CHEMNITZ (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2018) Another far-right rally has unfolded in German Chemnitz, as the city has entered the seventh day of protests following the recent murder of a German man over which two immigrants were arrested, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Saturday from the scene.
Since last Sunday, Chemnitz has witnessed a wave of violent anti-immigrant protests after a 35-year-old German was fatally stabbed and two alleged perpetrators, an Iraqi and a Syrian, were promptly arrested on suspicions of murder.
About 600 peaceful protesters were planning to hold a rally in the city center to commemorate the victim of the stabbing attack, but the Chemnitz authorities banned the demonstration and the activists have found themselves blocked by the police on their way to the central square.
Far-right radicals have also assembled in one of the neighboring squares and are trying to join the peaceful march.
The authorities and law enforcement are calling for the protesters to leave the streets.
Sputnik's correspondent reported several hours later that the demonstration had gathered a total of about 3,000 people of different ages and occupations, most of whom supported the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which advocated a hard-line stand on immigration. The protesters marched peacefully avoiding provocations by far-right activists and followed an alternative route which was eventually approved by the authorities.
Starting 2015, Germany took in several million refugees as part of what German Chancellor Angela Merkel called an "open-door policy" amid the European migration crisis. Ever since, multiple reports have attributed responsibility for gruesome murders and rape cases to immigrants and asylum-seekers living in Germany, provoking a vigorous public outcry over Merkel's immigration policy and igniting a surge of far-right and nationalistic sentiments.
