Tyske venstreekstremister i Berlin trakasserer borgere med innvandrerbakgrunn som heier på det tyske fotballandslaget i World Cup. Gruppen har vært spesielt aggressive i det innvandrertette Neukölln-disktriktet, der de har revet ned og satt fyr på tyske flagg.

Here they have made a point of destroying and removing Germany flags hanging outside shops and vehicles because they believe the proud patriotism hearkens back to the ugly nationalism of the Third Reich, the paper said.

A group calling itself «Kommando Kevin-Prince Boateng» posted a notice on the website Indymedia calling on leftists to «capture» all Germany flags across the country. The name refers to the Berlin-born footballer, who is playing for Ghana at the world cup and knocked German team captain Michael Ballack out of the tournament with a brutal foul in the FA Cup final in May.

One Arab-German family has sparked their ire by hanging a giant Germany flag on their Sonnenallee building in support of the football team during the World Cup.

Ibrahim Bassal, who owns a mobile phone shop in the district, told daily Berliner Morgenpost on Saturday that since he and his cousin hoisted the flag they have had several uncomfortable encounters with the local leftists.

«During the day people from the left-wing scene come by and insult us,» Bassal said. «Am I not allowed to be proud of Germany?»

Bassal og hans fetter Badr Mohammed, en kjent konservativ kristen-demokratisk politiker som bor i samme bygning, samarbeidet for å skaffe det 20 meter lange flagget, som skal ha kostet 500 Euro.

De siste dagene har situasjonen eskalert; venstreekstremistene har forsøkt å fjerne flagget 4 ganger og forsøkt å sette fyr på det. Ved et tilfelle fikk en gruppe tilgang til taket på bygningen og kuttet ned flagget.

Last Friday evening some 16 people dressed in typical black anarchist garb confronted Bassal in his shop, and the mood was tense, the paper said.

After Germany’s World Cup victory over Ghana last week Bassal reportedly stayed up to look after his shop until 4 am.

– De ser på oss som innvandrere, sier Bassal. – De forstår ikke at tyskere som ikke er fra Tyskland vil forsvare Tyskland. Både Bassal og Mohammed forteller avisen Berliner Morgenpost at de opplever det som ufattelig å måtte forsvare det tyske flagget fra etnisk tyske innfødte.

Bassal, hvis familie har vært statsborgere i mange år, legger til at venstresiden mener at innvandrere må forbli utlendinger. Familien har nå organisert nabolaget for å overvåke det enorme flagget om natten:

Meanwhile many of the residents of Arab or Turkish descent who live in the multicultural district are defending the huge flag and continuing to show their support, the paper reported.

The family has organised nighttime surveillance of the flag with neighbours to prevent further attacks, they said.

«We won’t let our pride be taken away,» Bassal and Mohammed said.

But according to Der Tagesspiegel, Bassal has decided to remove the flag and hoist it only on days when there is a Germany match. Meanwhile other residents told the paper they were taking special care not to leave their flags unattended.

The local: Leftists harass immigrants for supporting Germany

Via Hablog