German Jewish leader calls for ban on neo-Nazi party

A Jewish leader in Germany has called for a ban on the NPD neo-Nazi party.

"Political leaders must resume the banning procedure," Dieter Graumann, vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the daily Frankfurter Rundschau. "If the NPD were banned, the party would at least not have at its disposal the millions that it currently receives as electoral campaign support to propagate hate."

The NPD is represented in two regional parliaments in eastern Germany.

Banning the party has been a recurring debate in the country. A potential ban has been supported by several political leaders, including Berlin’s social-democratic mayor, Klaus Wowereit, but legal hurdles remain. The last attempt to ban the party was dismissed by Germany’s constitutional court in 2003.

Graumann’s call to ban the NPD came as extreme-right demonstrators took to the streets in the city of Frankfurt on Saturday but were outnumbered by counter-protesters, with police arresting 200 people. Some 550 far-right demonstrators gathered in the afternoon in the western city compared to 3,500 counter-protesters, police said.

Regional authorities had authorised the extreme-right demonstration. Many demonstrators arrived late, however, with counter-protesters blocking the area where they were to gather. Police arrested those who had blocked areas including a public transport station.

European Jewish Press