INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Far-right supporter arrives for the rock music festival "Shield And Sword" in Ostritz, Germany (Reuters)Ostritz, Germany:
Several hundred neo-Nazis have gathered in eastern Germany for a far-right rock festival that started on Friday, Adolf Hitler's
birthday, while many local residents took a stance against them by attending a festival for peace.The far-right "Schild und Schwert"
("Shield and Sword") festival is being held in the Polish border town of Ostritz from April 20 to April 21
Hitler was born in Austria on April 20, 1889. A vendor waits for customers during the far-right rock music festival "Schwert und Schild"
(Sword and Shield) in Ostritz, Germany (Reuters)Far-right merchandise, including T-Shirts with the slogan "I (heart) HTLR" were on sale at
the event, as were toy tanks.One sign read "Aryan brotherhood" and a poster from the far-right National Democratic Party protested against
the influx of more than a million migrants to Germany since mid-2015 with the slogan: "Nursery schools instead of asylum camps". A vendor
waits for customers during the far-right rock music festival "Schwert und Schild" festival (Reuters)Police officers were out in force,
carrying out checks on roads near the festival and the train station
They said they had arrested a 31-year-old who made an illegal "Heil Hitler" salute.Germany has strict laws on hate speech and symbols linked
to Hitler and the Nazis, who ruled between 1933 and 1945.Alongside the festival for peace in the market square of Ostritz, which runs until
Sunday and which some German media reported had more than 1,000 attendees on Friday, police said there would also be a cycling event to
protest against the far-right on Saturday. Far-right supporters attend rock music festival "Schwert und Schild" (Sword and Shield) in
Ostritz, Germany (Reuters)Michael Kretschmer, premier of the eastern state of Saxony where Ostritz is located, said local residents and
churches had organised the festival for peace of their own accord.He added: "The fight against extremism is successful when it comes from
the midst of society, when it is not prescribed but rather comes from the people themselves.© Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline,
this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
