THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
One year after the police killing of George Floyd, sparking worldwide protests against racist violence, the spokesman of the Initiative Black People in Germany accuses German authorities and politicians of neglecting racist police violence in the country.
Speaking in an interview on Deutschlandfunk radio on Tuesday, Tahir Della complaint about the concealment of racist police violence in Germany. Police violence ends in death in some cases, said the Black activist.
He recalled the death of Oury Jalloh 16 years ago. The case had still not really been taken seriously today, Della said. The asylum seeker from Sierra Leone died in a fire incident under controversial circumstances in a police cell in Dessau in January 2005. Activists allege that he was murdered by the police.
Since 1990, there have been a total of 180 incidents of racist police violence in Germany that have ended in death, Della said. Most of them had remained without consequences. The cases are not treated as a systemic problem, Della explained. What is needed, he said, are independent investigations and a greater willingness on the part of police authorities to address the problem.
However, Della also spoke of a change in society: many people, especially young people, have become more aware of the problem of racism. What is needed was a civil society that influences politics. Society as a whole is called upon to say goodbye to racist images, the activist stressed.
Felix Dappah
