BY ANGELA DANIELS
A possible misrepresentation of reality regarding the so-called mass sexual attacks and mugging of women by gangs of aggressive and drunken men who had ‘the appearance of ‘North Africans and Arabs’ is being alleged by some supporters of Angela Merkel- the German chancellor.
An inside source today has speculated to The eye of Media that Chancellor Angela Merkel might be in a drama where her detractors were stage-managing reactions which mirrored their own disenchantment with the Chancellor’s generous welcome of the unprecedented one million of the desperate masses from Syria last year. The fact that more have been arriving, to the consternation of many German indigenes has allegedly provided the impetus for a distortion of the facts by the chancellors detractors to weaken the credibility of her political stance on immigration issues.
The problem with that stance is that it suggests that the victims who described the appearance of their attackers fabricated their accounts , with the illogical objective of allowing their attackers to evade the justice of the law. The other probable explanation is that the information released to the mainstream media was manipulated by her rivals to discredit the basis of German government policy on immigration which has incensed several Germans.
Tensions have risen over the handling of the attacks. Police and the media are accused of a cover-up to avoid stoking anti-immigration sentiments. A labyrinth of contradicting information casts aspersions on these quarters, principally, the police and one wonders who else? But another angle may be slowly unfolding- not one that is totally protective of immigration sentiments being whipped up. Perhaps the contrary.
The stream of thought is relentlessly directed towards malevolent young men with the appearance of ‘North Africans and Arabs’, although supporters of Angela Merkel insisted on the absence of any definite evidence to prop up this assertion until now. Lizzie Dearden, reporting in the UK Independent said today that police and investigators have identified 16 young men mostly of North African origin who may be suspects. This, still does not constitute evidence, as the information stands since it is not definitive.
Neither does it mean we can assume the suspects will not later be found guilty. Concrete, verifiable evidence is necessary Identity or origin of the persons, as soon as possible, but there is a suggestion by Wendy that analysis of CCTV footage was not likely to deliver concrete prosecutions. But, some men have been reported to be in custody for seven days, sufficient details not available.
LEAKED
Lizzie Dearden also wrote of ‘a leaked police report revealing ‘chaos beyond description, reflecting an account by Dier Spiegel magazine and Bild newspaper which published the police report credited to an unnamed senior officer in the German Federal Police. The secret report was said to have described scenes of terrified women being forced to ‘literally run through a gauntlet of extremely intoxicated men outside the city’s main railway station, as ‘fights, thefts, sex, assaults on women’ continued all around.
The leaked report further talked of a man who was arrested and quoted to have repeatedly told officers, ‘I’m Syrian, you have to treat me nicely! Angela Merkel invited me’. The police had previously reported that the New Years Eve passed peacefully. The purported statement credited to the unidentified Syrian sounds like an unlikely parlance, to say the least, but seems to easily fit a purpose. The report described as leaked put the originally reported figure of 1,000 men to 7,000. It is hard to believe that the police were outnumbered to such an astronomical level that they did not foresee it and had no solution planned, in a global climate of concerns with insurgency.
Kate Connolly, reporting for UK Guardian pulls in a curious contribution, comparing the targeted foreign assailants in their ‘modus operandi to that of the already familiar criminal gangs that have operated in strength for several years in the area and turning it into a place many Cologners avoid after dark. They are known locally as antanzer ( Waltzers). The men snuggle up to their victims, often twisting a leg around them, in an apparently playful fashion, which causes them to lose balance, whereupon the perpetrator uses the opportunity to whip a wallet or mobile from a pocket or bag’. One wonders what the police have truly reported about these criminals in relation to the night in question. They seem to have suddenly disappeared into oblivion.
Police have reported similar incidents attributed to the immigrants in Cologne, as having occurred elsewhere, albeit of a lesser scale – in Hambourg, Struttgart, Frankfurt and Dusseleldorf. The Federal Police are now trying to establish the extent to which the attacks might have been coordinated, but Ralf Jäger, North- Rhine-Westphahas, Interior Minister said the men had organised themselves via social media, though he conceded that a coordinate plan to cover several cities was unlikely.
Amazing! So, the over one million Asylum Seekers must have been so well rehabilitated in less than a year, getting over possible mental and emotional pressures from issues of loss and separation or post-traumatic stress disorder, and so well-adjusted to their new and strange surroundings, with a new language, such that so many of them have had access to social media and use it, with guts to coordinate and the first thing on their minds is to openly rough up German women en masse, in a public place, under police watch. 1,000 or 7,000 non German language on social media and not detected. Let’s assume them to be jihadis preparing to plague the country with bombs, they would have left to overrun Germany. Common, gullible people!
A barrage of social media is accusing the police for under-reporting. The police have apologised for their poor performance, but somebody must be laughing secretly- many people actually. The controversy may be feeding their conspiracy. Nobody reported the unusual absence of the anterzers, so the new arrivals have ousted them.
No, it’s no ‘cartel of silence’ by the police, as quoted in the Guardian to the credit of Andreas Shever of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of Angela Merkle’s conservative party(CDU). The saga smacks of a plot, but untidily orchestrated. It is obvious who the real victims are going to be. Mayor Henriette Reker was stabbed during the election campaign last year. If the police and the media are are unhappy- perhaps they are also under resourced.
It would be uncharitable to becloud the suffering of any of the women with suspicion, women are vulnerable everywhere across the world. Curiously, the crisis begs the question whether they have been protesting these many years against the antagonisers as they did recently, after the news against the their immigrant guests where they lamed Angela Merkle for her open- door policy..
German justice minister, Heiko Maas warned against linking the assaults to the immigration issue. He said:
“During these investigations it will become clear which circle of perpetrators is involved,” he said.”Making this an issue through over-simplifications, and connecting it to the issue of refugees is nothing more than misuse of the debate. Now it is about determining the facts and drawing the necessary conclusions,” he said.
However, in a diametrically opposed statement to this, Steffen Bilger- a member of parliament for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, tweeted that the reports demonstrated the urgent need for Germany to reduce its migrant intake, secure its boarders, and intensify deportations and uphold justice.
The opposing sides of the arguments cannot be avoided, though whatever the true facts of the matter, the prevailing view in Germany remains that the attacks were caused by the influx of immigrants in the country, and many Germans will understandably support Bilger it wanting to see the immigration state of affairs reversed as a matter of urgency. However, this does not mean they are right.