BERLIN - Last weekend, from 12 to 14 April, Germany experienced a significant increase in authoritarian measures against Palestinian activists in Berlin. As a result, Yanis Varoufakis was banned from entering Germany and prohibited from any political activity in the country, including via digital platforms. The reason was his speech at the Palestine Congress, which was censored.
"MERA25 Germany is standing in the upcoming European Elections on 9 June 2024. We therefore see the ban on Yanis Varoufakis, the leader of our sister party MeRA25 Greece, as an attempt to intimidate us in the upcoming election campaign and as a clear restriction of our democratic rights. We therefore condemn the unjustified ban on Yanis Varoufakis' activities in the strongest possible terms. This decision by the German Ministry of the Interior is yet another authoritarian censorship of peaceful activists who criticise the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the involvement of the German Government," said Johannes Fehr, MERA25 European Elections candidate.
The deployment of over 900 police officers to control the Palestine Congress in Berlin marks a worrying trend. The Congress was originally planned for 650 participants, with ultimately only 250, mainly Jewish and Palestinian activists, being allowed into the venue by the police. Police stormed the congress, cut off the power supply and banned it from continuing, causing widespread resentment and panic among participants.
"We are disgusted by the blatant disregard for the fundamental rights that this country claims to be proud of. The speculative justification that 'something anti-Semitic might be said' as a reason for pre-emptive censorship is a tactic of authoritarian regimes, not liberal democracies, and a clear violation of freedom of expression and assembly. It is a blatant disregard for the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law that Germany claims to represent. This dark weekend should alarm German society. We condemn the authoritarian development of the German state and the unjustified repression of the political opposition," said Karin De Rigo, MERA25 lead candidate for the European Elections.
