The Washington Post - USA (2020-11-13)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13 , 2020 .THEWASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

BYLOVEDAYMORRIS

ANDLUISABECK

berlin — Around 9:30 on a
quietSundaymorning late last
month,acrudely madeexplosive
device went offwithasmall bang
andaflash in central Berlin near
the building of an association of
German scientific institutes.
Anotefound nearby demand-
ed the end to coronavirus restric-
tions.
Justafewhours earlier, molo-
tov cocktails had been tossedat
the front of the Robert Koch
Institute,the German federal
agencyresponsible for control-
ling the virus.
Theincidentscome against
the backdrop ofagrowing vio-
lent undercurrentatlarge-scale
streetdemonstrations against
coronavirus restrictions, includ-
ing oneattended by 20,000 peo-
ple Saturday in Leipzig.The
developments pointtoanin-
creasinglyradicalized movement
of virus skeptics in Germany,
embraced by the country’sfar-
rightextremistgroupsand ener-
gized by global conspiracytheo-
ries, notably those put forth by
theU. S.-bornQAnon movement.
Far-right groups marched
alongside the demonstrators this
weekend, stoking concerns
among securityofficials thatthey
will gain recruits and drawmore
demonstrators to violence, with
bomb- and weapon-making ma-
terialalready circulating in coro-
navirus-skeptic circles online.
“The escalation line isgoing
up all the way,”said Stephan
Kramer,president of thestate-
level intelligence agencyinthe
centralstateofThuringia, home
to high-profile far-right leaders
who traveled to theLeipzig dem-
onstration. “Wesee with the
latestevents thatthere is an
escalation toward more violence
and to moreright-wingextrem-
ism among the demonstrations.”
Despite having one of the least
stringent lockdownsinEurope
duringthe spring surgeincoro-
navirus cases,Germanyhas had
one of the mostvociferousanti-
lockdown movements.
Themain organizer of the
demonstrations,agroupcalled
Querdenken, or“lateral think-
ers,”grewoutof demonstrations
in Stuttgart, where largeearly
protests included middle-class
moms concerned aboutvaccines.
Theyopposemask requirements
and whattheysee ascurbs on
basic freedoms and have de-

manded earlyelections. But the

demonstrations have also at-

tracted an arrayof groups.

InLeipzig on Saturdayafter-

noon, the crowd was mixed:

Protesters with heart-shapedbal-

loons and rainbowflags were

joined by young men dressed in

black,theirfaces covered with

black masks.The black, white

and red flag of the pre-

German Reich, flown by far-right

sympathizers, also fluttered over

the crowd.

Police had ordered the gather-

ing in the city’smain square,

Augustusplatz, to disperse be-

cause participants numbered

more than the 5,000 allowed

underacourtruling.Butas a

seething crowdpushed up

againstpolicelines chanting,

“Peace, freedom, no dictator-

ship!” officersallowedastream

of demonstrators to marchalong

the city’sring road as planned.

Asnight fell, fireworks and

other projectiles were hurledat

police.

Such incidents at protests

sendthe messagetotheextreme

right that“if you challengethe

state, theywillgive in and we will

march,” Kramer said.

Among the assembled were

leadingfigures of the ultrana-

tionalistNational Democratic

Partyand theThirdWay, said the

securityoffice forSaxonystate,

whereLeipzig is located.

“Itmustbeassumed that

right-wingextremists will con-

tinue to exploit future corona

protests for their anti-constitu-

tionalgoals,”itsaid.Itsaid the

demonstrations are being “in-

tenselyevaluated.”

Querdenken’s founderMi-

chael Ballweghas said the move-

ment tried to distance itself from

right-wingextremists.There was

no violencestarted by the move-

ment, the group said in state-

ment Saturday, and its social

media channels blamed far-left

infiltrators.

“Itiscertainly amazing how a

peacefulmovement from the

center of societyis unjustifiably

criminalizedandstigmatized,”it

said.

Butexperts saythatcoronavi-

rus skeptics have been particu-

larly susceptible to moreradical

conspiracytheories,withoverlap

onlinebetween anti-lockdown

channels on platforms suchas

Telegram and groups supporting

QAnon, which has ballooned in

Germanyinrecent months.

