NEWS FROM BERLIN

Hundreds of people show solidarity with Dilan in Berlin

When Dilan was beaten up in Berlin, no one intervened. Now hundreds of people declared their solidarity with her and other victims of racist violence at a demonstration. The teenager herself was also there last Sunday. According to the police, the demonstration started at the Greifswalder Straße S-Bahn station with about 800 participants. This was significantly more than the number registered. There were banners where was written “Racism is not an opinion, but a crime,” or “Racism has many faces, but all of them are ugly”. Meanwhile, Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger said “Such cases are first and foremost shocking, and they must not happen.” Source: rbb.

“Everything that happened before has been exceeded”

“Antonia” has not yet subsided. Nevertheless, the Berlin fire brigade draws a first conclusion of the storm’s nights. Fire chief Karsten Homrighausen spoke of a “mammoth task” for the firefighters. The Berlin fire brigade has been called out on 4,000 occasions since Thursday because of the storm. A record of 15,000 emergency calls were received in 88 hours. Otherwise, there were 2,500 emergency calls in 24 hours. At the same time, a peak of 1,000 firefighters were on duty, including many volunteers. Almost 150 fire engines were manned. The scale of the disaster was “beyond anything we have ever seen before”, Homrighausen said. Source: rbb.

Protests in front of Russian embassy in Berlin

Following the invasion of Russian troops into eastern Ukraine, several groups in Berlin have announced protests in front of the Russian embassy. The Berlin police registered three registered events so far. President Putin has declared his intention to recognise the independence of the self-proclaimed “people’s republics” in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. In response to the invasion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said on Tuesday the certification of the gas pipeline “Nord Stream 2” would be temporarily suspended. Also, politicians in Berlin and Brandenburg have strongly condemned the latest Russian actions in the Ukraine conflict. Most of them accused Russia of breaking international law. Source: rbb.

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Almost all COVID measures to be scrapped by March 20 in Germany

From March 20 on, most COVID restrictions are to be relaxed. Some federal states have already pressed forward with lifting 2G restrictions in non-essential shops, where patrons will just need to wear a medical mask, unless exempt. Some contact restrictions will also be scrapped. From March 4 onwards, 2G rules would be replaced by 3G rules in restaurants. Nightclubs will also be allowed to reopen, under 2G plus rules. From March 20 (the “Freedom Day”), there is a chance the only restriction that will stay in place is the obligation to wear a mask indoors as well as on public transport. Source: I am Expat.

South Africa finally wants vaccine patent release

South Africa’s President has called for a patent release for Corona vaccines during a joint European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) summit. It is unacceptable that Africa always has to take a back seat when it comes to medicines, said Cyril Ramaphosa, the AU representative for the Corona pandemic. Donations alone are not a sustainable way to build resilience, said Ramaphosa again. During the two-day summit, it was announced patent-free mRNA vaccine will be produced in six countries in Africa. But this is not enough for South Africa as the country wants the patent release. Source: rnd.

Hardliner’s Pact: Seal the Borders and Deport

That’s the agenda of a two-day “repatriation conference” that began on Monday at the Hofburg in Vienna. Ministers from 23 Schengen and Western Balkan states, representatives of the EU border protection force Frontex and other EU authorities as well as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) met at the invitation of the Austrian government, which is known for its restrictive migration policy. The right-wing conservative Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) and his German counterpart, the Social Democrat Nancy Faeser, demonstratively presented themselves as quite aligned. Source: jW.

AfD politician causes criticism with statements about trans MPs

AfD deputy party and parliamentary group leader Beatrix von Storch has sparked much criticism across party lines with remarks about trans Bundestag member Tessa Ganserer (“die Grünen”). In a debate on International Women’s Day in the Bundestag, von Storch first accused the majority of MPs in the Bundestag of adhering to a “gender ideology”. Then, using the deadname of MP Ganserer, von Storch said the politician remains a man and if she enters the Bundestag as such “via the Green women’s quota and is listed here as a woman, that is simply illegal”. Source: Zeit.

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Dilan Sözeri and the racist attack

Several drunken men and women racially harassed Dilan Sözeri on the tram, some days ago. She had the presence of mind to film parts of the attack with her mobile phone. No bystanders intervened, as can be seen on the mobile phone video. Many  press outlets have presented the situation though as Sözeri was attacked because she was not wearing a mask. However, the 17-year-old, who has been hospitalised since the attack with a concussion, abdominal trauma and several bruises, does not want to let this go. Source: jW.

