Immigration debate fuels racist violence
IN MID-SEPTEMBER public opinion was shocked by violent attacks on a hostal in Hoyerswerda, East Germany, housing some 250 immigrants, mostly
October 28, 1991 • #215 International Viewpoint view. Even if you go on and on about the crisis-ridden nature of capitalism, nonetheless at the moment we are going through a phase when all alternatives have been smashed. And demonstrating that the market system leads to ecological catas-
GERMANY asylum-seekers. The attacks went on for two weeks. They were organized by overcome people's absorption in their trophe and worldwide poverty cannot groupe of skinheade and fascists from other towns, since in Hoyerswerda itself there are no organized fascists. The population supported the attacks, whether own problems. by silently observing what was happening or by openly expressing their sympa thy for the expressed aim of the aggressors, to "clean out the immigrants from • How do you see the immediate Hoyerswerda" and make i an immigrant-free zone" future of a "general representation Stones and firebombs wete used in the attacks on the hostel, but the police of interests"? IG-Metall has become did not intervene. The lown's mayor declared that he could not protect the hossignificantly bigger due to the influx tal, since there were only nine police in the whole town. Some of the young perin the East, but the interests of those petrators of the crime were Interviewed on the television, where they said that in East and West are very different. they did not feel at all in the wrong, that they had the suppon of the population
The main problem is that we have to and that they were going to continue their physical attacks on immigrants unti deal with a divided reality and that up till there were none left in Eastern Germany. And that they calculated that some now we have not taken this sufficiently would be murdered. into account. I also believe that we must The lascists have strengthened their position in the town to the extent that the not lower our sights from what we have mayor could find no other solution than to move the immigrants to other towns been discussing in the framework of the The lascists have already promised that they will not leave the immigrants in perspectives discussions and the "Wage peace wherever they go. This is the first time for many years that a racist atlack policy 2000". has been carred oul so openly and with such success.
It is first of all important that we here It has been taken as a signal, on the first anniversary of German unification, should take into consideration what is October 3. a wave of several dozen attacks took place throughout Germany going on there and grasp it as an element Since then the attacks have been increasing, most of them in western Germain the balance of forces. It is clear that ny, and in areas under social democratic administration as much as in those people in the East have other ideas to the governed by the conservatives themes of "car, environment, transport". They are organized by a multitude of fascist groups that developed during the They first of all want cars and decent 1980s, Until now they have only mounted very small actions, but with the roads. What matters, however, is that we change in the climate in Germany since unification they feel that their time has do not stop the discussion that had begun come. The fascist cadre operating in the East are, furthermore, of Western orhere. gin 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 • Unemployment remains the main it can be said that the ground was laid by the months of debate between the issue in the East. The unemployed government and opposition on the need to restrict the right to asylum (guaranassociations in the ex-GDR are plan- teed in the constution and to close the frontiers to prevent new immigration ning a day of action for September Into Germany 27. It will remain a purely Eastern Within the working class, union activists and the majority of the population event. It is hard at the moment to see that considers iself non-racist, the prevailing feeling is, we already have five common actions developing. How million immigrants, the boat is full, we must close the frontiers and integrate the do you see this conflict? foreigners already living here. The Christian democrats want to do away with
What I think is that union circles in the the article in the constilution guaranteeing the right to asylum and are awaiting West have hardly begun to take in what is a European ruling that is stricter than the present German law, happening in the East — what is really The social democracy wants above all to act al the administrative level and happening, not what one might wish to be speed up the process for recognizing an immigrant as an asylum seeker. The happening. Greens repeat the distinction between political asylum seekers and "economic"
The workforce's interest in the develop- immigrants used by all the other parties and demand an unconditional right to ments there is in the sense of finding asylum but a quota for "economic" immigrants. i will be the foreign ministries of everything terrible and feeling sorry for the imperialist countries who will decide in what countries there is poltical perthe people there, and not much more than secution and thus whether people from these countries can be considered asythat. lum seekers, - Angela Klein • But the opposite feeling is also apparent — fear of the threat of competition, in any case where the threat has become concrete, as for example with Siemens in Gladbeck, when it was learned that a part of the production was to be transferred to Leipzig.
This is true, although it is exceptional. The main trend is the belief that nothing will be made there and that in reality (rather than in propaganda) the East does not represent competition.
Naturally the notion of "solidarity contributions" deducted from wages for the East that are being raised in the discussion are obviously unpopular, and nobody wants them, for different reasons.
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 Trewhandanstalt 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 the ex-GDR.
----- photo credits and running heads -----
7
Government by the speculators for the
International Viewpoint #215 • October 28, 1991 privileged position and has been carefully protected by the government. The figures show that this sector remains of secondary importance in the economy. In the first quarter of 1991, it represented 19.4% of the value of industrial production, 43% of that of building and public works, 16.4% of transport services, 14.4% of exports and 42.2% of imports.
Finally nearly 80% of commerce was in private hands. The private enterprises are interested primarily in those sectors of