By IRNA,
Berlin : A group of neo-Nazis went on a rampage in the south German city of Passau on Saturday following the funeral ceremony of a well-known far-right activist, news reports said Sunday.
Neo-Nazi thugs attacked a reporter who was filming the funeral at the cemetery and a 18-year-old female witness, leading to clashes with police.
At least 11 rioting neo-Nazis were temporarily detained.
In other related news, two men insulted a Mongolian woman in Passau’s city center and punched her in the face.
Germany has been the scene of a series of vicious neo-Nazi attacks in recent months, especially against foreigners.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has repeatedly warned of a growing far-right problem in Germany, branding it a “steadily growing danger.”
Schaeuble voiced concern over the rising number of neo-Nazi crimes which rose between 2005 and 2006 from 15,000 to 18,000 offenses.
Meanwhile, the number of anti-foreigner attacks hovered at 511 in 2006, showing a 37 percent increase from the previous year.
Political observers link the dramatic rise in the number of far-right crimes to the recent success of neo-Nazi parties in key regional elections in several east German states.
Young neo-Nazis feel also more and more emboldened to commit hate crimes, knowing that police won’t charge them with an offense.
Most of the suspects implicated in far-right crimes are juveniles.
Hate crime experts and sociologists have repeatedly stressed that Germany’s political leadership lacked a clear and effective strategy to fight neo-Nazi and racial crimes.