Germany: Far-right group rallies against refugee housing plan
Police say over a thousand people attended the protest in the eastern city of Gera
More than a thousand supporters of right-wing extremism Aufbruch Gera held a protest in the eastern German city of Gera on Saturday against plans to build housing for refugees, police said.
More than 70 vehicles with about 150 occupants also drove through the city in a procession.
Public broadcaster MDR said the rally was mobilized by a group that supports right-wing extremist and agitator Christian Klar.
The domestic spy agency in the eastern state of Thuringia classifies the group, known as Aufbruch Gera as a “suspected extremist case.”
The agency’s chief Stephan Kramer has described them as an “extremist core group that expresses itself in a particularly drastic manner.”
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party organized the vehicle convoy, MDR reported. The party has previously distanced itself from Aufbruch Gera.
Around 60 people took part in a counter-demonstration calling for solidarity with migrants and refugees — demanding they be treated with dignity.
Former hospital to house hundreds of refugees
Gera plans to house refugees at the former Wismut Hospital. The building will be able to house 200 refugees, the state government of Thuringia said.
The new facility will help relieve the overcrowded reception center in Suhl, a city to the west of Gera.
The former Wismut hospital had previously been used as a shelter for asylum seekers between 2015 and 2017.
In the run-up to the demonstration, Gera’s mayor Julian Vonarb said that the heated debate surrounding the refugee housing was a major worry.
More than 250,000 migrants have applied for asylum in Germany so far in 2023, an increase of 76% on the previous year.
Several states have said they have reached their resource limits in trying to offer refuge to the newcomers.
With material from DPA news agency
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
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Author: Nik Martin