Germans outraged after far-right rally forces mayor’s resignation
Source: Reuters
Reuters, 10/03 14:21 CET
BERLIN (Reuters) – Senior German politicians warned on Tuesday that basic freedoms were threatened after a mayor in an eastern town resigned saying local authorities had failed to stop a far-right protest outside his house.
Markus Nierth, the elected and unpaid mayor of Troeglitz, said on Monday he feared for his family’s safety after the National Democratic Party (NPD) announced the rally against his plans to house asylum seekers.
“If an elected mayor does not feel protected from a brown mob in our democracy, all alarm bells must be ringing,” Greens co-leader Cem Oezdemir told the Berliner Zeitung daily, using a phrase referring to the brown uniforms of Hitler’s followers.
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The NPD had already held several marches to protest against Nierth’s plans for Troeglitz, in Saxony Anhalt, to take in about 40 asylum seekers, similar to plans in many other towns.
Justice Minister Heiko Maas, a member of the Social Democrats (SPD) who share power with Merkel’s conservatives, said it was a “tragedy for our democracy” when an elected mayor had to resign because of such hostility.
Read more: http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2975771-germans-outraged-after-far-right-rally-forces-mayors-resignation/
