Germany may ban the hijab and second passport
As Russkaya Germaniya writes, the Bavarians were the first to take action: at the end of July, the state government approved the strategic concept 'Sicherheit durch Stärke' ('Security through Strength'), which provides, among other things, for an increase in the staffing of the Bavarian police, equipping them with modern weapons and technology, tightening control in refugee reception centers, etc.
Initiative was also shown in Saxony-Anhalt: the head of the state Interior Ministry, Holger Stahlknecht, proposed using the training ground in Kolbitz-Letzlingen as a training center for joint anti-terrorism exercises of the police and the Bundeswehr.
Federal authorities also became active. At the end of last week, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière presented a draft declaration on measures to increase the level of security in the country. Heads of state interior ministries have been asked to urgently submit their proposals and amendments to this document.
The draft declaration contains, in particular, the following points:
– ban on wearing the niqab and burqa (de Maizière himself, according to his words, is against such a ban);
– simplification and acceleration of the deportation process for migrants (for this, it is proposed to introduce a new ground for expulsion – violation of public order);
– increase by 2020 the staff of the Federal Police and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (counterintelligence) by 15,000 people and improve the weapons and equipment of personnel (de Maizière suggested that state governments increase the police staff of the regions);
– expansion of video surveillance;
– lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years;
– participation of the Bundeswehr in operations within the country in case of terrorist attacks;
– abolition of dual citizenship.
Regarding the issue of dual citizenship, the draft declaration explains the need for its abolition as follows: 'We do not accept such a split in loyalty. To those who want to participate in the politics of foreign states, we suggest leaving Germany.' De Maizière also spoke out against this point. At the same time, the minister considers it necessary to strip German citizenship from jihadists accused of committing a crime or participating in military actions in Syria or Iraq.
It is also planned to create a cyberterrorism response service; refugees arriving in Germany will be required to hand over their smartphones for inspection by law enforcement agencies, and social media executives will be required to assist law enforcement in establishing personal data of users suspected of criminal activity, including terrorism (currently such requests from law enforcement are often ignored).
The draft declaration also provides for the possibility of weakening the regime of medical confidentiality: doctors are to be required to report to law enforcement agencies about patients who talk about their intentions to commit a crime (as established by the investigation, the Munich shooter and the 'author' of the armed attack in Reutlingen had mental health problems; the same problems were had by the co-pilot of the Airbus A320 of Germanwings, Andreas Lubitz, who directed the airliner with 150 passengers and crew members into a mountain).
In addition, as the interior minister said, police officers will be trained to act in situations involving terrorism and amok (the word 'amok', from Malay amoq, denotes furious, unmotivated aggression with or without human casualties). According to the minister, 'this topic concerns not only the special services, but also those who are the first to encounter it – local police officers.'
Given that a number of points in the declaration require legislative changes to be implemented, the implementation of the security measures proposed by de Maizière is postponed for an indefinite, but undoubtedly long, time. And while this process drags on, German police and counterintelligence officers will have to confront the threats of terrorists and deranged psychopaths with the forces and means available.
By the way, There is no theme more important than the niqab!
Of all the measures proposed in the draft declaration announced by Thomas de Maizière, the point about banning the wearing of the burqa and niqab in public places caused the most heated controversy among German politicians. Even the idea of abolishing dual citizenship did not attract as much attention. But once de Maizière announced this point, one after another, both opponents of this, in their opinion, undemocratic and unconstitutional measure, and their opponents rushed to the microphones and television cameras of leading media.
Against the ban on covering faces with the niqab and burqa spoke: SPD chairman and Vice-Chancellor of Germany Sigmar Gabriel, Thomas de Maizière himself, Green Party deputy prime minister of Hesse Tarek Al-Wazir, of course, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany Aiman Mazyek, and German President Joachim Gauck.
In favor of the ban spoke: security policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag Wolfgang Bosbach, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, and prominent German legal scholar and former German Defense Minister Rupert Scholz. According to the latter, 'We must follow France's example. There, it is legally established that women are prohibited from appearing in public with their faces covered, and violation of this ban is punishable by a fine. We should introduce the same here. And the main thing is that discussions in Germany should finally be conducted on serious topics.'