A failure to integrate the large influx of immigrants into Germany in recent years is to blame for the riots that took place in multiple cities across the country on New Year’s Eve, deputy leader of the CDU parliamentary group, Jens Spahn, has claimed.
This site has already reported on the migrant-fueled incidents on Saturday evening, as German celebrations to see in the new year in style descended into chaos. Numerous videos circulating on social media show the extent of the violence and damage done, particularly in the German capital and the port city of Hamburg.
According to Germany’s largest tabloid, Bild, police and firefighters responded to 3,943 incidents in Berlin alone, and initial reports revealed 15 firefighters and 18 police officers were injured as vandals hurled fireworks at police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks, and vehicles were burned on the streets of the German capital.
However, a police spokesperson cited by German newspaper Die Welt on Monday claimed 41 emergency responders in Berlin alone were injured in the mayhem.
A total of 159 arrests were made by authorities, the spokesperson added.
Speaking to the t-online news outlet on Monday, Spahn claimed the attacks on rescue workers were a damning indictment of political weakness by Germany’s federal government over a number of years, stating the country’s failed integration policy for newcomers is primarily to blame.
“It’s more about unregulated migration, failed integration, and a lack of respect for the state instead of fireworks,” said Spahn.
“The attacks on emergency services are unspeakable,” the parliamentary group leader added, pointing the finger at the weaknesses of the traffic light coalition in Germany which has not just overseen a significant level of mass migration in recent years, but have actively encouraged it.
Opposition parties have been quick to criticize the liberal coalition comprising Germany’s federal government for creating an environment in which such attacks have become commonplace.
In a statement following the New Year’s Eve chaos, the conservative AfD party described the majority of the rioters as “young, violent men with a southern appearance who hardly speak German.
“Not only can they immigrate unhindered, they also get paid for a nice life by the traffic-light government with tax money,” the party added.
A spokesperson for Nancy Faesar’s Interior Ministry revealed on Monday there was “still no overview of suspects,” but revealed that 84 percent of those arrested are male and claimed 70 percent hold German citizenship, although did not elaborate as to how many hold dual-nationality.