Comment: Why German authorities have the wrong end of the swastika

[Kellanved]

This article is a pretty good rundown of a recent trend in Germany: using anti-Nazi legislation against anti-Nazis. Especially in states with conservative governors, there is the rather fresh fab of using the swastika ban against left protesters. This comes together with another nice idea, voiced by the conservative federal minister for families: redistributing the funds used to combat right-wing extremism in a way, that 50% goes against left-wing extremism and 50% against right wing extremism. This is rather laughable, as left-wingers only commit a small fraction of the politically motivated crimes in Germany. Moreover, most of the "crimes" registered as "left" are breaches of the protesting legislation, i.e. blocking nazi marches. The nazis however are predominantly on record for violent crimes, up to and including murder.
The actual reason is naturally that many anti-fascist organizations hold close ties to left and center/left parties.


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Comment: Why German authorities have the wrong end of the swastika
Few people would argue with Germany's ban on Nazi symbolism. But two recent cases involving a Nigerian footballer and left-wing anti-fascists show that public prosecutors are going after the wrong people.

Freedom of speech has been much in the news recently with the Mohammed caricatures and the trials of British right-wing historian David Irving and German neo-Nazi Ernst Zuendel for Holocaust denial.

Ogungbure was charged for using the Hitler salute when racist fans taunted him
While all these cases are controversial, and opinions differ between Germany and, say, the US, about where the limits of free speech should lie, one German restriction on free speech seems uncontroversial: the ban on Nazi symbols under Article 86a of the German Strafgesetzbuch (criminal code).

Who could object to this? Who would want to see neo-Nazis wandering around with swastikas on their jackets and making Hitler salutes, which would almost certainly be the case if they were allowed to do so?

However, as two recent cases in Germany show, it is more complicated than that. The first case involves Nigerian footballer Adebowale Ogungbure, who plays for the fourth-division team Sachsen Leipzig.

After a recent match in Halle (located in former East Germany) he was subject to racist taunts by fans and was spat upon. He retaliated by putting two fingers above his lip in an imitation of a moustache and making a Hitler salute, at which point he was physically attacked by fans.
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http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=29267

Better safe than sorry: using the name instead of the symbol
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,598453,00.jpg

[Karenina]

1. Something's happeneing here

What it is ain't exactly clear...