Political participation and freedom of expression are the pillars of democracy. Already in Art. 5 para. 1 of the Basic Law is firmly anchored: “Everyone has the right to express and disseminate his opinion freely in word, writing and image […]”.
All the more questionable is therefore the Bavarian authorities’ handling of protests and the self-organisation of fugitives who are directed against grievances in the ANKER centres. For example, various sanctions were imposed after demonstrations, such as unannounced forced relocations of so-called “ringleaders”. This was intended to put a stop to the protest in the camps. Particularly in the ANKER centres, the possibility of the fugitives expressing their opinions freely is impaired by massive dependencies – for example between residents* and security personnel.
In ANKER centres there are mainly people who have fled from oppressive states and dictatorships. It is therefore all the more cynical to practically deny them democratic participation in Germany and at the same time to want to promote them, e.g. through integration courses, in order to convey democratic values to them. For a truly democratic society it should therefore also be possible for refugees to have their voices heard and publicly stand up for their interests.
