The Official Assault on Pro-Köln

We’ve reported numerous times in the past on the Pro-movement in Germany, with particular emphasis on Pro-Köln, which began as a citizens’ movement to halt the construction of a mega-mosque in the city of Cologne. Over the last couple of years the initiative has grown to include other cities and regions, and is now a popular movement whose aim is to stop the Islamization of Germany.

JLH has translated two articles from the Pro-Köln website about the latest attempt by the municipal authorities to shut the movement down, this time using financial means. JLH says:

The members of Pro-Köln are often physically harassed by the lefty “Antifas” and are subject to the hostility of the police who are supposed to protect them. These two items taken from the movement’s web page offer some insight into the continuing high-level official hostility to, as well as the continuing popular support for the organization, whose aims have by now outgrown the anti-mosque-in-the-cathedral-city movement. Much of the situation is reminiscent of the Tea Party movement in the USA: an upsurge of popular indignation, mass media and official hostility, and physical attacks by Antifa (substitute SEIU).

And the translations from the Pro-Köln website:

December 29, 2009

Attempt to Destroy Pro-Köln Financially

The administration of the city of Cologne, led by Mayor Roters, is assessing a €33,000 fine on Pro-Köln for community election posters allegedly not removed in a timely fashion. What ex-Mayor Schramma did not achieve politically, his successor apparently intends to achieve by a financial frontal assault: destruction of the inconvenient opposition.

Having failed to silence the voice of the opposition in the city council by use of numerous legal obstacles and politically discriminatory maneuvers, he now aims for their financial ruin.

The small-time feuding between the city leadership and Pro-Köln — sneaky procedural tricks, illegal elections to the supervisory board, discrimination in the order of seating, illegal muzzling of Jörg Uckermann at the youth welfare services commission, etc. — seems to be over. During the Christmas season, without wasting any time, Mayor Roters and his leadership team launched a frontal attack against citizens’ movement, Pro-Köln. By decree of the city of Cologne, Pro-Köln is to pay €33,775 to the city treasury within 14 days, because more than 1,300 Pro-Köln election posters were not taken down in time.

The Pro-Köln chair, attorney Markus Beisicht, says: “The new Roters administration apparently intends to strike a killing financial blow to accomplish what the established parties of the cathedral city in alliance with ex-mayor Schramma and the local media have not managed to do politically in five years: the uncomfortable, intransigent opposition will be attacked and destroyed under an outrageous pretext. Mr. Roters has finally dropped his friendly-and-helpless act and shown himself to be a more devious enemy than the more blatant Schramma. With the help of Roters’ administration, Pro-Köln is to be destroyed and the voice of 20,000 citizens of Cologne silenced.”

Beisicht concluded: “But we will take up this battle and fight on in the courts. The administration’s artificial charges are largely inaccurate and the astronomical fine is not justified, to say nothing of sensible. With the help of thousands of members and supporters, we will defeat this underhanded attack on democracy in Cologne.”

January 5, 2010

Measures Taken Against Financial Attack on Pro-Köln Successful

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The citizen’s movement Pro-Köln is benefiting from an incredible wave of solidarity. After the city’s assessment of €33,000 against Pro-Köln became public, dozens of financial transfers — some in three figures — were sent to the movement. Since Monday, the first banking day of the new year, several thousand Euros have gone into the account. Thank you very much! And every additional Euro will help to make the sneaky attack by the Roters administration come to nothing.

We have not been idle in the courts over the holidays. An expert in administrative law has taken up the case of the outrageous, clearly politically motivated demand by the city. The initial documents as well as the complaint against the city’s decision and its instant follow-through have been sent. Preliminary judicial examination of the facts of the case has already shown that the city’s legal position is untenable, disproportionate to the situation and clearly politically motivated. Legal advisors for the Pro-movement are unanimous in their opinion that very little will be left of the demand for €33,000 now before the court. However, there is still a long way to go, and we must not run out of resources. To that end please direct every tax-deductible euro to Pro-Köln, Konto No. 27 60 21 76 Sparkasse (savings bank) KölnBonn, BLZ 370 501 98 so that Pro-Köln will emerge from this latest assault stronger than ever.