Two injured in new arson attacks on Turks

TWO people were injured in separate arson attacks on Turkish institutions in Hamburg yesterday. Molotov cocktails were thrown into two cafes, and into a cultural centre, in the early hours.

The attacks came just hours after a commemoration in Solingen to mark the anniversary of the worst incident of arson that united Germany has seen. Five Turkish girls and women died in the firebombing last year.

The attacks in Hamburg, in which one man was seriously injured and another man suffered minor burns, appear to be the latest incidents in a recent mini-upsurge of far-right violence - though police emphasised that they had no proof who was responsible for yesterday's attacks.

In recent days, there has been right-wing unrest in the west German town of Mannheim, as well as growing unease about the way that violence in east German towns has gone almost unpunished by the police. There is much talk from German opposition politicians of police being 'blind in the right eye'.

Far-right extremists were recently allowed to parade unchallenged through the east German town of Magdeburg, and chased black Africans through the streets of the town. Police did not immediately intervene, and did not arrest the ringleaders of the violence until after nation-wide criticism.

In the east German town of Halle, far-right youths involved in recent violence were not even held for questioning, after the police had been called to the scene. The regional government came under heavy criticism, and one senior official has already been sacked.