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September 18, 2007
German Minister Apologizes for Racist Attack

Berlin
German Economics Minister Michael Glos made a formal apology Tuesday to Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram for the racist attack on a group of Indian men in the town of Muegeln last month.

"I most deeply regret and condemn the event in the strongest terms," Glos said on the first day of a meeting of the Indo-German Economic Commission in Berlin.

"There can be no rationalizing of violence and xenophobia in an open and tolerant democracy," Glos said.

He added that the overwhelming majority of Germans felt "deep sympathy" for the eight Indian men who were pursued in the small town in the eastern state of Saxony on the night of August 18 by a mob shouting racist slogans.

The incident provoked anger and soul-searching in Germany, particularly over whether the depressed parts of the formerly communist east had become "no-go areas" for foreigners.

The Indo-German Joint Economic Commission was set up in the early 1980s to promote bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

DPA | September 18, 2007  

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