(pp) – Since the crash of an ICE train, allegedly caused by a cyber attack, Germany is in state of unrest. The government declared the incident a “case of disaster” which allows it to deploy the German military to aid secure the situation. All interregional train traffic in Germany has been stopped causing major economic losses. Naturally, critical voices don’t wait.
Shifty internet sources even reported riots in several German cities and a complete infrastructural breakdown. The Wire had the opportunity to talk to Germany’s minister of the Interior, Building and Community, Horst Seehofer about the recent events and the government’s response.
Seehofer clearly denied that there is an infrastructural breakdown. He emphasised, that regional trains are still running as well as cargo trains with a third of speed. The minister is aware that the restrictions on train traffic cause an inconvenience for the population, however, he deems the measures necessary to ensure the safety of the German population.
Seehofer further stated, that peaceful protests were misinterpreted as riots. “The German people has a long democratic tradition and rallies are normal in a democratic environment”, the minister of interior assured. However, he indicated that in the current situation, large gatherings come with a serious security risk. Activists are outraged and claim, that the conservative minister wants to cut down on their constitutional right to protest. Seehofer stressed that the constitutional rights of the German citizens are being fully respected and that it is not in the competence of the federal government to allow or disallow public rallies. A federal state would have to interdict a public event only if the security of the protesters could not be ensured. But the police is ready to deploy the necessary personnel at all times despite the recent “case of disaster”.
A widely critisised move by the German government is the enforcement of internal border controls. Horst Seehofer has in the past often demanded increased border controls to stop illegal immigration, a controversal measure given, that free movement is one of the pillars of the European Union. In the interview, he pointed out, that in the current events, border controls are only conducted on incoming traffic and the identities of the controlled travellers are not recorded. “This is a measure allowed by EU law and we are not searching to stop illegal immigration”, Seehofer said.
Apparently, the European Commission has a different understanding of the EU regulations and filed a case against Germany in front of the ECJ.
In any case, how physical controls of luggage is meant to prevent cyber attacks remains to be demonstrated.