to do everything politically to overcome the polarization and division of our society,” Seehofer stressed.
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Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Frank Jordans contributed from Berlin.