‘The state has failed to protect the citizens’ against neo-Nazi terror

The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on the clandestine neo-Nazi terrorist group (NSU) “has arrived at the conclusion that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz), the police and the justice system – in short, the German state – has failed in its most basic task: to protect its citizens", report and while the trial of the members of the NSU, accused of the murder of 11 people between 2000 and 2007, is underway in Munich.

The authors of the report accuse the police of being biased in their investigation, the Verfassungsschutz of having underestimated terrorism from the extreme right, and the political leaders of being insufficiently interested in the subject.

"A damning and shameful report", writes FAZ, which castigates the authors of the report for not providing “a satisfactory explanation" of the reasons that led the state to such a failure.

This is down to the fact that the commission was set up to find a culprit to ease the troubled conscience of politicians. All the parties [...] played along [...] and no one has defended the authorities.

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For Tageszeitung on the other hand, the report "is an impressive and introspective document from the state"

Without indulgence, the report shows the weaknesses and blind spots of the security establishment on the subject of racism. [...] It marks a historic turning point. [...] For the authorities, the issue now is to implement the recommendations [of the investigators] day by day. Only in this way can we know if we have learned the lessons from this series of murders, ignored for so many years.

For its part, Die Welt pens almost a eulogy to the work of the commission of inquiry.

All together, the parties have tried to explain the reasons for one of the most brutal series of terrorist murders in Germany. [...] Taken together, they have pointed out the shortcomings and worked out some recommendations. That is why the outcome of their work is a glorious moment for parliament. All the players have understood what is at issue here: the failure of a state, the dimensions of which seemed unimaginable before the existence of the NSU was unveiled.