- Title: Thousands gather in Chemnitz to protest against far-right violence
- Date: 1st September 2018
- Summary: CHEMNITZ, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 1, 2018) (REUTERS) LARGE POSTER BEING PLACED BELOW KARL MARX BUST ON SQUARE WITH SLOGAN READING (German): 'CHEMNITZ IS NEITHER GREY NOR BROWN' DETAIL ON POSTER READING (German): 'HASHTAG WE ARE MORE' POSTER BEING PLACED ON MONUMENT POSTER BEING FILMED WITH SMARTPHONE VARIOUS OF POSTER VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERING ON SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (German) PASSERS-BY JONA MARSCHLER, SAYING: "People are worried that even more is going to happen and that it heats up more. It's not calming down and I don't think things will calm down anytime soon. More is going to happen." BANNER READING (German): 'CHEMNITZ IS COLOURFUL - NOT FAR-RIGHT, NOT FAR-LEFT, BUT JUST NORMAL' (SOUNDBITE) (German) UNIDENTIFIED DEMONSTRATOR SAYING: "Who was the stabbing victim? The far-right is exploiting his death by saying: 'A German has been murdered.' But he was an anti-fascist and people outside the city don't know that. They have only heard: a German. This has to be published. Most people are just following, and repeat what others say. And what is the media doing, television? Everywhere you see: 'the murder in Chemnitz'. That's stupid." FLOWERS AND CROSS AT SITE, WHERE 35-YEAR OLD MAN WAS FATALLY STABBED SIX DAYS AGO PORTRAIT OF KILLED MAN CROSS WITH RED ROSES VARIOUS OF LEFTIST PROTESTER WALKING AND HOLDING HEART-SHAPED SIGN READING (German): 'HEART NOT HATE' VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERING AT DEMONSTRATION AGAINST FAR-RIGHT VIOLENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) SOCIAL DEMOCRATS (SPD) GENERAL SECRETARY, LARS KLINGBEIL, SAYING: "When you look at the behaviour of the AfD, when you look how hate and agitation is being spread, how individuals of the AfD make sure that society is separated, the vicinity to far right-wing extremism is obvious, therefore for me it is totally clear that the protection of the constitution has to look at this (party) and observe it. It has to be clear that whoever supports the AfD, supports far-right ideas." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GREEN PARTY LEADER, ANNALENA BAERBOCK, SAYING: "It's clear that this is not only a problem of Saxony. This is a problem of the entire society, because the ones who came here in the past days to chase people were from the whole of Germany and therefore this is a central task for the German government and its interior minister." PROTESTERS HOLDING SIGNS READING (German): 'MAKE CROSSES WITHOUT HOOKS (REFERRING TO SWASTIKAS)' AND 'CHRISTIANS LOOKING FOR PEACE NOT HATE' VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERING POLICE IN RIOT GEAR STANDING ON SIDE OF STREET SIGN READING (German): 'DON'T GIVE UP ON SAXONY' VARIOUS OF POLICE IN RIOT GEAR STANDING ON SIDE OF STREET SIGN SHOWING AFD POLITICIAN BJOERN HOECKE, READING (German): 'NOT AGAIN, NO STAGE FOR THE AFD' AND 'NO SPACE FOR NAZIS' DEMONSTRATION UNDERWAY PROTESTERS GATHERED IN SQUARE POLICE OFFICERS PUTTING THEIR GEAR ON POLICE VANS DRIVING BY
- Embargoed: 15th September 2018 15:45
- Keywords: far-right leftist anti-racism Chemnitz clashes police demonstrations Alternative for Germany
- Location: CHEMNITZ, GERMANY
- City: CHEMNITZ, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0018VSOW1Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Supporters and opponents of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal immigration policy held rival demonstrations on Saturday (September 1) in the city of Chemnitz, where the fatal stabbing of a German man by two migrants sparked violent far-right protests.
More than 1,200 policemen kept watch over the rallies in the eastern city, where deep divisions over Merkel's 2015 decision to welcome a million asylum-seekers have flared up since the killing of the 35-year-old man six days ago.
Leftist protesters marched under the slogan 'Heart instead of Hate' in the centre of Chemnitz, which was known as Karl-Marx-Stadt under Communist rule in East Germany as a homage to its industrial past.
Dozens of leftist demonstrators gathered near a large bust of the father of Communism in the city centre, where only a few days ago far-right demonstrators clashed with police.
Supporters of far-right groups, including PEGIDA and Alternative for Germany (AfD), also gathered to mourn the man who was stabbed to death.
Hundreds of far-right activists clashed with police and hounded migrants in the streets of Chemnitz last Sunday (August 26) after authorities said a Syrian and an Iraqi were detained as suspects in the fatal stabbing.
The influx of more than 1.6 million people seeking asylum in the last four years, mainly Muslims from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, has already changed Germany's social and political landscapes. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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