Rjevan
29th July 2009, 20:42
FAR-RIGHT SQUATTERS
Neo-Nazis Take Over Village Hotel
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1603663,00.jpg
By Ole Reissmann
A group of far-right extremists loyal to NPD deputy leader Jürgen Rieger have occupied a hotel in a German village. The neo-Nazis say they have a lease on the hotel, which they claim they want to use as an education and training center, but the facility is in receivership and the lease may be invalid.
The tiny village of Fassberg, near Celle in the western German state of Lower Saxony has its first-ever squat. However, this is not a case of some punks looking for a free place to stay. Instead, the old Hotel Gerhus has been taken over by neo-Nazis who want to organize training sessions, conferences and even a youth camp there. Jürgen Rieger, deputy leader of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), alerted the building's receivers about the planned intrusion by fax last Friday.
The Hamburg lawyer and his fellow far-right extremists believe the law is on their side. On May 26, following lengthy negotiations, they signed a lease with the owners. However, the situation isn't quite that straightforward. The owners of the 80-room hotel have creditors breathing down their necks. And the hotel went into receivership just one day after the lease was signed. With this in mind, Rieger chose to send the fax to the receiver, Jens Wilhelm.
Wilhelm, for his part, has his doubts about the lease. He says it is unethical because it penalizes the creditors. The rent is set at just €600 ($850) a month and the lease is for 10 years. Rieger, however, told Wilhelm that there was no need to turn to the courts to decide if the contract is valid. He is convinced that it is legal.
The neo-Nazis, who claim they want to use the hotel as an education and training center, have prevented Wilhelm from entering the building, prompting him to file a complaint accusing the alleged squatters of damaging the property and trespassing. The local Cellesiche Zietung newspaper is reporting that the group has covered up anti-Nazi slogans painted on the entrance wall and put up a sign warning that there is a "dog that bites."
Evictions Take Time
"If the police don't clear them out then I will have to enlist legal help," Wilhelm says. The police have so far failed to visit the hotel and have passed on his complaint to the public prosecutor's office in nearby Lüneberg. The prosecutors will now have to decide if the police should move in or if Wilhelm and Rieger will first have to air their dispute in a civil court.
Forcing an eviction can take time -- time that the receiver doesn't have. An investor is waiting in the wings that the local village would much prefer to see take over the hotel. "It is simply exasperating," says Hans-Werner Schlitte, the 62-year-old mayor of Fassberg. The mayor himself held talks with the owners and introduced them in January to the investor who wanted to take over the hotel and convert it into a health care center. The potential buyer offered €750,000 and the local community backed the deal.
"We had the perfect solution with the investor and the facility conversion," say Schlitte. There is no lack of hotels in the area, and a health care facility could be useful. However, the owners turned down the offer, saying it was too low. "But it's actually a good offer," argues Schlitte, "completely fair in the current market." The property had been valued at €950,000 three years ago and Rieger had enticed the owners with an even higher offer of €1.2 million a year later. However, there was no sale because negotiations with the village's favored investor were also ongoing.
A Bidding War?
Schlitte is now seeking to hold new talks with the owners. He says they have to realize that the threatened forced auction would leave them a lot worse off. There is not exactly a queue of potential buyers, he says, and the hotel is likely to fetch a lot less than €750,000 at auction. The current interested investor is also unlikely to wait until the auction to make a bid.
This would allow Rieger to move in and make good on his threat to buy the hotel for a bargain price. The village would not be in any position to make its own bid, says Schlitte. The money simply isn't there.
This is not the first time Rieger has been involved in the real estate game (http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,432716,00.html). On a number of previous occasions, neo-Nazis have threatened to purchase a property, such as a hotel or bar, at inflated prices, which then prompts the locals to make a higher bid for the property to keep the NPD away.
Fassberg's mayor is assuming that the neo-Nazis' lease will be declared invalid. Yet if the owners remain stubborn, then Mayor Schlitte doesn't want to sit back and do nothing as neo-Nazis from outside the village take over the hotel. For now, local officials say they are going to keep a close eye on the place. "There are fire prevention, hospitality and hygiene regulations -- there is no way the hotel can continue to operate as before," Schlitte says, pointing out the methods in the community's arsenal it can use to make life difficult for the unwelcome intruders.
But wait, it gets even better:
COURT REJECTS EVICTION REQUEST
Tensions Mount in Neo-Nazi Hotel Case
Despite efforts to have them evicted, right-wing extremists in Germany continue to occupy a hotel building they plan to turn into a training center. And now police fear a violent clash between local left-wingers and their new neo-Nazi neighbors.
Bullets have been fired and weapons confiscated. But as tensions between left and right wing groups mount, a court has rejected an application to evict a group of neo-Nazis from a disused hotel in the village of Fassberg, in the northern German state of Lower Saxony.
The Hotel Gerhus went into receivership just one day before Jürgen Rieger, deputy leader of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), signed a 10-year lease on the property. That has sparked controversy about whether the neo-Nazis are there legally or whether they are squatting.
