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| Defiant Dresden Protesters Proceed With Anti-Immigrant Rally | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| DRESDEN, Germany — Defying appeals from an array of German institutions, anti-immigrant marchers again took to the streets here on Monday, parading their stated fear of Europe’s Islamization along with their emergence as a force of thousands of protesters commanding national attention. | |
| The protesters, rallied by a murky movement known as Pegida, a German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West, gathered in a cold rain to show their disapproval for the influx of refugees who have flooded Europe, largely from wars and upheaval in the Middle East and Africa. | |
| At the same time, hundreds turned out in Berlin to stand for tolerance and an immigrant-friendly culture, in resistance to the anti-immigration movement. Justice Minister Heiko Maas of the Social Democratic Party and several lawmakers from the Greens party were among those joining the pro-immigration block in the capital. | |
| Stefan Redlich, a spokesman for the Berlin police, estimated that about 80 people had showed up for the Berlin contingent of Pegida, while more than 2,000 had turned out for the counter-demonstration. | |
| One of them was Martin Küper, 31, who said he was “disgusted” at the idea that a German would protest against people who “had already been threatened by death and deportation in their home countries.” | |
| No figures were immediately available for the turnout in Dresden, but the pro-Pegida crowd had swelled to 17,500 outside the city’s historic Semper opera house on the Monday before Christmas, setting off a national conversation that consumed Germany throughout the holidays. In her New Year’s address, Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to Germans to avoid the marches and their organizers, who she said had “prejudice, coldness and even hatred in their hearts.” | |
| On Monday, business leaders had joined the swelling chorus against Pegida from established political parties, the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, social groups — some of which planned pro-immigration rallies in cities around Germany — and even from anonymous jokesters who set up a spoof “Snowgida” page on Facebook. | |
| Ingo Kramer, head of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, said that “Germany’s image as a business location is being damaged by the impression that we are demonstrating against foreigners.” | Ingo Kramer, head of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, said that “Germany’s image as a business location is being damaged by the impression that we are demonstrating against foreigners.” |
| “We need immigration for our labor market and to allow our social system to function,” he added in a statement. | “We need immigration for our labor market and to allow our social system to function,” he added in a statement. |
| The fear of foreigners, and especially of Muslims, threatening or drowning out national and regional identities forged over centuries seems to have a growing pull in Europe, where populists and nationalists scored record votes in last May’s elections for the European Parliament. | The fear of foreigners, and especially of Muslims, threatening or drowning out national and regional identities forged over centuries seems to have a growing pull in Europe, where populists and nationalists scored record votes in last May’s elections for the European Parliament. |
| Since reuniting in 1990, Germany has experienced outbursts of racist violence, directed against foreigners, and often in the east, where barely 1 percent of the population was non-German in Communist times. | Since reuniting in 1990, Germany has experienced outbursts of racist violence, directed against foreigners, and often in the east, where barely 1 percent of the population was non-German in Communist times. |
| In recent years, however, the Germans have offered asylum liberally, beginning with refugees of the Balkan wars in the early 1990s. The Nazi past is often cited as a reason to roll out the welcome mat, but that has worn thin in recent months because of an influx of about 200,000 asylum seekers last year — four times the total for 2012 — and the strain of housing so many people. | In recent years, however, the Germans have offered asylum liberally, beginning with refugees of the Balkan wars in the early 1990s. The Nazi past is often cited as a reason to roll out the welcome mat, but that has worn thin in recent months because of an influx of about 200,000 asylum seekers last year — four times the total for 2012 — and the strain of housing so many people. |
| Dresden’s demonstrators insist they are not against asylum or refugees, but they resent abuse of the system and helping “economic refugees” whom the anti-immigrant camp sees as either threatening German jobs or mooching off Germany’s generous welfare system. | Dresden’s demonstrators insist they are not against asylum or refugees, but they resent abuse of the system and helping “economic refugees” whom the anti-immigrant camp sees as either threatening German jobs or mooching off Germany’s generous welfare system. |
| An anti-euro party, the Alternative for Germany, is flirting with anti-foreigner sentiment and won seats in three state legislatures in eastern Germany last fall. While its leaders are bickering furiously, at least some have attended the Dresden rallies and are willing to meet with Pegida. | An anti-euro party, the Alternative for Germany, is flirting with anti-foreigner sentiment and won seats in three state legislatures in eastern Germany last fall. While its leaders are bickering furiously, at least some have attended the Dresden rallies and are willing to meet with Pegida. |
