COLOGNE, Germany — Women’s rights activists, far-right demonstrators and leftwing counter-protesters took to the streets of Cologne on Saturday to voice their opinions in the debate that has followed a string of New Year’s Eve sexual assaults and robberies blamed largely on foreigners.
Amid the heightened public pressure, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party proposed stricter laws regulating asylum-seekers in the country – some 1.1 million of whom arrived last year.
Police said around 1,700 protesters from the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement were kept apart from 1,300 counter-demonstrators in simultaneous protests outside the city’s main train station.
PEGIDA members held banners with slogans such as “RAPEfugees not welcome” and “Integrate barbarity?” while the counter-protesters pushed the message “refugees welcome.”
Specifics of the New Year’s Eve assaults and who were behind them are still being investigated. The attackers were among about 1,000 men gathered at Cologne’s central train station, some of whom broke off into small groups and surrounded women, groping them and stealing their purses, cellphones and other belongings, according to authorities and witness reports. There are two allegations of rape.
The PEGIDA demonstration Saturday was shut down early by authorities using water cannons after protesters threw firecrackers and bottles at some of the 1,700 police on hand. Police said four people were taken into custody but no injuries were immediately reported.
Earlier, hundreds of women’s rights activists gathered outside Cologne’s landmark cathedral to rally against the New Year’s Eve violence.
“It’s about making clear that we will not stop moving around freely here in Cologne, and to protest against victim bashing and the abuse of women,” said 50-year-old city resident Ina Wolf.
Merkel said her CDU party Saturday had approved a proposal seeking stricter laws regulating asylum seekers.
Merkel said the proposal, which will be discussed with her coalition partners and would need parliamentary approval, would help Germany deport “serial offenders” convicted of lesser crimes.
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