The receiver himself, Jens Wilhelm, had hoped to be granted a court order this week to force the neo-Nazis off the property. But he was unsuccessful and will now have to wait for a court hearing at the end of the month. Reacting to the decision, Wilhelm told Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper: "What could be more urgent than vacating an illegally occupied hotel?"
Guns Fired, Fears of Violence
And as Wilhelm's frustrations grow, so too do those of left-wing groups outraged by reported plans to convert the hotel into a neo-Nazi youth camp and training center. After shots were fired in the area over the weekend -- nobody was injured -- police seized pepper spray from two left-wingers and a baton from a group of right-wingers. Local police are also stepping up their presence because of fears of a violent clash between left and right. Local police spokesman Christian Riebandt said: "We have squad cars patrolling the area around the hotel around the clock."
The right of the neo-Nazis to remain in the 80-room hotel will be depend on whether a court deems their current lease -- signed off by the debt-ridden owners just one day before they went into receivership -- legal and valid.
Links:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,637555,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,638700,00.html
This asshole Rieger, the well known "Nazi lawyer" and high ranking member of the NPD is known for such shit, obviously he hasn't given up his eternal goal to build up a housing and training centre for young Nazis in Germany, as it says in the text, this is by far not his first attempt, he tried several times to buy old hotels and convent them in a home for young Nazis who want to get away from home and get active for the NPD. But delivering a home for them is only the bait, he openly admits that the youths will be taught "about the ideas and the world view of the NPD and learn technics of self-defense" there... I think we all know what this means: indoctrinaton, radicalisation and combat training.
Luckily these attempts were always stopped by mass protests of citizens who refused to let him set up a nazi centre in their town. :cool:
Pictures of Rieger speaking at the NPD congress and of the citizens of Delmenhorst, where one of Rieger's former attemps took place, portesting against and finally successfully crossing his plans (the poster says "No Nazi school in Delmenhorst!", it can be seen in the background of the second pic, too):
http://axelreitz.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/juergen_rieger-npd.jpg
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,680714,00.jpg (http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-15541-3.html#backToArticle=432716)http://media.viennablog.at/12993/20060821-delmenhorst.jpg
But this time the situation seems worse, as the second article says, all depends on the decission of the courts and then even further demonstrations will be in vain since everything is totally legal then. Let's hope that this won't be the case! This is ridiculous anyway, everybody knows what Rieger plans and he openly admits it but there are no steps taken against him for wanting to set up a Nazi training centre!
Fuck the police and their Nazi protection, let's hope that those left-wing groups are successful against the "national resistance" (what the black banner outside the hotel says) and that these "violent clashes" will work out bad for the nutzis and will cure Rieger fom his plans once and for all!
Death to fascism! No Pasarán!
Neo-Nazis Take Over Village Hotel
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1603663,00.jpg
By Ole Reissmann
A group of far-right extremists loyal to NPD deputy leader Jürgen Rieger have occupied a hotel in a German village. The neo-Nazis say they have a lease on the hotel, which they claim they want to use as an education and training center, but the facility is in receivership and the lease may be invalid.
The tiny village of Fassberg, near Celle in the western German state of Lower Saxony has its first-ever squat. However, this is not a case of some punks looking for a free place to stay. Instead, the old Hotel Gerhus has been taken over by neo-Nazis who want to organize training sessions, conferences and even a youth camp there. Jürgen Rieger, deputy leader of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), alerted the building's receivers about the planned intrusion by fax last Friday.
The Hamburg lawyer and his fellow far-right extremists believe the law is on their side. On May 26, following lengthy negotiations, they signed a lease with the owners. However, the situation isn't quite that straightforward. The owners of the 80-room hotel have creditors breathing down their necks. And the hotel went into receivership just one day after the lease was signed. With this in mind, Rieger chose to send the fax to the receiver, Jens Wilhelm.
Wilhelm, for his part, has his doubts about the lease. He says it is unethical because it penalizes the creditors. The rent is set at just €600 ($850) a month and the lease is for 10 years. Rieger, however, told Wilhelm that there was no need to turn to the courts to decide if the contract is valid. He is convinced that it is legal.
The neo-Nazis, who claim they want to use the hotel as an education and training center, have prevented Wilhelm from entering the building, prompting him to file a complaint accusing the alleged squatters of damaging the property and trespassing. The local Cellesiche Zietung newspaper is reporting that the group has covered up anti-Nazi slogans painted on the entrance wall and put up a sign warning that there is a "dog that bites."
Evictions Take Time
"If the police don't clear them out then I will have to enlist legal help," Wilhelm says. The police have so far failed to visit the hotel and have passed on his complaint to the public prosecutor's office in nearby Lüneberg. The prosecutors will now have to decide if the police should move in or if Wilhelm and Rieger will first have to air their dispute in a civil court.
Forcing an eviction can take time -- time that the receiver doesn't have. An investor is waiting in the wings that the local village would much prefer to see take over the hotel. "It is simply exasperating," says Hans-Werner Schlitte, the 62-year-old mayor of Fassberg. The mayor himself held talks with the owners and introduced them in January to the investor who wanted to take over the hotel and convert it into a health care center. The potential buyer offered €750,000 and the local community backed the deal.
