Pegida
Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes (PEGIDA, in English: "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident") is a German anti-immigration[1] movement based in Dresden, known since October 2014 for organizing public demonstrations against what it considers the Islamization of Europe.
The group is headed by Lutz Bachmann, PEGIDA drew public attention when its demonstrations drew increasing numbers of participants, drawing between 7,500 and 10.000 people on 7 December 2014 in Dresden, where several hundred counter-demonstrators were also present, and 15,000 on 15 December in Dresden, where 6,000 pro-immigration demonstrators also gathered.[1][2]
At its weekly demonstrations, patterned on the Monday demonstrations that helped bring down the East German regime, PEGIDA carries banners with slogans including "For the preservation of our culture", "Against religious fanaticism" and "Against religious wars on German soil."[3] Commentators have attributed the success of PEGIDA to a widespread dissatisfaction with immigration to Europe, which has aided the ascent of right-wing and far-right movements such as the Front National in other European countries.[2]
PEGIDA broke records again on 15th December after more than 15,000 gathered in support of the organization in the city of Dresden.[1] They had however faced a counter-demonstration from an unorganized group of people numbering some 3,000, which had to be separated by almost 1,000 Bundespolizei officers. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel supported Maas' claim further nothing ""Of course there's freedom to demonstrate in Germany, but it's not place for agitation and defamation against people who come to us from other countries." while speaking in a press conference in Berlin.[1]
This is in contrast to Bernd Lucke of Alternative for Germany, who said of the PEGIDA demonstrations that, "Most of their demands are legitimate."[4] He called the demonstrations, "a sign that these people do not feel their concerns are understood by politicians."[5]
External links
References
- ^ a b c d Kirschbaum, Erik (16 December 2014). "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West quickly gathering support in German". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ a b Smale, Alison (7 December 2014). "In German City Rich With History and Tragedy, Tide Rises Against Immigration". New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ Stute, Dennis (7 December 2014). "Anti-Islamist protests with right-wing ties expand in Germany". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ Hill, Jenny (16 December 2014). "Anti-Islam 'Pegida' march in German city of Dresden". BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ Hugglet, Justin (10 December 2014). "German Eurosceptics embrace anti-Islam protests". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
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