Horst Seehofer, Federal Minister of the Interior: "We must join forces against racism"
News Security 21 February 2020
At a joint press conference, the Federal Minister of the Interior announced that there would be an increased police presence throughout Germany following the shootings in Hanau.
Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer said that, given the number of large-scale events in the coming days, the police presence throughout Germany would be increased. This was agreed yesterday with the interior ministers of the federal states, he said. The federal minister noted that vulnerable sites such as mosques would also be guarded more closely.
"We face an acute threat in Germany from right-wing extremism, antisemitism and racism,” Mr Seehofer told journalists in Berlin. Right-wing extremism is currently the greatest risk facing Germany, he added, with 12 suspected right-wing extremists arrested last week in connection with planned attacks. Security forces found large quantities of explosives, hand grenades and automatic weapons during their searches. Mr Seehofer emphasized that this intervention had prevented further attacks, but said it highlighted the acute risk.
Clear racist motives in Hanau attack
At the start of the joint press conference, which included Christine Lambrecht, Federal Minister of Justice; Holger Münch, President of the Federal Criminal Police Office; and Dr Peter Frank, Federal Public Prosecutor General, Mr Seehofer described the shootings in Hanau as a "terrorist attack with clear racist motives". "Following the murder of [local politician] Walter Lübcke and the attack on the synagogue in Halle, this is the third right-wing terrorist attack in Germany within a few months," he said, adding that right-wing extremism had left a trail of blood all the way across Germany, starting with the NSU murders and including the mass shooting in Munich in 2016.
"Right-wing extremist, antisemitic and racist ideas are a poison, clouding people’s minds and paving the way for evil," declared Mr Seehofer. "We must condemn racism. Society and policy-makers must join forces, putting our heart and soul into eradicating it."
Rigorous application of existing laws
Mr Seehofer said he would not be pushing for extra staff or greater police powers following the attack in Hanau, but that instead the authorities must respond by making increased use of the existing legal framework. He pointed out that an amendment tightening weapons legislation had come into force the previous day and that it was now key to observe what effect these changes would have in practice. The federal minister noted that if further tightening of weapons laws should prove necessary, he would consider it, but he did not intend to place every shooting sport association under general suspicion.