German supporters of

QAnon’s theories believePresi-

dent Tr ump was settosave

Germanyfromaglobalcabal of

child abusers.There are around

77,000 unique users inQAnon-as-

sociatedTelegram chatgroupsin

Germany, according to Miro

Dittrich,aresearcheratthe Ama-

deu AntonioFoundation focused

on tracking onlineextremist

groups.

Thetheoryfound fertile

groundfor supportamongGer-

many’sReichsbürger movement,

which rejects the modernGer-

manstateand has propensityfor

violence andatendencyfor

stockpiling weapons, according

toGerman intelligence authori-

ties.

Theoverlap between coronavi-

rus skeptics andQAnon groups

on Telegram is troubling,re-

searchers say. Mostposters in

onlineanti-lockdown groups are

first-time Telegram users, but

somegoon to becomeactive in

right-wingextremistgroupson

the platform, according to a

study byGerman television chan-

nel NTVand SüeddeutscheZei-

tung newspaper thatexamined

100,000Telegram accounts.

Forcoronavirus skeptics, said

JosefHolnburger,aresearcher

whose data was used instudy,

Telegram isa“gatewaytomore

extremistcontent.”

Tr ump’slossintheU. S. elec-

tions will add to frustrations for

followers who maybetemptedto

instead takethingsintotheir

own hands, Dittrich said.

Theloss could“drawpeople

towardmore violence,”hesaid.

There are already concerning

signs.OnOct.31, amember of an

anti-lockdown Telegram group

thatDittrichmonitors posted

bombmaking instructions.

Kramersaid there have been

several cases of such bombmak-

ingand weapons-making in-

structions being shared on such

platforms.“Again, this is partof

the wholeradicalization proc-

ess,”hesaid.

Police said theyarestill inves-

tigatingthe twoincidentsin

Berlin and are lookingatwheth-

er there were political motives.

Lastweek, BodoRamelow,the

statepremierofThuringia,found

acandleonhis doorstep of the

kind that’sused for graveside

memorials along withaflier for

an anti-coronavirus demonstra-

tion.Hishome address had been

shared inalocal anti-lockdown

chatgroup.

“Their messageisclear,”he

said.“Theywishedformyend —

thatIlandinagraveyard.”

Germany’smore established

far-rightextremistgroupshave

been quick to capitalize on anti-

lockdown sentiment likethey

tried to do in 2015 bystirring

anti-immigrant sentiment as

Germanyopened its doorsto

more thanamillion refugees.

“Itwasn’tsoeasytouse that

situation for their aims,”said

Oliver Decker,aprofessoratthe

UniversityofLeipzig whostudies

the far right. “I think it’s now

more possible. Thepandemic

offers anotheropportunityto

mobilize.”

Authorities in Saxonysaid that

mostofthe 20,000people who

gathered Saturdaywere peaceful.

While8in10Germans think that

strictmeasures are necessaryto

contain the coronavirus, accord-

ing toapoll by ARD television,

around1in4think the restric-

tions are disproportionate.Ger-

manyenteredanewmonth-long

lockdown at the beginning of

November, as cases surged across

Europe.

“Wewant our children to grow

up in freedom,” said Melanie

Hoffman, 39, who turned out to

demonstrateinLeipzig.“With-

out masks in schools,without

forcedvaccinations.Tobe able to

live their lives freely,not in a

dictatorship.”

Manyare justworried parents,

she said.

But the demonstrations give

far-right agitators the opportu-

nitytoapproachabroader part

of society that shares central

ideas associated with right-wing

extremism.

InanewsconferenceMonday,

Steve Alter,aspokesman for

Germany’sInteriorMinistry, said

securityauthoritiesare still of

the opinion thatithas not yet

been possible forextremists“to

be able to completely instrumen-

talize the protests for their own

purposes.”

But theyare increasingly visi-

ble. And there are concerns that

the far-right isfinding recruits.

PeterKlug,a54-year-old who

had traveled to Leipzig from

Bavaria, shruggedoffthe Reich

flags present, popular among

neo-Nazi groups, as “nothing to

do withNazism.”

Thepresence of far-right

groups was notaconcern for

him, he said.Hewas only worried

about the far-left.

Kramersaid thatmostofthe

demonstrators know who they

are marching alongside. “It

seems more or less thatthey

accept each other and consider

themselvespartners in these

demonstrations,”hesaid.“And

that’sverydangerous.”

