GERMANY Immigration debate fuels racist violence
N MID-SEPTEMBER public opinion was shocked by violent attacks on a hostel in Hoyerswerda, East Germany, housing some 250 immigrants, mostly asylum-seekers. The attacks went on for two weeks. They were organized by groupe of skinheade and fascists from other towns, since in Hoyerswerda itself there are no organized fascists. The population supported the attacks, whether by silently observing what was happening or by openly expressing their sympathy for the expressed aim of the aggressors, to "clean out the immigrants from
Hoyerswerda" and make it an "immigrant-free zone"
Stones and firebombs were used in the attacks on the hostel, but the police did not intervene. The lown s mayor declared that he could not protect the hostel, since there were only nine police in the whole town. Some of the young perpetrators of the crime were interviewed on the television, where they said that they did not feel at all in the wrong, that they had the support of the population and that they were going to continue their physical attacks on immigrants until there ware none left in Eastern Germany. And that they calculated that some would be murdered
The lascists have strengthened their position in the town to the extent that the mayor could find no other solution than to move the immigrants to other towns. The lascisis have already promised that they will not leave the immigrants in peace wherever they go. This is the first time for many years that a racist attack has been carried oul so openly and with such success.
It has been taken as a signal: on the firsi anniversary of German unification, October 3, a wave of several dozen attacks took place throughout Germany. Since then the attacks have been increasing, most of them in western Germany, and in areas under social democratic administration as much as in those governed by the conservatives.
They are organized by a multitude of fascist groups that developed during the
1980g. Until now they have only mounted very small actions, but with the change in the climate in Germany since unification they feel that their time has come. The fascist cadre operating in the East are, furthermore, of Western origin - on the pattern of all the other political parties. It is not possible now to go into all the reasons for this explosion of racism. But it oan be sald that the ground was laid by the months of debate between the goverment and opposition on the need to restrict the right to asylum (guaranteed in the constitution) and to close the frontiers to prevent new immigration
Into Germany
Within the working class, union activists and the majority of the population that considers ilself non-racist, the prevailing feeling is, we already have five million immigrants, the boat is full, we must close the frontiers and integrate the foreigners already living here. The Christian democrats want to do away with the article in the constitution guaranteeing the right to asylum and are awaiting
La European ruling that is stricter than the present German law.
The social democracy wants above all to act al the administrative laval and speed up the process lot recognizing an immigrant as an asylum seeker. The Greens repeat the distinction between political asylum seekars and economic" immigrants used by all the other parties and demand an unconditional right to asylum but a quota for 'economic" immigrants. It will be the foreign ministries of the imperialist countries who will decide in what countries there is political persecution and thus whether people from these countries can be considered asy-
Slum seekers, - Angela Klein *
Many people here in the West do not understand the brutal pressures bearing down on union and workplace activity in the East, and they see the "readiness for compromise" of the Ossis [East Germans] in a rather disparaging light. • And how about the debate on the broad strategy for the unions?
That continues. Much depends on the objective economic situation. I do not go along with those who say; IG-Metall up to now has had a good programme, and now all this happens and everything is thrown into question.
The real worth of the trade unions will be shown by our ability to deal with the type of problems we have been talking about rather than in having a "Programme 2000".
Getting to grip with the real problems is the crunch question, both for society as a whole and for the future of the trade unions. * 2. The Treuhandanstall is the holding company set up to dismember the East German economy to the benefit of West German big business. It has been wracked by corruption scandals. 3. PDS — Party of Democratic Socialism: The renamed former ruling Communist party of East Germany, which retains significant support in the area of 7 the ex-GDR.