Protest against ‘Islamisation’ of Germany

Published December 16, 2014
Supporters of the "Patriotische Europaeer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" movement, which translates to "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamification of the Occident," take part in a rally in Dresden, Germany on December 15, 2014 — AFP
Supporters of the "Patriotische Europaeer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" movement, which translates to "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamification of the Occident," take part in a rally in Dresden, Germany on December 15, 2014 — AFP

DRESDEN: More than 10,000 people demonstrated on Monday in eastern Germany against ‘criminal asylum seekers’ and the “Islamisation” of the country, in the latest show of strength of a growing far-right populist movement, according to police.

The mass demonstration in the eastern city of Dresden was the ninth so-called ‘Monday demonstration’ organised by the group ‘Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident’ or PEGIDA.

Around 1,200 police, most in riot gear, were on hand to watch over the vocal but peaceful rally.

“We are the people,” chanted the demonstrators, co-opting the phrase famously shouted a quarter-century ago by East German pro-democracy protesters here in the lead-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Dominated by ordinary citizens but supported by neo-Nazis and hard-right football hooligans, PEGIDA has sparked nationwide soul-searching as it has grown and spawned half a dozen clone movements across Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier on Monday condemned the protests and warned Germans not to be “exploited” by extremists, saying the right to demonstrate did not extend to “rabble-rousing and defamation” against foreigners.—AFP

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2014

Opinion

Editorial

By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...
Not without reform
Updated 22 Apr, 2024

Not without reform

The problem with us is that our ruling elite is still trying to find a way around the tough reforms that will hit their privileges.
Raisi’s visit
22 Apr, 2024

Raisi’s visit

IRANIAN President Ebrahim Raisi, who begins his three-day trip to Pakistan today, will be visiting the country ...
Janus-faced
22 Apr, 2024

Janus-faced

THE US has done it again. While officially insisting it is committed to a peaceful resolution to the...