braetsch:

sapphicrevan:

#c2608

I haven’t seen any posts about this so I’ll try to give a short overview. I also don’t know if media outside of Germany is reporting.

The night between 25 and 26 August: there is a fight between several men at the town festival in Chemnitz. A man gets wounded with a knife and dies. The victim is reportedly a German of Cuban descent. The perpetrator’s ethnicity is unknown at this point, but word spreads that he’s “Southern looking” (read: non-white), possibly a migrant, that he and his friends harassed a woman before. None of this is confirmed. However, right-wing extremists like the Nazi hooligans “Kaotic Chemnitz” and the anti-migrant group “Pro Chemnitz” jump on it immediately and call for a large demonstration the following day. The festival is cancelled.

26 August: Hundreds of neo-Nazis flood the streets of Chemnitz. They are ready to be violent. They chase and attack everyone they think doesn’t look German. The police claims to be “overwhelmed”. They clearly did not take the threats seriously, did not prepare for a large-scale operation. Right-wing violence is notoriously and systemically underestimated in Germany, compare the NSU case. Right under the eyes of the police, hundreds of people throw explosives, illegally mask their faces, show illegal Hitler salutes, yell Nazi paroles, attack innocents in the streets. There have not been considerable arrests, last I read only four charges were filed. No water cannons deployed, no tear gas and pepper spray used, no rioters hit with batons. Compare this to the scenes at G20 or Stuttgart 21 protests, the latter of which had a lot of children and old people in the crowd.

27 and 28 August: protests in Chemnitz continue. Over 6000 people are aligning themselves with the “cause”. Again, several hundred protesters also display violence against leftists and migrants, barely stopped by police. Online, right-wing groups leak the official arrest warrant for the alleged perpetrator of the stabbing, name, address and all. How do they even have that document? Connections between police and Nazis are being prodded by observers, but of course no official statement yet. Just a couple days ago, a policeman was outed partaking in an anti-immigration demo by Pegida. But criticism of the police only comes from leftists, not from the media or politics. They stick to the “overwhelmed” story, and allow racists to freely speak their minds on television. They say: we have to take these people’s fears seriously. They do not ask about the fears that people of colour, Jewish people, marginalized people have right now. Meanwhile, support for the Nazis rises in other cities. Düsseldorf and Cologne see anti-immigration demos on Monday and Tuesday. There are counter-protests in those and other cities.

Further reading/sources (German): Twitter-Hashtags such as #c2608, #c2708, #c2808, #Chemnitz provide a running commentary. taz and Die Zeit have several articles.

further reading (english): 

“The German government condemned attempts to “spread hatred on the streets” after a violent demonstration Sunday in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, where protesters called for foreigners to leave the city.” (CNN)

“A 20-year-old Syrian man was badly beaten in an attack in northern Germany, police said Thursday, as the country braced for a third night of demonstrations in the eastern city of Chemnitz.” (CNN)

“Protesters flashing Nazi salutes and shouting “Foreigners out” clashed Monday night with counterdemonstrators chanting, “Refugees welcome,” in a second night of violence in the east German city of Chemnitz that left several people injured and a country dismayed over images of rioting.” (NY Times)

“German police and politicians have been accused of inadequate planning after outbreaks of far-right violence rocked the east of the country.As rightwing extremists planned a third demonstration later on Tuesday, scenes in Chemnitz – in which mobs hunted foreigners through the city streets – were described as reminiscent of civil war and Nazi pogroms.“ (The Guardian)

“The leak of an arrest warrant to far-right groups has heightened widespread suspicions of links between German police and xenophobic demonstrators.“ (The Guardian)

“Germany has been shaken by the worst far-right rioting in almost 30 years after police failed to stop thousands of neo-Nazis and far-right sympathizers chasing immigrants through the city of Chemnitz, hurling bottles and fireworks, giving Hitler salutes and chanting “foreigners out”.” (The Times)

(updated august 30th)