The violence against the police and fire brigade on New Year’s Eve shocked many. Discussions about responsibility and consequences follow – CDU leader Merz is now speaking up.
After the riots on New Year’s Eve in Berlin, CDU party leader Friedrich Merz called for a stronger presence of the rule of law in hot spots. If the state looks the other way all year round, focal points and legal vacuums could develop, Merz said last night on the ZDF program “Markus Lanz”. “I think we’ve looked the other way in Germany for too much time, for too many years.” There are such focal points in Hamburg, Berlin and Leipzig, for example.
“As a rule of law, we have to counter this earlier,” said Merz. He pointed out that many of the perpetrators of the Berlin riots on New Year’s Eve had a migration background. “We are dealing with a real problem of a lack of integration of young people,” said Merz. “I’m not one of those who say in general: Those who live here as foreigners are not integrated. That’s nonsense.”
Merz said it doesn’t start in Berlin and Neukölln. Teachers in primary schools experienced verbal violence. If they wanted to call children to order, the fathers would come to the schools and forbid this. “Especially when it comes to teachers, that they correct their sons, the little pashas, sometimes. That’s where it starts.” If you are not able to help the teachers to defend themselves against these phenomena, “then it’s the 8-year-olds at school and then out on the street in a few years the 15-year-olds. That’s where the problem lies.”
Sociologist: Merz talks “a bit much about people of Arabic descent”
There is a problem with a small group of foreigners. “These are mainly young people from the Arab world who are not willing to follow the rules here, who enjoy challenging this state,” said Merz. The sociologist Aladin El-Mafaalani from the Institute for Education at the University of Osnabrück contradicted this statement. Merz talks to him “a bit much about people of Arabic origin”. The police recorded a number of other nationalities. “So you’re probably going to have to take that back in a week or two.” El-Mafaalani also said about Merz’ statements: “You reproduce a bit of stereotypes.”
Because of the New Year’s Eve riots, 145 people were arrested in Berlin, including numerous teenagers and young adults. They were of 18 different nationalities. Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) has invited to a “summit against youth violence” for today.
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
