Interpretation of News ｜ Why did the German ＂PEGIDA＂ March rise？
[Editor’s note]
Since October 2014, Dresden, Germany and other places have set off the upsurge of "PEGIDA" parade. On January 12, 2015, five days after the attack on Charlie Hebdo in France, more than 25,000 people in Dresden held demonstrations again. In just a few months, the "PEGIDA" parade has caused quite a shock in German political circles. So, what is this "PEGIDA" parade? Who organized it first? Why do some Germans support and participate in such a parade? How did the "PEGIDA" March affect German politics? Scholar Jun will answer you one by one.
More than 25,000 people in Dresden participated in the "PEGIDA" demonstration. Oriental IC diagram
What is the "PEGIDA" parade?
The full name of "PEGIDA" in German is: Patriotische Europe Gegen Die Islamisierung des Abend Landes. Translated into Chinese, "patriotic Europeans oppose Islamization in the West".
In recent years, the number of immigrants (especially Muslim immigrants) in Germany has been increasing, which is a very important background for the "PEGIDA" parade. In 2014 alone, at least 200,000 foreigners poured into Germany. Most of these outsiders come from the turbulent Middle East and take Islam as their religious belief, which is very different from the German people who are born and raised in Christianity.
Therefore, there are two main political demands of the demonstrators: one is to defend the values shared by Judaism and Christianity; The second is to take more stringent measures to limit the increasing number of immigrants (especially Muslim immigrants) in Europe.
Who organized the "PEGIDA" parade first?
Only three months ago, Lutz Bachmann was only a chef. Like many people, he will post some photos of himself on Facebook to share his life with his friends. If it weren’t for a parade called "PEGIDA", Bachemani would live a quiet and stable life like most Germans. But now, his life has completely changed. He is still a chef, but he also has another identity: the initiator of the "PEGIDA" parade.
Bachemani, 41, was born in the eastern German city of Dresden. In 1998, he was sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment by the local court for theft. Fearing imprisonment, Bachemani fled to South Africa, but was sent back to Germany soon, and his crime was also added, that is, drug trafficking.
Last October, a serious conflict broke out between the Kurdish and Muslim ethnic groups in Hamburg and Celle, Germany. Bachemani then launched a March against immigrants on Facebook. Unexpectedly, his call was echoed by many local people, and Dresden gradually became the base camp of the "PEGIDA" parade.
Why do some Germans support and participate in such a parade?
As mentioned earlier, the demonstrators hope to take more severe measures to limit the increasing number of immigrants (especially Muslim immigrants) in Europe. A realistic and direct reason is that these people believe that the increase of immigrants has reduced their employment opportunities and social welfare.
In recent years, European countries have been mired in the sovereign debt crisis and their economic recovery has been weak. Although the German economy has always maintained a good development in the European continent, the German government has to cut social public welfare expenditure due to the economic situation in Europe as a whole. Even with the reduction of public welfare expenditure, the German government did not limit the number of immigrants, which also caused a considerable number of Germans’ dissatisfaction, and this part of the German people transferred this dissatisfaction to immigrants.
Some Germans said that they felt that they had been "ignored" by this country, while immigrants received great attention. As 61-year-old Eugen Peuke said in the demonstration on January 12th, "Immigrants are a big problem for us. They are stealing our jobs and benefits. I don’t want them to stay in Germany, but the government has ignored our voices."
Bachemani, the initiator of the "PEGIDA" March, has also said on some occasions before that foreign immigrants are eroding the social welfare that the German people should enjoy. "Now many old people can’t even afford Christmas cake." He said this at a rally.
Other people support and participate in such demonstrations because they are worried about terrorist attacks. In the eyes of these people, the "asylum" request made by some Middle Eastern refugees is actually a cover, and their real purpose is to create terrorist attacks in Germany. Therefore, in the "PEGIDA" demonstrations, slogans such as "Stop the deception of asylum, please go back" can often be seen.
How did the "PEGIDA" March affect German politics?
According to Bachemani, he doesn’t want PEGIDA to develop into a political party. However, in the current "PEGIDA" demonstration, there are many members of the far-right party "National Democratic Party of Germany", who try to gain the political support of ultra-conservatives and neo-Nazis by excluding Muslims, so as to accumulate more political energy and chips for them in the future German parliamentary elections.
In this regard, many German politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have a clear understanding. In a New Year speech, Merkel called on the German people not to participate in the "PEGIDA" parade. "Don’t follow those biased, cold and hateful calls." She said in her speech.
Last Tuesday, many heavyweight politicians, including former German Chancellor Schroeder, Schmidt and current Foreign Minister Steinmeier, published their photos in the German Bild, calling on people to say "no" to the "PEGIDA" parade.
Some analysts believe that the rise of the "PEGIDA" parade will further highlight ethnic conflicts in Germany in the future, and the far-right party "German National Democratic Party" is likely to gain the support of more and more people like the French "National Front", which will also bring more challenges to the current ruling party.