Racism and Facism; Germany; Informant scandal halts NPD ban
01 March 2003
The German government's attempted legal action to enforce a ban on the far-right National-Sozialistische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) has been thrown out of court because of dubious prosecution evidence provided by secret service informers who were active in the NPD (see Statewatch Bulletin vol 12 no 1). The government initially refused to disclose to the court the role of secret service informers, who were supposed to provide incriminating evidence against the far-right demonstrating that they had violated Germany's constitution with their racism and anti-Semitism as well as their involvement in attacks. The court criticised the government for refusing to inform the jury about the extent of the involvement of paid informers in the NPD; the government eventually admitted that at least one in seven of the party's regional and national leadership had at some point worked for the secret services. It was also revealed that informers within the party had acted as agent provocateurs. The presiding judge, Winfried Hassmer, said that "The fact that state informers were active within the party leadership makes their influence unavoidable. The proceedings have been dismissed."
A two-thirds majority would have been necessary for a continuation of the proceedings, which were initiated by the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament and the government, but three of the seven judges voted against. Some MP's had criticised the reliance on informants as unnecessary as there was sufficient evidence within the party's manifesto and actions to prove their unconstitutionality. Green MP Hans-Christian Ströbele supported the court's decision as a sign of the Federal Constitutional Court's independence from party political disputes and is now demanding an independent review of the use of secret service informants, their "effectiveness", supervision and cooperation. However, civil liberties organisations and other MP's have called for the re-launch of the campaign to abolish the secret services (there are 17 regional Verfassungsschutz offices and one federal one in Germany). They argue that not only do they not provide security from "internal threats", but they fundamentally violate democratic principles. Socialist (PDS) MP Ulla Jelpke commented that the:
scandal surrounding the informants again shows that the secret service departments will not be controlled by anybody nor reveal their hand. They are a state within a state, an alien element in a democratic society.
Arguments against the effectiveness of the secret services are supported by the fact that hardly any of their surveillance activities lead to prosecutions. More than 90% of proceedings initiated against mostly left-wing groups on grounds of a "terrorism", are thrown out of court for lack of evidence, but leave the victims to pick up the pieces and pay the legal costs.
Moreover, only in June 2000 did the government introduce new secret service interception powers, extending the relevant crime catalogue to include "incitement of racial hatred" and legalising the use of secret service evidence in legal procedures dealing with bans on political parties on grounds of unconstitutionality or bans of unconstitutional groups and associations (see Statewatch vol 11 no 3 & 4).
Another result of the NPD scandal is increased sympathy for the far-right in Germany. The NPD's youth organisation, the Young National Democrats (Jungen Nationaldemokraten), have portrayed themselves as victims of freedom of speech restrictions. They have attempted to exploit this by encouraging their supporters to play an increasing role in Germany's anti-war movement.
Jungle World 26.3.03, The Independent 19.3.03