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The study conducted in Germany, France, Great Britain, the United States, Sweden and Finland by the Project Against Extremism documents the rise of a new far-right movement since 2014 that is ‘leaderless, transnational, apocalyptic and oriented towards violence’ .
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas speaks to the press about the new coronavirus when he arrives for a meeting to review the implementation of the roadmap of a joint initiative with France on the control of small arms and light weapons in the Western Balkans for 2024, January 31, 2020 in Berlin. Image: AFP
BERLIN – Far-right militants in Europe and the United States are increasingly forming global ties and using the coronavirus pandemic to attract anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists to their cause, according to a study commissioned by the Foreign Ministry. Foreign Germany.
The study carried out in Germany, France, Great Britain, the United States, Sweden and Finland by the Project Against Extremism documents the rise of a new far-right movement since 2014 that is “leaderless, transnational, apocalyptic and oriented towards violence” .
Extremists believe in the nationalist “great replacement” theory that is orchestrated to supplant the white population of Europe with outsiders.
And they are increasingly networked across national borders with other like-minded militants, including Russian and Eastern European extremists.
Music festivals and mixed martial arts fights are meeting points, where extremists also seek to attract new members, the study noted.
Over the past year, the pandemic has also become an opportunity seized by extremists to “expand their mobilization efforts around anti-government conspiracy myths that criticize current restrictions,” he said.
“Right-wing extremism is the biggest threat to our security, across Europe,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter.
Expressing alarm that the scene is “increasingly acting and networking internationally,” Maas added that Germany is trying to counter the threat through coordinated action with other EU members.
A demonstration of nearly 10,000 opponents of social restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Berlin this week saw extremists mingled among a motley group of protesters.
About a dozen protesters shouted “Sieg Heil” as they performed the Hitler salute with stiff arms, in the presence of police, an AFP reporter saw.
Anti-Semitic slogans have been a fixture of some of the demonstrations against coronavirus policies in Germany this year.
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