German media has splashed on what they identify as a surging right-wing crime wave, while the actual government document their claims are based on shows greater and faster-growing violence is actually coming from the political left.
A new report by the Federal office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has identified concerns about rising violence from left-wing radicals, jihadist Islamists, and “the possible emergence of right-wing terrorist structures”. Yet despite the even-handedness of the report, the German print media has focussed on one aspect only.
Essen-based newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) led with the headline “Right-Violence Significantly Increasing”, while the Berlin Morgenpost reported “Secret Service: Skyrocketing Violence by Right-Wing Extremists”. Germany’s BBC World Service equivalent Deutsche Welle similarly reported in their English language edition: “Far-Right Violence Rising Sharply in Germany”.
Yet the BfV, and even copy of these stories betrays the truth — that Germany’s extremist, violent political left is surging and the nation is having to confront an unprecedented number of radical Islamists, with returned jihadists and war criminals from the Islamic State among their number.
Deutsche Welle left it until paragraph nine of eleven to mention rising left-wing violence, admitting belatedly that ” acts of violence by members of far-left groups also rose sharply, to 1608 offences from 995 the previous year”.
This surge in violence is a 61 per cent rise year on year, compared to the lower 42 per cent rise in “violent acts” associated with the “far right”.
The absolute number of recorded events is also lower, with so-called right wing crime starting at a comparable 990 in 2014, but growing to 1,408 in 2015. The report also seriously underplays the estimated 10,000 Islamists, jihadists, and war criminals who had “entered the country with the massive refugee influx”.
The targets of crimes are different, with the Berliner Morgenpost identifying “burning asylum homes” as an activity of the right, while the left focus their attacks on “neo-Nazis, politicians, and policemen”.
Yet pinpointing exactly who is responsible for the many asylum burnings can be difficult, even when there are apparently clear motives, given that so many are burnt down by illegal migrants themselves.
Breitbart London reported on one such case in April this year, where police launched a manhunt and a €5,000 reward was posted after swastikas were found spray-painted on a fire-bombed asylum centre. A local left-wing group called a protest against “fascism” which went ahead despite a Syrian migrant confessing to the crime. The 26 year old male told police he had been put up to the attack by other migrants who wanted to protest what they considered to be insufficiently luxurious conditions
The migrant criminal said he hadn’t realised how quickly the fire he set in the basement would set, and that he painted the Nazi-era symbols so he wouldn’t get the blame. Four migrants and two fire-fighters were injured in the blaze.
Sources in German have told Breitbart London that burning down a failing business premises and blaming hard-right extremists is a common insurance trick in Germany.
One such instance is a 2009 arson where a migrant-owned business sprayed Swastikas on their own walls before burning it down. Police detected the fraud, which led two migrant males named as ‘Ahmed A.’ and ‘Hamdi G’ being deported.
In German street politics, there is also a considerable difference between violence levels between Left and Right. Observing a march by the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamification of Europe (PEGIDA) movement, Breitbart London witnessed what German media would describe as “extreme right” activists thanking and applauding police officers for protecting them while left-wing counter-demonstrators attempted to break police lines, and threw fireworks and bottles.
The scenes were repeated at the annual conference of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) movement this year, as thousands of officers were forced to turn out in riot gear to protect party members from violent crowds of left black-bloc anarchist militants from attacking them.
Follow Oliver Lane on Twitter: Follow @Oliver_Lane or e-mail to: olane@breitbart.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.