News / Germany

Germany's top court considers bid to outlaw far-right NPD

Tuesday, 01 March 2016 7:08 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 01 March 2016 7:07 PM ]

The file photo shows judges of the second senate at the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, southern Germany. (AFP photo)

The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany has opened a hearing on a bid to ban the biggest far-right party as it is accused of promoting a racist agenda.

The court on Tuesday began considering the ban on the National Democratic Party (NDP).

The move, proposed by the upper house of the parliament, represents the 16 state governments.

Germany’s states accuse the NDP of misusing the government financing for advancing with its racist propaganda.

A previous plea for banning the party was rejected in 2013 with the Karlsruhe-based court arguing that evidence against the party was provided by paid government informants within the NDP.

Parliament officials say the new case has no evidence from such informants. They say, however, that they will continue to fight against the far-right party.

“The NPD is a danger to our democracy,” said Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, adding, "The NPD benefits from state financing of parties — that means that tax money is abused for neo-Nazi propaganda."

The NPD asserted in a recent statement on the ban proceedings that it will continue to promote its campaign against what it calls the extremist policies of the German government.

The NDP and other far-right groups in Germany have strongly criticized the way Berlin handles an unprecedented refugee flow into the country. They say lax controls on the entry of refugees could create serious problems for the Germans.

The party, which is not represented in Germany's national parliament, complained in its recent statement about the "constant hate campaigns against patriotic dissenters" in Germany.

If approved, the ban on the NDP would be the first on a political party in Germany in six decades. Only two parties have been outlawed in the entire German history with the last one being the German Communist Party in 1956.

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