Life in the “Thermo”

According to a social study, the Lichterfeld “Thermometer” housing scheme needs “special attention”. Poorer people in Berlin are increasingly being pushed out of the inner city into the outskirts. This mainly affects Hartz IV recipients. According to research, in 2020 there were 35,000 fewer Hartz IV recipients living in the districts of Mitte, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Neukölln than in 2007. In outer districts such as Spandau, Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Reinickendorf, however, the number of Hartz IV recipients increased by 28,000. The concentration of child poverty has increased dramatically in some Berlin neighbourhoods such as Reinickendorf, where about 6,000 people live, and the area around Maulbeerallee in Spandau. Source: Berliner Morgenpost.

Building without demolishing

Berlin was not her “place of choice”, but “one of the most fateful events of her life”, says the new Berlin Senate Building Director Petra Kahlfeldt (no party affiliation, for SPD). However, her appointment received sharp criticism in an open letter published on the website of the architecture and urbanism magazine “Arch+”. According to the letter, the architect does not stand for “participatory planning processes” and was co-author of a “Charter for Berlin’s Mitte” from 2014, which called for “extensive privatisation of public land” in the centre of the capital. Whether Kahlfeldt will be able to assert her convictions remains to be seen. Source: nd.

Rainbow flag and Hartz IV benefits canceled

The Berlin-based unemployment aid organisation “Ya Basta” reports on a case in which a job centre canceled the benefits of a recipient of unemployment benefit because of a rainbow flag attached to his balcony. The authority cited the flag as the reason the man formed a “community of need” with his flatmate, i.e. that he had an intimate relationship. In such cases, the authorities reduce or cancel the money that recipients of the basic income support would be entitled to if they were single. It remains the Job Centre’s secret why a rainbow flag on the balcony says anything about the relationship status of the person concerned. Source: queer.

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Neo-Nazi march mars Dresden remembrance

77 years ago, up to 25,000 people lost their lives in a bombardment during World War II in Dresden. Meanwhile, in the city center, hundreds of neo-Nazis gathered to the sound of Wagner to “honor” those victims of war. According to police, at the Heide cemetery, the homage passed by without problems. Near Dresden’s Old Town, though, less than three kilometers from the commemoration, around 750 neo-Nazis gathered on Sunday morning, holding banners to “remember Dresden’s war dead.” And, at the Zwinger Palace, hundreds of counter-protesters loudly opposed the far-right “silent march,” which was accompanied by shouts of “Nazis out”. Source: dw.

Jörg Meuthen leaves parliamentary group in the European Parliament

Former AfD leader Jörg Meuthen has left the Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament. “A group that tolerates a head of a delegation who defiles the memory of someone who has just died makes it completely impossible for me to continue as a member,” he said. This week, the AfD members of the European Parliament elected Nicolaus Fest as their new leader. The election took place despite the scandal surrounding Fest’s remarks following the death of the Socialist President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli. Fest wrote about Sassoli, among other things: “Finally this filthy pig is gone.” Source: Zeit.

Wake-up call for the peace movement

The danger of war in Europe is greater than it has been for decades. But  slowly the peace movement seems to be waking up quite slowly. Calls for diplomacy instead of warmongering in the Ukraine crisis have found numerous prominent signatories from politics, academia and culture in recent days. The appeal “Ukraine crisis: peace policy instead of war hysteria!” by the initiative “Never again war,” helmed by the well-known peace activist Reiner Braun, was signed by more than 6,000 people within a week until last Monday. Protests on the streets are also being planned in the coming weeks. Source: jW.

NEWS FROM BERLIN

New route on the Marggraf Bridge will probably not be built after all

The Left Party (“die Linke”) and the Berlin Passenger Association Igeb called for a demonstration on the Marggraff Bridge between Baumschulenweg and Schöneweide. Their aim is to ensure trams will still be able to cross the Spree in the future, given that this has become extremely unlikely after a serious planning error became known this week. The culprit is a group of public authorities, who once again torpedoed the expansion of public transport and could prevent the area in south-east Berlin from being better connected in the future. The project, valued at 175 million euros, is intended to significantly improve local transport in the area. Source: Tagesspiegel.

A100 blockades by activists lead to long traffic jams

Several blockades by environmentalists of exits of the Berlin city motorway in Tempelhof led to long traffic jams. In the meantime, the Britz motorway tunnel in Neukölln was also closed. The police temporarily arrested 13 demonstrators or took their personal details for charges. Protesters from the “Essen Retten – Leben Retten” initiative are demanding an end to food waste. They blocked the exits Tempelhofer Damm, Alboinstraße, and Sachsendamm during rush hour on Tuesday morning. Videos on the internet showed enraged and sometimes aggressive drivers trying to pull or drag sitting or lying blockaders off the road. Source: rbb.

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Instead of arms deliveries to Ukraine, Germany will send field hospital

Germany’s defense minister stated that sending arms to Ukraine would not be helpful in defusing the current situation as fears of a Russian invasion continue to mount. “We are standing on Kyiv’s side. We have to do everything to de-escalate. Currently, arms deliveries would not be helpful in this respect; there is agreement on this in the German government,” said Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht. In addition, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a news conference that in recent years, “Germany has not supported the export of lethal weapons.” Though arms deliveries are off the table, Germany does plan to send a field medical facility to Ukraine in February, Lambrecht said. Source: DW.

