Germany Debates the Right of Assembly

After demonstrations by right-wing extremists marred the 60th anniversary commemorations of the Dresden bombing on Sunday, new calls for the tightening, and even in some cases the removal, of the right to assembly are beginning to ring out in the higher echelons of German politics.

Huge crowds gathered in Berlin at the weekend to pay their respects to the many thousands who lost their lives in the firestorm that consumed Dresden towards the end of World War II, but as the world's eyes turned to Germany's moment of reflection the view was sullied by a rally organized by the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD).

Such a public display of extremist sentiment at a time of remembrance has furiously stirred the debate in political circles over what action can be taken to curb the NPD and its activities.

Moves to outlaw the party outright under the German constitution's provision allowing neo-Nazi parties to be banned by the Federal Constitution Court were quashed in 2003 after the court refused to grant a main hearing in the case because the German government had infiltrated the party with informants in high places.

Attempted NPD ban quashed

The judges at the time accused the Schröder administration of manipulating the unassailable principles of a constitutional democracy and reminded the government that one of the cornerstones of that democracy was that the majority should not be allowed to silence a minority.

Now, in the wake of the Dresden demonstrations and the impending events marking sixty years since the end of World War II on May 8, Brigitte Zypries, the federal minister of justice, announced on Monday that new measures aimed at stopping neo-Nazis rallying at historically sensitive sites would be put to parliament for ratification. "Right-wing extremists must not be allowed to profit from any gaps in the law," Zypries told reporters.

"The limits of freedom of expression are exceeded if the public order is endangered by people who play down the wrongs done to the victims of the Holocaust or those committed under National Socialism," she added. The NPD plan to hold a rally at the Brandenburg Gate, not far from a new memorial to victims of the Holocaust, on the anniversary of the war's end.

Restrictions on Nazi-related gatherings

The measures, which have to be approved by parliament, place new restrictions on the right of assembly if those rallies are seen to glorify Adolf Hitler's regime or minimize the crimes committed by it. They would outlaw such gatherings where commemoration ceremonies are taking place, in areas where memorials, in particular to the Holocaust, are located, or near former concentrations camps.

The measures present a quandary for the German government. In an attempt to stem the swell of popularity for the neo-Nazis, it is considering a move that was last initiated by Adolf Hitler himself after he was made chancellor in January 1933.

After the burning of the Reichstag in February of that year, Hitler suspended parts of the Weimar Constitution which included Article 123 -- the right of assembly. The action gave Reich President Hindenburg the power to suspend "the fundamental rights if public safety and order are considerably disturbed or endangered."

Conservative opposition calls for hard line

While the current red-green coalition of Social Democrats and Greens proposes specific changes to the right of assembly rather than a complete suspension, members of the opposition Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union have called for tighter restrictions than those proposed by Zypries and Interior Minister Otto Schily. President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Thierse (photo) welcomed the measures on Monday but called for a complete end to the right of assembly in the case of the NPD.

The Social Democrats and the Greens are unlikely to go that far but there are still major concerns as to the repercussions of such changes. While under existing law it is possible to ban gatherings that “represent a danger for public security and order,” the new measures could -- at least in theory -- permit a ban when there is “no threat of a criminal violation of public security.”

Restrictions on more than just far-right

In other words, the political orientation of a gathering would be sufficient grounds for it to be banned. In theory, this could mean that anti-war demonstrations, marches against the occupation of Iraq or Israeli incursions into the West Bank could be outlawed.

In addition, the proposed clause which would ban gatherings that “take place at a location that commemorates in a clear manner the victims of an organised inhumane treatment and that is regarded as a national symbol for this treatment, and when the gathering is designed to condone, deny or play down this inhumane treatment of victims” could be used against demonstrations demanding social equality and justice, such as opposition to the Hartz IV reforms.

Ban would make Berlin a no-go area

The inclusion of location-based bans also represents its own set of problems. If demonstrations could be banned in front of memorials or buildings of historical resonance, it would be possible to ban demonstrations in virtually all of Berlin, a city with an abundance of such sites.

In its efforts to combat the rise of the far-right, Germany's government could find itself in danger of curbing civil rights in a way National Socialism's founding fathers achieved over 70 years ago.