German President Marks Worst Racist Violence since War
Germany's president commemorated on Sunday the 20th anniversary of the country's worst post-war racist violence, saying Germans were "duty-bound" remember it and learn from it.
President Joachim Gauck said the riots, which saw a mob of racist extremists mount a five-day siege of a hostel for asylum-seekers was "unfortunately still a stigma today" for the northern city of Rostock.
The gang of neo-Nazis, egged on by onlookers, torched the building occupied by Vietnamese who had to be evacuated amid shocking scenes in a country that was in the throes of reunifying, and shone a spotlight on racist extremism in eastern Germany.
While the events of August 1992 cannot be undone, Gauck, who was born in Rostock, said "we are all the more duty-bound to not let the incident be forgotten".
The events should again be analyzed "in order to learn from the mistakes and failures from that time", Gauck said.
And referring to far-right extremists or anyone who opposes democracy, he said: "We are not afraid of you. Wherever you appear, we will stand in your way."
The ugly attack on the center for asylum-seekers and Vietnamese migrant workers made international headlines.
The asylum-seekers were evacuated only after the third night of violence, but 120 Vietnamese remained trapped inside the building and only just escaped after it was set on fire by Molotov cocktails.
Source: Agence France Presse
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