Brutal attack on Sorbian youth

Neo-nazis attack Sorbian Youth

Brutal Attack on Sorbian youth.

29.04.2003 Budyšin/Bautzen

Radibor (Radwor), District Bautzen - Germany. Last Saturday night there was a brutal attack by neo-Nazis on Sorbian youth who were

guarding a pile of wood for the annual "witch burning" festivity. Shortly after midnight, around thirty attackers showed up in six cars provoking an immediate fight, taking the young people's chairs and benches and throwing them into the fire. During the violent encounter four young Sorbs from Radibor, ages 18 to 21 were injured. The eighteen year old was so severely beaten that the teenager had to be taken to hospital.

In an interview given to Sorbian Youth Radio "Satkula", one of the injured Sorbian youths described the attack, stating that the group who was guarding the pile of wood had no chance to defend themselves. He himself was immediately hit in the face and was knocked unconscious. When he came to a short time later and tried to get up he was brutally beaten again. "The whole thing took only ten minutes so we didn’t even have a chance to call for help!", the young man said.

German Criminal Police arrived at the scene after the attackers had left, taking statements from the victims. Due to the quick thinking of one of the youths, who managed to remember some of the cars’ licence plates, the police were able to apprehend four of the attackers the very same night.

The spokesperson for the Police Department in Bautzen, Peter Bergmann stated yesterday afternoon that he did not wish to speculate on the motive of the attack, saying "we need more time to conduct our investigation. We cannot prove that the attack was hate-motivated, as only one of the apprehended admitted that this was his motivation".

From the "Satkula" radio interview it’s apparent that the attackers were well known to the victims. There exists a loosely organized group affectionately calling themselves "The Last Children of A. Hitler", with "members coming from the surrounding villages of Klein Welka, Goda, the city of Bautzen as well as Zittau.

Radibor’s village mayor Wincent Baberska cannot comprehend the senseless attack, saying "now, this has nothing to do anymore with just a rivalry between villages. This is too much!"

In a few days the normally joyous celebration and festivities of May Day, and the falling of the Maypole will take place in numerous Sorbian villages. What will happen then?.

Robert Brytan

Budyšin/Bautzen