[email protected]

[email protected]

Morris alsoreported fromLeipzig.

Germany’s virus-restriction protests grow more radical

FILIP SINGER/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Demonstratorsfaceriot police duringaprotest of coronavirus restriction sinLeipzig,Germany, on Nov. 7. Far-right groupsmarched

alongsidethe demonstrators,stoking concerns amongsecurity officials thattheywillgainrecruits anddrawsometo violence.

Incendiary devices and

tense demonstrations

concern security officials

BYSUDARSANRAGHAVAN

ANDSTEVEHENDRIX

cairo — Eight international

peacekeepers, including six

Americans, were killed and one

American was injuredinaheli-

copter crash in Egypt’s SinaiPen-

insula onThursday, officials said.

Thepeacekeepers belonged to

theMultinationalForce and Ob-

servers mission,aRome-based

international peacekeeping force

created by Egypt andIsrael in

197 9when the neighboring na-

tions signedapeace agreement.

Theforce monitors their border

and the Strait of Tiran.

Theothers killed wereaCzech

andaFrench team member.The

MFO described the flight as a

routine mission. An investigation

is underwayintothecause of the

crash.

Inastatement, the MFO sug-

gested there was no indication

thatthe event was terrorism-

related.“A tthispoint, there is no

information to indicate the crash

was anythingexcept an accident,”

the force said.

Thecrash happened in the

southernSinai Peninsula near

TiranIsland, according to anIs-

raeli official.TheMFO said it

occurred near the Red Sea resort

town of Sharmel-Sheikh.Thesix

AmericanswereNationalGuards-

men, theIsraeli official said.

TheAmerican service member

who survived wasevacuated by

the Egyptian military, the official

said.Theservice member was

transferred to anIsrael Defense

Forces aircraftnear theIsraeli

cityofEilatand was taken to a

hospital.

TheIsraeli air force had scram-

bledaBlackHawk helicopter with

asearch-and-rescue team to the

site, but thatmission turned back

when it was learned there were no

other survivors.

In2015, theIslamic State affili-

atebased in northern Sinai assert-

ed responsibilityfor downing a

Russian passenger plane after it

took offfromSharm el-Sheikh. All

22 4people aboard were killed.

Thursday’sdeaths came the

dayafterVeterans Day,andthe

timing was not lostontopU. S.

officials.

“Yesterdaywerecognized the

sacrifice of millions of American

veterans who have defended our

nation forgenerations, and today

we are tragically reminded of the

lastfull measure our uniformed

warriors maypayfor their serv-

ice,”acting secretaryofdefense

ChristopherMiller said inastate-

ment. “Iextend the Department’s

condolences to the families,

friends and teammates of these

service members.”

[email protected]

[email protected]

Hendrixreported from Jerusalem.

KarenDeYounginWashington

contributed to thisreport.

8peacekeepers killed

in Sinai copter crash

H

100 MILES

THE WASHINGTON POST

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Crash

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6Americans among

dead;1U.S.service

member injured

BYRICKNOACK

berlin —AfterPresident-elect
JoeBiden declared victoryinthe
U. S. presidential election Satur-
day,manyU.S.allies in Europe
appeared to breathe asighof
relief.
European leaders mostly fo-
cused theirattentiononBiden,
offering congratulations and set-
ting up phone calls, as opposed to
PresidentTr ump’s refusal to con-
cede, which fewhaveacknowl-
edged head-on. But European me-
dia outlets have remained cen-
tered in largepartonconcerns
overTr ump’s denial of the election
result.
OnMonday,an editorial inLe
Monde,France’s paper of record,
had already moved on from the
congratulatorymood, posing the
question: “Can JoeBiden turn
reliefintohope?”
LikeLeMonde, newspapers
and commentators across the
continentrolled back an initial
wave of optimism, asTr ump’s re-
action to the electionraisednew
concerns over thestateofU.S.
democracyand the longevityof
Tr umpism. Some wondered
whetheraBiden presidencycould
restore transatlantic ties to the
extent European leaders hope.
In his editorial Monday,
JérômeFenoglio, the top editor of
Le Monde, warned thatonce
Biden is inaugurated inJanuary
after an “appallinglegal-political
guerrilla warfare”hewillface
“the immense task of rebuilding
everything,oralmost everything.”
“Trump will undoubtedly con-
tinue until the lastdayof his
presidency, and long afterward,to
behave likeablack hole of egocen-
tricitythatwouldrather swallow

up democracy, the entire country,

and the planetwith it,rather than

admit defeatorwrong,” wrote

Fenoglio.

