German right-wingers push to 'inspect' a refugee center

The anti-migrant politicians wanted to meet refugees housed in the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, German mass-circulation newspaper "Bild" reported on Thursday.

The visit was requested by the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) lawmakers in the state parliament, who cited their "right to inspect the doings of the government."

The officials, however, denied their request to inspect the Nostorf/Horst facility, claiming that the party wanted to "make policy at the expense of the refugees."

"It is unbearable that the people who incite others against asylum-seekers day after day, now want to visit our accommodation centers," state Interior Minister Lorenz Caffier told "Bild."

Such a visit could disturb the "peaceful coexistence" of people at the Nostorf/Horst refugee center and lead to violent incidents, according to the officials.

'Ghastliness'

Despite the official decision, the NPD decided to push on with their request to "talk to the accepted refugees and asylum seekers."

The party has filed for an injunction to force the government to allow them the visit, according to spokesman for the state's constitutional court, Sven Nickels.

The court could decide on the issue as early as next week, Nickels said Thursday.

The NPD representatives claim to have a right to be informed, in their capacity as lawmakers. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the only German state with the NPD represented in the parliament; the party has no seats on the federal level.

State minister Caffier called for the party to be banned "in order to end this ghastliness," according to the "Bild" article.

Attacks on the rise

Attacks on German refugee centers have been on the rise during recent months, as authorities struggle to cope with immigrant arrivals.

The recent jump has seen the Nostorf/Horst home, an old military barracks in northern Germany, house more than its recommended capacity of 650 refugees.

Migration officials estimate that some half a million people would request asylum in Germany this year.

dj/jr (epd, dpa, AFP)