NEWS FROM BERLIN
Oyoun closes its doors
The Berlin art and cultural centre “Oyoun” closed its premises on the last day of 2024. “We’re out now,” says Louna Sbou, Oyoun’s director. The place had been the subject of a fierce debate about freedom of art and expression, unfounded accusations of antisemitism and the role of the state in cultural funding for more than a year. The conflict is still smouldering. There was actually a deal between Oyoun and the Senate Department for Culture, with the cultural centre supposed to withdraw an appeal. But the deal is in danger of collapsing. It’s not clear exactly what will happen next, adds Sbou. Source: nd
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Non-profit status and constitution protection report
The denial of non-profit status for an organization on the presumption of being extremist can happen due to the promotion of anti-constitutional endeavours. The plaintiff in a case at the Feder Fiscal Court, an association, was an independent state organization, with a partially identical name to the name of another federal organisation. Reports on the protection of the constitution of one state contained statements on both organisations, and the appendix of some of these reports, containing extremist organisations, only listed the identical part of the name and the abbreviation. Nevertheless, the tax office (FA) denied the plaintiff the corporation tax exemption for non-profit organisations. Source: haufe
The CSU’s migration paper
The CSU has presented a new migration paper ahead of its conference in Kloster Seeon. Under the name “Security Plan for a Law-and-Order Germany,” the sister party of the CDU demands that migrants should only be allowed to stay if they earn an “adequate” income. The plan thus goes much further than the joint CDU/CSU election programme. Subsidiary protection is also to be abolished. According to Bild, the party also plans to consistently deport people who have committed criminal offences or to detain them indefinitely. The CSU would also like to introduce the storage of IP addresses to prevent serious offences such as terrorist attacks. Source: focus
More attacks on migrants
Since the attack in Magdeburg, the violence against people with a migration background has not stopped. According to taz, Magdeburg police said that 9 cases of attacks on “people perceived as migrants” have been reported since 20 December. Five of these were assaults and four were incitement to hatred or insults. Suspects have been identified in 2 of the cases. According to those affected, there has been a threatening climate towards migrants in Magdeburg since the attack at its Christmas market. The police have increased their patrol presence. The State Secretary and Integration Commissioner of the Saxony-Anhalt state government, Susi Möbbeck (SPD), has since warned against racist violence. Source: taz
AfD national party conference in Riesa: police prepare large-scale operation
On the coming 11 and 12 January 2025, the AfD plans to hold its national party conference at the WT Energiesysteme Arena in Riesa. The party wants to set the course for the early federal election on February 23 at the meeting. Up to 10,000 demonstrators are also expected to arrive from all over Germany. The Dresden police department is preparing a large-scale operation. It will be supported by forces from several federal states. A nationwide action alliance wants to peacefully inhibit the AfD national party conference. Mass civil disobedience actions are planned, as explained by the action alliance widersetzen. Source: saechsische
555 neo-Nazis wanted on outstanding arrest warrants
The number of unexecuted arrest warrants against neo-Nazis remains high: 730 arrest warrants had not been executed as of 30 September 2024. This is according to the answers provided by the Federal Ministry of the Interior to an inquiry by Left Party MP Martina Renner. Also, 555 neo-Nazis remain at large despite outstanding arrest warrants. 136 of these right-wing extremists are wanted for violent offences, and there were even several arrest warrants for violent offences against 19 of them. The Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) claims that police searches were initiated in all cases. Source: taz
Inflation rate picks up again at the end of the year
The rise in prices in Germany slowed considerably last year. However, the statisticians report an unexpectedly strong increase for the end of the year. Consumer prices in Germany rose unexpectedly sharply in December: according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, the inflation rate in the last month of last year was 2.6% compared to the same month of the previous year. Also, due to several one-off effects, there is still no sign of inflation easing in January: in the current month, the increased CO2 price and the more expensive Deutschlandticket are likely to push the rate up again. Source: n-tv
