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East German statehouse to debate neo-Nazi violence |
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May 4, 2000 ERFURT, Germany, MAY 3 (AP) - Lawmakers in eastern Thuringia state called a special session of parliament Wednesday to debate ways of combatting neo-Nazi violence in the wake of last month's attempted arson attack on a synagogue in the state capital of Erfurt.
The session was intended to send a signal that the state will do everything legally possible to combat far-right extremism, said Christine Lieberknecht, president of the state parliament.
The opposition Social Democrats, who called for the session, said that in addition to tough legal action against those who commit crimes, they also want to see measures adopted to create a "climate of isolation" for right-wing radicalism.
Federal officials warned recently that while the number of right-wing extremists in Germany is declining, those remaining are increasingly turning to violence, especially in the former communist eastern states, where unemployment is high and democratic roots still developing.
Just Tuesday, a 35-year-old Cuban man was beaten up by three drunken neo-Nazis while riding on a streetcar in nearby Magdeburg, capital of Saxony-Anhalt state. Police arrested the three, ages 18 to 23, a short time later.
Two young men, ages 17 and 18, are being held in jail in Erfurt in connection with the April 20 attempted firebombing of the Erfurt synagogue. Police said the two were trying to make a name for themselves in the neo-Nazi scene with the attack that fell on the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birthday.
The two tossed Molotov cocktails at the building, but neither ignited and the building was undamaged.
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