Far rightists met in two German cities Saturday, triggering angry demonstrations by leftist opponents. In Berlin, 180 delegates of Germany's far-right National Democratic Party-People's Union gathered in a suburban hall to mark the party's January 1 formation through a merger and to adopt common policies, the party said. Two leftist demonstrators were arrested for wearing masks, an offence in Germany, and police investigated damage to the hall door. Several hundred demonstrators shouted noisily outside the venue and there were scuffles with police. In Magdeburg, south-west of Berlin, some 2,500 demonstrators disrupted a parade by 1,000 rightists through the city, sitting on roads till police dragged them away. The rightists were lamenting Sunday's 66th anniversary of the city's destruction in a Second World War air raid. Far rightists claim the bombardment of German cities was a war crime.
DPA
