Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 8 September 2018
Far-right protests in Germany expose cracks in government

By DAVID RISING has also put a renewed a
Associated Press focus on Merkel's welcom-
BERLIN (AP) — More than ing migrant policies and re-
1,000 far-right supporters vealed disagreements be-
rallied Friday night over the tween her and top security
fatal stabbing of a man in officials.
the eastern German city Interior Minister Horst See-
of Chemnitz, for which two hofer expressed sympathy
recent migrants have been Thursday for the protesters
arrested and charged with who were provoked by the
manslaughter. slaying.
In a case that has exposed "If I were not a minister, I'd
friction between Chan- have gone to the streets
cellor Angela Merkel and as a citizen," Seehofer said,
top security officials, the quickly adding: "Naturally,
flag-waving crowd rallied not together with the radi-
under the motto "security cals."
for Chemnitz" and behind Seehofer, who heads the
a banner proclaiming "we Bavarian sister party to
are the people." Merkel's center-right Chris-
The number marching was tian Democrats, has long
far smaller than the estimat- been to the chancellor's
ed 6,000 or so who assem- right on immigration, but his
bled the day after the Aug. rhetoric has toughened as
26 stabbing of 35-year-old polls show his party strug-
Daniel Hillig. gling ahead of an October
About 500 counter-protest- People attend a demonstration in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Friday, Sept.7, 2018, after several state election.
ers gathered nearby shout- nationalist groups called for marches protesting the killing of a German man two weeks ago, al- He told the Rheinischen
ing slogans like "there's no legedly by migrants from Syria and Iraq. Post newspaper that voters
right to Nazi propaganda," Associated Press were linking their concerns
while another opposi- to the issue of migration,
tion protest featured an far-right supporter was ar- they had no details on the message. But after a brief which he called "the moth-
open-air performance of rested after being identi- report. bump, polling suggests little er of all political problems
Beethoven's Ninth Sym- fied as having given the Since the slaying of Hillig, change. in this country."
phony as a sign "against stiff-armed Nazi salute at the nationalist Alternative An Iraqi citizen and a Syrian Merkel responded in an in-
xenophobia, hate and vio- a previous rally, which is for Germany party, or AfD, citizen have been arrested terview with Germany TV
lence." banned in Germany, but has sought to mobilize sup- on manslaughter charges network RTL late Thursday
Local media reported one police headquarters said port with its anti-migrant over Hillig's death, which that she saw it differently.q

Belgium shocked by weather woman's experience with racism

By LORNE COOK VRT's report focused on the
Associated Press Flemish nationalist group
BRUSSELS (AP) — Media Shield and Friends (Schild
outlets and politicians in en Vrienden.) Leader Dries
Belgium expressed shock Van Langenhove, who has
and dismay Friday after made references to a "war
two high-profile reports of of races," held an automat-
racism rocked the kingdom ic weapon in photographs
this week, raising troubling on social media and has
questions about white at- appeared with Belgium's
titudes a few weeks before hard-line migration minis-
local elections. ter, Theo Francken, in pho-
Cecile Djunga, a black tos posted online.
weather presenter with An assortment of the Belgian newspapers with references to racism on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. Francken told RTBF on Fri-
state broadcaster RTBF, Associated Press day he was shocked by
posted an online video the other broadcaster's
saying she had endured a black background and editorial writer said. Anti-racism organizations program. He said he knew
racist comments regularly white text that denounced Djunga, who also works as say hate speech com- of Shield and Friends, "but I
since she joined the station the way whites regard a comedian, explained in plaints and crimes moti- didn't know that there were
a year ago. Flemish-lan- people of different ethnic her video that she decided vated by racism in Belgium such extreme elements in
guage public broadcaster backgrounds and foreign- to go public about her ex- increased by more than 10 this organization."
VRT then aired an in-depth ers. perience with bigotry after percent last year, but think Asked whether his migra-
program about a far-right "We can't kick this into the a female viewer called at too few cases result in con- tion policies contributed to
group whose leader has long grass anymore. Ce- work and said the weather victions because charges prejudice, Francken said:
warned of a "war of races." cile Djunga's cry for help woman did not look good are often hard to prove. "Racism is for idiots, and all
Both incidents made head- and the VRT report make on television, that she was Jail sentences of up to two those people who think I'm
lines. Belgian daily news- it clear: great danger lies "too black." Her employers years and fines of as much a hero and who do these
paper Le Soir published ahead and it's urgent to said they would take stands as 1,000 euros ($1,150) are kinds of things, write these
a reverse front page with respond," the paper's chief against racism. possible. kinds of things, are idiots."q