Germany’s Merkel vows to eradicate neo-Nazizm

BERLIN - Hürriyet

Chancellor Merkel has called on Turkey to implement more reforms in its EU drive.

The German State will do everything necessary to shed light on the neo-Nazi murders and to punish those responsible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said in an interview, referring to the murder of eight Turks and one Greek by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) group.

The chancellor said she felt that these crimes were a “shame” for her country, in a written interview with daily Hürriyet on the occasion of the 65th year of its foundation.

“Murders conducted by far-rightists in Germany have deeply affected all of us. Our security forces and justice institutions have worked intensely following the NSU murders. I assure you that Germany will do everything necessary to shed light on the murders at all points and sentence the criminals to the punishments they deserve,” she said, adding that the state should fight against the hostility and racism that caused those murders.

The NSU trial, which is set to begin on May 6 in Munich, is one of Germany’s most anticipated trials in decades. A previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground, carried out the murders of the eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman over a period from 2000 to 2007. The focus of the trial will be a 38-year-old woman, Beate Zschaepe, accused of being an NSU founding member and of involvement in the murders. Four suspected male accomplices are also on trial.

Turkey’s EU membership

On Turkey’s EU membership, Merkel said Turkey should carry out a new reform process. “Negotiations with Turkey are continuing since 2005. They’re open-ended. One of the conditions to become an EU member is to accept the common law and values of the Union,” Merkel said, adding that if Turkey were to fulfill the condition of applying the Custom’s Union treaty to all EU member countries including Cyprus, this would have a positive impact on the membership process.