German demonstrators boo Chancellor Angela Merkel as she arrives at a refugee center hit by violent far-right protests, according to an AFP reporter.
Around 200 people in the eastern town of Heidenau jeer Merkel from across a road, shouting far-right slogans including “traitor, traitor” and “we are the mob.”
Amid heightened tensions in the town over the opening of a new shelter for asylum-seekers in a former DIY store, Merkel’s vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel had blasted far-right protesters as a “mob” during a visit to the town Monday.
Several drivers honk their car horns as they passed the spot where Merkel was standing, following calls to do so by extremist groups on social media.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel waits for the start of the annual summer interview of German broadcaster ARD at the station’s capital studio in Berlin on July 19, 2015. (AFP / TOBIAS SCHWARZ)
Merkel was welcomed by Saxony state premier Stanislaw Tillich and the town’s mayor Juergen Opitz and later held talks with refugees and social workers at the center.
The German leader on Monday condemned as “vile” violent demonstrations in Heidenau against refugees amid criticism she has failed to forcefully address anti-migrant sentiment.
For two nights in a row last weekend, clashes erupted between police and far-right thugs protesting the opening of the new center for refugees.
— AFP
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