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GreekReporter.comEuropeAngela Merkel Apologizes To Relatives Of German Neo-Nazi Victims

Angela Merkel Apologizes To Relatives Of German Neo-Nazi Victims

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered a speech during a memorial ceremony for victims of far-right violence in Germany at the Concert Hall at the Gendarmen Markt in Berlin Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012.

Chancellor Angela Merkel apologized to the relatives of 10 people, mostly immigrants, believed to have been killed by a neo-Nazi group that eluded German authorities’ detection for more than a decade.

The National Socialist Underground group — its name a clear reference to the Nazis’ full name, the National Socialists — is suspected of killing eight people of Turkish origin and a Greek man between 2000 and 2006, as well as a policewoman in 2007.

The string of killings of small businessmen, including a florist, a tailor and fast-food stall owners — long known as the “kebab murders” — went unsolved for years, with authorities suspecting organized crime rather than politically motivated violence.

“The murders … are a disgrace for our country,” Merkel said during a memorial event at a Berlin concert house, attended by most of Germany’s top officials and relatives of the victims. She pledged to do everything possible to clear up what happened.

Merkel acknowledged that, for a long time, few people imagined far-right terrorists could be behind the killings — “that led instead to a search for clues in the mafia and drug scene, or even among the families of the victims.”

“For years, some relatives themselves unfairly faced suspicion — that is particularly oppressive,” Merkel said. “I ask for forgiveness for that.”

Thursday’s event, which was followed by a minute of silence across Germany, was initiated by former President Christian Wulff.

(Source:http://www.deseretnews.com)

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