In Berlin, the singer sported an outfit reminiscent of an SS officer and compared the fate of Anne Frank to that of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
Former Pink Floyd band member Roger Waters has accused his critics of “bad faith” after news broke that German police had opened an investigation into a controversial concert in Berlin where the singer wore an outfit evoking an SS officer and used the name of Anne Frank, the young German Jew who died in a concentration camp.
“My recent concert in Berlin has generated attacks of bad faith from those who want to silence me because they disagree with my political opinions”, reacted Roger Waters in a message published Friday evening on his Instagram accounts and Twitter.
“Aspects of my concert that have been questioned are clearly a message against fascism, injustice and bigotry in all its forms” and any attempt to see anything else in it “is dishonest”, he said. added.
The Berlin police announced on Friday the opening of an investigation, following complaints, “on suspicion of incitement to hatred because the clothes worn on stage are likely to glorify or justify the National Socialist regime and to disturb public order,” according to a spokesperson.
In the images posted on social networks, the singer appears wearing a long black coat marked with a symbol reminiscent of the swastika and red armbands during the concert.
Red-lettered inscriptions of the names of Anne Frank and Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in an exchange of fire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian terrorists in May 2022, were also projected onto a screen during the concert.
“Unfortunately, the legal proceedings against him have so far turned in his favor – despite the fact that he spreads anti-Semitism and is suspected of incitement to hatred”, reacted on Saturday the delegate of the German government to the fight against anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, with the newspapers of the Funke group.
But “I appeal to the vigilance of the police and justice and I encourage other denunciations”, adds Mr. Klein.
The Berlin concert drew strong criticism in Israel. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs thus criticized Waters on Wednesday for having “sullied the memory of Anne Frank and the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust”.
The ex-Pink Floyd, 79, also defends actions to boycott Israeli products in the name of defending the Palestinian cause.
Frankfurt authorities canceled a concert by the British singer on Sunday, but the decision was overturned by an administrative court in the name of freedom of expression.
A demonstration against the arrival of Roger Waters in the city is planned at the call of the local Jewish community and the Greens party.
2023-05-27 07:24:28
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