Germany bans far-right party

NPD: responsible for summer of violence

The German cabinet has decided to press ahead with a ban on the far-right wing party which it holds responsible for a wave of racist violence.

The issue of race relations has been forced to the top of Germany's political agenda by a summer of attacks against foreigners and synagogues.

It is important to show in Germany and to those abroad that we will not tolerate such a force

Otto Schily

The government backed the move against the National Democratic Party because of the increased public focus in recent months on the far right.

Germany is acutely sensitive to racist and anti-Semitic violence as a result of its Nazi past.

The NPD, which favours policies benefiting ethnic Germans and an end to new immigration, is a tiny fringe movement on the political scene with just 6,000 members.

It has become associated in recent years with young skinheads.

To make the ban effective, the government needs to demonstrate to the constitutional court that the NPD poses a threat to democracy in Germany.

The interior minister, Otto Schily, believes he has that proof. He said the NPD "clearly sought in words, colours and programme to resemble" the Nazis.

Accusing the party of inciting racial violence, Mr Schily said it was impossible to tolerate organised anti-Semitism in a land where there had been gas chambers for the extinction of millions of Jews.

He compared his actions to those he would have taken if he were interior minister in Germany before the Nazis took power in 1933.

"I must not wait until 1933, then it's perhaps too late," he said.

Move could backfire

Critics say ban could create publicity for party

On Friday, the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, which represents Germany's sixteen states, will decide whether to pledge its support for a ban on the NPD.

Some fear the government could be humiliated if its effort to ban the party fails in court, and say the evidence against the party gathered by surveillance and wire tapping will not be admissible in court.

Others say the likely lengthy legal process needed for a ban will give the NPD free publicity, and even if it succeeds, it may have little impact if members gather under the banner of a new party.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said he wants both houses of parliament to support the government's plan to ban the NPD.

Critics say that is because he wants to be able to share the blame if the Court rejects a ban, a result that could give the NPD new legitimacy.

On Thursday, tens of thousands of people are expected on the streets of Berlin to take part in a demonstration in support of racial tolerance.