NEWS FROM BERLIN

Görlitzer Park: preparations for “Day Z”

The battle lines are clearly drawn – and they continue to harden. Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg has been a real hotspot for years. Various politicians have been trying to make the park safer, so far without success. Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) is now trying to build up a fence. Although it is not yet clear on which day the construction work will start, the Senate is already preparing for “Day Z,” i.e. the day the fence is built. A demonstration at Spreewaldplatz is also already planned for the day the fence arrives. Source: berlin-live

Student expulsions in Berlin: repression instead of victim protection

Criticism of the reintroduction of regulatory law at universities continues. In an open letter, student representatives have spoken out against the plan, which would also allow violent students to be expelled again. “The draft law opens the door to the control of students’ attitudes and political sanctions,” the letter states. The letter was signed by the student representatives of Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität, Technische Universität and the Berlin University of Applied Sciences. For Tobias Schulze (Die Linke), the draft law does nothing to protect victims. However, the bill passed another hurdle: the Science Committee voted in favour of the project. Source: nd

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Education minister wants to sack state secretary

Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) wants to have her State Secretary Sabine Döring temporarily retire. This follows a request to investigate possible consequences for university lecturers who had signed an open letter on how to deal with pro-Palestinian protests at Berlin universities, reported by the ARD magazine Panorama . The report, based on internal emails, triggered significant criticism. In a “Statement by Lecturers at Berlin Universities,” more than 100 lecturers criticised the eviction of a protest camp of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the Freie Universität Berlin in May. Source: tagesschau

Dancing against the AfD

Mobilisation is underway throughout Germany against the national party conference that the AfD, which has been classified as a suspected right-wing extremist party by the Münster Higher Administrative Court, plans to hold in Essen at the end of June. “We are expecting 70,000 to 100,000 people to demonstrate against the AfD in Essen,” says Katharina Schwabedissen, spokesperson for the “Widersetzen” initiative. It is plain that “no violence and no escalation” will come from the protesters – instead, the initiative is calling for creative actions: “People can dance, make music, draw on the street with chalk. Maybe even clowns will come,” says Schwabedissen. Source: taz

Grevesmühlen: officials decry racist attack on young girls

Police said that an 8-year-old Ghanaian girl and her 10-year-old sister were attacked by a group of around 20 teenagers and young adults late last Friday. The attack occurred in the town of Grevesmühlen in the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Police mentioned the attackers kicked the younger girl in the face, after which the girl’s parents intervened. The 8-year-old girl and her father sustained mild injuries and were hospitalized. According to police reports, one of the suspected attackers continued to direct racist insults at the victims after officers arrived at the scene. Source: dw

German education system is “at the limit”

Many young people in Germany continue to leave school without any qualifications. In 2022, the number was 52,300, according to the National Education Report, presented in Berlin on Monday. According to the report, the proportion of young people in an age cohort who did not graduate from school rose to 6.9%. The number of actual dropouts is likely to be even higher, as young people who leave school during an ongoing school year are not counted. The Education Report, which runs to several hundred pages, is compiled every two years. According to the authors, the education system is working at the limit. Source: focus

“Ende Gelände” classified as a suspected left-wing extremist organisation

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has categorised the climate protection movement “Ende Gelände” as a suspected case of left-wing extremism. This means that the domestic intelligence service can now also use intelligence services, such as surveillance or informants, to assess the movement’s activities. The constitution protection report for the year 2023, which was published on Tuesday, speaks of an “intensification of forms of action up to and including sabotage.” According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, policy papers from “Ende Gelände” also “clearly indicate a radicalisation with regard to the group’s prevailing ideological positions.” Source: rbb24

NEWS FROM BERLIN

‘But it’s nice here’

Over 6,000 people demonstrated against displacement and the often-unaffordable rents in Berlin on Saturday. In the Wannsee district, which has not been known for tenant struggles in the past, Vonovia tenants also resist the five-fold increase in their service charges. ‘It’s not just millionaires who live in Wannsee,’ a resident mentioned. A plaque on the ‘Gemeinsam gegen Obdachlosigkeit und Zwangsräumung’ (Together against homelessness and eviction) demo van remembered some of those who suffered because of displacement. Numerous names of people who had to live and die on the streets were written by hand. Source: jW

Queer community in Berlin threatens to disinvite mayor from CSD

The Berlin Christopher Street Day (CSD) have issued Kai Wegner (CDU) with an ultimatum: either meet some of the longstanding demands from the queer community, or have the invitation withdrawn. A statement issued by the organisation begins: “In 2024, the queer Berlin community will not be fobbed off with warm words from politicians, but will demand the implementation of its demands with vigor.” Among those demands are the inclusion of queer people in the protections enshrined in the Federal Grundgesetz, Germany’s constitution (currently being blocked by the CDU at a federal level), and an introduction of measures against hate crime, with adequate funding of their implementation. Source: the berliner

HU President receives backing

Following the occupation at Humboldt University (HU), President Julia von Blumenthal has received backing from the deans of eight faculties. They published a statement in which they described von Blumenthal’s actions as ‘level-headed and de-escalating.’ The statement was signed by around 500 other HU employees. According to the deans’ letter, part of the challenge was that the group of occupiers was heterogeneous. There was a core of activists who were not interested in dialogue, but in escalation. However, there were also students who were ‘willing to talk.’ In the statements, the deans also write that they oppose all attempts to incite Jewish and Palestinian students against each other. Source: morgenpost

