12 die in Berlin truck attack
Chancellor assumes it is terror linked
APAKISTANI asylum-seeker arrested on suspicion of killing 12 people by mowing through a Berlin Christmas market in a truck may not be the attacker, and the real perpetrator could still be on the run, German police said yesterday.
The truck smashed into wooden huts serving mulled wine and sausages at the foot of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, one of west Berlin’s most famous landmarks, at about 8pm on Monday. In addition to the deaths 48 people were injured, 18 severely.
News of the arrest of the 23-yearold Pakistani led politicians in Germany and beyond to demand a crackdown on immigration.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “There is much we still do not know with sufficient certainty but we must, as things stand now, assume it was a terrorist attack.”
In a dramatic twist, police later said the suspect had denied the offence and might not be the right man.
Die Welt newspaper quoted an unnamed police chief as saying: “We have the wrong man. And therefore a new situation. The true perpetrator is still armed, at large and can cause fresh damage.”
The truck belonged to a Polish freight company and its rightful driver was found dead in the vehicle.
The attack fuelled immediate demands for a change to Merkel’s immigration policies, under which more than a million people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere have arrived in Germany this year and last.
The record influx has hit Merkel’s ratings as she prepares to run for a fourth term next year, and boosted support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD). Senior AfD member Marcus Pretzell blamed Merkel for the attack.
AfD leader Frauke Petry said Germany was no longer safe and “radical Islamic terrorism has struck in the heart of Germany”.
The incident evoked memories of an attack in Nice, France in July when a Tunisian-born man drove a 19-ton truck along the beachfront, mowing down people who had gathered to watch the fireworks on Bastille Day, killing 86 people. That was claimed by Islamic State.
The mass influx of migrants and refugees to the European Union has deeply divided its 28 members and fuelled the rise of populist anti-immigration movements that hope to capitalise on public concerns next year in elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said the latest attack would change perceptions of migration. “I think that the cup of patience is beginning to spill over and Europe’s public will rightfully expect rather stronger measures,” he said.
Nigel Farage of Britain’s UK Independence Party tweeted: “Terrible news from Berlin but no surprise. Events like these will be the Merkel legacy.”
A security source told Reuters the suspect had been staying at a refugee centre in the now defunct Tempelhof airport.
Manfred Weber, of the centreright European People’s Party, said: “It’s not an attack on a country; it’s an attack on our way of life, on our free society.” — Reuters