Status: 01/04/2023 11:03 am
Berlin’s Mayor Giffey announced a summit against youth violence after the New Year’s Eve riots. The perpetrators should also be punished quickly. Violence researchers warn against prejudice against migrants.
After the violent riots on New Year’s Eve, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey announced a summit against youth violence. It is not yet known when the meeting will take place and who will take part.
In addition, Giffey spoke out for a quick punishment of the perpetrators. In response to the “massive disrespect” and the violence, a “mix of an outstretched hand and a stop signal” is needed, Giffey said. Offenses must be punished consistently and quickly. In addition, efforts are needed in several areas: “There must be a concerted action in schools, in youth social work, in police prevention work, but also in youth court assistance,” said the SPD politician.
Merz and Söder share the blame with the state government
On New Year’s Eve, emergency and rescue services in Berlin and other cities were massively attacked. In some cases, the police had to be deployed to protect firefighters from attacks while they were putting out fires. In Berlin alone, there were 33 injured emergency services and more than 100 arrests.
The chairmen of the CDU and CSU, Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder, blamed the Berlin state government for the riots on New Year’s Eve. “The chaos, many of them with a migration background, are challenging the state they despise with their riots,” Merz told the “Münchner Merkur”. However, the state of Berlin “cannot cope with the situation”.
Merz said that the Berlin Senate had “limited the rights and possible uses of the police for years for political reasons”. “As long as this behavior by the Berlin Senate continues, we shouldn’t be surprised if these serious crimes are committed against rescue workers and police officers twice a year – on May 1st and on New Year’s Eve,” he added. The CSU chairman Markus Söder made a similar statement.
Giffey skeptical about the ban on firecrackers
Giffey denied the allegations. The police and fire brigade were deployed “in full force”. She could not see that the police had been restricted in their work, rather there was full political support for the emergency services. In recent years, the police force has been massively increased “under social democratic responsibility,” said Giffey. The outbreaks of violence are also not a “Berlin phenomenon”. The same thing happened in other cities.
In the discussion about a ban on firecrackers, the governing mayor called for realism. “I don’t think a federal ban will be enforceable for all firecrackers,” Giffey said. “I would think it would be good if there were restrictions on certain firecrackers.”
Violence researchers warn against prejudice
The Bielefeld violence researcher Andreas Zick warned against blaming people with a migration background for the attacks on police officers and rescue workers. “The fact that New Year’s Eve was so violent is part of an increase in violence in society as a whole.” According to the head of the Institute for Research on Conflict and Violence at Bielefeld University, there are many groups that generate such dynamics of violence.
In addition, such statements offended millions of people who identify themselves as immigrants. After all, such an assignment of blame hides “how many people with a migration background work in the rescue and police departments and are also victims.”
With a view to the riots, especially in big cities like Berlin, Zick added: “Even if young men from migrant backgrounds are involved: There are violent groups who share an enemy image of the police, and many others who use the opportunity or let themselves be fueled .” In addition, the perpetrators are mostly young men who “follow some traditional role stereotypes”, people who have been pumped up by drugs and those “who enjoy violence and confirm to others that violence is fun.