Hundreds of people attended a peaceful demonstration against the far-right in Sylt on Sunday, two weeks after a racist video on the German island shocked the nation.
A video went viral of partygoers outside a bar on the posh North Sea island singing ‘Foreigners out – Germany for Germans’ to the tune of party hit ‘L’amours toujours’, sparking condemnation and national headlines.
There have been several ugly incidents across Germany involving racist chants set to Italian DJ Gigi D’Agostino’s decades-old pop tune. Police in several German states have also launched criminal investigations on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
According to the police, 450 people came to the protest at the Westerland town hall on Sunday. It was organized by an alliance of left-wing groups as a show of solidarity against racism and right-wing extremism.
“We take a clear position: racism and right-wing extremist ideas have no place on Sylt. Whether you are an islander or a tourist, we stand for a colorful island worth living on,” said a member of the alliance.
Speakers included politicians and the third deputy mayor of the municipality of Sylt, Katrin Kupfer.
A small number of people also attended a meeting in Keitum. Sunday’s rallies came a day after a small group of punks demonstrated in Westerland.
