In the wake of the massive riots by Eritreans in the German city of Giessen, the political debate has begun after yet another show of violence from Germany’s migrant community.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was quick to condemn the riots and assaults on police, which were posted across social media and showed officers battling with Eritreans.
“How can you allow the Eritrean dictatorship to show off in Germany, endanger the life and limb of German police officers and even pose a threat to the German population,” stated AfD MP Stephan Brandner.
The so-called “culture festival” is organized annually by the Central Council of Eritreans in Germany, which is said to have a strong relationship with the military dictatorship in the East African country. Opponents of the current government already clashed with other Eritreans supporting the regime in 2022, and this year has now seen a repeat of the violence. Police say that Eritreans even came from abroad to clash with the Eritreans partaking in the festival.
AfD’s Brandner complained that the dictatorship has been flying high-ranking military officers into Germany for years. “Let the dictatorship celebrate itself in Eritrea — something like that has no place in our country.”
With anger growing over Germany’s ongoing migrant crisis, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which was largely responsible for Germany’s open borders policies under Merkel, is calling for action. Hesse’s Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) said the German government should call in Eritrea’s ambassador. “It must be made clear to the Eritrean government that Eritrean conflicts must not be fought on German soil,” Beuth said. “Our police officers are not the buffer stops for the conflicts of third countries.”
The festival comes at a time when the population of Eritreans has exploded in Germany, rising from 11,655 in 2013 to 75,735 in 2020, representing a nearly 700 percent increase.
The AfD, which has soared in popularity and currently commands 21 percent of the vote, is showcasing the riots as yet another sign that multiculturalism has failed in Germany. The spokesman for the domestic policy of the AfD parliamentary group, Gottfried Curio, spoke of a “frightening signal for internal security in Germany.” He said it is imperative for Germany “not to continuously increase the scope of such groups of people.”
A particularly unsavory element of the Eritrean Festival showcased some of the foreigners going to the bathroom in public fountains.
“They carry their civil war into our cities, They despise our society and culture, and quite a few of them are not even willing to meet the simplest standards of civilization in dealing with one another,” wrote Georg Pazderski, a former politician of the AfD party.
A total of 26 security personnel were injured during the weekend’s riots, 131 people were taken into custody, and 125 criminal proceedings were initiated, according to police.
Germany’s left has largely downplayed or ignored the foreign element of the riots. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Fraser (SPD), who is known for her constant claims that the right is the biggest threat to German security, did not comment on the perpetrators. She did, however, condemn “the massive violence and rioting against police officers in Giessen,” in a Twitter post.
As noted, last year there were riots at the festival as well, with 30 people arrested. Once it became clear that the turnout would be far higher this year and social media reports hit of potential violence, the city tried to ban the event in advance, but a ban was rejected by administrative courts.
As Remix News reported, just last month, Germany’s migrant community was responsible for clan battles and massive brawls at swimming pools; each incident, month after month, adds to the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the country. The mass riots by migrants during New Year’s in Berlin and other German cities are a case in point in this regard.
In light of these developments, the AfD has begun tracking crimes committed by foreigners with a new integrated map.