“Itisshocking to have toraise

concerns aboutU.S.democratic

processes,”MaryRobinson, for-

mer presidentofIreland and

chairoftheElders,anongovern-

mental human rights organiza-

tion, said inastatementThurs-

day. “[Tr ump’s]fellow Republi-

cans mustnowaffirm theirfaith

in theU. S. Constitution, demo-

cratic institutionsand the rule of

law,so the countrycan begina

process of reconciliation.”

Othermedia outlets remained

squarelyfixated onTr ump.Ger-

man left-leaning newsweekly Der

Spiegel onThursday discussed

the possibilityofanotherTr ump

candidacyinthe 20 24 election.

Meanwhile, the conservative

Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung

expressed concernsoverdamage

it attributed to SecretaryofState

MikePompeo, who told reporters

Tuesdaythat“therewillbea

smoothtransition toasecond

Tr ump administration.”

Pompeo’sbehavior,wrote the

paper,“pleases the world’s auto-

crats.”

FewEuropean commentators

have given credence to the possi-

bilitythatTrump’s legal challeng-

es could lead toasecond term.

One notableexception was the

Netherlands’ deVolkskrant news-

paper,whichWednesdaydetailed

Republicanefforts to disruptthe

certification of election results as

apotential“end game, as it has

been feared for months.”

Even amid the ongoingTr ump

coverage, European media outlets

have begun publishingarticles

lookingatBiden’s ties across the

continent, however tenuous.Ita-

ly’s LaRepubblica newspaper in-

vestigated “Bidenand his suspect-

ed love of noodles,”whereas re-

porters inIreland zeroedinonthe

president-elect’sfamily links to

the country.

European outlets have also cov-

ered positive reactions to Biden

among Europeanleaders. Ger-

manChancellorAngelaMerkel,

who had an uneasy relationship

withTr ump, congratulated Biden

within hours lastweekend and

later recalled the “good encoun-

ters and discussions” she’shad

with Biden in the past.

“WewanttheWestto playas a

team again,”German German

ForeignMinisterHeikoMaas said

lastweek, also welcoming Biden’s

victory.

But as Europe prepares for

Bidentoassume office, some ana-

lysts have begun to wonder

whetheraRepublican-controlled

Senate couldstill hamper their

hopes forareset.

On Monday, the European

Union announced thatitwould

impose$4billion in tariffs onU. S.

goods, further escalatinga16-year

trade disputethattookanasty

turn underTr ump. While the Eu-

ropeanUnion hopes to calm ten-

sions once Biden is president,

someTr ump allies and opponents

see only slim chances forareturn

to thestatus quo.

“I think it’sunreasonable to

assumethat[E.U.relations] will

goback to the waythingswere,

sayunder [Barack] Obama or

GeorgeW.Bush or [Hillary]Clin-

ton,”former acting WhiteHouse

chiefofstaffMickMulvaneysaid

Thursday, accordingtoEuronews.

“Because[Trump] really did

tap intoacouple of things,”said

Mulvaney, whonow serves as the

U. S. special envoy forNorthern

Ireland.

Even though E.U.officials are

settoseek closertiestoBiden

than theydid toTr ump, some

shareadegree of skepticism.

Discussing transatlantic ten-

sions over trade, the chair of the

EuropeanParliament’s foreign af-

fairs committee, DavidMcAllister,

told Switzerland’spublic broad-

caster this week that“there won’t

beareturn to the old normal.”

[email protected]

European media unsettled by U.S. election

IAN LANGSDON/POOL/REUTERS

FrenchPresident EmmanuelMacronspeaksTuesday by phone with

President-electJoe Bidenat the ÉlyséePalaceinParis.

Leaders focus on Biden,

news outlets on Trump’s

unwillingness to concede

“It is shocking to have

to raise concerns about

U.S. democratic

processes.”

Mary Robinson,

former president of Ireland