Germany May Ban Neo-Nazi Party
Germany May Ban Neo-Nazi Party - Forward.com
IMHO Banning is a step in the wrong direction, it’s better to let the be open so the public knows who the evil ones are.
Germany took a step towards banning the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) on Wednesday when politicians formally recommended going ahead with hotly disputed legal proceedings as dozens of right-wing party backers boldly demonstrated outside.
Calls for a ban of the NPD, which critics say is inspired by Hitler’s Nazis, have grown since it emerged last year a neo-Nazi cell had waged a racist killing spree over nearly a decade.
But suppressing a political party is an especially controversial act in Germany, haunted by memories of Nazi and communist regimes which silenced dissent. An attempt to ban the NPD in 2003 collapsed because informants high in the party were used as key witnesses.
The interior ministers of Germany’s 16 states announced their recommendation to pursue a ban, which will involve filing a case with the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
“We believe we’ve got better evidence against the NPD than in 2003,” Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich told a news conference in the Baltic resort of Warnemuende.
“There’s a political risk that we could help revive the fortunes of a party that is already fading,” he said. “Everyone will have to ask: what will the propaganda value of this be for the NPD?”