| Across the established political spectrum, argument has raged about whether to engage directly with Pegida, as well as how to confront its clear appeal for a disgruntled segment of the German population. Its supporters include known far rightists, neo-Nazis and soccer hooligans, as well as a larger number of average citizens who seem worried about losing status, even if — in Dresden and the surrounding state of Saxony — barely 2 percent of residents are foreigners and even fewer are Muslims. | Across the established political spectrum, argument has raged about whether to engage directly with Pegida, as well as how to confront its clear appeal for a disgruntled segment of the German population. Its supporters include known far rightists, neo-Nazis and soccer hooligans, as well as a larger number of average citizens who seem worried about losing status, even if — in Dresden and the surrounding state of Saxony — barely 2 percent of residents are foreigners and even fewer are Muslims. |
| Berthold Kohler, a publisher of the influential center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, noted on Monday in a commentary titled “Terribly Simple,” that despite Ms. Merkel’s committed stand against the Pegida movement, it was clear that her grand coalition government of center-right and center-left was still trying to figure out what to do. The movement, he said, is “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to a loss of faith in elites or institutions across the board. | Berthold Kohler, a publisher of the influential center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, noted on Monday in a commentary titled “Terribly Simple,” that despite Ms. Merkel’s committed stand against the Pegida movement, it was clear that her grand coalition government of center-right and center-left was still trying to figure out what to do. The movement, he said, is “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to a loss of faith in elites or institutions across the board. |
| Ms. Merkel’s partners in her conservative bloc, the Bavarian Christian Social Union, plans to debate what it calls “a fair and balanced asylum policy” at a meeting this week. It seeks swifter processing of asylum requests and deportation of abusers, portraying this as the only way to continue guaranteeing a welcome for hundreds of thousands of legitimate refugees, particularly from Syria and Iraq. | Ms. Merkel’s partners in her conservative bloc, the Bavarian Christian Social Union, plans to debate what it calls “a fair and balanced asylum policy” at a meeting this week. It seeks swifter processing of asylum requests and deportation of abusers, portraying this as the only way to continue guaranteeing a welcome for hundreds of thousands of legitimate refugees, particularly from Syria and Iraq. |
| “People are reacting to the situation with much understanding, empathy and remarkable voluntary engagement,” the party said in the proposal. “This readiness to help should not be toyed with.” All who are helping should be thanked, it added, “for they are the face of modern Germany, open to the world.” | “People are reacting to the situation with much understanding, empathy and remarkable voluntary engagement,” the party said in the proposal. “This readiness to help should not be toyed with.” All who are helping should be thanked, it added, “for they are the face of modern Germany, open to the world.” |
| Among the many voices discussing Pegida were two writers, Peter Schneider and Monika Maron, who each published over the weekend their impressions of a visit to the last Pegida rally on Dec. 22. | Among the many voices discussing Pegida were two writers, Peter Schneider and Monika Maron, who each published over the weekend their impressions of a visit to the last Pegida rally on Dec. 22. |
| “For my taste,” Mr. Schneider wrote in the newspaper Die Welt, “the crowd was too white.” He also reported being “not so much alarmed but saddened” by the feeble rendering of Christmas carols for which the anti-Islam crowd had ostensibly assembled. | “For my taste,” Mr. Schneider wrote in the newspaper Die Welt, “the crowd was too white.” He also reported being “not so much alarmed but saddened” by the feeble rendering of Christmas carols for which the anti-Islam crowd had ostensibly assembled. |
| Meanwhile, he noted, there are any number of problems — he mentioned Islamic State jihadists, Palestinian immigrants unleashing anti-Semitism, or European women opposing Muslim attitudes toward women — that do need airing, and that are urgent not so much in Dresden as in heavily immigrant areas of cities like Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels and London. | Meanwhile, he noted, there are any number of problems — he mentioned Islamic State jihadists, Palestinian immigrants unleashing anti-Semitism, or European women opposing Muslim attitudes toward women — that do need airing, and that are urgent not so much in Dresden as in heavily immigrant areas of cities like Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels and London. |
| The answer to all this certainly does not lie in declining any dialogue with Pegida or its supporters, Mr. Schneider wrote. | The answer to all this certainly does not lie in declining any dialogue with Pegida or its supporters, Mr. Schneider wrote. |
| “If political correctness means that facts can no longer be called by their name,” he concluded, “then society is robbing itself of a viable future.” | “If political correctness means that facts can no longer be called by their name,” he concluded, “then society is robbing itself of a viable future.” |