"We had the perfect solution with the investor and the facility conversion," say Schlitte. There is no lack of hotels in the area, and a health care facility could be useful. However, the owners turned down the offer, saying it was too low. "But it's actually a good offer," argues Schlitte, "completely fair in the current market." The property had been valued at €950,000 three years ago and Rieger had enticed the owners with an even higher offer of €1.2 million a year later. However, there was no sale because negotiations with the village's favored investor were also ongoing.
A Bidding War?
Schlitte is now seeking to hold new talks with the owners. He says they have to realize that the threatened forced auction would leave them a lot worse off. There is not exactly a queue of potential buyers, he says, and the hotel is likely to fetch a lot less than €750,000 at auction. The current interested investor is also unlikely to wait until the auction to make a bid.
This would allow Rieger to move in and make good on his threat to buy the hotel for a bargain price. The village would not be in any position to make its own bid, says Schlitte. The money simply isn't there.
This is not the first time Rieger has been involved in the real estate game (http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,432716,00.html). On a number of previous occasions, neo-Nazis have threatened to purchase a property, such as a hotel or bar, at inflated prices, which then prompts the locals to make a higher bid for the property to keep the NPD away.
Fassberg's mayor is assuming that the neo-Nazis' lease will be declared invalid. Yet if the owners remain stubborn, then Mayor Schlitte doesn't want to sit back and do nothing as neo-Nazis from outside the village take over the hotel. For now, local officials say they are going to keep a close eye on the place. "There are fire prevention, hospitality and hygiene regulations -- there is no way the hotel can continue to operate as before," Schlitte says, pointing out the methods in the community's arsenal it can use to make life difficult for the unwelcome intruders.
But wait, it gets even better:
COURT REJECTS EVICTION REQUEST
Tensions Mount in Neo-Nazi Hotel Case
Despite efforts to have them evicted, right-wing extremists in Germany continue to occupy a hotel building they plan to turn into a training center. And now police fear a violent clash between local left-wingers and their new neo-Nazi neighbors.
Bullets have been fired and weapons confiscated. But as tensions between left and right wing groups mount, a court has rejected an application to evict a group of neo-Nazis from a disused hotel in the village of Fassberg, in the northern German state of Lower Saxony.
The Hotel Gerhus went into receivership just one day before Jürgen Rieger, deputy leader of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), signed a 10-year lease on the property. That has sparked controversy about whether the neo-Nazis are there legally or whether they are squatting.
The receiver himself, Jens Wilhelm, had hoped to be granted a court order this week to force the neo-Nazis off the property. But he was unsuccessful and will now have to wait for a court hearing at the end of the month. Reacting to the decision, Wilhelm told Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper: "What could be more urgent than vacating an illegally occupied hotel?"
Guns Fired, Fears of Violence
And as Wilhelm's frustrations grow, so too do those of left-wing groups outraged by reported plans to convert the hotel into a neo-Nazi youth camp and training center. After shots were fired in the area over the weekend -- nobody was injured -- police seized pepper spray from two left-wingers and a baton from a group of right-wingers. Local police are also stepping up their presence because of fears of a violent clash between left and right. Local police spokesman Christian Riebandt said: "We have squad cars patrolling the area around the hotel around the clock."
The right of the neo-Nazis to remain in the 80-room hotel will be depend on whether a court deems their current lease -- signed off by the debt-ridden owners just one day before they went into receivership -- legal and valid.
Links:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,637555,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,638700,00.html
This asshole Rieger, the well known "Nazi lawyer" and high ranking member of the NPD is known for such shit, obviously he hasn't given up his eternal goal to build up a housing and training centre for young Nazis in Germany, as it says in the text, this is by far not his first attempt, he tried several times to buy old hotels and convent them in a home for young Nazis who want to get away from home and get active for the NPD. But delivering a home for them is only the bait, he openly admits that the youths will be taught "about the ideas and the world view of the NPD and learn technics of self-defense" there... I think we all know what this means: indoctrinaton, radicalisation and combat training.
Luckily these attempts were always stopped by mass protests of citizens who refused to let him set up a nazi centre in their town. :cool:
Pictures of Rieger speaking at the NPD congress and of the citizens of Delmenhorst, where one of Rieger's former attemps took place, portesting against and finally successfully crossing his plans (the poster says "No Nazi school in Delmenhorst!", it can be seen in the background of the second pic, too):
http://axelreitz.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/juergen_rieger-npd.jpg
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,680714,00.jpg (http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-15541-3.html#backToArticle=432716)http://media.viennablog.at/12993/20060821-delmenhorst.jpg
But this time the situation seems worse, as the second article says, all depends on the decission of the courts and then even further demonstrations will be in vain since everything is totally legal then. Let's hope that this won't be the case! This is ridiculous anyway, everybody knows what Rieger plans and he openly admits it but there are no steps taken against him for wanting to set up a Nazi training centre!
Fuck the police and their Nazi protection, let's hope that those left-wing groups are successful against the "national resistance" (what the black banner outside the hotel says) and that these "violent clashes" will work out bad for the nutzis and will cure Rieger fom his plans once and for all!
Death to fascism! No Pasarán!