Corona deniers, Westernhagen and his song “Freiheit”

In 1990, Marius Müller-Westernhagen’s rock ballad “Freiheit’ became an anthem of liberation from the GDR dictatorship and German reunification. Most recently, however, opponents of vaccination, “lateral thinkers” and Corona deniers played the cult song during their protest marches against the Corona measures. The singer himself did not want to comment on this for a long time, as reported by “Deutschlandfunk”. On Friday evening, however, the 73-year-old made a clear statement: on Instagram and Facebook, Westernhagen posted a photo showing him being vaccinated. The rock star added just one word: “Freedom”. Source: rnd.

Anti-fascism as an enemy

Last July, the Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) wrote a guest article for the magazine Antifa of the Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten (VVN-BdA). In it, the then party leader of the Hessian SPD declared, after threatening letters of an “NSU 2.0”, the party should not back down from this. Since the VVN is listed in the Bavarian report on the protection of the constitution as “influenced by left-wing extremists”, politicians (CDU/CSU and the AfD), and the Springer press, now accuse her of having published in an “anti-constitutional paper”. Source: jW.

Asylum after five years of uncertainty

It took five years, but now the Venezuelan Refugee Commission (Conare) has come to a positive decision about the asylum application of the German leftists Thomas Walter and Peter Krauth. The refugees, who fled Germany 27 years ago, now have an unlimited right to stay in Venezuela. For the fellow campaigner Bernd Heidbreder, the decision came too late: the 60-year-old died of cancer last May. They allegedly tried to blow up a deportation prison. After 23 years in illegality, Walter and Krauth can now get in touch with their relatives again. Source: nd.

Baerbock expresses dismay at “war in the middle of Europe”

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited the frontline between Ukrainian government troops and the Russian-backed separatists to find out about the situation in the conflict region of Donbass. She returned from this visit with “very depressing feelings,” saying people there have lost everything from one day to the next. Once again, Baerbock spoke out in favour of a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Baerbock threatened Moscow at the same time: “Any further aggression would have massive consequences for the Russian side.” Baerbock met representatives of the Ukrainian government in Kiev on Monday, again underlining Germany’s support for the country. Source: Tagesspiegel.

NEWS FROM BERLIN

‘Die Lause’ to remain in Kreuzberg

The Lause, one of the most important left-wing spaces in Kreuzberg, was finally saved last Friday. The cooperative Eine für Alle signed its contract. The building complex houses important left-wing projects such as the anti-fascist educational centre Apabiz, the video portal Leftvision, the Umbruch-Bildarchiv and the association Initiative Schwarzer Menschen Deutschlands – as well as numerous other activists and 170 tenants. Before that, the future of the Lause was uncertain for years. The Danish investor Tækker bought in 2006 the properties for 2.3 million euros – and, after a number of campaigns, the price was allegedly settled for 11 million euros. Source: taz.

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Corona deniers protest march onto hospital grounds

Dozens of opponents of the corona measures stormed onto a campus of the University Hospital in Leipzig during a protest march declared as a “walk”. The protest started on Saturday near the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and was stopped by police near the clinic for psychiatry. There, dozens managed to enter the grounds of the psychiatric clinic – presumably in the hope of escaping the police encirclement. In addition to the protest march in Leipzig, opponents of the Corona measures also gathered in several other cities on Saturday. Among those, Freiburg, Brandenburg an der Havel and Schwerin. Some of the demonstrations were not registered. Source: Spiegel

Prices continue to rise

The inflation rate in January is 4.9 percent, slightly lower than in recent months. Nevertheless, Germans need significantly more money to finance their living expenses. Above all, prices for energy (plus 20.5 percent) and food (plus five percent) have again increased significantly. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wants to abolish the so-called EEG levy sooner than originally planned because of the sharp rise in electricity costs. The federal government also plans to compensate for the increase in energy costs with climate money and the debate about the price effects of government measures to achieve climate goals is in full swing. Source: Süddeutsche

“Class-political focus”

The Left (“die Linke”) wants to make cooperation with workers a priority for the new committee. There have already been talks between the Left and the trade unions on various issues. However, there was no regular platform for this—in contrast to the SPD, which has long sought common issues in its trade union council but has also dealt with conflicts. The newly created body has invited people to the trade union council who are Left members or have been working with the party for a long time. That includes for instance Hans-Jürgen Urban (IG Metall), Heinz Bierbaum (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation), among others. Source: FR.

