Solingen (dpa) – According to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the state was not able to fully keep its “promise of protection and security” in Solingen. The head of state said this at a memorial service for the victims of the suspected Islamist attack in the Bergisches Land town. The crime, mistakes and omissions that may have contributed to the fact that the attack was not prevented must be comprehensively investigated.
Germany is a country that offers protection and grants asylum to people fleeing political persecution and war. “We want to remain this country.” But in the end, this is only possible if the number of people who come here without being entitled to this protection is reduced. Those seeking protection must abide by the “laws and regulations of our country.” Great efforts are needed to implement existing rules and those that are currently being created. This is a huge task that must have the highest priority.
Efforts across party lines required
Steinmeier is needed for a national effort. This is what the people of Germany expect, across party political boundaries and government levels. The burden of making immigration a success must not be placed on the committed people – such as employees in cities and municipalities, volunteers, police officers and all those who have long since reached their limits. “We must not overburden those with good intentions.”
The bloody act hits the entire country at its core, “a friendly, open, diverse country” at its core, Steinmeier stressed. “It hits us in our self-image as a nation in which people want to live peacefully and together despite all differences – people who have lived here for generations as well as those who came later.” The head of state stressed: “It was precisely this, this very core, that the perpetrator of the attack in Solingen aimed at in his hatred, just like perpetrators before him.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Bundestag President Bärbel Bas, North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and Interior Minister Herbert Reul (both CDU) were among those attending the memorial service in the theater and concert hall. Steinmeier's wife Elke Büdenbender was also among the approximately 450 guests in attendance. The pain is almost unbearable, said the Federal President, who had just spoken to relatives of the three dead and eight injured. “I can hardly imagine, we can hardly imagine, what you, dear relatives and friends, are going through, what you have to suffer, what hell you are going through.”
A 26-year-old man from Syria, who came to Germany as a refugee via Bulgaria and is in custody, is suspected of the crime. The terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claims responsibility for the crime. “Fanatic Islamists want to destroy what we love: our open society, our art of living, our community, our freedom,” said Steinmeier. “We don't want the terrorists' plan to work, for their terrible seeds to bear fruit, but we feel fear and uncertainty.” Both have their reasons. However, we should not allow ourselves to be paralyzed by fear.
