Hundreds of people took part in 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 has gone viral showing revelers outside a bar on the upscale North Sea island singing “Foreigners out – Germany for Germans” to the festive hit “L’amours toujours”, sparking condemnation and headlines across the country .
There have been several ugly incidents across Germany involving racist chants to the decades-old pop music of Italian DJ Gigi D’Agostino. Police in several German states have also launched criminal investigations on suspicion of hate speech.
Police said 450 people attended Sunday’s protest at Westerland City Hall. It was organized by an alliance of left-wing groups as a show of solidarity against racism and right-wing extremism.
“We are taking 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 in,” said an alliance member.
Speakers included politicians and the third deputy mayor of the municipality of Sylt, Katrin Kupfer.
A small number of people also attended a rally in Keitum. Sunday’s rallies came a day after a small group of punks demonstrated in Westerland.
