Killing of 8 immigrants of Turkish origin by members of neo-Nazi cell sparks outrage in Turkey

The recent discovery of a neo-Nazi cell whose members have killed nine immigrants, eight of whom were of Turkish origin, has sparked outrage in Turkey, with officials demanding a thorough investigation into the murders. The surrender of an individual being sought by German police in connection with a bank robbery revealed an enormous scandal as documents found during the probe indicate the robbers were members of a deadly neo-Nazi cell with links to Germany’s national intelligence organization. The scandal also highlights the growing threat from the extreme right in Europe

Egemen Bağış, Turkey’s minister of EU affairs, told Today’s Zaman that it was a relief that the murderers of eight Turkish and one Greek citizen have finally been captured and thanked German authorities.

He said their capture and prosecution would affirm the sense of security of Turkish and other immigrants. He noted that the rise of racism and xenophobia in Europe was not limited to marginal terrorist groups but also included politicians.

“Some populist political parties and politicians have jumped on this bandwagon recently, which carries the risk of turning the continent into a Europe of the 1930s,” the statement said, adding that Turkey’s EU membership would be the antidote to reverse the rise of xenophobia in Europe.

German authorities are shocked because the killers have proven connections to the country’s federal intelligence agency. An employee of the agency was actually present during the murder of one of the Turks. The Foreign Ministry in a message released on Wednesday noted that Turkey frequently pointed out the rise of racism and xenophobia as a growing threat for Germany and Europe, adding the killings had proven these concerns valid. It said Turkey expected German officials to investigate the incident thoroughly to bring out the truth “regardless of wherever this may lead.”

Turks in Germany also blamed German politicians for negligence, saying it was highly thought provoking that the neo-Nazi gang was discovered almost accidentally. Tayfun Keltek, from the Foreigners’ Council (LAGA) of North Rhine-Westphalia, told Turkish news agencies that the murders could have been prevented if the authorities had paid more attention to the threat of xenophobia back in 1993 when neo-Nazis burnt houses of Turkish families in the town of Solingen, killing five members of the Genç family.

Gönül Topuz, a resident of Cologne, said she found it highly unnerving that Germany’s intelligence organization was involved. Erden Uyan, an immigrant from Turkey who has lived in Germany for 40 years, said: “I am extremely worried because the latest incident has shown the links between the state here and neo-Nazis. There should be a thorough investigation of all these events so that we can learn the truth.”

Ramazan Taner, a pensioner who has lived in Germany for decades, said those guilty should be punished.

The investigation stems from a series of terrorist attacks in the past 10 years, in which eight Turkish and one Greek immigrant were killed. A hit list targeting 88 people, mostly immigrants, was found during a search into the homes of the suspected members of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), a neo-Nazi cell. The hit list includes prominent figures from Turkish and Muslim communities in Germany as well as Munich politicians Green deputy Jerzy Montag and the Christian Social Union deputy Hans-Peter Uhl. Both men told the German press they were deeply shocked.

The revelation came as part of a police inquiry into the activities of the neo-Nazi cell, which actually came to light this week, when a woman named Beate Zschäpe, whom the police were looking for in relation to an armed robbery, turned herself in after blowing up her rented apartment in the eastern city of Zwickau and two others killed themselves.

Meanwhile, Helmut Röwer, former head of Germany’s national intelligence agency, the Organization for Protection of the Constitution (BfV) for the State of Thüringen, who had been accused of protecting neo-Nazis in the 1990s, blamed the police for failing to prevent the murders. He said it still wasn’t clear how the neo-Nazi murderers were able to obtain legal documents and IDs under fake names. Meanwhile, investigators say the suspects are well-known in extreme right-wing circles and that a neo-Nazi music band actually sang in detail about the series of murders in an album titled “Adolf Hitler is Alive.” There were also reports that the number 88 is significant for neo-Nazis because it corresponds to the letters HH, for Heil Hitler.

Germany was shocked by the neo-Nazi murders, with newspapers covering it in great detail. Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the murders “shameful.”

German officials have been making gestures toward Turks since the investigation started unfolding. German President Christian Wulff announced that he will organize a dinner at the Bellevue Palace with the relatives of the eight Turks killed. Some German newspapers also demanded that Merkel apologize officially for the failure to prevent the murders.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung claimed that German intelligence had abundant information about the racist murders and had moles in senior positions in extreme right groups. It said that in the past, one of the reasons why the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), a right-wing legal party, wasn’t banned was that a Constitutional Court ruled that intelligence units had connections with these groups. It also said that whether intelligence agents in neo-Nazi circles were useful had come under public discussion. The newspaper said that the Thüringer Heimatschutz, a racist group linked to the recent murders, was mentioned in the Constitutional Court ruling that turned down an appeal to shut down the NPD. “It should be questioned why a series of terrorist murders weren’t called what they were. One reason could be that because right-wing terrorism is usually carried out by small groups that are nearly impossible to infiltrate. But another reason could be that such small groups that are out of control might be part of the BfV, or close to it.” The newspaper said an investigatory commission that will look into the murders should first and foremost question this point.

The BfV has admitted one of its agents had been present in April 2006 when two members of the NSU shot a 21-year-old Turk dead. The agent was known to have right-wing views. Hajo Funke, an expert in right-wing extremism, told ARD television: “It can’t be ruled out that this BfV employee took part in the murder, and that is a scandal,” according to a report in the Guardian newspaper. Funke was quoted as referring to the case as “a Watergate-scale” crisis for German secret intelligence.

17 November 2011
SOURCE: TODAYS ZAMAN