Spying on the Left in Germany

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:




Is Germany's Left Party a Threat to Democracy?


A top court in Germany has ruled that the country's domestic intelligence agency may monitor the far-left Left Party. Commentators on Thursday argue that the party may have many failings, but a desire to overthrow democracy isn't one of them.

The far-left Left Party has long strived to rid itself of its pariah status in German politics. Slowly but surely the amalgamation of former East German communists, disaffected former Social Democrats and western German Marxists has turned itself into an important fixture on the political landscape.

In the last national election it garnered 12 percent of the vote, it is the most popular party in eastern Germany, and is in coalitions with the Social Democrats in the regional governments of Berlin and Brandenburg. But at a national level, potential allies still regard it as not fit to govern.

On Wednesday the party suffered a blow to its attempt to forge a more moderate image when a top court ruled that Germany's domestic intelligence agency had the right to monitor a prominent member. The Federal Administrative Court ruled that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) could continue to observe Bodo Ramelow, leader of the Left Party in the eastern state of Thuringia. The agency is charged with observing the activities of those deemed a threat to the constitution, including neo-Nazis and Islamists.

The Left Party is furious to have been tarred with the same brush. While the court noted that it did not believe that Ramelow himself wanted to overthrow the state, it argued that there were extreme-left groupings within the party, such as the Communist Platform or the Marxist Forum, which had anti-constitutional tendencies. The court was also concerned that the party tolerates extreme-left violence. The BfV observation does not include spying but rather allows the agency to monitor Ramelow's public statements and writings. The court also ruled that other members of the party could be similarly observed. (The Left Party is also kept under observation at the state level, but only in some states, mostly in western Germany.)

'Throwback to the Cold War'

Upon hearing the judgement Ramelow said he was "deeply disappointed," adding that this was a "victory for the snooping state." On Thursday he confirmed that he would be appealing the ruling at the Constitutional Court. Speaking to RBB radio he said that the court's decision was "scandalous" and a "throwback to the Cold War." .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,707888,00.html

[Imperfect]

1. History repeats itself

The right wing is always spying on the Left in every major country. They even did it on Martin Luther King under the BS excuse that he had "ties" with communists.

[TheMightyFavog]

2. The German Government also monitors the Far-right, too.

Hell, a popular joke over there states that The NDP (Far right nationalist party) is made up of two kinds of people: Neo-nazis and governemtn agents sent to spy on the Neo-Nazis.

[davidinalameda]

3. did they ever apologize

for the crimes the former East German regime committed against its citizens and the crimes that the communist terrorist groups committed as well?

Red Army Faction (RAF)

The Red Army Faction, was one of postwar West Germany's most active and prominent militant communist terror groups.<30> The group was a successor to the Baader Meinhoff Gang.<30> It was formally founded in 1970 by Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler, Ulrike Meinhof, Irmgard Möller and others.

The Red Army Faction operated from the 1970s to 1998, committing numerous crimes, especially in the autumn of 1977, which led to a national crisis that became known as "German Autumn". It was responsible for 34 deaths, including many secondary targets such as chauffeurs and bodyguards, and many injuries in its almost 30 years of existence.