Right-wing extremism - NRW: Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies AfD youth organization as a suspected case
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified the state association of the AfD youth organization Junge Alternative (JA) as a suspected case. There are "actual indications of suspicion that the JA NRW is pursuing efforts that are directed against the free democratic basic order", explained the state Ministry of the Interior in Düsseldorf on Tuesday. In the event of such an assessment, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in NRW is legally obliged to initiate proceedings against the organization in question.
AfD youth organization in NRW in the sights of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of the Interior, Herbert Reul (CDU), explained that there were "solid indications" that the YES "does not play by democratic rules, but prefers its own right-wing extremist set of rules".
The Ministry of the Interior explained the reasons for the observation, including that there is "extensive cooperation with numerous actors of the right-wing extremist movement of the New Right". The JA NRW had followed the political course of the JA federal association, which was characterized by a "national-ethnic understanding of the people and xenophobia".
In addition, a "weighty factual indication" of efforts against the free democratic basic order is the proximity of the JA NRW to the "nationalist association of individuals" within the AfD, the former "wing" under the Thuringian AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke. Cooperation with these individuals is "based on ideological agreement".
Several state offices for the protection of the constitution have already classified the respective state associations of the JA as confirmed or proven right-wing extremists. In addition, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the Junge Alternative as a whole as "confirmed right-wing extremist" last April.
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- The classification of the Junge Alternative (JA) NRW by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in North Rhine-Westphalia as a suspected case of right-wing extremism has garnered significant 'Top news' in Germany.
- The AfD's youth organization in North Rhine-Westphalia, JA, has come under scrutiny due to its 'extensive cooperation' with numerous actors associated with the right-wing extremist New Right movement, a concern raised by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Düsseldorf.
- The suspicion against JA NRW stems from concerns that they share an 'ideological agreement' with nationalist individuals within the AfD, who have been labeled as right-wing extremists by various state offices for the Protection of the Constitution across Germany.
- In light of these 'actual indications of suspicion' against JA NRW, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in North Rhine-Westphalia is obliged by law to initiate proceedings against the youth organization.
- This development in North Rhine-Westphalia marks another instance where a state office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany has raised concerns about the radical ideology of the AfD's youth organization, adding to the growing body of evidence labeling them as a suspected case of right-wing extremism.
Source: www.stern.de
