A German leftist politician who had faced threats for his work in support of refugees and immigrants escaped unhurt after a bomb placed under his car exploded outside his home July 27. The attack, targeting Michael Richter of Die Linke party, came in the the eastern German city of Freital, near Dresden. Richter and the leftist party are known for their work in support of refugees and immigrants. Die Linke parliamentary group released a statement saying: "The perpetrator or perpetrators have to be swiftly identified and punished. The rule of law cannot stand idly by the increasing violence against refugees and against people like Michael Richter, who take a stand for the well-being of refugees." Martin Bialluch, spokesman for Die Linke, told the Kurdish news agency Rudaw: "We have no proof about the perpetrators yet, but Michael Richter was often threatened for his work, by far right or racist groups."
After several attacks and rallies against refugees and immigrants in the past weeks, the town of Freital gained renown as a center of far right activists. In April, a Kurdish student from Syria was shot by neo-Nazis in Leipzig, also in Germany's east.
“The Kurdish community in Germany condemns the bombing attack against Michael Richter utterly,“ said Mehmet Tanriverdi, chairman of the Kurdish Community in Germany (KGD). "We feel certain that this bombing attack and prior arson attacks against refugee camps are carried out by neo-Nazi gangs. The rising attacks on asylum seekers and refugee camps are alarming and worrisome. The government must do everything in order to provide protection to the people and to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions."
Germany hosts about 7 million immigrants and about 9 million German nationals come from immigrant background. Most of the immigrants live in the western parts of Germany and in Berlin. Although there were always stronger far-right movements in the east, the number of such groups has increased in the last years along with rising immigration from Africa, Syria and Iraq. (Rudaw, July 27)
Die Linke has also been a forthright voice in support of the revolutionary Kurdish movements of Turkey and Syria.
