German Interior Minister Faeser said right-wing extremists were the biggest threat to the country’s free democratic basic order. Faeser added that there are about 33,900 right-wing extremists, 13,500 of whom are “violent.”
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced the 2021 Constitutional Protection Report with Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Organization for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), at a press conference in Berlin.
Stating that they have taken decisive steps against the enemies of democracy, Faeser said, “The extreme right continues to be the biggest threat to our democracy. First of all, we continue to see high levels of violence here. We must stop radicalisation, tear up far-right networks and constantly disarm extremists,” he said.
‘WE NEED EARLY INTERVENTION’
Stating that there is also a high level of radicalization in the violent extreme left, Faeser said, “We still need very consistent and early intervention against far-left violence.”
Noting that the increasingly complex intelligence activities of other states in Germany pose a serious threat, Faeser said, “The threat situation has gained a new dimension with Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. We pay a lot of attention to this. In Germany, we defend internal security and internal peace against Russian espionage, attempts at influence, lies and war propaganda. Putin’s lies don’t hold up in Germany,” he said.
‘ONE-THIRD OF RIGHT-WINGERS ARE VIOLENT’
BfV President Thomas Haldenwang said that the number of right-wing extremists in Germany continues to increase, adding that there are about 33,900 right-wing extremists and 13,500 of them are “violent.”
Right-wing extremists increased by 1.8 percent compared to last year, Haldenwang said, noting that this figure is the highest level since the statistics were kept.
Pointing out that the report shows that there are numerous threats to German democracy and public safety from very different areas, Haldenwang said, “The number of people has increased again in almost all extremist phenomena. The enemies of the Constitution are very heterogeneous; on the one hand we see those who are united by rejecting the state, on the other hand we see perpetrators acting individually, self-radicalizing and digital extremism on the internet,” he said.
“The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is working with all its might to counter all these developments,” Haldenwang said, noting that the spread of anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that right-wing extremists continue to network and radicalize on the Internet.