Activist wanted to stick himself to airplane with superglue

In Lübeck, Henning Jeschke allegedly tried to block an aircraft in 2020 by using superglue to stick himself to it. He is a member of “Extinction Rebellion”. With the action, the group protested against short-haul flights in Germany. Such flights are extremely harmful to the climate and contradict the fact that many cities in Germany have already declared a climate emergency in May 2019, said a spokesperson for the group. The judge criticized the “big show” about the topic. For his part, Jeschke said: “I am a little sad that the court did not address the fact that we have a climate emergency.” Source: RTL.

Tesla’s track to nowhere

The story of the Tesla track is a quite curious one, to say the least. When the automotive group bought the future company site in Grünheide, the investor assumed it would take over a comprehensive package. But a track that winds in a big curve southward through the forest is not part of the deal. In fact, the route did not belong to the state, but to Gerhard Curth’s private railway company. This represents definitely a constraint on Tesla’s plans. So what should Tesla do now with a three-kilometre-long, aging track that potentially anyone else can access? Source: rbb.

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Left: suspend compulsory attendance for schools

Berlin’s Left Party (“die Linke”) has again called for following Brandenburg’s example and suspending compulsory attendance because of the current Omicron wave. This should allow pupils who themselves or their family members have pre-existing conditions to study from home, as parliamentary group leader Carsten Schatz announced on Saturday. “Maintaining full attendance teaching in schools should not be a dogma, just as correcting a position in this difficult situation does not mean a political defeat.” Schatz explained that the schools themselves, together with pupils and parents, should decide in an uncomplicated way on the application of flexible teaching models. Source: Süddeutsche

“Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.” demands majority in Berlin expert commission

The initiative won over 59 per cent of the votes in the referendum on 26 September. The initiators of the successful Berlin referendum “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.” have made it clear they will not be taken to the cleaners without a fight when it comes to appointing the “expert commission” that is to examine its implementation. The majority of seats are allocated to supporters of the socialisation of real estate companies with more than 3,000 flats. Transparency is also necessary. The meetings of the committee would have to be public. Source: heise

NEWS FROM GERMANY

No room ban for Israel boycott

Cities are not allowed to prohibit the discussion of the boycott of Israel in municipal rooms. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court with reference to the fundamental right of freedom of opinion. The ruling of the Federal Administrative Court is effective nationwide. It puts a temporary end to the dispute over the BDS movement, which calls, among other things, for a boycott of goods from Israel. BDS stands for “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions”. In future, cities will only be allowed to refuse municipal premises for BDS events if there is a serious risk of criminal offences, such as incitement of the people and insults. Source: taz

Mass coming-out in the Catholic Church

In an unprecedented action, 122 employees of the Catholic Church in German-speaking countries have come out as queer and demanded an end to their discrimination. Among them are priests, parish and pastoral ministers, religion teachers, but also employees from the church administration. The new network aims to mobilize the public against such pressures from the Church and is calling on all LGBTI people working full-time or in a voluntary capacity for the Catholic Church to join it. Bishops and all those with responsibility in the Church, parishes, associations and religious congregations have been asked to publicly declare their support for the manifesto. Source: queer.de

Experts from Cameroon denied visas victims of “institutional racism”

Yrine Matchinda and her colleague Lucie Mbogni Nankeng of the University of Dschang have been touring Cameroon’s francophone areas in the last two years. This collaborative project was initiated by the German Lost Art Foundation and the ethnological Museum Fünf Kontinente in Munich. Among the more than 200 objects from its collection there are the so-called and famous “Blaue-Reiter-Pfosten” (Blue Rider Post). However, the researchers, who wanted to present a workshop in Munich, about their findings, will have to attend that online once they have not got visas for entry in the country. Considered that Matchinda for instance was already in Germany, the researchers mention “institutional racism.” Source: dw

Shooting at Heidelberg University

Police said that a man entered at the Heidelberg University Lecture Hall with a double-barrelled shotgun and another firearm as a class was running and opened fire. Four people were wounded. A 23-year-old woman died several hours later in the hospital. The suspect was identified an 18-year-old biology student, who turned the weapon on himself after the shooting. Police also mentioned they found a backpack belonging to the shooter containing a large amount of ammunition. At first, police stayed clear of the stricken suspect and his bag, suspecting it might contain explosives. No motive was released by police. Source: dw

Demonstrator dies at Corona protest

A demonstrator died during a Corona protest in Wandlitz in Brandenburg on Monday evening. A police spokeswoman mentioned “The 53-year-old Barnimer wanted to break through this police chain. He was stopped and gave his personal details to the officers without resistance. He was then able to continue on his way.” According to the police, there was no fisticuffs or shoving. However, when going back to his car, he collapsed. Police officers are said to have administered first aid immediately. Meanwhile, a video of the far-right splinter party Free Saxons showed a man being pushed by a policeman on the fringes of a Corona protest. Source: Berliner Zeitung