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Germany sees its highest number of naturalisations in 23 years

The year 2023 saw quite an uptick in the number of residents being granted German citizenship (200,100). Among them, Syrian nationals represented the largest group to naturalise (75,485), compared to Turkish nationals (10,735). The large discrepancy can be explained by the fact that many of the Syrian nationals who came to Germany as refugees between 2014 and 2016 were newly eligible for citizenship in 2023. In Germany, people with refugee status are not required to renounce their original citizenship to get a German passport. Of the 16 federal states, Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, naturalised the largest number of people in 2023 (51,185). Source: iamexpat

Survey on racism in the national team causes outrage

The European Men’s Football Championship kicks off on 14 June. Taking advantage of the focus that is currently on this sport, Philipp Awounou will release Unity and Justice and Diversity, a documentary where he explores the question of how the proportion of migrants in the German national team has developed over the past decades and which will be broadcast on 5 June. The electronic magazine Sport Inside commissioned a survey for the film, according to which one in five Germans would prefer to see more white players in the DFB team. The survey triggered a wave of outrage on social media. Source: islamiq

In Remembrance of Walter Lübcke: 500 balloons for democracy

A tribute for Walter Lübcke (CDU) took place in Kassel, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of his murder. Lübcke, who was shot dead on his terrace by right-wing extremist Stephan Ernst, became known in 2015 above all for his commitment to refugees. He was a ‘hero of action,’ President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) recalls, an ‘upright democrat who was committed to the community.’ However, Steinmeier himself admits that ‘in the end, we didn’t do enough to avert the crime. For far too long, we held on to the judgement that we were dealing with lone perpetrators or perhaps a small gang.’ Source: nd

A new Oury Jalloh case?

Hans-Jürgen Rose died 26 years ago. Now it has emerged that his death could be linked to the police station that became famous years later for the death of Oury Jalloh. His widow Iris Rose has charged four of the police officers who were on duty at the time with murder. She is supported by the donor-funded initiative ‘Recherche-Zentrum.’ In an interview with the ARD political programme Kontraste, she declared: ‘We hope that it will be cleared up. Especially for Jürgen’s mum.’ The complaint is based on new findings: apparently, documents from that night in 1997 have been tampered with. Source: tagesschau

The attack in Mannheim will have consequences

The footage of a perpetrator stabbing several people in blind rage last Friday in Mannheim is disturbing. A 29-year-old police officer died on Sunday as a result of the injuries suffered. If he and his colleagues had not reacted with such presence of mind, there would have been even more victims. The attack in Mannheim is evidence of problematic radicalisation. Meanwhile, the city’s residents are showing how to react in a level-headed manner, opposing initiatives such as the Young Alternative, which organised a rally to promote their idea of ‘remigration.’ However, such attacks might have consequences not yet foreseeable. Source: taz

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Neukölln and the Nakba

The CDU wants to have the publication ‘Mythos Israel 1948’ in Berlin schools. Die Linke in Neukölln opposes this. The brochure was published a few weeks before 7 October and has since been the subject of a fierce debate. ‘It is important for us to point out that it [the Nakba] was not a systematic expulsion,’ declared a spokesperson for the Masiyot association, which published the brochure. The authors mention that ‘the brochure was never intended to be distributed to schools,’ but only as background material for informed readers. Source: taz

Tuntenhaus is saved

For three months, the residents of the Tuntenhaus in Prenzlauer Berg had to fear for their home, but since Thursday it has been clear: the district of Pankow has a preemptive right to buy the property and the future of the queer house project is secure. Tuntenhaus has occupied the building in Kastanienallee since 1990. The Bavarian investor who had bought the house had until last Wednesday night to sign a settlement agreement, but failed to do so. The house will be sold to the Edith Maryon Foundation. Source: taz

Musk is allowed to build

The alliance ‘Tesla den Hahn abdrehen’ (Turn off the tap on Tesla) describes the vote in the Grünheide municipal council as a ‘bitter blow for water protection and democracy:’ 11 of the 19 Grünheide representatives voted in favour of a development plan last Thursday. Despite the fact that more than 60% of Grünheide residents had spoken out against it in a public survey in February, the US car manufacturer Tesla was given the green light to expand its plant. After the result of the vote became known, its opponents announced further resistance. Source: jW

NEWS FROM GERMANY

A decrease in Germany’s voting age from 18 to 16 could bring more than a million additional people to the polls for the European elections. There are even posters designed to encourage young people to vote in June’s European elections. One has the slogan “First kiss, first time, first vote” and was created by media design students Maja Steinbach, Maria Viktoria Junker and Fabian Navarro. Within Germany, 16-year-olds are eligible to vote in state elections in six states, but this is the first year that people as young as 16 can vote in the elections for the European Parliament. Source: dw

Bystron’s offices raided over bribery probe

German police have raided the offices of a leading member of the AfD over money-laundering and bribery allegations. MP Petr Bystron is accused of receiving money from Russia in return for influence – something he denies. The raids were carried out in a number of locations, including Munich, Mallorca, and the MP’s parliamentary office in Berlin. The Bundestag has agreed to lift parliamentary immunity and to allow for criminal proceedings against him. Bystron is the party’s number two candidate for next month’s European Parliament elections. Another of the AfD’s lead candidates, Maximilian Krah, is currently being investigated for alleged payments from Russia and China, but denies any wrongdoing. Source: bbc